G3 Internet Access Frequently Asked Questions

Which cities is your service available in?

Currently, we offer local access to all of Metropolitan Toronto and all of its surrounding regions.

What are the payment options available?

You can either pay by:

• Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard or American Express)
• Cash, cheque or Interac at our office, or
• Mailing us a cheque

Do you offer a guarantee, or free trial period?

We offer a 14 day money-back guarantee on all our plans. If you are not completely satisfied with our service within your first 14 days or first 40 hours online, we will refund your money, no questions asked.

What do I get with my Internet access account?

Not only will you gain access to the Internet for the number of hours that you choose per month, you will also receive one free e-mail account and 10 MB of free web space. You may take advantage of the personal web space by designing your own web pages and displaying them on our server free of charge.

Can I get an extra e-mail account?

Absolutely. We charge $5.00/month for each additional e-mail account. Remember that every plan comes with one free e-mail account.

How do I go about putting my web pages onto the Internet?

Read our instructions on how to publish your very own site.

Will you notify me in some way to let me know that my account is about to expire?

We will send you an e-mail message 10 days before your term ends to give you enough time to renew your Internet account with us and take advantage of any applicable specials that we might be offering at the time.

What are your office hours?

Phone service is available Mondays to Fridays from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM, and on Saturdays from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Our office is open Mondays to Fridays from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. All times are EST.

Which operating systems can I use with your Internet service?

We support Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0, 2000, ME, XP and Vista oprating systems. Linux and MacOS X or later will also work nicely, but will be on a no-support basis.

What is DSL?

DSL stands for Digital Subscriber Line because it involves transmitting data in digital form. DSL technology uses ordinary copper telephone wire -- the same wire already installed in hundreds of millions of homes and businesses throughout the world -- to transmit data at speeds of up to 8 Mbps. DSL is an "always-on" service, with no need to dial an external phone number for connectivity.

How fast is DSL Service? Is my speed guaranteed?

Really fast! DSL service can provides connection speeds that are over 50 times faster than a traditional dial-up connection.

However, connection speeds are not guaranteed and will depend on many factors such as the length and condition of the telephone wires connecting your house to your central office and general conditions on the Internet at any given time. Therefore, we offer a "best effort" service: no throughput guarantees, but we will always do our best to provide you with the fastest connection your specific conditions will allow.

Will I get busy signals?

You will never get busy signals, because there is no dialing involved. Once logged in, you are directly connected to the Internet via a dedicated connection used only by you.

Can I talk on the phone and be online at the same time?

Yes, you can do both on the same phone line. There's no need for an additional line for the DSL service.

Is my monthly telephone service included in the DSL charges?

No. An existing phone line from your phone company is required, but not included.

What should I do if I want to change phone companies?

Please contact us first. In most cases, we will need to cancel your existing service, but we may be able to place a new order for you with your new telephone carrier.

What should I do if I move, or want to change the phone number my DSL is installed on?

Please contact us first. We will need to place a new order for you in order to provide DSL service on your new phone number.

Is DSL available in my area?

You can use our online check availability feature to check to see if DSL is available in your area. Please note that DSL availability is line-specific; you may not have DSL available while your neighbours have, and vice versa.

Click to find Residential DSL Availability.
Click to find Business DSL Availability.

What kind of computer do I need to use DSL? What other equipment will I be needing?

You need a PC with:

• Pentium-based processor (or equivalent), 166 MHz or faster
• 32MB RAM
• working CD-ROM drive
• 100MB of available hard disk space
• Functional 10BaseT or better ethernet card

You also need a DSL modem. You may supply your own, or purchase one from us for $70, or rent one from us. If you are supplying your own modem, please make sure it is compliant with the G.DMT/G.992.1 standard.

For best quality we recommend installing one DSL filter per phone. Extra filters are available from us.

Do you offer "daytime" plans?

No, we do not offer daytime plans. We pride ourselves on the fact that you may dial up your Internet access account without restrictions, at any time you please. We would therefore not limit your Internet access to "daytime" where you would not be able to access the Internet at any other time.

Do you offer prepaid service?

No, we do not offer prepaid service. This type of service conflicts with our low pricing strategy. We are able to offer low cost Internet access services to our customers simply because we are able to predict, with great certainty, the present and future usage of the system by our users. By offering the "block time" plan, our rates would increase simply to accommodate the uncertainty posed by so many "prepaid" users.

Do you offer "post-pay" service?

We do not offer any packages where you are billed at the end of the month based on the total number of hours that you have spent on the system. Instead, our subscribers pay at the beginning of their terms for their Internet access and then, if by chance, they go over their allotted hours, we bill them for the extra hours. This appears to be the preferred method of payment as users know at the beginning of their months that they can comfortably surf the Net, having already paid for the access. There is less uncertainty and less worry about mounting hours.

Also, our members don't mind paying at the beginning of their predetermined terms (6 months or 12 months) of access to the system as it allows them to take advantage of any dial-up Internet access specials that we might be offering at the time.

How do I use G3's Internet Service?

You will need a modem-equipped computer to access our Internet service. We provide detailed setup instructions for setting up our Internet service on computers that run Microsoft Windows (95 or newer). For Linux computers we recommend following the PPP How-To, included with most distributions. For other computers, please refer to your documentation for details.

How can I know how much time I've spent online?

You can check it yourself by filling out the Account Usage Report request form at our web site. Immediately following your electronic submission, the system will generate a report and send it to your e-mail.

How will you bill me for any additional hours that I used?

At the end of your month, we will calculate the number of hours by which you exceeded your allotted amount of system time and we will send you an e-mail billing for that amount.

Can I upgrade my plan if I find that I need more hours?

Certainly. Simply contact our Customer Service. All you have to pay is the difference between your existing package and the new package for the remainder of the term.

Can I carry my unused hours over to the next month?

No, you cannot carry unused hours into the next month.

Will I get busy signals with your dial-up service?

For the vast majority of the time, you will not get busy signals. We are maintaining and shall continue to maintain one line per 8 users - one of the lowest user-to-modem ratios in the industry. We would not be doing our job if you could not access the dial-up Internet access account that you signed up for.

Will I be getting 56k connection speed all the time?

56k modems are capable of 56Kbps downloads; however, due to regulatory rules which restrict power output, current download speeds may be limited to 53Kbps.

Actual speeds may also vary depending on line conditions. Not everyone with a 56K modem will be able to 56K access due to limitations in the public phone systems. Our statistics shows users connect mostly at 45-52kbps.

Please also check your modem vendors home page for more information on limitations.