I am so glad that my days of dealing with access numbers are long behind me. I have cable Internet service now, so I don’t have to worry about finding a number to connect to the Internet. My connection is always on, and there is no waiting for a number to connect and I know I won’t be bumped if the traffic is too high. I have friends who still have dial up and they complain all the time. Sadly for them, cable internet is not available everywhere, even near some of the larger cities.
I have a friend who lives ten minutes outside of Indianapolis that cannot get anything other than dial up service. She even says that though the access numbers usually work rather well, it is a huge inconvenience for her family. There are seven people in her home, and the Internet has to tie up the phone line. Some times she has had no troubles finding access numbers, only to have to get off for someone to use the phone. Ten minutes later the access numbers are no longer free. There are days when she can’t get on at all. You would think living so close to a large city would guarantee that she can get on, or that she could get cable Internet, but that just is not the case.
All dial up servers have their own unique access numbers. If you can’t get cable Internet, or you can’t afford it, you want to find the company that has the most access numbers in your area. Though someone might offer you a good deal on your service, it won’t do you any good if you can’t get through to any of the numbers. I had dial up for a while, and though AOL had great access numbers, it still was too hit and miss for me. I work online, so that was just not acceptable.
If you are having problems with your access numbers, you may have to move to a new provider, or see if you can get cable or DSL Internet service. Some companies have more access numbers than others, though it may not be the larger providers that will work the best for you. You may want to find out what others in your town use, and which ones they say are the best. You can usually find this information online through user reviews.