Free Internet Access Craze by Brad K. Gushiken Internet users are getting more and more choices when it comes to free Internet access. According to New York market research firm Jupiter Communications, 6.2 percent of all Internet users will use some kind of free access this year, with that amount doubling to 13 percent by 2003. At the first level, it s a company you know and trust, said Jupiter analyst Dylan Brooks. Secondly, because presumably these companies will be giving you some kind of incentive to use it, like Connect through our ISP and at our Web site get an extra 10 percent off of anything you buy. Most free access providers make their money through advertising and require users to download a software program that displays a constant stream of advertising on their screen whenever they are online.
Many providers also monitor their users and collect data to better target their ads.
The jury is still out on whether offering free Internet access makes economic sense. This has not deterred companies from trying, though. Nor has it stopped Internet users from taking advantage. Since its first launched its free service in October 1998, NetZero has amassed more than four million subscribers. Asia-Pacific enjoys a number of advantages that will accelerate its development as a major contributor to worldwide eCommerce, said Stuart D. Woodring, Forrester s vice president of research for emerging Internet economies.