TeleSouth

Web Hosting
Frequently Asked Questions

Is there any charge for upgrading to a higher option or downgrading to a lower option if we later so decide?

You are only responsible for the difference in the setup charge, for example moving from a Web Host 2000 account to a Dedicated Server account you would pay the dedicated server setup less the setup paid for your option 4. We want to be sure your virtual/dedicated server fits your needs and budget at all times. Our options are designed to grow with your business.

What if we decide to get our own server down the road or switch to another Web site provider? What happens with our Domain name?

When we register your domain name (yourcompany.com) with the Internic, we list YOU as the owner of the domain, the administrative and billing contact and us as the technical contact. This means you can switch your domain over at any time with no trouble.

When we get our own domain name, why does the Internic bill us?

We provide domain registration as a service to all of our customers. Most companies will charge anywhere up to $300 for this service and keep $200 for themselves. We just list you as the billing contact and have the Internic mail you out an Invoice for $70. This covers your domain registration for 2 years. After the two years, you will be billed $35 per year by the Internic for as long as you own your domain name.

Do I still need my local ISP if we have a virtual server with you?

Not necesscarily. If you would like us to provide your local internet access then we would be delighted to do so. We have local numbers in 931 cities across the US. Our Network is managed to maintain an 8 to 1 Member to modem ratio so that you always recieve a good connection and rarely get a busy signal. Please stop by the main site and check our local access numbers page. You may purchase a combination package that covers both your Web Hosting and your Internet Access needs.

How often do you backup the data on the servers?

The data on the servers are backed up every evening from 4:00 a.m.- 7:00 a.m. EST. Tape backups are made once per week and stored in a different location in case of any disaster. Despite this backup, TeleSouth STRONGLY recommends that each Member backup his/her own files on a regular basis to their local computer.

Does the setup fee include the domain registration with the Internic?

The setup fee does include our registering the new domain name with the Internic, but it does not include the Internic new domain registration fee of $70 for the first two years. The Internic bills the owner of the domain (the customer) separately for this.

If the customer already owns the domain name, and it is a modify, our setup charge includes switching the domain over to our server and filling out the modification request with the Internic. The Internic will not bill the customer for a modified domain unless the company/person who owns the domain is changing as well.

Do we do business with companies outside the United States?

Of course! We have customers from all over the world in over 60 countries. Many other countries can greatly benefit from using a American service provider because of the direct Internet connection and the currency exchange rate.

We accept all major credit cards as payment. If the customer chooses to be billed via e-mail, we do require all currency to be in U.S. dollars.

With your virtual servers can I have multiple domains?

Yes. This is called virtual hosting. Charges are as follows:

Setup charges - TeleSouth provides an easy to use, do it yourself form for ordering additional domains. Customers are charged $49 per occasion for registering additional domains. This means that instead of being charged $49 per domain, customers can register as many domains as they have at one time for a single $49 charge. This is done by a timing program that placed a time stamp on the last time a customer registered an additional domain. If the customer registers another additional domain within a one hour period, no invoice is generated. If they wait over an hour another invoice will be generated. Please note: The Internic charges of $70 per new domain still apply. This policy only refers to TeleSouth's setup charges.

Monthly Charges - Monthly charges are based on the type of plan you are on and how many domains you are hosting with us.

I currently have my site and domain name with someone else. How do I switch it over to your server?

We make moving to our server very easy. We take care of the domain change and all the "paperwork" with the Internic. We just need to know what your domain name is.

The process is very quick providing the person ordering the server is EITHER listed as the Technical contact or the Administrative contact with the Internic. If you are not sure, you can contact the go to http://rs.internic.net/cgi-bin/whois, type in your domain name (xxxxxx.com), and see if you are listed. If you are not you will need the permission of either contact to switch. (Although this is not always fair, it is unfortunately the way the Internic works. That is why we at TeleSouth ALWAYS list our customers as the Administrative Contact.)

You should have a local copy of your Web Site on your computer. Then you could just use our Web Site Manager to upload the pages to our server. If you are familiar with FTP, you can upload your site via FTP as well.

We recommend you keep your existing account active until the domain has switched to our server, this way, there will be no down time for your site.

