Westelcom provides you with a true connection to the Internet.  America Online is an independent network - they provide the content that you will have access to.  Certainly this makes things a bit more organized, but access in terms of freedom is limited.  With Internet access, you have the capability of going anywhere and accessing anything - you aren't limited to seeing only certain things.  One note -- we provide you with email access and a home page to start from, but we don't provide a custom interface like America Online does.  The Internet is a vast area, and the amount of information is astounding.  You can use a browser such as Internet Explorer to find what you're looking for on the Internet via various search engines found on the Westelcom homepage.

Can I use Westelcom to access my America Online account?

Many of our customers use our service to dial into their American Online accounts to avoid the long distance to Syracuse charges.  To use AOL with Westelcom follow these simple steps:
1. Go into AOL Setup and remove the phone numbers.

2. Go into "Network" and change the connection to TCP/IP.

3. Dial into Westelcom, minimize the window, and double-click on the AOL icon to log onto AOL.

What is my email address?

Your email address will be: username@gisco.net.  For example, if your username is 'example' then your email address is example@gisco.net. 

Will I be charged with long distance calls on the Internet?

The only time you will be charged on the Internet is if you go to a site that asks for some kind of payment, such as a credit card number.  Please note: the phone number that is in your dialer software is the number you need to be concerned about, if it is not a local call for you, there will be a long distance charge for the time you spend online!  Please make sure that the number in your dialer is a local cal for you, Westelcom is not responsible for the long distance charges on your phone bill!

I liked chat groups on my previous Internet service -- does Westelcom offer them?

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is the Internet equivalent of chat rooms.  You can access IRC through our server, but you will need to download software to do so.  A widely used IRC program is mIRC.   Please be aware that downloading such software can be complicated, does require configuration and is not supported by us.

Why does it keep asking for my password?

Our server is case sensitive and it will only recognize lower case letters.  Try the following: check to make sure the caps lock is off.  Take out the username and password in the Westelcom dialer and, retype the username and password, and be sure they are only in lower case.

I have trouble connecting sometimes.  Is there a problem with Westelcom's server?

Many times problems with connecting are due to incorrect modem settings or faulty modems.  If your modem is working properly and your settings are correct, you shouldn't have any problems connecting.  If you do, please try a few times until you do connect.    Sometimes line noise or other occurrences with the phone lines could cause just enough disturbances to affect connection.  If you have some experience diagnosing problems with, check to make sure that the modem initialization strings in your documentation match those in the modems.ini, our phone number is correct, and your modem is set up correctly.  If you are still having trouble call us.  Have the error message that you received available and/or any other pertinent information.

Why do I keep getting a DNS error?

This can occur from a variety of reasons.  One reason might be that you have incorrectly typed the URL in the location.  Another may be heavy traffic on the site itself.  In that case, keep trying that site with the reload button.  The site itself may also be down.