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Asked
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- What is a Free ISP?
A Free ISP offers dialup and other Internet services to customers without any
subscription charges which means that you don't pay them a penny. However you
do get charged for the telephone call when accessing their services by your Telephone
company who will charge their local call rate when dialling the 0845 numbers
- Can I get free telephone calls to a Free
ISP
No, the Free ISPs receive a percentage of the call revenue from the 0845 numbers
and that pays them for the services they provide. Some mobile phone companies
do include 0845 numbers in their 'free minutes' (check out Carphone Warehouse
O2 services) so you could use those (but they are not really 'free' of course).
- Why should I consider using a Free ISP?
If you are a very heavy Internet user then it may not be cost effective, however
it is more convenient than paying a subscription charge each month and the services
are generally faster than the unmetered ISPs (where you dial a free telephone
number).
- Why are Free ISPs faster?
Because their customers are paying by the minute, they tend to disconnect when
they do not need access and are discouraged because of the costs of downloading
large amounts of data such as MP3s or illegal pirate software. As such they release
the ISPs resources to other customers and the overall effect is to provide a fast
and satisfying Internet experience.
- What extras can I expect to receive?
Generally you will receive exactly the same services that you would receive from
any unmetered ISP - namely POP3 email (check out the ISPs who offer WebMail access
to the POP3 mailboxes as that's very useful when you are away from your PC). Normally
you can setup multiple mailboxes, one for each family member. Also you will receive
free Web Hosting and web space - don't be too worried about whether it's 25MB,
50MB or unlimited web space - you will never need more that 2 or 3 MB for even
the largest of web sites!
- Any other benefits of the free ISPs?
Yes, if you subscribe to an unmetered ISP then you are restricted to accessing
it from a single telephone number. You may also be disconnected every 2 hours
and you may find a busy tone at the end of the line. None of these problems will
be experienced by users of free ISPs so you can dialup from anywhere (even if
you don't have a BT line), never be disconnected and never encounter a busy tone.
- What if I have a Broadband service already
(ADSL or Cable Modem)
As the Free ISP accounts are free then you should always keep one handy in case
your existing provider has problems. With more and more companies demanding that
you use their help desk via the Web, there is nothing more infuriating than having
no access at the time that you need to access email or web support services. Having
a spare dialup connection can be a lifesaver.
- Can I try out the Free ISPs before commiting?
Yes, although there are no contracts or commitments with the Free ISPs, many of
them allow you get simple Internet access without having to register first. You
won't get Email mailboxes or web space but you can test them for speed and ease
of use.
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