What is the difference between an "e-mail alias" and a POP account?

If you are currently getting e-mail, you have a POP account. Most local ISP's provide you with your own POP account. This POP account requires a Membername and password to access your e-mail. Your e-mail software is configured to retrieve the e-mail from your POP account.

The problem with your POP account is the name. Most likely, it is some cryptic deviation of your name with your local ISP's domain name attached to it. If you decide to change to another ISP, your POP account will change with it and you will be assigned a new e-mail address which very often results in lost mail and lost business.

With an e-mail alias, you get to use your own domain name. YOU choose what the prefix will be (anything@yourdomain). This "alias" points to your current POP account either with TeleSouth or your local ISP. If your POP account ever changes, you simply redirect the alias to your new POP account address.

With TeleSouth, you can have UNLIMITED aliases that all forward to your existing POP account so you do not need to reconfigure your e-mail software for each address. What type of hardware and software does TeleSouth use?

We use UNIX based Pentium machines for our virtual servers - one of the most powerful machines created for web based applications. They use the Red Hat Linux 4.x and 5.x operating system. Each machine has 64 to 128 megs of RAM and one to two 4 gigabyte harddrive(s).

Can I run my own CGI scripts in my own directory?

Yes. You have full access to your own CGI directory. There are literally thousands of free scripts available on the Internet that you can use on your server. Please note that we cannot provide technical support for 3rd party scripts or software.

Will I have access to the server's log files?

Yes. You have your own access log files and error log files that are maintained by TeleSouth. Our stats program purges these files daily and report the data in an easy to read format.

How does one enter an application for a domain from another country?

We have a Web page setup specifically for this question. See here for full instructions.

Is TeleSouth a reseller of a larger Web hosting company?

No. TeleSouth Network Inc. owns all of the software and hardware associated with it's Internet business. The TeleSouth support staff has direct contact with the server administrators at all times. When you get a virtual server with TeleSouth, you are dealing directly with TeleSouth or representatives of TeleSouth.

Why should I pay for a gigabyte of data transfer per day? That is more than I will ever need.

Let's hope not! A gigabyte per day is approximately 50,000 hits per day (or 50,000 Web page accesses with graphics). This is a tremendous amount of traffic but as the Web gains more acceptance, Web sites get more hits. Beware of hosting services that limit your data transfer to an incredibly small amount like 500 megs per MONTH and charge you for data over that amount (.10 per meg is about the current market value). Assume your site gets 5000 hits a day and the average Web page accessed is 35k with graphics:

35,000 bytes X 5000 hits = 175,000,000 bytes =~ 166.9 megs/day
166.9 megs X 30 days = 5007 megs/month
5007 megs - 500 megs (allowed) = 4507 megs
4507 extra megs billed at .10 per meg is
$450.70 extra per month!

With a gigabyte a day (1024 megs) you can be pretty confident that you will stay within the allowance. If you do go over, we do not charge you. We have many dedicated server options available that we can switch you to. Contact your Account Executive for more details.

What is your "spamming" policy?

Please see our page on spamming for the answer to this question.

What if I am not happy with your service?

Our staff will do their best to make sure you are happy, but if for any reason at any time you want to cancel your service with us, just fill out the simple form at our Web site before the first of the month and you will not be charged anymore for your server. Also we offer a 30 day money back guarantee.

What are "virtual domains" why is good that we can have them?

Virtual domains allow you to have an unlimited number of domains point to any sub directories in your Web site. This is a fantastic feature for companies with many product lines that want different domains or for Web designers wanting to provide hosting services for organizations not quite ready for their own virtual server.

How does your support department work? Can I talk to a real person if I wanted to?

We have one of the most unique and effective customer support departments on the Net today. In today's highly technical society, customers demand more personal attention than ever. The Internet itself can be very confusing. This is why we have chosen to create a award-winning support staff comprised of full-time technicians who are also customers of TeleSouth. When you call an on-duty technician, you are calling a direct line. You know whom you will be speaking with and there is no waiting on hold. Our support technicians are available either by phone or e-mail 24 hours per day, everyday. It is our policy to respond to all e-mail within 1 hour (most of the time within minutes). We will make sure you have all the support you need.

