O Brave New World Wide Web of Services
The past couple of years, the cost of personal computers has plunged. Now the same thing appears to be happening to Internet access.
A growing number of companies offer free access to the Internet and millions of people are taking advantage.
The largest provider is probably NetZero of Westlake Village which has about 2 million subscribers to its free Internet service.
Another of the bigger players is AltaVista, better known for its Web search engine and portal service. In the four months since AltaVista began offering free Internet access, it has signed up more than 800,000 users. How can AltaVista do it?
As part of the free Internet access, providers place advertising messages--similar to conventional Web banner advertising--on users’ screens while they are online. The ad blocks can be moved but not minimized.
The free service also enables providers to gather information about users and their interests, enabling advertisers to target their products to those most likely to buy.
Also, many free-service providers operate Web portals or other electronic-commerce sites that allow them to profit from their users’ online purchases.
Melissa Robinson, a spokeswoman for NetZero, likens the trend toward free Internet access to network television. It’s completely advertiser-supported, she said. All the consumer has to do is provide the PC and the phone line needed to connect; just as television viewers have to provide the TV and the antenna.
“As more companies come on offering free Internet access, we see that as validation of the business model,” Robinson said. “It is the same quality of service that you would receive with any dial-up service.”
Bill Keenan, director of free-access service at AltaVista, said the company has been pleased with the response of consumers. “We just really felt that the time was right and there was a lot of user demand for this,” Keenan said. “We’re very happy with the results, but it’s not something that’s surprised us. We really thought it would do very, very well.
“We really feel like this is a very high-quality service that meets or exceeds the paid competition,” he said.
Perhaps so, but some users have complained about problems connecting to free Internet services, or have experienced slow transfer speeds while the mandatory advertising banners are being downloaded. Then again, even paid services are not without their difficulties.
For now, most free services provide only 56K dial-up access, although several said they are looking into the possibility of one day providing high-speed service via Digital Subscriber Line or cable-modem technology.
No one’s yet predicting the demise of paid Internet access. It’s likely there will always be some people who don’t want to view additional advertising on their screens or who want premium services that the free suppliers don’t provide.
But free access is a strong new player in the Internet market--one likely to shake up the existing system, according to a recent report from the Yankee Group, an industry research and analysis company. “Free Internet access will turn the traditional Internet-access marketing strategy on its head,” said Emily Meehan, analyst at the Yankee Group.
Among the earliest of the free Internet services was Smart World Technologies, which began offering its Freewwweb service in 1996. The company has 120,000 subscribers and is adding more at the rate of 2,000 a day, according to Steven Daum, company president and chief executive.
Daum says it won’t be long before the growing use of free Internet access reshapes the industry. “The people out there that are charging (for access) would like everyone to believe that they’re going to continue charging,” he said.
“But it’s a stretch to think that when people are offering free access, things won’t change. I believe that folks like AOL have yet to wake up to what is really outside their door.”
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Resources for Free Access
Here is information on how to reach some companies offering free Internet access. Some also offer direct software downloads from their Web site or take software orders by phone for a nominal fee. Not all services are available in all areas.
* NetZero, https://www.netzero.net, (888) 279-8132
* AltaVista Free Access, https://www.microav.com, soon available by phone at (877) 584-5551
* Freewwweb, https://www.freewwweb.com, (888) 970-3733
* iFreedom, https://www.ifreedom.com
* FreeI.net, https://www.freei.net
* dotNow!, https://www.dotnow.com
* Tritium Network, https://www.tritium.com
* WorldSpy, https://www.worldspy.com, (877) SPYDIAL
