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From...
Log-in glitches anger ISP users
September 23, 1998
Web posted at 2:35 PM EDT
by Nancy Weil
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(IDG) -- Slow log-in times, too many busy signals and high costs are the bane of those who subscribe to Internet service providers (ISPs), according to a new study which found fairly high levels of satisfaction despite complaints about connectivity and expense.
World Research received online surveys from 3,590 respondents, mostly in the U.S., and found that, on a five-point scale, the rate of satisfaction among those ISP users is 3.1.
When America Online, CompuServe, Prodigy and Microsoft's MSN network were tossed out of the mix, the satisfaction level rose to 3.3, indicating that users aren't terribly happy with the larger ISPs. AOL users in particular have complained of connectivity problems in past surveys and the company had a series of network problems last year that caused outages.
Among those surveyed, 16 percent plan to change ISPs within the next six months -- a figure researchers expected would be higher. "We were very surprised," said Katherine Chalmers, World Research director of marketing and corporate communications. "We thought people would be less satisfied than they were."
Of those surveyed, 84 percent log on at home, where connectivity problems were the top complaint.