A few hotels and conference centers provide a direct Internet connection through their own system for their visitors, but they are the exceptions. If you have to make an international call to your home Internet access provider, then reading your e-mail on the road will be expensive. If you travel a lot, then it would be worth considering an account with an Internet service provider who has an international or regional service. However, in some countries, the international access speeds can vary and connections may be difficult, in which case it may be better to take out a short-term account with a local Internet service provider. For people who dont want to travel with modem and a selection of telephone jacks and other equipment, Internet cafes provide a means of accessing e-mail.
Some cities have coin or card operated street terminals for Internet access.
Some also provide telnet access to remote computers, and this can be used to access e-mail on a home system. The services are free either because they are supported by advertising or because they are part of a service that is designed to attract users to a web site. By April 1999, between 50 million and 100 million free e-mail accounts were in use worldwide. You can read your e-mail messages via the web and you can reply or send new messages. However, while the e-mail system may be secure, the messages are being displayed on web pages, and the web is not private.