Communications Account Types

Part-Time Human-Use Accounts

A part-time human use account allows access via modem and via telnet/rlogin across the Internet for email, web browsing, and other activities by humans.

We use the term 'human-use' to distinguish these accounts from UUCP accounts, which involve unattended automated transfer of data.

For UUCP service please see our separate UUCP rate chart.

If you wish to remain connected 24 hours a day, please consult our dedicated dial-up service information.

We also provide dedicated Internet connectivity via Frame Relay at speeds from 56 kbps to full T1. Please consult our Frame Relay information.

Please read our Terms of Service.

Picking the Right Account Type

1. Is your budget very limited?
2. Are you likely to be a very light user?
3. Are you or are your friends technically knowledgeable?

If you need an account solely to set up a web site, please take a look at our WEB-ONLY account type. It's intended to give you just the services you need for a web site, and includes a generous allocation of web hits, at a very low price.

If you wish to provide access to a group of people, consider our BUSINESS CLASS package, which lets each person have a separate account, but cost per user can be as low as $4 per month for light use.

To help choose your account type, you might want to look at descriptions of features offered with various account types, or look at a chart that summarizes all available account types.

When you've decided on an account type, proceed to the Sign-Up Form.

Free Trial Accounts

Premium

• This is our most comprehensive, feature-laden offering. It's ideal for power users, heavy-duty UNIX users, heavy dial-up IP users, and others with demanding needs. It's also perfect for the technical novice for whom time is money and who wants the best, most responsive customer service that money can buy.
• $30 sign-up fee and $45/month, includes 240 hours/month modem time. Additional modem time is billed at $0.20/hour up to a maximum additional usage charge of $50. (Total $95/month if you remain connected 24 hours/day.)
• No limit on connect time via telnet/rlogin, but active concurrent sessions must originate from the same host.
• Includes dial-up IP with dynamic IP address, which may be changed to a static IP address at any time for a one-time $5 fee.
• Includes UNIX shell access. User may set up .rhosts file to allow password-less rlogin from outside hosts.
• Incoming mail may be forwarded with .forward file and/or filtered via procmail and other mail filtering software.
• Mail delivery via SMTP is supported. Requires static IP address. One-time set-up fee of $15.
• Anonymous ftp directory and web directory are provided upon request. Cgi-bin executions are supported. Direct domain (http://www.example.com/) is supported at additional cost for one custom domain.
• Custom domain for email is supported. Customized mail forwarding entries are supported. Customized DNS entries for your domain, e.g., offsite MX and A records and other user-specified entries, are added upon request. Multiple custom domains may be used for receiving mail.
• Priority customer service is provided that is intended to be the best customer service available at any price. Problem reports are promptly processed at high priority. Problems at the user's end are addressed in cooperation with user. All customer service is provided to a single contact person. If customer services is needed to support more than one person, this may be provided by upgrading the account to include multiuser support, for a $15/month fee. Multiuser support is suitable especially for businesses, where the account user is not the one paying the bills, and we may need to be in contact with two or more different parties. It is also suitable for users who hire a consultant to set up their web site, if the consultant needs any direct support from us and is unable to rely solely on our online documentation.
• 90 M disk space is included; additional at $0.50/month per meg. User's directories will be on filesystems that are periodically backed up. Restores from tape backups, where available, may be done on user request for $35 per tape.
• Additional fixed amounts of disk space is available at a low flat fee, depending on availability and user's long-term requirements. Inquire.
• Cron and background jobs are permitted.
• Long-running background jobs, such as MUDs, irc servers, and database servers, are supported -- an additional fee may apply.
• Upon specific request, boot-time auto-restart of user's long-running daemons is supported.