			Web Hosting Frequently Asked Questions Is there any charge for upgrading to a higher option or downgrading to a lower option if we later so decide? You are only responsible for the difference in the setup charge, for example moving from a Web Host 2000 account to a Dedicated Server account you would pay the dedicated server setup less the setup paid for your option 4. We want to be sure your virtual/dedicated server fits your needs and budget at all times. Our options are designed to grow with your business. What if we decide to get our own server down the road or switch to another Web site provider? What happens with our Domain name? When we register your domain name (yourcompany.com) with the Internic, we list YOU as the owner of the domain, the administrative and billing contact and us as the technical contact. This means you can switch your domain over at any time with no trouble. When we get our own domain name, why does the Internic bill us? We provide domain registration as a service to all of our customers. Most companies will charge anywhere up to $300 for this service and keep $200 for themselves. We just list you as the billing contact and have the Internic mail you out an Invoice for $70. This covers your domain registration for 2 years. After the two years, you will be billed $35 per year by the Internic for as long as you own your domain name. Do I still need my local ISP if we have a virtual server with you? Not necesscarily. If you would like us to provide your local internet access then we would be delighted to do so. We have local numbers in 931 cities across the US. Our Network is managed to maintain an 8 to 1 Member to modem ratio so that you always recieve a good connection and rarely get a busy signal. Please stop by the main site and check our local access numbers page. You may purchase a combination package that covers both your Web Hosting and your Internet Access needs. How often do you backup the data on the servers? The data on the servers are backed up every evening from 4:00 a.m.- 7:00 a.m. EST. Tape backups are made once per week and stored in a different location in case of any disaster. Despite this backup, TeleSouth STRONGLY recommends that each Member backup his/her own files on a regular basis to their local computer. Does the setup fee include the domain registration with the Internic? The setup fee does include our registering the new domain name with the Internic, but it does not include the Internic new domain registration fee of $70 for the first two years. The Internic bills the owner of the domain (the customer) separately for this. If the customer already owns the domain name, and it is a modify, our setup charge includes switching the domain over to our server and filling out the modification request with the Internic. The Internic will not bill the customer for a modified domain unless the company/person who owns the domain is changing as well. Do we do business with companies outside the United States? Of course! We have customers from all over the world in over 60 countries. Many other countries can greatly benefit from using a American service provider because of the direct Internet connection and the currency exchange rate. We accept all major credit cards as payment. If the customer chooses to be billed via e-mail, we do require all currency to be in U.S. dollars. With your virtual servers can I have multiple domains? Yes. This is called virtual hosting. Charges are as follows: Setup charges - TeleSouth provides an easy to use, do it yourself form for ordering additional domains. Customers are charged $49 per occasion for registering additional domains. This means that instead of being charged $49 per domain, customers can register as many domains as they have at one time for a single $49 charge. This is done by a timing program that placed a time stamp on the last time a customer registered an additional domain. If the customer registers another additional domain within a one hour period, no invoice is generated. If they wait over an hour another invoice will be generated. Please note: The Internic charges of $70 per new domain still apply. This policy only refers to TeleSouth's setup charges. Monthly Charges - Monthly charges are based on the type of plan you are on and how many domains you are hosting with us. I currently have my site and domain name with someone else. How do I switch it over to your server? We make moving to our server very easy. We take care of the domain change and all the "paperwork" with the Internic. We just need to know what your domain name is. The process is very quick providing the person ordering the server is EITHER listed as the Technical contact or the Administrative contact with the Internic. If you are not sure, you can contact the go to http://rs.internic.net/cgi-bin/whois, type in your domain name (xxxxxx.com), and see if you are listed. If you are not you will need the permission of either contact to switch. (Although this is not always fair, it is unfortunately the way the Internic works. That is why we at TeleSouth ALWAYS list our customers as the Administrative Contact.) You should have a local copy of your Web Site on your computer. Then you could just use our Web Site Manager to upload the pages to our server. If you are familiar with FTP, you can upload your site via FTP as well. We recommend you keep