Demon Internet pioneered cheap dial-up access to the Internet years ago. Their basic price is the same as back then - 10 pounds a month (+VAT), with access via an 0845 number. Demon offer unlimited access via Surftime but that costs 40 pounds a month, which is a bit pricey.

As you'd expect from a company that's ancient in Internet terms, they're very much set up for experienced users - most of the special features that they offer wouldn't be of use to most people.

Demon has several things that distinguish it from other, newer, ISPs:

* Great technical support. Back when I was using a beta of Windows 2000, I phoned them at 6:30 in the morning (via an 0845 number) - the gentleman that answered walked me through turning off the inbuilt SMTP server in Win2K, which was conflicting with Turnpike (Demon's access software, which actually runs a mail server on your PC).

* A static IP. Not of use to most people; indeed it's a security risk if you're not careful. However, it means you've got your own IP address for as long as you're a Demon subscriber - and you're connected directly to the Internet, too (no web proxy unless you want it).

* Batch FTP. Tired of multi-megabyte downloads that you can't resume using GetRight? Simple send an email to a specified Demon address and Demon will download the file onto their servers, for you to download within two weeks (and you can resume from their server). Great for downloading service packs, game demos etc.

* Detailed bandwidth reports on webspace. You're allowed 150MB/day transfers from your web space (only 20MB, but it is fast, reliable and no adverts at all), so Demon provide a bandwidth usage log for you if you're having over 1MB of traffic a day. You'll have to pay a lot extra if you go over that, but at least you have a warning. I don't know what Freeserve et al would do in such a situation, but it probably involve
them kicking you off with no explanation.

* Reliability - fingering status@gate.demon.co.uk allows you to get a log of any maintenance / problems that may occur with the system. In 3 years of use, I've only had a couple of 'engaged' tones, and mail / news has always been reliable for me.

* Non-geographic numbers.
Demon still have a long list of 60 or so 'real' phone numbers - ideal for my mobile, where it costs more to call an 0845 number than it does to call a London number.

* Multiple access phone numbers.
If something bad happens to one of Demon's access providers, it doesn't matter - they provide 3 or 4 different 0845 numbers, which all use different telecomms providers - meaning you should always be able to find one that works.

* One of the best news servers out there. Demon have been in trouble in the past over their news server, and they're one of the few ISPs not signed up to an agreement by ISPs to not carry some newsgroups. That means as well as all the normal newsgroups, there are some which are very much illegal in content. Demon believed it's up to the user to decide what they see - and it's interesting that Demon still has some of the groups that others haven't carried for years.

Overall, despite being taken over by Thus (a telecomms company), Demon still retains its knowledgable, friendly but professional attitude. Highly recommended to all users who know what NNTP stands for and what fingering an address means!