Advanced

• Power-users who don't need the full capabilities of the PREMIUM account type can save money by opting for an ADVANCED account.
• $25 sign-up fee and $30/month, includes 150 hours/month modem time. If greater modem usage is observed, customer will be asked to upgrade subscription level.
• No limit on connect time via telnet/rlogin, but active concurrent sessions must originate from the same host.
• Includes dial-up IP with dynamic IP address.
• Includes UNIX shell access. User may set up .rhosts file to allow password-less rlogin from outside hosts.
• Incoming mail may be forwarded with .forward file and/or filtered via procmail and other mail filtering software.
• Anonymous ftp directory and web directory are provided upon request. Cgi-bin executions are supported. Direct domain (http://www.example.com/) is supported at additional cost for one custom domain.
• Custom domain for email is supported. Customized mail forwarding entries are supported. Simple domain handling is supported. Nameserver entries such as A and MX records must refer to local hosts and accounts only. Multiple custom domains may be used for receiving mail.
• Excellent customer service is provided. Problem reports about problems at a2i are promptly processed. Limited assistance is provided to solve problems even when they are in the customer's machine. All customer service is provided to a single contact person. If customer services is needed to support more than one person, this may be provided by upgrading the account to include multiuser support, for a $15/month fee. Multiuser support is suitable especially for businesses, where the account user is not the one paying the bills, and we may need to be in contact with two or more different parties. It is also suitable for users who hire a consultant to set up their web site, if the consultant needs any direct support from us and is unable to rely solely on our online documentation.
• 60 M disk space is included. User's directories will be on filesystems that are periodically backed up. Restores from tape backups, where available, may be done on user request for $75 per tape.
• Cron and background jobs are permitted.

Economy

• Only a minority of users will need the full power of ADVANCED and PREMIUM accounts. Many users wishing to access the Internet can fulfill their needs at a lower cost, without noticeably sacrificing functionality, by opting for an ECONOMY account. Be sure you are either a technically knowledgeable user or can rely on friends and coworkers to help you configure your software.
• $20 sign-up fee and $25/month, includes 60 hours modem time. If greater modem usage is observed, customer will be asked to upgrade subscription level.
• No limit on connect time via telnet/rlogin, but active concurrent sessions must originate from the same host.
• Includes dial-up IP with dynamic IP address.
• Includes UNIX shell access.
• Incoming mail may be forwarded with .forward file and/or filtered via procmail and other mail filtering software.
• Anonymous ftp directory and web directory are provided upon request. No cgi-bin executions are supported.
• Basic custom domain is supported at additional cost. All mail is delivered into user's account. No special domain entries or mail forwarding entries are supported. Account is limited to one custom domain.
• Specific problem reports, pointing out a problem at a2i, are accepted. Most other customer service requests are answered by referring user to standard documentation. All customer service is provided to a single contact person. There is a $15 fee if account ownership is transferred to a new person who needs customer service.
• 20 M disk space is included. No assurance of disk backups, except for incoming mailbox.
• During UNIX logins, operating system resources are limited to be suitable for lightweight use (mail, Usenet news) for long sessions. Short-term resource-intensive use (e.g. compiling programs) is permitted.

Budget

• The BUDGET account type is an excellent choice for light Internet use and basic access without the expense of extras that you don't need. Be sure you are either a technically knowledgeable user or can rely on friends and coworkers to help you configure your software.
• $15 sign-up fee and $20/month, includes 30 hours/month modem time. If greater modem usage is observed, customer will be asked to upgrade subscription level.
• No limit on connect time via telnet/rlogin, but active concurrent sessions must originate from the same host.
• Includes dial-up IP with dynamic IP address.
• Includes UNIX shell access.
• Incoming mail may be forwarded with .forward file and/or filtered via procmail and other mail filtering software.
• Specific problem reports, pointing out a problem at a2i, are accepted. Most other customer service requests are answered by referring user to standard documentation. All customer service is provided to a single contact person. There is a $15 fee if account ownership is transferred to a new person who needs customer service.
• 10 M disk space is included. No assurance of disk backups, except for incoming mailbox.
• During UNIX logins, operating system resources are limited to be suitable for lightweight use (mail, Usenet news) for long sessions. Short-term resource-intensive use (e.g. compiling programs) is permitted.

Drop-In

• This account type is for the truly budget-conscious user who expects to make very light use of the account. Although there are very few extras included with this account type, it does include basic dial-up IP access, and also includes UNIX shell access -- a true bargain at only $5 per month. Be sure you are either a technically knowledgeable user or can rely on friends and coworkers to help you configure your software.
• $10 sign-up fee and $5/month, includes 5 hours/month modem time. If greater modem usage is observed, customer will be asked to upgrade subscription level.
• Includes 5 hours/month telnet/rlogin time. If greater telnet/rlogin usage is observed, customer will be asked to upgrade subscription level.
• Includes dial-up IP with dynamic IP address.
• Includes UNIX shell access.
• Incoming mail may be forwarded with .forward file to remote addresses. Mail filtering via programs such as procmail is not supported.
• Specific problem reports, pointing out a problem at a2i, are accepted. Most other customer service requests are answered by referring user to standard documentation. All customer service is provided to a single contact person. There is a $15 fee if account ownership is transferred to a new person who needs customer service.
• Size of incoming mailbox is limited to 1 megabyte
• 1 M disk space is included. No assurance of disk backups, except for incoming mailbox.
• During UNIX logins, operating system resources are limited to be suitable for lightweight use (mail, Usenet news) for long sessions. Short-term resource-intensive use (e.g. compiling programs) is permitted.

