Free Internet Service Providers
In this category we feature the various free Internet access providers available. If you have one, you may take your speedy broadband connection for granted. Indeed, you may have even grown to depend upon it. So, as you can imagine, all chaos can ensue if there are technical difficulties at the ISP or with your telephone provider. Some of our readers have already had the misfortune to deal with broadband connections on the blink. Fortunately, for these "worst case" scenarios, the Internet serves up more than enough "free" Internet providers. Keeping a spare dial-up modem within easy reach will allow you to access the Net - albeit a bit slowly - even if your primary connection experiences problems. The free ISPs we review here offer free access to the Web via dial-up (and you only pay for the time you spend online via your telephone bill). If you happen to stumble across an outdated link, or an ISP below changes their policies, we'd very much appreciate it if you could report it. Thanks!
Free-dialup.net - Our UK visitors can get free dial-up Internet access here without the need to set up an ISP account. You only pay for the local telephone rate on an 0845 number. Registering with Free-dialup.net is very easy and a username and password is all that's required, then you can access the Internet immediately. They also offer local rate telephone support. (UK Only)
My Dialup - My Dialup makes it easy for you to have free Internet access without paying any monthly fees. They provide access via an 0845 Lo-call number with your choice of username and password, allowing you to access the Net straight away with no extra charges. The service is ideal for use as a backup, or for those of you who don't spend too much time on the Internet. (UK Only)
Freeola ISP - Offers free online access with no setup or monthly fees. Technical support is charged at local rate and you'll receive unlimited free Web space plus unlimited POP3 e-mail addresses. A CD-ROM is not required to get online so you can connect by dialing 0845 604 3090, using "freeola" for the username and password. Their homepage provides lots of useful information. (UK Only)
Emergency ISP - If you're a regular Internet user and require a secondary connection for backup purposes, you needn't look any further than Emergency Internet. They offer a free, fast and reliable 0845 dial-up Internet connection to modem and ISDN users. There are no monthly charges either, since you only pay the local dial-up call charges that appear on your phone bill. Free customer support is provided all day, every day. (UK Only)
UK Free ISP - Here's a free free dial-up Internet access provider for the UK. This service provides a fast and reliable connection to the Internet with no subscription fees. They also provide free e-mail (with Web mail access, anti-virus and anti-spam protection), along with a free hosting service. You only pay the phone costs for the time you are online via an 0844 number. They support 56K, V90 and ISDN. (UK Only)
1 2 Free - This free ISP provides free UK Internet access via dial-up on an 0845 number. They provide a free POP3 e-mail address (with additional Web-mail access), a spam blocker, anti-virus filters and also free Web hosting. The dial-up is compatible with the following modems and configurations: V90, V92, ISDN 64K and 128K, and also the On Speed dial-up compression tool. E-mail and telephone support is available.(UK Only)
Free 0845 Internet - A reliable and trustworthy free Internet access provider from CHC Solutions. They offer a 1:1 dial-up connection with no contention, meaning you never have to share bandwidth with anyone else. Connecting to this network is very easy: simply enter the supplied username and password, enter the dial-up number, and you'll be connected in no time. This service is spam free and provides technical support via e-mail. (UK Only)
Free Internet UK - Provides reliable free dial-up Internet access, ideal for people who use the Net occasionally. With Free Internet UK you needn't worry about monthly fees or contracts, and you can connect to the Internet from any UK landline via an 0845 number. The connection is charged at the local rate and will not disconnect after two hours usage, unlike many similar services. (UK Only)
UK-Free.co.uk - This free Internet access service provides a fast dial-up connection on an 0844 number. Aside from the free dial-up connection, UK-Free.co.uk also provides a free POP3 e-mail address that's accessible via Web-mail. Spam blocking, anti-virus filtering and free Web site hosting is also offered here, and the connection is compatible with various modems, including: V90, V92, ISDN 64K and 128K. (UK Only)
Top Dialup UK - A free dial-up Internet access service providing a reliable connection throughout the UK. With this ISP, there are no setup or subscription fees to pay. You simply pay for the time spent online according to your local telephone service rate. Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac and also Linux can be used with Top Dialup UK, along with the vast majority of dial-up modems. (UK Only)
MyFreeISP.co.uk - Provides anonymous, fast and reliable free dial-up Internet access, ideal for people who surf the Net occasionally, or travel around a lot on business. There are no monthly fees or contracts to sign here either. You simply connect to the Internet from any UK landline via an 0845 number. 64K and 128K bonded ISDN connections are also supported, along with 56K. (UK Only)
UKo2.co.uk - A free dial-up Internet access provider that's ideal if you only surf the Net occasionally (or if you're on business and require a quick and simple connection solution). UK02 provides a reliable connection and in addition includes 50MB free Web space, unlimited POP3 e-mail addresses, unlimited e-mail aliases and an online account administration page. (UK Only)
Tiscali - A British free Internet Service Provider, formed when the LineOne, World Online and Tiny Online ISP's joined together. By and large, Tiscali is fairly good for a free ISP. They offer fast and reliable connections, free online technical support, 100MB of free Web space, 6 e-mail addresses, SMS and instant messaging support plus the ability to access your email from their info-packed homepage. (UK Only)
UK Online - This company is an excellent choice for free Internet access and offers no jargon content with relevant UK information. Their free "pay as you go" accounts provide 200MB Web-mail access (with spam filter) and a technical support helpline, available 24/7 at the price of 25p per telephone call. You must dial-up to UK Online at least once every 60 days in order to avoid account suspension. (UK Only)
