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This FAQ text is copyright dslreports.com
Reproduction of all or part only with our permission..
This FAQ is edited by: cabana See Profile
It was last modified on 2016-11-16 03:43:39

1 INTRODUCTION

What is the ISP directory?

The Internet Service Provider "ISP" Directory we provide is a searchable list of Broadband Providers. Each listing is comprised of: Products/Services, Pricing, Broadband Footprint and General Company Details. DSLreports' users have the option to place reviews about their ISP experience in the ISP listing.

The directory is divided by service categories:

DSL
Wireless
Satellite
Cable

and represents both U.S. and international ISPs.

3 ACCESS

Who qualifies for Secure ISP Access?

In order to maintain an ISP listing, you must be an ISP authorized representative, who is employed full time in the management of the ISP. Generally, the representative is in the Marketing and/or Business Development group of the ISP and has knowledge of current pricing and coverage of the company products and services.

How do I gain secure access to my ISP listing?

You must provide DSLreports.com with your username in order to have permission granted to edit your ISP's listing. Email your request with the following:

1.)DSLreports.com Username
2.)First and Last Name
3.)Company Title
4.)ISP
5.)Contact information for verification

Email to Secure Access.
PLEASE NOTE: No request for access will be considered unless submitted from the ISP's domain name. No personal requests will be accepted. All requests will be verified with ISP management.

How do I register for a username?

Register for a username at our LOGIN button on our homepage DSLreports.com. Click on the LOGIN button and select "get user account".

What do I do if I have forgotten my username and password?

If you have forgotten your username and/or password then you may go to: Forgot my Password. Your username and password will be emailed to you. If your username has been dropped from the system then you may simply register for a new username and password at the LOGIN button on the DSLR homepage at www.dslreports.com.

How do I replace the representive that has current edit permissions?

If the situation arises that an ISP employee granted edit permissions has left the company or is no longer in charge of the listing then a notification should be sent to DSLreports.com. A replacement username should be emailed to: Secure Access.

How do I access my listing once I have been approved?

Once edit permissions have been granted to your username you will be allowed direct access to edit your ISP listing. You may enter enter via these avenues:

1. If you are the original authorized representative that set up your ISP listing then the first page presented to you upon logging in will be your ISP listing.

2. If you have been logged into the site you may navigate to the VPROF number that is assigned to your ISP.
ie. »/vprof/1234 could represent ACME ISP.
Bookmarking the link assigned to your ISP is helpful.

3. You can access your ISP listing from the ISP DIRECTORY on the homepage located underneath the daily reviews. Use the alphabet prompt to locate your ISP. Once you have clicked on your listing you may enter the edit features by clicking on the blue link that is labeled "secured isp edit".

NOTE: In order to gain access to the edit features on your ISP listing you must be LOGGED IN to the DSLR site.

How can I tell if I am logged in?

If you are logged in you will see your username on the upper left corner of the screen. If you do not see your username then click on the red LOGIN button on the upper right corner of the homepage and LOGIN with your "username" and "password".

If your browser accepts a cookie then you will be logged into our site for thirty days. Please be aware of this feature, as it does mean that someone other than yourself, could potentially have access to the "secured isp link" for your ISP listing if your computer is in an unsecured office.

Premium status

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#### History

For a long time we relied on ISPs to be motivated enough to enter and update their own details but actually making it free and open was counter-productive. The larger ISPs simply ignored the interface, some of the smaller ones were mainly motivated sales people hoping to attract new customers - but they they would move on and the listing would become stale very quickly.

Then we tried paying our own money for a part time work to update and input phone numbers and other details however this was one of those painting the golden gate bridge scenarios: if you ever finished you'd have to start again. Mistakes (in phone numbers, logos etc) also became our problem.

Finally we locked off and reduced the amount of data per ISP and left things pretty much as they stand. However the steady drumbeat of "can we please update our X Y or Z" would drone on.

#### The Fee

Now we're resolved to have two tiers of listings. The default tier is whatever minimal data we may have on an ISP, perhaps corrected by community feedback or perhaps incorrect. The other tier are listings that are repaired and corrected by a verified staff member of the ISP or Company themselves. To elevate a listing into the hands of an authorised employee costs a one time fee of $50, in theory this is a one time fee however this it will have to be paid again if the listing is left idle and the tagged employee does not return, or a new marketing VP wishes to fix the listing up and seize control from the last, and absent, staff member.

