Frequently Asked Questions
Q Why should I use Gemsoft?
A Gemsoft can hold its own
against very large well established ISP's by providing a superior service, from a local
company, often at a lower price.
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Q The
size of your connections seems small. They must be slower than those bragging of 45Mb
connections.
A Size is irrelevant. Its
how busy the circuits are that matters. Consider our circuits to be a straight A class
road with little traffic against the M25 at busy times. On which road will you travel the
fastest?
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Q Does Gemsoft have its own
international circuits?
A No. At present we believe
we get a superior service by buying capacity from our providers. International circuits
are more expensive and we couldn't afford more than one to the USA. We can benefit from
several international circuits this way. At some point the balance will swing over but not
for some time.
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Q How can you be faster than the
well known ISP's?
A By connecting to two
ISP's we get the best of each provider. Some providers may have a good connection to
France but not Germany. Another may have a good connection to Germany but not Sweden. Our
data will normally take the best path and should one provider have problems our data
automatically switches to the other. This makes us faster and more reliable than a single
provider.
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Q Sorry,
I can't believe you are better than the large ISP's. How can you substantiate the claim?
A Easy. Customers joining
us from other ISP's all comment on how much faster we are. If that isn't enough Internet
Magazine run extensive tests on over 100 ISP's dialing in around 100 times each month and
timing how long it takes to download data from various parts of the world. In October 98
we came 4th.
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Q What is your user to modem ratio.
A It constantly changes. As
soon as peak usage exceeds 75% of current lines more are ordered. No customer has ever
received an engaged tone.
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Q Is
Gemsoft really an ISP? Many companies are now claiming to be an ISP simply by selling
someone else's services.
A We really are an ISP. The
equipment that handles the calls, stores your mail, and transmits your data around the UK
is all ours. We have equipment in Manchester, Sheffield, and Telehouse in London.
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Q Why don't you
use cable lines so cable customers get cheaper calls?
A We do. Just ask for the
direct cable number to benefit.
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Q My connection speed is
only 42k. I thought you offered 56k?
A The maximum speed is
limited by the quality of your line. BT lines usually get between 42-46k. Cable customers
anywhere in the UK usually get 46-50k. We've even had the occasional 56k connection.
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Q I occasionally get
disconnected. What's the problem?
AYou must be using a 56k
modem. Unfortunately 56k technology is new and still improving. Updating your modem BIOS
flashing) to the latest version may help. Since we support K56Flex and v90 try both. Your
modem may well work better with one. There are tricks that reduce the connection speed to
33,600 which is almost 100% reliable although slower.
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Q Is ISDN worth it?
A If you use the Internet a
reasonable amount then yes. It connects fast, downloads data fast, and is almost 100%
reliable. Not least the latency is much lower than analogue modems which makes it seem
even faster.
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Q I receive quite a bit of SPAM. What
can I do?
A Not much. If you post to
newsgroups use a false email address. Don't fill in guest books and make sure you specify
not to receive unsolicited email on any forms you complete. Gemsoft already use some
measures to prevent SPAM but they can never eliminate it, merely reduce it.
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Q What do you think to the free ISP's
setting up?
A They have an interesting
approach. I think its great because they will encourage many new users to start using the
Internet that otherwise wouldn't. When these users have learnt the basics they will want,
and be prepared to pay for, a faster more reliable service. This is already happening. The
chances of the free services getting anywhere close to Gemsoft is slim. Although not
always true, you do generally get what you pay for. Using a free ISP will increase your
phone bill by taking longer to download. In addition it will be more frustrating. The
largest of the free ISP's also charge £1.00 per MINUTE for telephone technical support.
Factor that in and our charge of £12.99 per month starts to sound like a bargain.
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Q Do I get any free web space
A Yes you get 25Mbs of free web space. The
web address would take the form of HTTP://www.username.gemsoft.co.uk
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Q Can I use front-page
server extensions on my free web space.
AYes you can use
front-page server extensions, but this must done as the free webspace is being setup. The
default web setup is FTP so please make sure you ask for front-page server extensions when
initially ordering your webspace. If you do want to change over to front-page server
extensions a small charge of £10 will be made.
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Q Do you
support V.90 or 56K flex.
AWe support both. Some modems work
better at v90 than K56Flex and vice versa. Try both methods then pick the best.
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Q How can I stop nuisance email
AYour first step would be to setup
a rule in your e-mail software which would stop the e-mail from being seen by you,
effectively deleting it as it arrives, your second step could be to check the
header of the message and send an e-mail complaint to the originators ISP. E.G.
Abuse@isp.net
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Q Do you have an acceptable use policy
A Yes we do have an acceptable use policy, please remember
it is up to the user to make sure he/she keeps up to date with all changes that take place
with this policy.
Gemsoft.net acceptable use policy
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