About Free ISPs

Internet service providers, or ISPs, seem to be the one area on the Internet that has fewer free sites. Many of the organizations that once provided free Internet access have now gone out of business or merged with other Internet organizations. There are, however, still a few free ISPs around, though they don't usually provide unlimited free usage, as they used to do.

Advertising

Free ISPs typically make their money by selling advertising. For this reason, one of the requirements for providing you with free Internet access if that you allow banner advertising to be displayed as you browse. Often, these banner ads are not only irritating, but can also slow down your Web surfing as they load. Depending on your computer's capacity, they may even cause it to crash.

Types

Free ISPs typically offer their Internet access services via dial-up. A small number of providers such as Winfire! once offered free high-speed DSL Internet access, but they have all since gone out of business. Some of the leading free ISPs are Dialup for Free, Net Zero and Juno.

Dialup for Free

Dialup for Free provides unlimited dial-up Internet access. It doesn't require your personal or credit card details, and does not send out bills. You do not have to subscribe to any special offers or any other catches to qualify for free access, other than agreeing to receive weekly (or less frequent) emails from them containing local merchants' offers. Setup is easy, either manually, following instructions that are sent to you, or using a downloaded installer. Email is not supplied, so you need to continue with another provider for this. Limited support is provided by email.

Net Zero

Net Zero provides 10 hours of free Internet access per month. In addition, they supply you with an email account (1 GB), which has virus and spam protection, and the download time for their software is two minutes. Their connections are relatively reliable, and the system is easy to install. You can use instant messaging programs, such as AOL Instant Messenger, and can access your email from any computer.

Juno

Juno, like NetZero, offers 10 hours of Internet access and a free, 1GB email capacity with virus and spam protection. You can access your email from any computer and can make use of instant messaging programs. Juno can be easily downloaded in two minutes. You do have to put up with banner advertising, and there is no pop-up blocker. Juno also offers paid plans at $9.95 and $14.95 a month, if you want freedom from banner ads and greater access.

Resources

• NetZero
• Dial up For Free
• Juno