what is the best internet service provider?

I'm looking to switch my ISP. I have Triton 56K right now, and I want to get high speed dial-up. What, in your opinion, is the cheapest, and/or fastest, ISP for dial-up out there?

Correct me if im wrong but i dont think there is such a thing as "high Speed Dialup" and please plesae please... DONT GET DIALUP... BROADBAND all the way. If you want to compare Isp's... try http://www.dslreports.com

and ya... NEVER GET DIALUP!

While high-speed dialup does exist, it's mostly a matter of marketing and a bit of software that either loads images more slowly or starts caching data from the links on a page. Either way, you're better off just turning off image loading when you need to go quickly, and saving the five bucks or so that high-speed runs above regular dialup.

And though I'd prefer DSL at home (I've got it at my house at school), it isn't for everyone. I know that some locations still don't have it, or make you pay through the nose for it. Also, I have had times where they were futzing about somewhere along the line and our DSL went out for a couple of days. We were lucky that we could switch providers, but some suburban and rural areas will only have one. I've never had that long an outage with dialup.

While high-speed dialup does exist, it's mostly a matter of marketing and a bit of software that either loads images more slowly or starts caching data from the links on a page....That's what I was referring to (aka internet accelerators). I would definantly prefer broadband over dial-up, however, I need to keep my two phone lines and I can't afford adding broadband in addition to that. Also I can't get anything in my area.

I used an internet accelerator for a month or so, but it caused more problems than it solved and the speed-up was negligible.

As to dial-up ISPs, I recently switched to mFire, and have been quite happy with it so far.

Correct me if im wrong but i dont think there is such a thing as "high Speed Dialup" and please plesae please... DONT GET DIALUP... BROADBAND all the way. If you want to compare Isp's... try http://www.dslreports.com

and ya... NEVER GET DIALUP!
Wow, this broadband thing sounds great! I guess I'm ready to get rid of my dial-up, but before I do, can you show me how to access my broadband in the following situations:
My home - I live in a very rural area, I can't get cable TV, much less cable internet or DSL, so right now I'm using 2 dial-up lines. Do you think it would be worth it to pay the $1000 install + $600/month for wireless broadband access, when all I do from home is check e-mail and occasionally do on-line banking?
My friend's house - how do I take my broadband connection with me to another place that doesn't have access to broadband? currently I just bring my laptop with a built-in modem and plug into their phone line and I'm good to go. How can I do the same with broadband?
I'll be out of town next week, and the hotel I'm staying at doesn't have ethernet access. I does however provide me with an analog phone line in which to plug a modem. How do I access my broadband connection over this line?
Tonight I'll be travelling across the state on a train. Normally, this is a good time to do my on-line banking, I just acess my dial-up ISP through my cell phone, since I get good cell reception throughout the train line. How can I take my broadband connection with me as I travel?

...That's what I was referring to (aka internet accelerators). I would definantly prefer broadband over dial-up, however, I need to keep my two phone lines and I can't afford adding broadband in addition to that. Also I can't get anything in my area.
you can still call around to find out what's available - some cable companies are now offering cableTV, cableInternet, and cablePhone all over the same line for much less than you would pay for these 3 things seperately.
Also, some DSL providers can give you DSL and analog POTS on the same line - at different frequencies, so you just put a filter on the line where you want to tap into DSL or POTS. And usually the DSL/POTS are priced together, so you don't have to worry about paying more or paying for them seperately.
I'm not sure if those 2 options are available in your area, but just wanted you to be aware that they are out there. I used to work for a DSL support center, so I've seen a lot of this stuff.

If it is for home use, no one can dispute that dial-up is far inferior. For mobile use, only dial up works, for now, if you don't count the wireless access points at airports or whatever. If you live out in the sticks, then you are a perfect candidate for satellite - if you don't play on-line games. There is latency of like 500ms. For web browsing, forum posting, downloading, etc satellite is fine (plus it is better TV than cable.)

Okay, I guess that an auxilliary question here would involve just what Dial-Up ISP would be best for the OCCASIONAL user -- something I could fall back upon when the cable is down, or when I was away from home but near a telephone outlet.

Obviously, it would be something with minimal maintenance charges for non-use, maybe a small number of connections per month, maybe a per-connection charge . . . . 100 hours might be sufficient for a year or two, so long as the monthly upkeep wasn't excessive.

NetZero, if it is still free. You would just have to suffer the ads.

NetZero, if it is still free. You would just have to suffer the ads.
Well, you can't beat that price!
Still, I'd like to know of any with that would offer a few hours of full service per month at a reasonable pricde.

If they do still have a free service, it's something like 10 hours per month with a huge ad bar at the bottom. We have the $9.95/month service from them, and it still regularly drops the connection or doesn't initialize properly. Eh, we need to upgrade anyway. 300 MHz Gateway 2000 on Windows 98...

If they do still have a free service, it's something like 10 hours per month with a huge ad bar at the bottom. We have the $9.95/month service from them, and it still regularly drops the connection or doesn't initialize properly. Eh, we need to upgrade anyway. 300 MHz Gateway 2000 on Windows 98...
That doesn't sound too bad. I doubt one could do better for under $10. Thanks.

There are a number of them available for under $10. This (http://www.dailyedeals.com/free_internet/discount_isp.htm) seems to be a decent comparison of some of the common ones.

Another that our area got saturated with ads 6 months ago or so was ev1.net.

They seem to have a good coverage area (http://my.ev1.net/english/support/numbers.asp), but I can't vouch for their reliability or tech support.