ICI General Information

Categories:

Services
Software
Hardware, Troubleshooting & Performance
Usage Policies
Billing
Technical Information

Services

Who is Surf-ICI?
Surf-ICI is a full service Internet Service Provider (ISP) located in  Indianapolis Indiana.  We officially came online in April 1995.

What services does ICI offer?
ICI offers, 56k dialup, ISDN 128k dialup, and many ISDN services for small to large businesses.  We also offer web hosting, design, and domain name registration.  See our Services page for more details as well as pricing.

Where is ICI located?
ICI has offices on the west side  Indianapolis, IN near the Airport.  The address is 2346 S. Lynhrust Drive, Suite C-101, Indianapolis, IN  46241

What areas does ICI serve?
We have dialup numbers throughout the United States.  For a list of numbers, check out our National 56K Modem Dial-Up Accounts page

Is "800" toll-free traveler access available?
1-800 access is not currently available, however you can use one of our national Points Of Presence at more than 3,500 locations across the USA.

How can I check my e-mail from work or from a friend's house?
Use our Web Mail service to send and receive your e-mail from school, work, etc.

How much web space do I get?
WWW space is not included in dialup accounts.  For information about WWW space, please check out our WWW Site Design and Hosting page.

What are the hours for technical support?
Our phones are open Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm excluding holidays.  E-mail Support.

Can I use AOL through your service?
Although we are not AOL nor do we resell their product, you can use ICI as a gateway to AOL so you can access our quality modem banks and still get AOL content.  Please ask AOL for information on their "Bring Your Own Access" plans.

How do I get another e-mail account?
Additional e-mail accounts cost $5 per month and can be set up anytime.  Also, don't forget that you can get free web-based e-mail services such as Yahoo, Hotmail, MailCity, etc.  Please check out our SPAM and Virus Filtered E-Mail Accounts page.

What if I already have another Internet Provider?
It is possible in Windows 9x and NT to use multiple dial-up providers, as long as you use the settings for each one.

How can I protect my children?
As most of us know, the Internet is a medium for pornography, and as an Internet Service Provider, ICI cannot do anything to censor or otherwise block offensive material that your children may accidentally or intentionally come across without our Family Friendly Filtering option that can be added to our dialup service.   We can only recommend the only tried and true method of keeping your children from going bad places -- supervise their use, and if necessary, purchase some software that can block such material.  Just like a large bookstore, the World Wide Web has some controversial contents, so we recommend you keep children off the computer or keep them supervised.

What does ICI do about spam and junk e-mail?
Our usage policies prohibit any kind of transmission of unsolicited e-mails through our network.  We will immediately terminate the account of any member who violates these conditions and we will charge a significant fine if this activity is discovered.  To report abusive e-mail customers, please send a message to abuse@surf-ici.com and the matter will promptly be dealt with.  As well as prohibiting members from sending spam, we also have a SPAM Filter  in place that blocks spam and most commercial e-mail that enters Surf- ICI's network.  It does a very good job at filtering the junk and letting the good stuff come through.  We also make every attempt to contact remote system administrators to let them know if their systems are being misused for the purpose of UCE (Unsolicited Commercial E-mail).  You may also report spam to http://www.spamcop.net .

What about confidentiality?
We never have, and never will share any customer information, such as phone numbers, addresses, or e-mail addresses with any other third party.  All information is kept in strict confidence.

Does ICI sell Dedicated Leased Line services (T1, fractional T1, frame relay, etc)?
The only dedicated services we sell are High Speed Wireless for Businesses and 128K ISDN Access.

Can I trial evaluate the service?
Yes.  Call us and you can sign up for a one-week no-obligation evaluation of our dial-up services.  An e-mail account is not included in the trial.

Does ICI offer Unix shell accounts?
No

Software

What operating system do I need?
We provide technical support for Windows 95, 98, NT, and Macintosh.  Other operating systems such as Windows 3.1, Linux, WebTV, and game consoles can also work with our service, but we can only provide you with standard information such as phone numbers and servers, as we do not give technical support for these products.

Should I be concerned about viruses when using the Internet?
Of course.  One thing you should always know is that a virus will not cause any damage unless you willfully activate it.  ICI is not responsible for anything that happens to your computer.   ICI simply acts as an "on-ramp" to the Internet, as an analogy, you cannot make a state responsible for shattered glass and nails on an exit ramp if you get a flat tire.  However, we do use a network virus scanning technology to help prevent viruses from entering your e-mail account.  If someone does send you a virus and we intercept it, you and the sender will be notified immediately, as well as our administrator.

Hardware, Troubleshooting & Performance

I can't connect at 56K like this modem says!
Many phone lines are not good enough to handle near-56K conditions, so don't feel like you were ripped off.  Also, most of ICI's 56k users get average connect speeds in the 40-50kbps range, with a few above 50k and a few below 40k.  It all depends on your phone line.

I can't log on!
Check the Windows FAQs for problem-specific information.  If the problem does not lie in your computer, it may be a billing-related problem--call us.

I keep getting disconnected from ICI.
The biggest problem that causes connections to die is Call Waiting on your phone line.   Disable call waiting by inserting *70 before the phone number in your Windows Dial-Up Networking (see our Windows 95/98 FAQ).  Also, noise on your phone line can also kill your connection.  Another thing is when someone picks up a phone that is on the same line as your modem, you will also most likely get knocked offline.  If nothing else, it might be a phone company problem or weather conditions.  SEE NEXT QUESTION!

