At this point I feel obliged to chip in my $0.02:
You pays your money and you takes your choice. I use Unlimitel because
they offer great service (and *a* great service) at what I consider an
unbeatable price.
You can no doubt find cheaper providers (although not by much), but you
will not find better service. If you want to go cheap and nasty, don't
complain when you get the nasty bit. If you want a good service, pay the
(small) price and live with it.
If the $5/mo is too much, then let your customers get a busy tone if your
line goes down. Or multi-home with redundant incoming connections (fibre
and microwave, maybe). Except that *that* will cost more than $5/mo.
Sheesh! Some people!
paul
