Here in Syracuse we have the Educational Resource Center. This provides free accounts with limited use of email, newsgroups and some gopher access. This kind of account may also be provided by schools, communities or individuals. Many cities have gone into the business of information and they provide what is called a Freenet. These are provided by the city or community and often have full Internet access.
Buffalo has one.
Free services are great for what they have but there may be disadvantages. They are small, inexperienced, technical services are not always provided, have limited services and are prone to growing pains. They are certainly worthwhile and may be a second service for you to have. Occasionally they give you newsgroups or services like local information not supported anywhere else. Ads for comercial online services can be found all over the place.