>Al,
>
>I have setup an account for my parents with pro-usa.net. It has been working quite well. They seem to provide the same quality/type of service as their previous well known ISP. They provide pop/smtp mail services, and I have been able to hit my pop mail server from their pc. No special software was required, and they are supposed to recieve a survey via email periodically. Haven't seen one yet. Don't know if they provide local access #'s outside the US.
>Hope this helps.
>
>Regards,
>-Isaac

Thanks, Isaac, it appears they *do* have a Vancouver access number. It seems there are quite a few choices available for "free" service!


>

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>>I have a friend who is thinking of switching from a dial-up ISP to cable modem. This would be perfect for her home office, but she still needs occasional dial-up access from another office. This really is very occasional, and will be primarily for checking e-mail on the cable modem ISP's account(s).
>>
>>I was thinking of setting up one of the "free" ISPs (AltaVista, Yahoo! etc.) at the secondary office, and giving it a test. If anyone has had any experience with these ISPs could you please comment:
>>
>>1. Do you need special access software, and does that interfere with any other preconfigured dial-up access with other ISPs?
>>
>>2. Can you access e-mail accounts other than those of the free ISP?
>>
>>3. Realistically, can you get a connection at the local access number(s)?
>>
>>4. Any other limitations/restrictions/gotchas/comments?
>>
>>TIA.