Man it's crazy hearing you guys talk about ISP's. I used to work for one called JAS Networks. They had some good ideas, every customer whether residential or business, got a free static IP address (this was a pain for us techs at times though) and it was SDSL so you got pretty much the same speeds up or down. Having a 768/768 connection really isn't bad no matter how you look at it. They also used Paradyne equipment to get 2.5 up and down in some areas. Although Paradyne is kinda funny as far as SDSL goes because it doesn't require your up and down to be the exact same. For instance we had some customers with a better upload than a download.
In the end though the service really did suck. Frequent outages, slightly higher prices than the big players (SBC) and their equipment wasn't set up correctly in the CO anyway. It was really half assed and yes even duct taped in some instances.
I ended up quitting because they decided to chew my ass for something that wasn't my fault. They also refused to pay me my last couple weeks salary, but I've got that problem licked now. Went to the State of Michigan, the state doesn't like it when you don't pay your employees. It can even be a federal offense in some circumstances.