Toast.net vs. Netzero

I live in a rural area, so I'm stuck with dial up. For over 3 years I've used Netzero 3G Highspeed. Worked good, but I decided to look into other dial up isp's to see if I could get a better speed. Toast.net had good reviews, so I gave them a try. I really like them. Their accelerator works much faster than Netzero's. If I was loading a couple different web pages and one had video or audio, Netzero would sometimes slow down or the accelerator would suddenly become unavailable. It got annoying after a while. Toast.net's accelerator must work differently because I have no problems loading multiple pages when one has audio or video. For dial up, web pages load very quickly.
With Toast.net, you have to make sure you disconnect from the internet when you're not using it though. They automatically disconnect you after 4 hours, but if you automatically keep reconnecting for most of the day, they will put your account on hold, so you can't login anymore until you contact them. That happened to me the other day. I like to leave my internet connected all the time. My account was flagged for excessive usage & I couldn't log in. I called them & they reactivated it as long as I disconnect when not in use. I don't like it, but I was thinking, maybe that is why their connection is so fast. They keep an eye on people's usage & make you disconnect when you're not using it, but that does free things up. I guess I can live with disconnecting in exchange for the faster speed.
BTW, I tried cancelling my Netzero service and they gave me 3 free months. After that, monthly payments are $6.95. Pretty good deal, so I'm keeping it as my backup ISP.
Toast.net is $9.95 a month. If you pay annually it is $7.95 a month. Toast.net does have a dedicated plan where you get disconnected after 8 hours, but it is $39.95. A bit steep for dial up.
If you need to call Toast.net for support, it is free. Netzero charges $1.95 per minute. That's a little ridiculous.


Can only get dial up and want to go wireless? Then check out the Wiflyer!