1.   But critics say that small providers are often overcome by their own success.

2.   For a while, small providers had the Internet-access game largely to themselves.

3.   Most small providers offer their customers free Web space, but larger providers often charge extra.

4.   As the chief executive of GlobalLink Technologies, a small Internet service provider in Fort Worth, he will focus more heavily on business customers.

5.   A year ago, Hossein Farmani, president of aNet Communications, a small Internet service provider in Los Angeles, catered to a loyal group of longtime customers.

6.   But small providers with computer expertise and the ability to offer customers personal guidance and advice may soon be as rare as the doctor who makes house calls.

7.   But Ramanathan admits that the future for small Internet access providers is hazy.

8.   Fuller of Digital acknowledged the risk of millions of spiders clogging the Internet and potentially overwhelming the network connections of small Web information providers.

9.   However, many small Internet service providers have a more-limited ability to retrieve information about particular users when relying on their own systems.

10.   If someone chooses a small Internet service provider, that provider often must go through a wholesaler, which in turn must coordinate service with a local phone company.