Area Internet Service Providers

The following ISP vendors are available in this area:

There are, of course, additional vendors available nationwide. Some provide service free-of-charge. It is up to individual discretion to contract with the vendor you prefer.

How to get Fredonia e-mail when using a different Internet Service Provider:
You can use Outlook web access through your favorite browser or set up your e-mail client "out-going server" to your ISP’s server and leave your "incoming mail server" set to "postoffice.cc.fredonia.edu". Setup instructions are available here.

How to get to work files from home:
There are several options to consider when attempting to do work from home:

E-mail the file or document to yourself to open at home.
Copy the file or document to a floppy or zip disk.
The use of FTP (file transfer protocol) is possible when accessing files from certain servers, but may not be the optimal option when considering download time.
VPN (virtual private network) was just recently implemented between the College and SUNY Central for payroll and budget transactions, but further use has not been explored at this time.

What to look for in service:
What you need to look for depends upon your level of Internet and e-mail use.

If you have a family with several members hoping to use the service, you might want to sign up for more than one e-mail account.
If you plan to utilize the Internet a great deal, you may want unlimited service.
If you use a service from out of the area, you will want a local access number to avoid long distance charges.
If you plan to travel a great deal, you may want a toll-free number to access. Typical ISP service is eight users to one modem. You will want to verify the number of users per modem to ensure that busy signals are at a minimum.
If you plan to use the service at "peak times", such as weekday evenings, you will want to question the provider’s modem to user ratio. A fairly standard ratio that gives good service is 1 modem for 8 users.

How to forward home mail to Fredonia mail accounts, or vice versa:
It is possible to set up a forwarding mail procedure, although it is recommended that you consider the following points prior to setting up mail forwarding:

Forwarding mail adds one more point of failure into the mail delivery process.
You might prefer keeping ISP account mail separate from Fredonia mail.
If you were to forward your Fredonia mail to your ISP account you would need to request assistance from your ISP to resolve any difficulties.
In forwarding your Fredonia e-mail to your ISP you are then relying on Internet connection to receive all that mail, whereas receipt of Fredonia mail alone on campus is done without Internet connectivity.
When the "forward mail" process is set up, it only forwards mail from that time forward. All other mail prior to the forwarding remains with the original mail service.
Instructions on forwarding mail are available here.