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A dialer is a program that actually establishes and maintains the connection when you go online. The Windows95/98 dialer program is called Dial-up Networking (DUN). Macintosh or Apple computers use a program called Remote Access or FreePPP, and Windows NT uses RAS. Contrary to what most Internet uses believe, it is these programs and NOT the browser (Netscape or Internet Explorer) that dial into the Internet.
"What does a dialer look like" you might ask? The dialer is also referred to as the "Connect To" window because when you double-click on it, a "Connect To" window comes up with your username, password, phone, and location displayed in boxes. You should think of connecting as a Two Step Process. (1) Dial in, (2) Bring up Browser The reason for this is that the browser is not made to dial in for you! When you bring up the browser first, the browser tells Windows to dial in. Eventually, Windows will not recognize that you wish to connect solely by bringing up the browser, and so you will get an error about "no DNS" or "the page cannot be displayed." When you dial in first, the computer makes sure that there is a connection already established so that when you bring up the browser, the browser doesn't have to tell Windows to dial in because the connection is already established.

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These error messages normally occur when Netscape or Internet Explorer cannot find a webpage because the computer is not dialed in when the browser is opened up. If this happens, make sure that the system dialed in before the browser is brought up. You can do this by double-clicking on the Desktop icon that says "MobileTel" or "Shortcut to MobileTel". This is your dialer (refer to "What is a dialer and why should I use one to connect to the Internet instead of my browser?" above). If you are making sure that you are connecting before you bring up a browser and a webpage still is not coming up, you probably have a simple connection problem and you need to restart the computer. If restarting the computer doesn't fix this problem, please call MobileTel Internet Technical Support

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If the phone line that you are using to connect to the Internet has call waiting, the Internet connection may get disconnected every time someone calls that line. For this reason, it is recommended that you disable call waiting. To do this:

Double-Click on the dialer icon on your desktop
Click on the button "DIALING PROPERTIES" in Win95/98/Me and on the "PROPERTIES" button in Win2000/XP.
In the Dialing Properties box that comes up, look in the middle of the box for a checkbox that says "To disable call waiting, dial:" and put a check in the box.
Then further to the right, click on the drop down arrow and choose the " *70, " option in Win95/98/Me. If you are using WinXP or 2000, simply click in front of the access number and type in "*70,".
Press "OK " and you have disabled call waiting.

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If you notice that every time you attempt to dial up you hear a voice recording telling you that " We're sorry, but you do not need to dial a "1-985" before the number…", you probably have a 1-985 before the access number. To remove this out of the phone number box:

- Double-Click on the dialer icon on your desktop (says "Dial Mobiletel Internet")
Click on the button "DIALING PROPERTIES" in the bottom, right-hand corner
Look for the "United States of America" and to the right there will be an "Area Code" box
In the white box under "Area Code", make sure that it has "985", if not, type it in the box
After "985" is in the box, press " OK "
Now when you look at the access number, the "1-985" should be removed

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These error messages normally occur in the Dial-up process. Dial-Up Networking (DUN) will give these error messages to let you know what is the problem. These error messages are designed to help out the user in troubleshooting the problem, but they can be rather misleading in some instances. The following error codes are some of the more common ones:

629 - "Port was disconnected by remote machine" can mean lines are busy, wrong username or password, or modem or phone line problems.
630 - "Port disconnected due to hardware failure" means modem is malfunctioning, call the modem or computer manufacturer.
650 - "Remote access server isn't responding" can be fixed normally by restarting computer
678 - "There is no answer" means lines are busy, but mostly occurs when you are having a modem or phone line problem
680 - "There is no dial tone" means there is no dial tone. To fix this, make sure that the phone line is plugged into the modem port in the back of the system that says "line" or has a picture that looks like a phone line jack. If you have a special type of surge protector or special phone line setup, please consult your manual for correct connection setup.
691 - "Access denied because username and/or password is invalid on the domain" means your username and/or password is bad. Retype both to make sure they are correct, remember, lowercase letters with no spaces. - Check you Caps Lock key on your keyboard! (refer to "What is my username and password?")
720 - " No PPP protocols configured" can mean that the server that you are dialing is currently down or the settings for your dialer are mis-configured. If the latter, you will need to call Tech Support so that we can look at some settings on your system.

