Free ISP
This column contains the names of internet service providers that offer free internet access. These are hyperlinks so you can click on the company name to get more info and details on their services or to sign up for free internet access.
Access Type
Most free internet providers in the UK earn their revenue by receiving a portion of the call charges. They use 0845 numbers which are billed at local rate but aren't tied to a specific geographical area. The totally free UK ISPs usually provide free calls for internet service through 0800 or 0808 numbers.
56K
This field indicates whether 56K modems are supported. Just about every free ISP supports modems up through 56K, though previously some only supported 33.6K or slower. They generally support the V.90 standard; if you specifically need X2 or K56 Flex support, check with the provider.
ISDN
This field indicates whether the free ISP supports ISDN, and at what speed. Most free internet services support 64K ISDN, but some support multi channel 128K service. You may also use multiple ISDN lines to get up to 512K bandwidth with some free internet services.
Web Space
Some of the free internet providers also offer free web space for you to set up your own web page. This field indicates how much hard disk space they provide (if any) on their web server for your web page. Unless the free ISP offers advertisement-free web space, there is no real advantage to getting your free web hosting from your access provider. So even if you want a free web page, you may want to go with a access provider that doesn't offer web hosting and pick a web host from our page of free web page providers.
eMail
All free internet providers give you a free email address as well. Sometimes they provide a web based email account, where you have to log on to a web page through your browser to access email. Others provide a POP3 email account with a mail server. With these you access your email through a program running on your computer such as Outlook or Eudora rather than your web browser. With POP3 accounts you download your mail to your computer, so you don't have to worry about running out of space on the mail server when you keep your old messages. They also allow you to compose and read email while you are not logged into the internet. You could also get additional free email accounts elsewhere, as described on our free email page.
Comments
In this field all the special features and limitations of each free internet service provider is explained.