Internet Service Provider Bargains
Updated Monthly Since 1999
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 rapidly declining roller coaster. Most free ISPs quickly disappeared. Some vanished without advance notice - just gone! By mid December there were very few ISPs offering free dial-up access.
Free Internet
access is still available in the USA
but your options may be very limited!
Our
list features 20 free dial-up Internet Service Providers:
2 Nationwide, 6 Region/State,
12 Local
plus 191
dead free ISPs...
Free Nationwide Internet Access
NetZero Free
The first free nationwide ISP and most popular free service provider during and after the free ISP frenzy. 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. Other free perks include Instant Messaging compatibility with all popular IM services. Personalize your start page. Limited to 600 minutes (10 hours) usage per month. Free technical help is available via email or extensive online support pages.
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. (NASDAQ: UNTD). Both ISPs offer the exact same account features. If you use the free version of both NetZero and Juno, please tell us about your experience, after you've tried both services for a month. Limited to 10 hours usage per month.
| Free AOL We occasionally receive email from people who heard AOL is free. Many are current AOL members hoping to switch to the free dial-up service plan... AOL does NOT offer a free dial-up service plan! AOL's free offer provides non-member access to many popular features, but only if you have an Internet connection from another service provider! |
| Tip: Keep track of the total time you spend on the Internet each month. No Frills Timer and ISP Timer are popular free software programs. There are other free online timers but most contain spyware. Note: These products have not been tested with Windows Vista. |
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Free State / Regional Internet Access
DialInFree.net
Michigan
MI Area Code 231, 248, 269, 313, 517, 586, 616, 734, 810, 906, 989
[May 11, 2007 Update] Now available throughout Michigan, including the upper peninsula.
No time restriction. No email service. Tech support is $5 per incident via a toll-free call.
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
Provides extensive coverage in California. No limits or restrictions. No email service. No phone support (email support only).
FreeDialup.org
Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island
MA, NH and RI Area Code 401, 413, 508, 603, 617, 781, 978
No time restriction. No email service. Blocks SMTP port 25. No technical support.
NoCharge.com
Washington and Massachusetts
WA and MA Area Code 206, 253, 360, 413, 425, 508, 781
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.
| Tip:
Most free ISPs do not provide email service. See our list of the top 10 most popular
free webmail services. |
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Free Local 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.
BPL CivicNet
DeRidder, Louisiana
LA Area Code 337
Provided by the Beauregard Parish Public Library. Limited to 2 hours each day. Includes email service.
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.
Cape May FRAS
Cape May, New Jersey
NJ Area Code 609
A service of the Cape May County Library. 1 hour sessions. No email.
MetConnect
New York City
NY Area Code 212, 347, 516, 631, 646, 845, 914
Internet access only. No time limit. No longer providing email service.
Metro Net
Michigan - Bloomfield Township, Independence Township
MI Area Code 248
A service of the Metro Net Library Consortium. Dial-up access only. No email service.
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.
Speer Memorial Library
Mission, Texas
TX Area Code 956
Available to library patrons. Access is limited to 2 hours per day. No email account.
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.
William P. Faust Public Library
Westland, Michigan
MI Area Code 734
The City of Westland began providing free dial-up Internet service for its residents on January 7, 2008.
| Many libraries provide "dial-in" access to their catalog. It's not the same as "dial-up", which provides access to the entire Internet. The services listed above provide free Internet access. |
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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. [Note: FreeNets should not be confused with "Freenet", the free network project.] 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
Nyx® Denver, Colorado. Also provides 56k/v.90 access.
SCN Seattle, Washington
Many libraries and schools across the nation still use the TELNET protocol for access to library catalogs.
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Recently Deceased Free ISPs
August
2009AzTeCfreenet.org
Arizona - Deer Valley, Phoenix, Tucson
AzTeC provided text-based telnet internet access, e-mail accounts, community forums (discussion groups) and usenet news. Also provided free web hosting to non-profit organizations.
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. This is a 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."
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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!
|
ABC3340.com |
MailTag.com | |
| *Almost free ISP (charged a set up fee). | ||
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