- When will my account
be ready to use?
- If you call
the office and sign up, or
stop by in person, your dial-up account will
be active that day. If you stop in,
we will give you a CD to set up your
computer. If you call us, we will mail
the software to you that day. If you sign up on-line, your account will
be active the next business day and we will mail the software to you at that time also.
(CD not compatible with Windows ® Vista or Macintosh.) DSL service will be installed within 10 working days.
- Do you have tech support?
- Yes, our local help desk
is available from 8 am to 6 pm Monday through
Friday . Our
help desk tries to answer all the calls
as they come in, but if all the techs are
currently on the phone helping other customers
your call will go to voice mail, please
leave a message and they will return
the call in the order it came in. If you
do not leave a message your call can not
be placed in line for the next available
technician. Our help desk number is 262-723-8324.
- Can I connect to AOL through your local access number?
- Yes, we can provide you
with instructions on using our service
to connect to AOL. However, if all you
are using AOL for is to gain access to
the Internet, you can have that directly
through us. It is redundant to use us to
connect to the Internet to go to AOL to
again connect to the Internet. The most
common reason to use our service to connect
to AOL is to be able to continue using
an AOL e-mail address. AOL discounts their
service for customers accessing them through
an Internet Service Provider (ISP).
- Can I use AOL Instant Messenger or any other instant messenger program with ElkNet?
- Yes. ElkNet Internet is
a full Internet Service Provider and any
Internet programs can be used with the
service.
- Can I use WebTV with your service?
- You can use ElkNet as a
local access number to connect to your
WebTV service. ElkNet's monthly
rate for this service is $9.95 and WebTV
discounts their service by $10.00. Your
user ID from ElkNet will only be used to
access WebTV. Your Internet access and
e-mail address will be through WebTV.
- Can I use my Mac computer with ElkNet?
- Yes. Unlike PC's however,
Mac computers all vary in how to set them
up to connect to the Internet.For this
reason, ElkNet can not provide you with
a set of instructions to set up your Mac
(except for the I-Mac). You will receive
your account information that you or a
Mac technician can use to set up your computer.
- Does ElkNet offer DSL or ISDN?
- Yes, Business and Residential DSL is available in most of the Elkhorn / Lauderdale Lakes area and requires local telephone service from State Long Distance Telephone Company. Please call for availability. ISDN is
offered where local telephone companies
are able to support the service.
- Can I pay for my account by credit card?
- Yes. You may make a payment
using VISA, MasterCard, American Express
or Discover by calling 262-723-1638.
- Can ElkNet be billed on my telephone bill?
- Yes, if you are an Elkhorn
resident, it will be an additional line
item on your monthly bill. If you live
outside of the local Elkhorn telephone
service area, a bill will be generated
through State Long Distance Telephone and
sent monthly.
- I live outside of Elkhorn. Is your service a local call?
- ElkNet offers several local or
EAS access numbers. Some
of these calls are free, others (EAS) may
have a nominal per call (NOT per minute)
charge of $.05-$.16 charged by your local
telephone company. Please see
our Access
Numbers page for a complete
listing of all the area exchanges we have
local access for.
- What will my e-mail address be with ElkNet?
- Your e-mail address will be your userid@elknet.net.
- Can I have more than one e-mail address
- Yes, one e-mail address comes with the account, additional e-mail addresses are available for $2 a month.
- Can I have my own web page at ElkNet?
- You receive 5 meg of free
web space with your ElkNet
account, which is enough space for
about 120 average size web pages. Additional
storage is available.
Call 262-723-1638 for more information
- What is DSL?
- DSL stands for Digital Subscriber Line. There are several DSL technologies available to provide DSL such as ADSL, RADSL, HDSL and VDSL. State Long Distance Telephone has chosen to use ADSL to deliver ElkNet DSL to our customers. ADSL stands for Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line. It provides faster information transfer than dial-up Internet connections and is an "always on" service.
- What does "Asynchronous mean?