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This normally occurs because you have opted to sign onto Windows when it boots up. By doing this, you disable the password saving feature for Windows. The following steps can help re-enable the password saving features:

- Click on the START button
- Go to FIND and when it branches out, click on FILES OR FOLDERS
- In the NAMED box, type *.pwl
- In the LOOK IN box, make sure that is says (C:)
- Click on the button that says FIND NOW
- Any files that come up after that need to be deleted. To do this, Right-Click on each file, then left click on DELETE in the menu that comes up.
- Close this box once all these have been removed, then Click on the START button again
- Go to SETTINGS and when it branches out, click on the CONTROL PANEL option
- When the Control Panel comes up, double-click on the NETWORK icon.
- Look under the CONFIGURATION tab and make sure that you have CLIENT FOR MICROSOFT NETWORKS or MICROSOFT FAMILY LOGON. If you don't have these, you must add one. To add one: Click on ADD on the right-hand side. Click on PROTOCOL, then on ADD again. On the left-hand side under the Manufacturers' list, click on MICROSOFT, then on the right-hand side click on CLIENT FOR MICROSOFT NETWORKS, and then click on ADD. After all this, you will be back to the Configuration tab and a Client for Microsoft Networks should be in the box.
- Further down the Network Configuration box you will have a PRIMARY NETWORK LOGON box. Make sure that CLIENT FOR MICROSOFT or MICROSOFT FAMILY LOGON is selected. Then press the OK button
- You should then be prompted to restart the computer. Click the YES option or it you did not get the restart prompt, go to START, click on SHUTDOWN, choose RESTART, then press OK
- After the computer has restarted, you will get a box that comes that will come up asking you to logon to Windows. In the Username box, type your username (refer to What is my username and password?) but *VERY IMPORTANT* DO NOT TYPE A PASSWORD* in the password box. Leave it blank. This is key!
- After typing in your Username in the Username box, click on the OK button. If it asks you to confirm the password, just press OK, DO NOT type a password in the boxes provided
- After the computer finishes booting up, open your dialer and type in your password is the box provided. You will notice that the SAVE PASSWORD box is now accessible. After you have typed in your password, click on the SAVE PASSWORD box to put a check in it.
- You have to connect one time successfully to have the dialer save the password and after that, the password will be saved!!!

NOTE: If after you have followed these steps and the Save Password box is still grayed out, you will need to call your computer manufacturer to help you save the password.

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The reasons as to why you are getting disconnected from the service vary upon different instances. For example, if your computer is telling you that it has been idle for "X" amount of time and that it will disconnect you unless otherwise noted, it is a combination of your machine and a Window's settings that is causing the problem. If this is the case, you would be better off calling us to help you walk through disabling the "idle disconnect" feature.
But if the machine just disconnects with no prior warning and then asks you to connect again, then the problem either exists with your modem or the telephone lines in which you connect with. Outdated modem drivers (the software with which tells your computer how to run your modem) can cause slower connection speeds and even disconnects in some cases. The computer manufacturer can help to tell you if newer drivers exist, and if so, help you out in installing these drivers correctly.
But the main reason for getting disconnected from any Internet service is the phone lines. Phone line degradation will not only cause a substantial decrease in connection speeds, but will kill your connection with no warning. Excessive phone line noise is a leading factor in constant disconnects rates because it causes your modem to eventually lose a signal from our server, and it (your modem) disconnects from the server (us). There might not be a noticeable amount of noise in the phone lines, and it is because of this that you should call MobileTel Internet Technical Support to troubleshoot the problem.
Mobiletel Internet does not purposely disconnect any customer, except for the following two reasons: We have an idle disconnect time of 60 minutes. That is, if you are connected to our servers and no activity is detected for 60 minutes, the connection will be dropped. Secondly, we have a continuous connection timeout of five (5) hours to prevent dedicated services from being run on dial-up connections. But even after being disconnected, you can connect right back to the server (for another five (5) consecutive hours. If you have further questions, please feel free to give us a call, MobileTel Internet offers 24 hour Tech Support, 7 days a week.