Web-Only

• This is a special account type designed to meet the needs of users whose primary objective is to create a web site economically. Be sure you are either a technically knowledgeable user or can rely on friends and coworkers to help you configure your software and web pages. IDEAL FOR WEB RESELLERS.
• $15 sign-up fee and $15/month, includes 5 hours/month modem time. If greater modem usage is observed, customer will be asked to switch to an appropriate subscription type.
• Includes 5 hours/month telnet/rlogin time. If greater telnet/rlogin usage is observed, customer will be asked to switch to an appropriate subscription type.
• Includes UNIX shell access but not dial-up IP access.
• Incoming mail, if received, must be forwarded with .forward file to a remote addresses. Delivery into a local mailbox is not supported. Mail filtering via programs such as procmail is not supported.
• Ftp and web service are included. Cgi-bin executions are supported. Direct domain (http://www.example.com/) is supported at additional cost, for one custom domain only.
• Mail forwarding is supported for one custom domain provided a direct domain (http://www.example.com/) has been established for that domain.
• Specific problem reports, pointing out a problem at a2i, are accepted. Most other customer service requests are answered by referring user to standard documentation. All customer service is provided to a single contact person. There is a $15 fee if account ownership is transferred to a new person who needs customer service.
• 30 M disk space is included. No assurance of disk backups.
• During UNIX logins, operating system resources are limited to be suitable for lightweight use (mail, Usenet news) for long sessions. Short-term resource-intensive use (e.g. compiling programs) is permitted.

Business Class Package

• This is a package that must include at least two accounts.
• First account must be a PREMIUM account. This is the key account that will be used for all billing. The login name of this account cannot be changed so it should be picked carefully.
• Additional accounts may be of any type or combination of types.
• There is a one-time $50 fee to set up a BUSINESS CLASS package, in addition to the sign-up fee for each account.
• Subsequently, additional accounts may be added to the package at any time for $5 per account, in addition to any sign-up fee for the account.
• Key account and two more highest-priced accounts are billed at normal rates. Monthly fee for each additional account is billed at 50% discount. (E.g., each DROP IN account that is part of the package is billed at $2.50 per month; each BUDGET account that is part of the package is billed at $10.00 per month; and so on.) NOTE: The 50% discount does not apply to WEB-ONLY accounts and POP mailboxes.
• All modem usage limits for all accounts in a BUSINESS CLASS package, except for DROP-IN accounts, are combined together. Thus individual usage limits disappear and only the total is counted. (DROP-IN accounts are still subject to their individual limits.)
• All users whose accounts are part of a BUSINESS CLASS package are provided with priority customer service under the following conditions. Customer shall designate one primary site admin at customer site who has responsibility for configuring users' machines, and one alternate backup site admin. Priority customer service is provided to all users in cooperation with designated site admins. All customer service request musts be initiated by the primary or alternate site admin. There is a $15 fee if primary or alternate site admins are changed. Optional multiuser support is available for a $15/month fee. This allows any user of any of the accounts in a business class package to initiate a customer service request. However, support is still provided primarily in cooperation with the primary or backup site admin. Multiuser support is suitable especially for businesses, where the account user is not the one paying the bills, and we may need to be in contact with two or more different parties. It is also suitable for users who hire a consultant to set up their web site, if the consultant needs any direct support from us and is unable to rely solely on our online documentation.
• All users whose accounts are part of a BUSINESS CLASS package may receive mail in any custom domain that has been set up for any qualifying account that is part of the package.
• The business class package is suitable for businesses that wish to provide Internet access to a number of employees. It is especially economical if most employees will use their accounts lightly. In such cases most accounts can be DROP-IN accounts; at the 50% discount, each such account costs as little as $2.50 per month. Thus, for example, consider a 15-person company that opts for a BUSINESS CLASS package with one premium account and 14 DROP IN accounts. The total monthly charge for this entire 15-person package, including a distinct account for each person, would be only $90, which averages to only $4 per user.

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