I am getting disconnected while writing e-mail or after a certain period of time.
ICI has a 30 minute idle limit to prevent people from falling asleep at the keyboard!   If there is no traffic detected on your connection, our software will boot you because you are taking up important resources when you aren't active.  When you write your e-mail, occasionally wander back and forth between your message and some web sites to put traffic on your Internet connection.  Also, some e-mail clients let you read and reply to messages off-line, so that is something you may want to look in to.  Also, ICI has a 4 HOUR session limit.  This means you can stay online for four hours at a time.  Just to reiterate, this is NOT 4 hours per day, you can fit six 4-hour sessions into a 24-hour day.  This 4 hour limit is to kick people off that simply need to get off their computer, or "camping" users who may just have some program that is keeping the 15 minute idle limit from taking effect.  This usually does not affect file downloads.

What type of modem do I need?
56K is the only type of dialup modem you can buy these days..

What if my hard drive crashes?
Please back up your bookmarks and important files as often as necessary.  We cannot be responsible for malicious programs or viruses that you may download from the Internet and destroy your computer.  Preparation is very important, and if your hard drive crashes, you may lose everything.  If it ever happens to you, we can always help you set things back up again.  Also you should copy down our phone numbers and settings that you will find on the main Technical Support page and keep this information filed away in case you ever need to fix things.

Usage Policies

How long can I stay logged on?
You can stay logged on for up to 4 hours at a time.  After your 4 hour limit you can re-log in as much as you would like.

How long can I be idle?
30 minutes.  If no traffic is detected for 30 minutes, your connection is terminated, but you can re-connect.

Can I change my username and/or e-mail address?
Yes.  However, we prefer that you keep both your username and your e-mail address the same.  You will need to call our Technical Support Staff at 317-243-7888 so that we may change your information on our servers.  We can also help you change the information within your programs to reflect the changes.

How do I change my password?
You must call us over the phone to change your password.  The changes will take effect to both your log-in dial-up account as well as your e-mail password.   We do not have an online password change feature.

What am I allowed to put in my web space?
Commercial or business-related material is not allowed for personal pages.  Pirated software, or cracking utilities or similar content is not allowed.  Nude or pornographic images are prohibited and we have no tolerance for them!

Can I give my username and password to my friends so they can log on too?
This is strictly against our policies and may result in termination of account.  Your username and password will only allow your account to be logged in once so giving this information out would result in being locked out of the system while others use your account.

Am I allowed to send commercial e-mail?
As long as you are not sending unsolicited commercial e-mail, you are within the proper boundaries.  This means you are not allowed to send commercial advertisements or promotions without your recipient's prior consent.  Spamming is prohibited and will not be tolerated.

How do I cancel?
Cancellation notice is required in writing, e-mail, or on the telephone.   Please know your username, password, and address.

Billing

How do I pay for service?
Most people pay by check.  We also accept VISA and MASTERCARD and  debit/check cards.  Money orders are acceptableas well.

Can I send cash?
Never send cash through the postal service.  You may bring cash payments to our Indianapolis Office.

Do I have to pre-pay in advance?
Pre-payment is not required before you can start a new account. Once an account is started, you will receive your first bill in the mail.

When does the billing period start?
You are invoiced or charged on the anniversary of your sign-up date.

What happens if I don't pay?
What, did you think it doesn't cost anything to run an Internet service?   No, actually, your account is disconnected until your outstanding balance is paid.  Your e-mail account will be disabled and your mailbox will stop receiving e-mail.  After 3 months of not receiving payment, your account will be turned over to a collection agency.  No one wants that to happen, so always be paid up!

If I am going on vacation for awhile and don't want to be billed for it, what do I do?
Please either give written notice or a telephone call.  Your account will be put on "frozen" status which will mean you will not be able to log on, but e-mail will continue to accumulate in your mailbox.  You are not billed when you are in frozen status.  If you forgot to notify us and you received a bill for unused time, we can check our logs to see if you truly did not access your account at that time and give you fair credit.

Can I have ICI bill me via my phone bill?
No

How do I send in my payment?
Please make checks payable to Surf-ICI.  ALWAYS indicate your UserID in the memo section of your check, and KEEP YOUR INVOICE for future reference.  Your invoice serves no purpose to us other than the time it is sent to the post office to be mailed to you -- it is yours and yours to keep.  Send your payment to:

Surf-ICI
P.O. Box 428
Mooresville IN  46158-0428

Are there discounts for paying in advance?
Yes

Does ICI have a referral program?
Yes!  If you are an Surf-ICI customer, and you refer a new user to our service, you get 1 MONTH FREE Internet access.  The more customers you sign up to Surf-ICI, the more months you get, so tell your friends and associates about us!

I am a K-12 teacher.  I heard teachers get discounts, is that true?
Licensed K-12 educators in the state of Indiana can get Surf-ICI's 33.6k Internet service for the low price of $10 per month, billed quarterly.  However, you must have a valid, active teaching license as proof.

I was improperly billed or I have a question.
We too are humans and we occasionally will make billing errors.  If you have any questions, call us, or you can send an e-mail to billing@surf-ici.com.   We always read and answer e-mail, so don't hesitate to try it first.