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Most versions of Windows will have an option that will disconnect the computer from the Internet after a certain amount of time the system has been idle while on the Internet. This is referred to as the Idle Disconnect feature. When this occurs, the system will bring up a warning to let you know that "the connection has been idle for X amount of time, would you like to stay online" and then give you the option to stay connected or disconnect. While this can be a nifty feature, many find this to be a nuisance. Here's how to disable this feature:

Click on the START button, Go to SETTINGS, and then click on CONTROL PANEL
Double-click on the INTERNET or INTERNET OPTIONS icon
If you had the INTERNET icon, click on the tab that says CONNECTION, then look in the middle of the window. There will be a checkbox that says "Disconnect if idle for …" and put a check in this box. Then press OK and the Idle Disconnect feature should be disabled.
If you had the INTERNET OPTIONS icon, click on the tab that says CONNECTION, then look for a button labeled SETTINGS on the right-hand side. In the next window that comes up, look at the bottom portion for "Dial-up settings" and on the right, click on the ADVANCED button. In the next window that appears, here will be a checkbox that says "Disconnect if idle for…". Click on this box to place a check in it, then press OK until no more OK buttons are displayed on the screen. The Idle Disconnect feature should now be disabled.

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There are a lot of factors that affect connection speeds. To make things easy, let's limit them to three: The ISP, the modem, and the phone lines.

First of all, devices that use a phone line connection must follow certain standards in order to reach 56k speeds. Today, the industry standard for 56k modems is V.90. Most ISP's (including MobileTel Internet) use this standard in their connection equipment.
A modem (which is the device inside your computer that connects you to the Internet) must follow this V.90 standard as well.
Phone lines play a big factor in the connection speed game because they are the medium for which all the data actually transfers on. If you have the best modem the market has to offer and your ISP is using the best equipment, your connection speed can still be greatly hindered because of your phone lines. Phone line systems must also have V.90 equipment in order to be able to transfer data at 56k speeds. This varies depending on which area you live and can be found out by contacting your phone company.
The V.90 standard utilizes the potential of the phone lines to grant speeds of up to 53k. Why just 53k and not 56k? Because phone lines cannot carry data across at speeds faster than that. Not only that, but the FCC limits the legal speed on telephone networks to 53kps. So, even if you had optimal conditions (V.90 modem, ISP, and phone lines) the maximum you would be able to connect at is 53k.
Connection speeds can also be affected by how many telephone switches the signal must pass through in order to connect to the ISP's server. A telephone switch changes the signal from Analog to Digital and visa versa. The more switches the signal must pass through, the slower the average connection speed will be.
So what's the bottom line? Basically, with MobileTel Internet, the average connection speed ranges from 40k - 50k, which is very good. If you find that you are connecting at speeds lower than this, you will want to make sure of the following:

Make sure that your modem is 56k, V.90 compliant. If you have 56k modem, but are not sure if it is using the latest V.90 drivers, contact the modem manufacturer. Normally all modems made within the last 2 years are V.90 compliant and come with V.90 drivers pre-installed.
If you have the latest V.90 drivers and are still not getting speeds at least 40k, then contact your phone company to see if anything can be done about this. But be warned!!! Most telephone companies DO NOT guarantee speeds higher than 14.4k, which is the speed that most modern fax machine transfers data at.

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This error message normally occurs when you upgrade from Netscape 3.0 to a higher version of Netscape. When you un-install Netscape 3.0, the dialer is still looking for a script file, which is something MobileTel Internet used when we handed out versions of Netscape 3.0. To resolve this, follow these steps

Double-click on MY COMPUTER
Double-click on DIAL-UP NETWORKING
Look for the icon labeled MOBILETEL INTERNET and Right-click on it
In the menu that pops up, Left-click on PROPERTIES
In the window that comes up, click on the SCRIPTING tab on the top
Look for a box that says, "File name:" and remove the C:\Netscape3\Program\isp.scp that appears in this box completely, then press the OK button and the problem should be resolved.

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MobileTel Internet has many access numbers throughout the South-Eastern Louisiana location. We offer services in Grand Isle (850-9899), Leeville (396-7899), South Lafourche (691-9999), Lockport (532-4040), Thibodaux (435-5999), Houma (850-9899), Laplace (725-9999), Kenner (478-9999), and all the surrounding areas. To find out if these areas are a local call for you, please contact your phone company to see if any long distance fees will apply. You can easily create a new access account, even if you have outdated software.

Follow these simple instructions to change the access number in Win95/98:
Double-click on MY COMPUTER
Double-click on DIAL-UP NETWORKING
Look for your MobileTel Internet dialer icon and Right-click on it
In the menu that pops up, Left-click on PROPERTIES
In the window that comes up, look for a box labeled "Telephone number:" and type in any of the MobileTel Internet access number listed above.
Press the OK button and the new access number should be in the dialer the next time you connect to the Internet.