your existing account active until the domain has switched to our server, this way, there will be no down time for your site. What is the difference between an "e-mail alias" and a POP account? If you are currently getting e-mail, you have a POP account. Most local ISP's provide you with your own POP account. This POP account requires a Membername and password to access your e-mail. Your e-mail software is configured to retrieve the e-mail from your POP account. The problem with your POP account is the name. Most likely, it is some cryptic deviation of your name with your local ISP's domain name attached to it. If you decide to change to another ISP, your POP account will change with it and you will be assigned a new e-mail address which very often results in lost mail and lost business. With an e-mail alias, you get to use your own domain name. YOU choose what the prefix will be (anything@yourdomain). This "alias" points to your current POP account either with TeleSouth or your local ISP. If your POP account ever changes, you simply redirect the alias to your new POP account address. With TeleSouth, you can have UNLIMITED aliases that all forward to your existing POP account so you do not need to reconfigure your e-mail software for each address. What type of hardware and software does TeleSouth use? We use UNIX based Pentium machines for our virtual servers - one of the most powerful machines created for web based applications. They use the Red Hat Linux 4.x and 5.x operating system. Each machine has 64 to 128 megs of RAM and one to two 4 gigabyte harddrive(s). Can I run my own CGI scripts in my own directory? Yes. You have full access to your own CGI directory. There are literally thousands of free scripts available on the Internet that you can use on your server. Please note that we cannot provide technical support for 3rd party scripts or software. Will I have access to the server's log files? Yes. You have your own access log files and error log files that are maintained by TeleSouth. Our stats program purges these files daily and report the data in an easy to read format. How does one enter an application for a domain from another country? We have a Web page setup specifically for this question. See here for full instructions. Is TeleSouth a reseller of a larger Web hosting company? No. TeleSouth Network Inc. owns all of the software and hardware associated with it's Internet business. The TeleSouth support staff has direct contact with the server administrators at all times. When you get a virtual server with TeleSouth, you are dealing directly with TeleSouth or representatives of TeleSouth. Why should I pay for a gigabyte of data transfer per day? That is more than I will ever need. Let's hope not! A gigabyte per day is approximately 50,000 hits per day (or 50,000 Web page accesses with graphics). This is a tremendous amount of traffic but as the Web gains more acceptance, Web sites get more hits. Beware of hosting services that limit your data transfer to an incredibly small amount like 500 megs per MONTH and charge you for data over that amount (.10 per meg is about the current market value). Assume your site gets 5000 hits a day and the average Web page accessed is 35k with graphics: `35,000 bytes X 5000 hits = 175,000,000 bytes =~ 166.9 megs/day` `166.9 megs X 30 days = 5007 megs/month` `5007 megs - 500 megs (allowed) = 4507 megs` `4507 extra megs billed at .10 per meg is` `$450.70 extra per month!` With a gigabyte a day (1024 megs) you can be pretty confident that you will stay within the allowance. If you do go over, we do not charge you. We have many dedicated server options available that we can switch you to. Contact your Account Executive for more details. What is your "spamming" policy? Please see our page on spamming for the answer to this question. What if I am not happy with your service? Our staff will do their best to make sure you are happy, but if for any reason at any time you want to cancel your service with us, just fill out the simple form at our Web site before the first of the month and you will not be charged anymore for your server. Also we offer a 30 day money back guarantee. What are "virtual domains" why is good that we can have them? Virtual domains allow you to have an unlimited number of domains point to any sub directories in your Web site. This is a fantastic feature for companies with many product lines that want different domains or for Web designers wanting to provide hosting services for organizations not quite ready for their own virtual server. How does your support department work? Can I talk to a real person if I wanted to? We have one of the most unique and effective customer support departments on the Net today. In today's highly technical society, customers demand more personal attention than ever. The Internet itself can be very confusing. This is why we have chosen to create a award-winning support staff comprised of full-time technicians who are also customers of TeleSouth. When you call an on-duty technician, you are calling a direct line. You know whom you will be speaking with and there is no waiting on hold. Our support technicians are available either by phone or e-mail 24 hours per day, everyday. It is our policy to respond to all e-mail within 1 hour (most of the time within minutes). We will make sure you have all the support you need.