By Gary Kirchherr
I hadn't planned on writing again on Internet service providers. But after my last column I got via e-mail a handful of requests for the names of the ISPs in the area. Small wonder, really; one sees few ads for the services, and the Yellow Pages don't have a category for "Internet service providers" - although I fail to understand why ISP advertising is so sparse.
Below are the four ISPs I know of that have Holland connection numbers. I can offer my opinions on the pricing of individual accounts, but not the service - you will have to judge that for yourself. All ISPs except where noted charge a startup fee of $15 to $30, which includes software for your PC or Mac. All services provide hard-disk space on their server for a World Wide Web page.
In alphabetical order, the ISPs are:
Hayburn Communication Services Ltd., 1256 W. Lakewood Blvd., P.O. Box 1245, Holland 49424-6221. Voice phone: 786-0088. Hayburn has fewer pricing options than most ISPs, but their unlimited-use account is reasonably priced at $35 a month, with a discount for allowing the company to automatically bill your credit card.
Macatawa Area Free-Net, 400 136th Ave., Holland, 49423. Voice phone: 395-2688. The Free-Net, as a non-profit organization, has a pricing advantage. You can't do any better than its cheapest pricing plan - free - although this gets you only a half-hour a day. Unlimited access costs $25 a month, with a handful of price plans in-between. Unlike the other ISPs, Free-Net's limited-access options limit time online by day as well as by month. Also unlike the other ISPs, MacNet has no startup fee. You have to provide your own software, though.
Novagate Communications Corp., 235 Fulton St., Suite 204, Grand Haven, 49417. Voice phone: 847-0910. Although it's Grand Haven-based, Novagate does have a local access number for Holland, as well as Grand Haven and Muskegon. Novagate's four pricing options range from $10 a month for 10 hours, with $2.95 each additional hour, to the $50-a-month unlimited-access plan. I give Novagate credit for having such a complete list of great links on its home page (http://www.novagate.com).
Sirus Internet Services, 675 E. 16th St., Suite 240, Holland, 49423-3752. Voice phone: 394-0558. Sirus has four personal-package price plans, ranging from $5 a month and $2.25 an hour, to one for $39 for 120 hours and $1.50 every hour after that.
Even those of you not interested in the World Wide Web, newsgroups, or other assorted Internet goodies may want to consider paying for an ISP if you use an online service like America Online that supports TCP connections. In plain English, that means you can hook up to these services from the local ISP connection, instead of through the long-distance SprintNet and Tymnet numbers.
As a member of one online service or another since 1988, I resented the fact that Holland was and is the largest city in Michigan without a local access number for AOL and eWorld. Even puny Traverse City and Bridgman - Bridgman! - have local numbers, for crying out loud. AOL recently launched a toll 800 number for its members without local SprintNet or Tymnet numbers, but at 8 cents a minute this option is hardly a bargain.
Well, with an ISP you can lurk the services without worrying about the long-distance charges you're running up in addition to the $3 an hour AOL and eWorld charge to use their respective services. And the TCP connection seems to run a lot smoother too.