Choosing a Free ISP

Using a free ISP requires no new technology - all you need is a computer, a modem, a telephone line, and the appropriate software (which is available free of charge when you sign up with the service). Once installed on your PC you can access the Internet as normal, but your connection costs only the price of a local call, and you pay nothing else – not even for features such as an unlimited number of email addresses, unlimited Web space and original content.

Most of the services are very similar, but it is still worth looking around for a service that offers at least the following features:

CD-ROM or Online sign up

Many free ISPs require you to sign up for their service online (which obviously means you already need to have an Internet connection and some experience with setting up a dial-up networking connection). If you are a complete beginner, you'll need a free ISP which can provide its sign-up software on CD-ROM that will automatically configure your computer to access the Internet.

Local rate calls

Although using the ISP is free, you still have to pay for your online time. Nearly all ISPs however provide local call access numbers. Any free ISP that uses a national rate number or charges an initial setup or administration fee should be avoided.

Email

Having several email accounts is very useful - you can separate business and personal email for example, or provide an address for each member of your family. Many free ISPs also offer only Web-based mail which is great if you need to get into your computer on the move as you can access it from any computer with Internet access. POP3 email however is faster and more efficient and can be downloaded to your PC to read offline - a combination of the two is ideal.

Free Web space

A decent amount of free Web space would be around 25-50Mb. This would be sufficient for most of your own personal website developments. Also check to see if there are any restrictions on your use of Web space, since some free ISPs will not let you use the space for commercial purposes.

Newsgroups

Newsgroups are huge discussion forums on the Internet that are an amazingly rich resource of information and a brilliant way to communicate with other Internet users. Unfortunately they are also the home to some of the most unsavoury content on the Internet (they are largely unmoderated) and as a result many free ISPs restrict access to some or all newsgroups.

Customer Support

Check support line charges; many free ISPs use their support lines as a source of revenue relying on your ignorance to make money from the call.

The target audience is generally Net novices and, as a result, support lines are pretty much jammed all day with queries and connection problems.

Most use premium rate telephone line charges. However, there are a few free ISPs who only charge local or national rates for their telephone helplines.

Reliable Service

Of course all the features in the world won't make a scrap of difference if the ISP is unreliable and you find it impossible to log on. Look out for recommendations from friends and shop around. Interestingly many of the more popular services have become saturated and seem to be in a constant 'upgrading the network' phase.

There is nothing to stop you having more than one free ISP account. Windows will even enable you to run a number of different free ISP connection setups on the same PC so you can easily have multiple accounts and just use the best one on the day.