Dial-Up Internet Connections.

The Internet is not a thing or a place. The Internet, is the inter-connection between hundreds of thousands of computers, many just common desktop computers. The Internet, is more a PATH to get your computer, connected to any one of these thousand computers, so that you can find the TEXT, MUSIC, SOUND, MULTIMEDIA, VIDEO or whatever files you need.

What do I need to connect my Amiga to the Internet?
Really you just need a few simple things

1) A Computer, (you have that)
2) An active phoneline (yes you must have a phone to access the Internet)
3) A Modem (a device that converts sound signals to data signals, and data to sound so that computers can talk across phonelines)
4) An Internet Service Provider (ISP), A company that provides the switching equipment that allows the data you send from your computer, to locate and find the computer that you want to talk to.
5) A Dial-Up program (Your computer doesn't have fingers and can't dial the phone)
6) A program for TCP/IP. Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. (A fancy acronym that is a translator for the language your computer speaks to the language other computers speak, so that they can contact each other.)
Many programs incorporate TCP/IP and a dialer into one program.
7) An Internet Browser. A program that interprets the HTML or other hypertext languages. It allows the LINKS, WORDS, PICTURES and Sounds you have on the Internet, to appear on your computer.
8) An Email Program. This will allow you to send and receive Electronic Mail to or from anyone in the world with an Email address.

 How do I find an ISP?
The phone book. I most commonly recommend the local ISP found in your neighborhood. Many times these are run by qualified network professionals or computer technicians (or have some working for them). They are easier to get a hold of when there is a problem. (no waiting on hold for hours to ask a question). They also seem to upgrade their equipment faster than a National ISP.
Usually the local ISP will take more time to help a customer get connected to the service and are in the business to make EACH customer happy.

Which ISP's support Amiga, or how do I find one that will?
Many ISP's will not SUPPORT the Amiga, and that's okay. Just convince them that they don't have to provide support for the HARDWARE of the AMIGA, just support the generic SOFTWARE PROTOCOLS of the Amiga.
Make sure they have all the requirements of your TCP/IP software.
Usually that means PPP.
The Amiga uses the same PROTOCOLS as any other computer to connect to the Internet.
You may have to do more troubleshooting to find out what is happening inside the Amiga, beyond that, they should be able to help you.
Ask for a trial period, because you are not using a PC or a Mac, you want to make their service work on an Amiga.

What Information or software should I get from the ISP to enter into the Amiga?
As long as your provider uses standard PPP the only software you will need is a TCP/IP stack.
1) You will want the Dial-Up number
2) The IP address, or to know if it is Server Assigned
3) The primary and secondary DNS server numbers
4) Your Username and Password

I have several computers, can I connect all of them to my Internet account?
It is possible to do that, but exactly what you need to do varies with your specific account and your requirements.
Usually you can use the same phoneline for each computer, unless you want them online at the same time, then you would need some other equipment. If you have two phone lines and two computers. Connect each computer to a different line. If your provider allows for MULTILINK, it is possible that you can use TWO computers (AMIGA and PC for example) to connect at the same time.

Check with your provider and make sure they do not have restrictions against this, you don't want to be charged extra later.