We have an Ascend Pipeline 50 and a 64K dedicated ISDN connection to the internet through DFW Internet in Fort Worth, TX. Other than DFW Internet not including USENET/NNTP and a mailbox in the cost of the service, they are fine and they did a good job configuring our Ascend. Configuration is the hardest part because it is not that intuitive. But with a little bit of time, anyone can figure it out.
I give the Ascend 5 thumbs up. Just be sure to get the Ascend 50 without the otherwise built in NT-1 (get a Motorola NT-1D). And be sure if you get dedicated ISDN service, get a multihost account (so you can have more than 2 IPs on your subnet).
Check out the MidCities Macintosh and Newton Users Group TeleFinder BBS at:
www.midcities.com bbs.midcities.com (with the TeleFinder 5 client)
Hope this helps!
Matt Snider, Executive Director MidCities Macintosh and Newton Users Group mrmacman@midcities.com