I would dial some other ISP's to see if the issue is only with your ISP. If connects are ok elsewhere, and you're able to use other ISP's with local access, and desire to do so, fire 'em and get another. The link below has a section Hyperterminal with another link to find some #'s to dial. Ignore the parts about ati6, ati11 and aty11. I presume you're having trouble even getting connected, right? This simple test will rule out other factors.
http://www.geocities.com/sarge67us/USR.html