ISP Review: NetZero Free

NetZero, like its sister company, Juno, was one of the first major ISPs built around offering free Internet access for dialup. That's right, FREE.

How does the company do it? For starters, people who use NetZero's free ISP service see ads when they log in and during their session. Their use of the Internet access service is also "capped" -- meaning that NetZero limits the amount of time you can spend logged in to your ISP, or the number of times you can connect every month. That's to stop bandwidth hogs from monopolizing the ISP -- but it can be a limitation on your use of NetZero's free Internet access, too.

As a result, you might find it tough to connect to NetZero sometimes, or you might you're your connection often if you're a power user.

On the other hand, the Internet service is free.

So, is the old adage true, that you get what you pay for? NetZero does deliver the entire, unfiltered Internet, and it has tons of nationwide Internet access numbers. It's hard to argue with that, especially when you realize you could be paying hundreds of dollars a year for most of the other service.

But is it really a good value? NetZero knows that people will be willing to pay for better Internet access service, which is why it also created paid plans. Sometimes it even seems like NetZero might be encouraging people to sign up for those paid plans, because service on its free ISP can be downright unreliable at times.

I recommend that you use NetZero mainly to get a free e-mail account, or if you need Internet access on the go and don't want to pay for it. Who knows, you might find some good use for it... maybe if you never really use the Internet that much. Other than that, take a look at NetZero's paid Internet access plans -- they're actually really good deals.

In the meantime... and in case you were wondering, when it comes to cheap Internet Service providers at least, you do get what you pay for. :-)

Great-ISP-Deals.com gives NetZero free ... four stars!

• FREE!