Advice on unmetered Internet access (2 July 2000) There are now many Internet Service Providers offering unmetered access, with plenty more to come as FRIACO and BT SurfTime get going. The sheer volume of services is intimidating and we offer some help. We cannot make recommendations but we can give a good general guide. First of all, for specific services we suggest you browse any of the following sites: ISP Review, Net4Nowt, The Matrix, UK Free ISPs, UK Internet Service Companies and ZDNet UK Unmetered Access Guide. So ... when you come across an unmetered offer what should you ask yourself? Is the service based on FRIACO or BT SurfTime? Services based on these charging structures, although likely to have higher subscription fees than some you come across, are technically superior to most and, crucially, have the force of regulation behind them. They won't vanish overnight. Are basics missing? Some services fall surprisingly short. Can you cope with those which: have no POP email, forcing you to use Web-based email? have no news server? have no personal Web space? block you from using IRC, ICQ or gaming servers? Can you cope with forced advertising? Some services show an advertising banner on your screen, usually after you download specially written dialup software which you must use to connect with. Others ignore your settings and force their home page to be displayed when you open the browser. Do you want voice calls bundled? Some services supply a 'black box' which switches voice calls onto the provider's network. There is often a £5pcm or £10pcm allowance for voice calls which you must pay even if you don't use the box; if you make few voice calls from your land line it may be better to try a service without bundled voice calls. Is there a cutoff? Many services drop the connection no matter what you are doing after, usually, two hours. If you are a heavy user, or download a lot of data, a service which has either no cutoff or a cutoff after a stated number of minutes of the connection being idle may be more useful. What about daytime charges? Some services offer unmetered Internet access off-peak with per-minute charges during weekday peak hours. If you are usually out at work these charges may not matter; otherwise a service offering 24 hours a day, 7 days a week access for a higher subscription fee may be worth considering. Finally As well as checking the small print, keep an eye on our discussion forum and join our mailing list. Between them they usually flush out the rogues :)