INTERNET ACCESS GETS FASTER - IF YOU HAVE ANY

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Rural Humboldt County, CA, USA January 3, 2005 --

Nielson/NetRatings reported that broadband Internet connections finally outnumber dial-up connections in American homes, serving 53 percent of the market in October.� However, very little else has changed in the Internet connection Industry.� Locations without access to broadband connection still have no broadband connection, and locations without local dial-up connection still have no local Internet service at all.

For example, in northern California, the coastal town of Orick has begged for a local dial-up number for years.� A couple of Internet Service Providers, (ISP), have told Orick that they would provide service, albeit at inflated prices, but the projected dates for local Internet access passed without fulfillment.� The nearby Yurok Reservation is still struggling to obtain the prerequisite telephone service.

Inland, within a few miles of the Nevada state line, the northern California communities of Madeline, Ravendale, and Termo have had dial tone for a dozen years now, but any request for a local ISP would very likely receive no response, due to their sparse population and isolated location.� Mineral, California, the gateway to Lassen National Park, and the communities that surround Eagle Lake, between Lassen National Park and Ravendale, likewise have no local Internet access.

Residents and businesses within these locales who have dial tone may use an ISP serving communities nearby, but then must pay the inflated long distance charges that prevail in such isolated communities when their modems dial the in-state or intra-LATA, (Local Area Telephone Access), call to the ISP.� Such calls typically are six cents or more per minute.� A more cost-effective strategy is to sign up with an ISP serving a different state, because most long distance carriers charge less for inter-state calls than for in-state or intra-LATA calls.

Some relief from the extra cost of connecting to the Internet via long distance calling is available by comparison shopping for more cost-effective long distance services.� By using a service such as that provided by www.CompetingPrices.com, they may be able to locate a long-distance carrier that will provide in-state calling for less than four cents per minute, or even unlimited long distance calling, when it's bundled with local telephone service.

Another choice is to use an ISP that provides toll free dial up numbers.� By purchasing the long distance charges in bulk, the pre-paid toll free Internet service offered at www.Downstrike.com charges less per minute than a residence or business in an isolated community would pay for the long distance charge alone.

CompetingPrices.com, and Downstrike.com are web sites designed by a Digital Media and E-Commerce major at College of the Redwoods as part of his education, and as a community service.

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Contact Sam Thorne at webmaster@competingprices.com, P.O. Box 133, Fields Landing, CA 95537, or using the CompetingPrices.com� message board at forums.delphiforums.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?nav=spider&webtag=OutToRecess.

Sam Thorne is a disabled student at College of the Redwoods, and a Digital Media and E-Commerce major who has designed web sites to help members of his local and online communities to find more cost-effective alternatives to their current digital and communications resources.