- Asynchronous means that the download speed and the upload speed are not the same rate.
- How does ElkNet DSL work?
- State Long Distance delivers ElkNet DSL over your telephone line by combining ElkNet Internet and dial tone together using a Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM). Therefore, you must have local telephone service from State Long Distance Telephone Company.
A DSL splitter (or filter) is installed at your location to separate the DSL from the normal dial tone.
At the Network Interface Device (NID or Demarc) which is usually mounted outside your home, one inside wire is then extended to your DSL modem jack and the rest of the inside wiring is connected normally for dial tone.
- Where is it available?
- ElkNet DSL is available in the majority of the Elkhorn and Lauderdale Lakes area. However, there are a few exceptions and it depends on where you live in relation to the location of the telephone company DSL equipment (DSLAM).
- Why is distance an issue?
- ADSL is limited to around 18,000 feet from the telephone company DSL equipment (DSLAM). Due to this distance limitation and various other issues, not everyone will qualify for the higher rate plans. DSL is provided as a "best effort" service.
- Can I still use my telephone while on the Internet?
- Absolutely! ElkNet DSL does not interfere with normal telephone use.
- I think my computer already has a "modem" built in. Can I use that?
- No. The modem that is typically built into the computer is a dial-up modem. A DSL modem is completely different.
- How do I connect my computer to the DSL modem?
- The DSL modem provides an Ethernet interface to the computer. Your computer must have a Network Interface Card (NIC) to support this Ethernet connection. Sometimes this is also referred to as a Network Adapter.
Some computers have this built in without using a separate NIC and can usually be identified by locating a "telephone type" jack on the back of the computer. This jack is slightly larger than the standard telephone jack and is usually labeled "LAN" or "Network".
An Ethernet cable is supplied with the DSL modems ElkNet sells.
- I have more than one computer. Can I connect them all?
- Yes. ElkNet offers two types of DSL modems that have a router built in. The Comtrend CT-5621 provides (4) Ethernet ports to connect up to (4) computers simultaneously.
The Comtrend CT-536 provides (4) Ethernet ports along with wireless capability for laptop computers and other wireless computer devices.
- I want to provide my own DSL modem and router. Can I?
- Certainly. The SLDTC technician will provide and test the DSL to the wall jack you intend to use for DSL. You may then connect your own DSL modem and/or router. However, ElkNet technical support will then stop at the DSL jack.
- If I take the Power Link package, how long will it take to download a movie?
- It all depends on the length of the movie (size of the file to be downloaded), the site you are downloading from and the bandwidth available over the Internet to the site.
- I presently have an old plan. What will it cost to upgrade?
- Other than the increase in monthly fee, there is no additional cost to upgrade.
- What happens if I wish to downgrade my present plan?
- There is a $27 order charge (one-time) to downgrade your plan.
- What if I move from one apartment (or home) to another?
- There is a fee of $99.95 to move your DSL service from one address to another. If you signed up for the free one-time installation with a two year service commitment, there is no change in your contract length but the $99.95 installation fee will apply for a move. If you have completed your two year service commitment and wish to move, you will qualify for another free one-time installation with a new two year service commitment.
- Will it cost anything to move my computer to another room?
- That depends. To provide the best possible DSL performance to your home or business, the State Long Distance Telephone technician will usually install a Category 5 (CAT-5) wire from the outside Network Interface box to the DSL modem jack inside your home or business. This one-time installation is included free if you sign up for a two year DSL service commitment with ElkNet.
If you decide to relocate your DSL modem to another location in your home or business, this will be charged on a time and material basis at the current SLD Services, Ltd. rates.
An alternative method to relocating your computer within your home is to leave your DSL modem at its present location and simply install a wireless Ethernet adapter in your computer. A wireless DSL modem or router would be required.
- Why do I get an
error message when trying to retrieve
mail using Outlook Express?
- You may get an error message that the "Server
127.0.0.1 cannot be found" when trying
to collect mail using Outlook Express.