UK Fantastic - A great site providing free and reliable "pay as you go" Internet access for UK residents. No monthly fees are charged here so you only have to pay the local call rate on an 0845 number in order to connect. If you register with UK Fantastic, you'll receive a free e-mail account (yourname@ukf.net) and also 20MB of free Web space with a sub-domain resembling "www.yourname.ukf.net". (UK Only)
A1Dial ISP - A great free dial-up Internet access provider from the UK, offering Net access for free, with no monthly fees or contracts to sign. All you pay is the cost of a local phone call whenever you decide to connect. This free service supports the following modems: 56K, V90, V92, ISDN, 64K and 128K, network modems and routers. A1Dial is also a completely anonymous ISP. (UK Only)
Free ISP UK - A reliable and free Internet Service Provider for UK residents. With this service, you only pay for the time spent online and there are no monthly contracts or fees to pay. What's more, you can be surfing within minutes since they will instantly activate your account. This ISP is also compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux, and will function on all dial-up modems. (UK Only)
Madasafish - This fresh and funky ISP, aimed at the younger Internet generation provides a solid service and plenty of other features to boot. Their "pas as you go" Internet access service is amongst the most fully featured we've seen in the UK - you simply pay the price of a local phone call (connections are charged by the minute). Free e-mail access via the Web is available as well. (UK Only)
Inspiron ISP - A fast, free and friendly dial-up Internet access provider including POP3 e-mail access, Web mail services and free Web space. Free online help is available if needed and there are no monthly fees to pay or contracts to enter. All you pay for is your phone network's lo-call rate (usually charged per minute). Inspiron is ideal for both home and business usage. (UK Only)
FireFly Internet - Offers a free dial-up Internet access package, amongst other competitively priced "paid" services, e.g. FireFly 2 (unlimited access for a fixed monthly fee). We've had some good reports from users of FireFly, who say their connections are both fast and reliable. If you're not a heavy Net user and wish to use their free dial-up service, we recommend it. They even provide free POP3 e-mail access. (UK Only)
Free UK ISP - Free UK ISP offers free dial-up accounts with dozens of features: unlimited POP3 e-mail accounts, unlimited e-mail aliases, free 50MB Web space, access to newsgroups, support for all modems (56K, V90/92, etc) and an online account administration page. Telephone tech support is available here, but it is not free. Note: the local dial-up rate applies to this service. (UK Only)
Connect4free.co.uk - Here's a UK-based free dial-up Internet access provider. Connect4free.co.uk provides a fast and reliable connection to the Internet with no subscription fees. You only pay the phone costs for the time you are online (via an 0844 number). This Internet Service Provider acts as an excellent backup if you have problems with your primary connection provider. (UK Only)
Net Zero - NetZero is an Internet service that provides consumers with an easy way to access to the Internet. They offer the usual tools you'd expect from a top ISP including e-mail and unrestricted WWW access for 40 hours every month. There's one catch though, you must surf with an advertisement bar to cover the costs of their free Internet access service. (U.S. and Canada Only)
Beeb
- The BBC's free Internet access service, Beeb.net is another fine
example of how Internet access is taking Britain by storm. Here, you'll
receive free access charged at your local telephone rate (e.g. 1p
a minute weekends) and a truckload of other goodies, such as 30MB
free Web space, numerous e-mail addresses and access to the BBC's
most unique content. (UK Only)
Notice: Beeb will officially close its doors
on 30th June 2008 after nearly 10 years online.
Action ISP - Here is a unique ISP that scans all incoming e-mails for viruses before they arrive in your inbox. We've seen the amount of devastation these e-mail viruses can do to businesses and they're sometimes extremely difficult to identify. Although Action ISP does not offer free Web space with their accounts, the connections are reliable and registering is quite a simple process. (UK Only)
Juno - This site started off as a popular free e-mail service and has since turned itself into a popular ISP. For a free, advert-supported 56K dial-up Net package, users can sign up here and also grab a free e-mail address and have access to 24 hour tech support (via e-mail or phone). Juno restricts its free package users to 10 hours of surfing per month, but on the other hand, provides a free 1GB e-mail account. (U.S. Only)
UK Linux - Users of Linux are pretty used to obtaining things for free. Here, UK Linux (the UK's only dedicated Linux ISP) are offering free dial-up access for both modem and ISDN users, with speeds up to 128kb/s. The only thing you pay for is the local telephone call rate. You'll gain many more useful features by registering here: free e-mail, USENET access, 20MB free Web space with PHP and Perl enabled. (UK Only)
Tesco Net - As the UK probably has the world's largest "free" ISP market, it's hardly surprising that their largest supermarket chain has got into the act. For a bog-standard, no-frills ISP, you can do far worst than signing up with Tesco. They offer reliable connections, 5 e-mail addresses and 15MB Web space. Calls are charged at local rate (0845), which works out at 1p/minute at weekends. (UK Only)
Virgin Net - For quality free Internet access, there are few other services that can match Virgin's excellent connection speeds, commitment and content. You'll receive a personalised e-mail address (can use in conjunction with your favourite program such as Outlook Express or Eudora). Their tech-support is excellent but does cost at 25 pence/minute. (UK Only)
FreeUK - FreeUK offers easy sign up and access to Web page tutorials, download pages and more. All FreeUK accounts include free unlimited Internet access, unlimited e-mail addresses and unrestricted newsgroup access to over 50,000 different newsgroups. 24 hour technical support is available via telephone, and calls to this are charged at the local rate. (UK Only)
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