page_title: National Capital FreeNet
section_title: 1990s
hierarchical_section_title: National Capital FreeNet / History / 1990s
caption_attribution_description: English: A sign at National Capital Freenet
context_page_description: National Capital FreeNet, is a non-profit community organization internet service provider, with the goal of linking people in Canada's capital of Ottawa and ensuring no Ottawa citizens would be excluded from internet access.
  Founded in September 1992 with the active participation of volunteers, Carleton University, and private industry, NCF was one of the first free-nets set up worldwide and was patterned after the Cleveland Free-Net that had been established at Case Western Reserve University in 1984. Within a year of its establishment NCF had over 10,000 members.
  NCF offers broadband and dial-up service to people in the national capital region; in early 2012, over 4,000 members used its dial-up service.
  The National Capital FreeNet is a free, computer-based information sharing network. It links the people and organizations of this region, provides useful information, and enables an open exchange of ideas with the world. Community involvement makes FreeNet an important and accessible meeting place, and prepares people for full participation in a rapidly changing communications environment."
context_section_description: 1991
  National Capital FreeNet was started at a luncheon held in October 1991. Jay Weston of the Carleton University Department of Mass Communications and George Frajkor of the School of Journalism and Television Programming invited Dave Sutherland, the director of the university's Computing and Communication Services Department, to have lunch and discuss the concept of establishing a free-net based on the concept of the Cleveland Free-Net.
  An committee independent of the university was formed under Sutherland's leadership and started meeting weekly that same month to lay the groundwork for the free-net. A decision was made to make the endeavour community-based and not part of the university, an approach supported by the university president.
  1992
  In the summer of 1992, the free-net was activated as a pilot project, using university computer resources that were underutilized over the summer. With help from Industry Canada, Sun MicroSystems was persuaded to donate a computer and Gandalf Technologies provided the first modems.
  In September, the Ottawa Citizen carried a front-page article by Dominic Lacasse, describing the new pilot free-net project. The article included the dial-in phone number and, as a result, twenty people per day started signing up as members.
   
  The first NCF board meeting was held on 10 December 1992 with Sutherland as chairman. At that point the organization had a total of 4 dial-up lines, a custom logo designed by a graphic artist and Cdn$2120. The start-up funding was made up of Cdn$1000 from City of Ottawa Community Health, Cdn$1000 from the Carleton School Board, a private donation of Cdn$50, and Cdn$70 in cash on hand. The board indicated that the "correct spelling for FreeNet was confirmed at this time as " FreeNet ", with both the "F" and "N" capitalized."
  1993
  National Capital FreeNet had its official public launch on 1 February 1993.
  In April 1993, Julie Chahal, head of the NCF's Public Access Committee presented a public access policy that was accepted by the board. This policy set free public access as a priority for the organization:
  Public access terminals are a key element to meeting the National Capital FreeNet's objective to meet the present information needs of the people and public agencies in the region, and to prepare the community for full and broadly based participation in rapidly changing communication environments.  They ensure that the Freenet is available to anyone interested, including those who may not own a home computer with a modem. - Julie Chahal
  By April 1993, NCF had reached the limit of their first server in offering 58 dial-up phone lines and started upgrading to faster 14.4 kbps modems.
  In the summer of 1993, the organization's application for charitable status was turned down by Revenue Canada, as was the application of another early freenet in Victoria, BC. NCF spent much of the year in fundraising activities to meet its mandate in the face of rapidly rising demands for service and the need to purchase new hardware on an ongoing basis. The organization hired its first Office Manager, Kyla Huckerby and committed to hiring a System Administrator as well.
  Late in the year Ian Allen was hired as NCF's first System Manager, reporting to the board. By the end of the year, NCF had over 11,000 members.
  1994
  The association took delivery of its first Sun Microsystems SPARCstation computer and a new terminal server in April. By the end of the first quarter, NCF had 19,000 members.
  The success of the free public terminals at the Ottawa Library was identified as problematic in a survey of users at that facility. The survey showed that some users were dominating the computers and this made it hard for others to access them. NCF dealt with this through a technological solution: limiting sign-in time on the public computers to one hour and to one log-in per day.
  1994 also saw NCF make French language access a priority, forming a committee to make recommendations on ensuring that Francophone users in the nation's capital had equal access to NCF and registering the name Libertel 
caption: An NCF sign emphasizing the low cost focus of the organization
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