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"Low Cost Internet Access"

webmaster_uk wrote:
>
> any input?

Sure, how about you pay for advertising space like everybody else? :)

Certainly wish you the best of luck with your little venture :o)

I would have looked into it, but I'm on Broadband now.

Garin wrote:

> My impression at present, young male in his teens
> or early 20s who has big plans but hasn't really done much research
> and is really biting off more than he can chew. Now that assessment
> could be miles off, doesn't matter if it is. Thats the impression I
> get...

You could have said exactly the same things about the guys who started Microsoft or Apple; or the people who started coding with their Spectrums and now make multi-million budgeted games; or the hackers who decided to make a whole OS from the ground up, and distribute it free; or people who now make a ton of money from Linux distributions by offering support to non-techies. My point being: you have to start somewhere, and it doesn't matter a damn if you have an MBA or not, all you have to do is offer a good product and deliver it well. Give the guy a chance.

http://www.fast24.net/

Garin, look at that website, which *does* have its origins in front page. Now what do you say when I tell you Fast24 is as good as it gets?

Sampford wrote:
> That's my point exactly... lots of wasted cash, that keepcosts high,
> with loads of staff, and trying to make millions and millions, every
> year! Where asmy ISP, which all publisity - ie, in other forums, may
> help attract more potential customers, like Turbonutter....
>

If you're going to come onto a forum and try to drum up business like this then establishing some kind of credibility is essential. If you don't have the money to establish some in the tried and trusted fashion then you're left with your website and your posts on here.
You have a website that would appear to have its origins in frontpage if you believe the meta tags. Content that is shall we say, borrowed. :) Whole sections that lack content and just have scripting errors in. I'll skip the design issues as that can be argued to be a matter of taste, but as an example, images that have jagged edges look quite poor.
Your posts are very unconvincing, you don't appear to have the right answers. I mean the bit I've quoted, it doesn't exactly give the impression you have much business sense. :)

Does any of this convince me that I should use you as an isp. Not a chance. :) Looking and behaving professionally will win you lots of custom and support. My impression at present, young male in his teens or early 20s who has big plans but hasn't really done much research and is really biting off more than he can chew. Now that assessment could be miles off, doesn't matter if it is. Thats the impression I get...

I'm not setting out to rip you and what you're doing to pieces, I think you deserve much credit for trying. But I really wanted to emphasize the point that when you start wanting to take peoples money, its important to look good and professional. And at least from my perspective, you're not doing so presently, ie you're not making me believe being a customer of you would be a good choice. Only real belief I have so far is that if I register my interest I'll be signing up for spam mail. :)

Anyway, good luck to you, I really hope you manage to do well.

-G

phi11ip wrote:

> Dial-up is dying though, people are going for broadband as it's
> cheaper than your ISDN!

Yep. As long as you don't live in the country; or more than 5km from an ADSL exchange; or your exchange hasn't been ADSL enabled yet; or there are no cable companies in your area.

For people like me - living in the city, using the internet all the time, within exchange range - broadband, and a free dial-up ISP for emergencies, is the better option. But not everyone is that lucky, and not everyone enjoys dealing with the hideous behemoth that is Freeserve.

As for money etc., very few successful IT companies started out with funding to advertise their products or dress them up in fancy packaging. In this field it's good ideas and good service that matter; and, with a few obvious exceptions, the best ideas tend to be the most successful. I'd say that this is a good idea, and I wish you the best of luck Sampford.

I've got a BT line and I am getting NTL 128k next week...

It costs me £15 a month and that is it!

The customer suppost aroudn here is actually very good so I really havn't got much to worry about...

Dial-up is dying though, people are going for broadband as it's cheaper than your ISDN!

When was the last time you looked at an ISP's website? I can't think of many off the top of my head who's websites are actually good. Not half-way decent ISPs anyway. In fact, crap ISPs are more likely to spend more time (and money) on their websites because they're lacking in other areas.

Since when did any of that crap matter?

All I want is to be able to use the Internet quite a lot with nice latency. SMTP and NNTP would be nice, but that's *really* all you could ever want.

I can't wait for you to launch. Got an expected date?

Basically, you're not gonna get many if any punter for this!

Do we get email addresses?
Webspace?
Good customer support?

I'm staying with Freeserve as I can get all of this, you're gonna find it incredibly hard to get any people to sign up unless you advertise INCREDIBLY heavily!

why should you pay for advertisment space??? mainly it could be cos there aint any money..... but once the isp is up and running, there will be some, then there will be advertising all over the place.

pre register for low cost internet access - for more information, see www.sampfordgroup.co.uk/isp