Because of problems connecting to MindSpring at work, I use my personal AOL account to connect to the Internet. It is generally faster and I have never experienced problems connecting to AOL, unlike MindSpring . Tally a vote for America Online. It works for you, which is great.
Personal experience is the best gauge of a service.
No. 3 in a test of national providers last winter, with AOL at No. 15. Customer satisfaction surveys help give users some guidance on what others think. It would help me to hear your projections for Internet growth and the perceived price reductions for online services. It appears to me that the current firm prices are very volatile at best and may erode at any time. I don't think so.