Question Hi -
I am looking for advice on free Internet service providers for occasional use as back-up in case my regular ISP is out of service. Do you have any experience with these - a particular one that you would or would not recommend? This is the one I'm considering: http://www.myfreei.com/indexGo.htm. I'm concerned about spyware and a bit concerned about giving a credit card number (although I shop on-line regularly). If you don't know, do you have any suggestions where else to ask this question? Thank you so much for your time.
debra Overbey
Dexter, Michigan
Answer When you consider that it costs a significant amount of money to operate an ISP, you wonder how they can give it away for free. They have to have some source of revenue otherwise they couldn't be in business. A couple of years ago NetZero ran a series of ads about free Internet being a right. Now Netzero charges $9.95/month. They tried to do it on advertising revenue alone and it just didn't work. I suspect My Free I is trying the same thing and I suspect they will have the same results.
Frankly I wouldn't trust a free ISP to remain free for long or remain in business long.
There are some pay as you go ISPs. They are geared more for travelers but would work for what you want. You pay an hourly fee only for what you use. I think AT&T has such a service.