Follow these simple instructions to change the access number in WinMe:
Click on START, SETTINGS, DIAL-UP NETWORKING.
Look for your MobileTel Internet dialer icon and Right-click on it
In the menu that pops up, Left-click on PROPERTIES
In the window that comes up, look for a box labeled "Telephone number:" and type in any of the MobileTel Internet access number listed above.
Press the OK button and the new access number should be in the dialer the next time you connect to the Internet.

Follow these simple instructions to change the access number in Win2000:
Click on START, SETTINGS, NETWORKING AND DIAL-UP CONNECTIONS
Look for your MobileTel Internet dialer icon and Right-click on it
In the menu that pops up, Left-click on PROPERTIES
In the window that comes up, look for a box labeled "Telephone number:" and type in any of the MobileTel Internet access number listed above.
Press the OK button and the new access number should be in the dialer the next time you connect to the Internet.

Follow these simple instructions to change the access number in WinXP:
Click on START, ALL PROGRAMS, ACCESSORIES, COMMUNICATIONS, NETWORK CONNECTIONS
Look for your MobileTel Internet dialer icon and Right-click on it
In the menu that pops up, Left-click on PROPERTIES
In the window that comes up, look for a box labeled "Telephone number:" and type in any of the MobileTel Internet access numbers listed above.
Press the OK button and the new access number should be in the dialer the next time you connect to the Internet.

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If the MobileTel Internet Dialer icon is missing from the desktop in Win95/98:

Double-click on MY COMPUTER
Double-click on DIAL-UP NETWORKING
Look for your MobileTel Internet dialer icon and Right-click on it
In the menu that pops up, Left-click on CREATE SHORTCUT
When the error message comes up that says "… cannot create a short cut here, would you like to place it on the desktop" click on YES option. The dialer icon should now be back on the desktop.
If the MobileTel Internet Dialer icon is missing from the desktop in WinMe:

Click on START, SETTINGS, DIAL-UP NETWORKING
Look for your MobileTel Internet dialer icon and Right-click on it
In the menu that pops up, Left-click on CREATE SHORTCUT
When the error message comes up that says "… cannot create a short cut here, would you like to place it on the desktop" click on YES option. The dialer icon should now be back on the desktop.
If the MobileTel Internet Dialer icon is missing from the desktop in Win2000:

Click on START, SETTINGS, NETWORK AND DIAL-UP CONNECTIONS.
Look for your MobileTel Internet dialer icon and Right-click on it
In the menu that pops up, Left-click on CREATE SHORTCUT
When the error message comes up that says "… cannot create a short cut here, would you like to place it on the desktop" click on YES option. The dialer icon should now be back on the desktop.
If the MobileTel Internet Dialer icon is missing from the desktop in WinXP:

Click on START, ALL PROGRAMS, ACCESSORIES, COMMUNICATIONS, NETWORK CONNECTIONS.
Look for your MobileTel Internet dialer icon and Right-click on it
In the menu that pops up, Left-click on CREATE SHORTCUT
When the error message comes up that says "… cannot create a short cut here, would you like to place it on the desktop" click on YES option. The dialer icon should now be back on the desktop.

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1. Click on Start, and then Connect To.
2. Click “Set up a connection or network”.
3. Highlight “Set up a dial up connection” and click Next.
4. Type in your dial up access number.
  1. South Lafourche 693-8888
  2. Houma 850-9899
  3. Thibodaux 435-5999
  4. Leeville/Fourchon 396-1111
  5. Grand Isle 787-9998
  6. Lockport 532-4040
*Be advised: In order for you to connect to MobileTel Internet's network, you will be configuring your computer to place a phone call to one of MobileTel Internet's local access numbers. You, the customer, are solely responsible for assuring that the number your computer or similar dial-up network device dials is local to your calling area. MobileTel Internet and/or its staff are not financially responsible for any calls placed by your computer.
5. Enter your MobileTel Internet username and password.
(Example: If your email address is customer@mobiletel.com, then your username would be customer.) Your password will be found on the bottom of your customer agreement form, if you have one. It is usually in the format of 2 letters and 4 numbers (ab1234). All passwords must be typed in all lowercase letters.
6. Type in a connection name. We recommend our customers type MobileTel here to help make troubleshooting quicker and easier.
7. Once you have all of the information typed in, click Connect. This will establish a connection to the Internet. The last step is once Windows notifies you that you are connected; open your web browser (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Netscape, etc.).
8. To connect in the future, just click on Start, then Connect To. Your connection will be listed on the box that pops up. Just highlight your connection then click Connect.
9. If you have any problems, please contact technical support at 866-774-2446.

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