Last call for free Web access NetZero is the latest ISP to try offering free Net connections tied to advertising. So far, no one else has made the business model work.
Trouble is, everyone who's tried to do it so far has failed.
Calif. NetZero is launching with 10 advertisers and 150 pilot users, and the technology is pretty convincing. When a customer logs on, an ad window about the size of a normal banner appears. It can be dragged around the screen and positioned unobtrusively, but if customers try to kill it, their Internet connection is cut off. When people sign up for the service, they fill out customer profiles that let NetZero target ads by geography and special interests no matter where they surf - something that has not been possible on the Internet at large. Additionally, NetZero CEO Ron Burr says ads can be targeted based on which site is being browsed.