Internet Service Provider Bargains
Updated Monthly Since 1999
Free ISP Update
Greetings! You found the
most frequently updated list of Internet Service Providers
offering totally FREE dial-up access in the United States.During 1999-2000 there were over 200 ISPs providing free nationwide, regional or local Internet access. The "dot com bubble" burst on March 10, 2000, when the NASDAQ Composite Index peaked, followed by a rapid decline. Most free ISPs quickly disappeared. Some vanished without advance notice! By mid December there were very few ISPs offering free dial-up access.
Free Internet access is still
available in the U.S.
but your options may be very limited!
Our list features 14
free dial-up Internet Service Providers:
2 Nationwide, 6 Region/State, 6 Local
plus 194 dead free
ISPs...
Nationwide Free Internet Access
NetZero Free
The first free nationwide Internet Service Provider and the most popular free ISP since 1998. You do NOT need a credit card to sign up because NetZero Free really is totally free. Features include a huge 1 gigabyte email account with powerful spam filtering and email virus protection. Use MySite to easily build your own web page and express yourself! Share photos with family and friends with PhotoSite. Personalize your start page. Free technical help is available via email or extensive online support pages. 600 minutes per month limit. Thousands of access numbers across the U.S. and Canada.
You can use this link
NetZero
Free|
NETZEROTM History
Are you a free ISP veteran? Do you remember the
NetZero slogan, Defenders
of the Free WorldTM?
Those were the glorious days of unlimited free
Internet access! 
Retired creative property of NetZero, Inc., a United Online company. All rights reserved. Displayed with permission, per usage restrictions. On October 19, 1998, NetZero launched
the first free nationwide ISP featuring unlimited
Internet access. By
mid-January a new member signed up every 45
seconds! |
Juno Free
NetZero's silent twin. Back in June, 2001, Juno merged with NetZero to create parent company United Online, Inc. Both ISPs offer the same basic features. 10 hours per month limit.
State / Regional Free Internet Access
FastFreeDialup.com
California
CA Area Code 209, 213, 310, 323, 408, 415, 510, 530, 559, 562, 619, 626, 650, 661, 707, 714, 760, 805, 818, 831, 858, 909, 916, 925, 949, 951
No limits or restrictions. No email service. No phone support (use the contact form).
DialInFree.net
Michigan
MI Area Code 231, 248, 269, 313, 517, 586, 616, 734, 810, 906, 989
Available throughout Michigan, including the upper peninsula.
No time restriction. No email service. Tech support is $5 per incident via a toll-free call.
FreeDialup.org
New Hampshire,
NH,
No time restriction. No email service. Blocks SMTP port 25. No technical support.
NoCharge.com
Western Washington
WA Area Code 206, 253, 360, 425,
Unlimited access. No email service. Blocks SMTP port 25. Telephone support is available for $10 per incident.
Sailor® Internet Services
Maryland
MD Area Code 301, 410
Sailor is Maryland's Public Information Network, supported by state funds provided to Maryland Public Libraries to assure all Marylanders have free and equal access to the Internet (assuming they can afford a computer and phone service). 90 day accounts. You may apply for renewal. No email service.
SoCalFree.net, A.K.A. sdfree.net and sdfreenet.com
Southern California
CA Area Code 213, 310, 323, 562, 619, 626, 661, 760, 805, 818, 858, 909, 949
Unlimited access. No email service. No technical support.
CdotFreeCanada
Nationwide unlimited service. No email. Ad-based. Be sure to check the Access Areas page to see if Cdot serves your city, before installing the dialer software.
|
Tip:
Most free ISPs do not provide email service. See our
list of the top 10 most popular free
webmail services.
|
Local Free Internet Access
If you live in one of these
communities you might qualify for free Internet access!
ACORN
Akron, Ohio
OH Area Code 330
Akron Community Online Resource Network, a service of the
Akron-Summit County Library System. Usage is limited to one hour
per day. No email.
AzTeC
Freenet
Phoenix, Arizona
AZ Area Code 623
After a year+ hiatus, AzTec has acquired telephone lines, once
again offering dial-up access. Also provides free POP3 e-mail
accounts and website hosting for community organizations.
Chester
County InterLink
Chester County, Pennsylvania
PA Area Code 610
Usage restricted to 1 hour or up to 3 hours per day, depending
on the time of day. Includes an email account. You must be a
resident of the county to qualify.
Naples Free-Net
Naples, Florida
FL Area Code 941
Four hour daily limit. POP3/SMTP email account. Webmail access
is a premium service, requiring a donation. You must be a
resident of Collier County.