This will only happen if Norton Anti-Virus
has been installed on the machine with
the option of checking incoming e-mail
for viruses turned on.
Norton AV changes the incoming mail server name to 127.0.0.1
so that it can check the incoming mail for viruses. This sometimes
fails. This is NOT an Elknet-caused error; but, rather, an
error in the Norton Anti-Virus software. The Norton website
(www.symantec.com) says
to exit Outlook Express, disconnect from ElkNet, restart the
computer, and try again. This may or may not work. The only "solution" ElkNet
can offer is to put our server names back into the Outlook
Express settings. This will allow you to collect your mail,
BUT IT WILL DISABLE THE ANTI-VIRUS PROTECTION. Notice the caps.
This is not a real solution -- it is a work-around that will
allow you to get your mail, but it will open up your computer
to viruses that are transmitted by e-mail. In other words,
it totally defeats the purpose of having Norton Anti-Virus.
You will need to contact the Norton Anti-Virus people for a
real solution
- Why do I have
unexpected disconnects and/or slow
connections?
- There is a lot of real good information
available on this subject at www.elknet.net/support/troubleshooting/index.html .
It is best to check that over before calling
technical support for help. Many of the
answers are available there. ElkNet only
disconnects you under two circumstances:
either 1) more than one person is logged
on at the same time using your user ID,
or 2) You have been connected and sitting
IDLE for 45 minutes. Sitting IDLE means
NO information has been passed back and
forth between you and ElkNet For example:
you get up and walk away from your computer
while you are connected.
- Does ElkNet filter e-mail?
- Whether you are for it or against it,
ElkNet does do some filtering of incoming
e-mail. Mostly, we are trying to protect
you from well-known viruses and from SPAM
(unwanted junk mail). Although ElkNet does
try to filter out viruses, it is ultimately
your responsibility to protect your own
machine from viruses. It is best to have
a good virus protection program in use
on your machine.
- How well will an anti-virus program protect my computer?
- Any virus protection program (such as
Norton or McAffee) can only protect you
from viruses that they know about. Therefore,
it is very important that you keep your
virus protection program up-to-date. The
information that came with the program
will tell you how to update it. You will
usually need to download virus definitions
from their website.
- How can I avoid Spam (unsolicited or junk e-mail)?
- ElkNet cannot possibly protect everyone
from Spam. We do our best by filtering
out messages with known headers that are
Spam related. If you have clicked on something
and gotten yourself on a mailing list,
it is up to you to remove yourself. You
will usually find instructions at the bottom
of that kind of e-mail that will tell you
how to "Unsubscribe". It often
involves replying to the message with the
word "unsubscribe" in the subject
line, or going to a web site to click on
something that will unsubscribe you. You
must be careful to follow their directions
perfectly. They usually have a computer
watching for the unsubscribe requests,
not people. Computers cannot see what you
MEAN, only what you actually DO. If you
don't do it right, the computer won't unsubscribe
you.
NOTE: Some Spammers actually want you to answer back with an
'unsubscribe' request so that they can verify they are getting
through to a valid e-mail address. This means if you reply
back at all to a spam message (even to request removal) chances
are you will get even more unwanted messages because you have
just validated your e-mail address.
- Why can't I successfully send or receive an E-mail attachment?
- Check the size of the item your are trying
to transfer. E-mail was never intended
to be used to transfer larger computer
files: E-mail was originally intended as
an informal and quick way to send a brief
message to someone. It has somehow evolved
and now people use it to transfer files
of larger size (such as photos, cartoons,
programs, etc.) This can cause problems,
usually on the recipient's end. Larger
sized e-mails do not "like" to
download. E-mail servers quite often have
timers on them. If the message is not delivered
to the recipient within "x" seconds
of starting it, the delivery will be timed
out. Problems ensue from there. Larger
files should be transferred by other means.
The popular chat program ICQ has a good
file transfer system. Some websites such
as Yahoo have areas where you can put a
file and someone else can retrieve it later.
These should be used to transfer larger
files.
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