#### Premium for Free

In some cases we'll elevate a listing to premium for no fee! This may be because the ISP is active in the forums, or has gifted us a speed test server, or because they're tremendous people. You can but ask.

#### How do we pay

Since we have an existing system for paying for things on the site, you can just use that. Purchase site tool points using our stripe payment gateway, convert 50 of these to a license to control your ISP listing, and contact us. If approved you'll get the keys, and a way to get help for anything reasonable you may need. This may all be pretty much automated soon but isn't, yet.

#### Why pay

We'll listen to your requests and suggestions. You'll support dslreports.com because we give your customers a place to vent and share information. You get a public open end-user forum whether you want to use it or not. You'll feel like you have the right to bug us about stuff even though everyone does have that right anyway.

4 EDITING

How do I enter basic company details into my Listing?

After you have entered the secured access to your listing you may begin editing your listing. Click on the blue link for "Basic Details".

Preferred name for ISP: Name of your company
Who maintains this listing? email address of person who initiated listing
VP Marketing (email): VP or suitable Marketing contact
Queries click through to: URL of your ISP inquiry page
Zip of your Head Office: 5 digit postal code
C-/I-LEC Partner Codes: Use the Pop Up Menu to choose your codes
Zips of your Gateway(s): Location(s) of your internet backbone(s)

The remaining information is in a questionnaire; simply check off the services your ISP offers. You may put additional information in the available "Text Only " box.

5 REVIEWS

What are the qualifications for the good-bad-ugly

National or Regional. National ISP status is decided by us. We consider a 'National ISP' to have one or more of the following attributes: 1. reviews from customers from several states not concentrated in one region. 2. POPs located in several states (not just concentrated regionally). 3. Multiple sales/support or administration offices. 4. CLEC status in multiple states. 5. Generally accepted by the dslr community as a 'name' national ISP. 6. National advertising campaigns.
A Telco is placed in the "National ISP" category even though they are clearly regional, by virtue of their size.

Appearing in the charts. An ISP must receive 10 or more recent reviews to appear. For Regional table, an ISP must receive 5 or more recent reviews. Note: very short reviews from hit and run visitors may be deleted without warning.

Recent Reviews. Recent reviews are those with an age less than 120 days.

Weighting of scores. Scores are composite of all reviews received to date, with a much higher weighting given to recent reviews than older reviews. Additional factors such as the how frequent a site user the reviewer is, whether they emailed the review to us or registered at the site, are also taken into account when weighting scores.

6 LOCAL ISP MAP

Who can be listed on this map?

Short answer: Local ISPs.

Long answer: ISPs that truly have a local focus. An ISP that has just one administration office, and that mainly offers internet services within the community or region of that office.

I own/work for a local ISP. How do I get a pin on this map?

Remember: This map is created BY LOCAL ISPs, not by customers! If you want to show off your own connection, please pin yourself on the much larger, MEMBER/TECH map: http://www.dslreports.com/gmap/dslr.

However, if you ARE a local ISP, then read on: 1. You must be a member of the site. If you are not, please join (use the link in the top right corner of any page).

2. When you are a member, please use this ( http://www.dslreports.com/gmap/localisp?u1=1 ) link to add a pin that shows your business location. You will also be able to type a short description of your services, include a link to your webpage, business phone number, and so on.

Is there a Fee?

No, the service is free.

Why was my pin deleted?

We reserve the right to remove any pins without warning. In order to preserve the integrity of the map and the value of the data, we do check whether each new entry is a legitimate local ISP, is not duplicated, and is controlled by the ISP itself, rather than a single sales person within the ISP. Complaints from users about the quality of the data are also taken seriously, and may prompt removal of the pin.

Can we have more than one pin?

No, one pin for one ISP.

I see incorrect information - who do I tell?

We want to ensure the information presented on this map by ISPs is always correct. If you believe misleading or incorrect information has been entered, or a pin does not represent a local ISP, then please send a site instant message to Justin. Please include as much information as you think is necessary, especially the USERNAME of the owner of the pin in question. (the site username is included at the end of the "bubble").