Ok. You really want to know this, eh??
Update: As of January 2005, Tanman is still attached to the Speakeasy 384kb/sec SDSL. We're contemplating some changes in the near future.
As of August 2002, GnuGuy is attached to a 384kbit/sec SDSL, on Speakeasy.net. Based on past experience (read on...) this is a GOOD ISP!!!
Like most other small sites, I started with a dialup account and a hosted website. In the fall of 1995, choices were a bit more limited than now. The original provider was Eclipse Internet. They were competent at dialup, and learning how to do hosting and email.
By late 1996 it became apparent that I would need a direct connection to the net, and the ability to run my own server, so as to control what software environments I was running. I began to shop around, and quickly decided to go with Digex. So in March 1997 after a parade of Bell Atlantic installers, my dandy 56-kbit/sec frame relay line was up and running. Scrappy was quickly cobbled together and attached, and all was well...
By the spring of 1999 a new type of line, DSL, was becoming available. It promised speed comparable to fractional T1 at a fraction of the price. After a lot of email and phone calls, I decided to transfer to SDSL at 384k, using Ultracom as an ISP. This increased my connection speed (8x over the original!!) at a monthly savings of $200!!! So in June 1999 I dropped Intermedia and went with Ultracom.
In July 2000 I received in postal mail an advertisement for Exario DSL (Ultracom having renamed itself to Exario in late 1999) for 384k SDSL service for $200 a month... hmm... why am I paying $300??? Not being able to get an answer (or even the courtesy of a return phone call), I ordered new service from CAIS. That may have been a mistake.
August 2000 - Verizon (they used to be Bell Atlantic) decides that the best way to reward customers is to stage a union action, and thoroughly disgust anyone who had an open service order. Somehow the order for CAIS internet disappears. Exario sells their DSL lines to DSL.net. And just seven days before Christmas, Verizon graces the doorstep to install the CAIS DSL.
So, in January 2001, the CAIS DSL working, I cancel the Exario/DSLnet line.
By November 2001, CAIS has changed its name to Ardent, failed to convince bankers that a new name makes a difference, gone bankrupt, and sold the line to NAS. NAS turns out to be the worst ISP yet. By the summer of 2002, NAS has also gone bankrupt. They deserve it.
So as I make plans to move the office out of Somerville it wil be necessary to drop the NAS account and find yet another DSL provider. Checking DSLReports, Speakeasy is maintaining the top position. I decide to check them out, not really trusting DSLReports (I've seen good companies getting trashed by clueless trolls).
The surprise is, they're apparently as good as the reports make them out to be. Though I've only had email contact with the company, everything has been fine. They're very similar in operation to Intermedia - professional, courteous and competent.
Over time I'll flesh this out a bit.
The journey continues...
Stay tuned...