Nyx®
Denver, Colorado
CO Area Code 303, 720
This site claims to be the world's oldest free public access
Internet Service Provider. Includes an email account, Usenet
newsgroups access and 2MB web space to create a home page. 1
hour daily time limit.
RollaNet
Rolla, Missouri
MO Area Code 573
Free public accounts are limited to a 33.6k maximum connection
speed. 1 hour session limit, up to 10 sessions per day. 1 email
account. 5 MB web page storage.
Vancouver
Community Network
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Area Code 604
Dialup sessions are limited to 90 minutes at a time. After 90
minutes, you will be disconnected to allow others to connect.
You can re-connect to start a new dialup session.
FreeNets
During the mid 90's there were 135+ non-profit community FreeNets providing free access via the TELNET protocol, a non-graphical text-based interface. FreeNets offered online resources before AOL and other commercial ISPs became widely popular. There are very few FreeNets still online. Most of the survivors continue to serve as community information sites and no longer provide free access, or now charge a fee.
These sites may be the last of the FreeNet dinosaurs providing free TELNET connections. Links are provided for historical reference only. We do NOT recommend using these services. You may not have full access to the Internet. Also, a raw TELNET connection is not capable of encrypting data, including passwords.
Arbornet Ann Arbor, Michigan
SEORF SouthEastern Ohio
AzTeCfreenet Phoenix, Arizona
Nyx® Denver, Colorado
SCN Seattle, Washington
Many libraries and schools across the nation still use the TELNET protocol for access to library catalogs.
Free ISP Death Notices
March 3, 2012
MetConnect.com
New York City
NY Area Code 212, 347, 516, 631, 646, 845, 914
MetConnect quietly died when it's parent company, MetTel, pulled the plug on NYC's free unlimited dial up service. There was no advance notification for MetConnect's many users.
December 31,
2008
Prairienet.org
Champaign, Illinois
IL Area Code 217
The Prairienet Community Network is a service of the Graduate
School of Library and Information Science at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign since 1993. Free dial-up accounts
were available to low-income households through the
NetNeighbors program. Statement from Prairienet: "The
proliferation of spam -- which accounts for 99% of all email
and grows in volume by 50% every year -- generates millions
of pernicious messages each day. In order to operate
efficiently in this environment, Prairienet would be
required to implement cost-prohibitive spam filters.
Likewise, the cost of offering dialup Internet access is no
longer financially feasible."
November 10, 2008
CritPath.org
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
PA area codes 215, 610
The Critical Path Project suffered a serious cut in funding.
The organization provided free dial-up Internet access with no
ads and no restrictions to over 10,000 low-income families.
March 27, 2008
1access.org
No longer accepting new free sign-ups. Existing users will be
able to log-in to use their free dial-up account until April
30. 1access.org introduced their free dial-up service plan
eight months ago on July 29, 2007. They provided 600 minutes
(10 hours) per month.
January 1, 2008
SuffolkWeb
Suffolk.lib.ny.us
Suffolk County, New York
NY Area Code 631
A service of the Suffolk Cooperative Library System.
Registered library patrons were eligible for a free dial-up
account, which included 30 hours per month (one hour/day).
Although the county library system no longer offers free
dial-up, patrons can access unlimited free Wi-Fi at 53 library
locations.
November 24, 2007
PghConnect.com
PghConnect has dropped their free service plan. It was an almost
free nationwide service, requiring a one-time $9.95
set-up fee. Members received 25 hours of monthly off-peak
access (mostly late night to early morning).
January 31, 2007
GreatDialUp.com
BORN: September 7, 2006
DIED: January 31, 2007
This free ISP had a very short 5
month life! We hoped it would make
a come-back, much like recovering from a coma. If GreatDialUp
miraculously wakes up you will read the great news right here!
Members dialed into a modem pool using a toll-free
number. Users began experiencing connection problems on
January 22, 2007. This notice was posted on the GDU website on
January 31, 2007: "The company providing us with our 1-877
number has shut it down. We are currently looking for a new
800 provider."
Free ISP Memorial
NetZero introduced the first free nationwide ISP.
Since that day many free dial-up ISPs have come and gone. Some of these sites still exist but none currently offers free Internet access. We do not provide links because we don't want you to waste your time chasing dead or redirected links...
Do you know of a deceased free ISP that is not on this list? Please tell us so we can honor it's past existence.
This is the longest list of dead free ISPs on the Internet!
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ABC3340.com |
Maryland-Internet.com |
|
| Spinway.com,
1stUp.com and Brand3.com provided the Internet
'backbone' for many of the free ISPs on this list. *Almost free ISP (charged a set up fee). |
||
