Dale, Here's something from the Daily Mail (London) on X-Stream. The URL's at the end might be helpful.
Best Regards, Mad2
Copyright 1999 Associated Newspapers Ltd.
DAILY MAIL (London)
May 5, 1999
SECTION: Pg. 52
LENGTH: 593 words
HEADLINE: Web-wise fans make Net gains;
MONEY MAIL
BYLINE: Wayne Asher
BODY:
TEMPO, the electrical goods retailer, has launched what it is billing as the first truly free internet service.
Screaming.net offers free internet access at evenings and weekends if you switch your telephone account to Surrey-based Localtel.
You can keep your usual phone number, and Localtel hopes new customers making peak-hour calls will make up for the cost of the free calls off-peak.
One point to watch is that the service could generate vast amounts of internet traffic and will need to be able to handle this.
Tempo's move is the latest salvo in a price war that has seen many internet service providers (ISPs) scrap monthly access fees. But are there any catches? Here are the key questions:
Q WHAT do you get?
A FREE online access.
But with the exception of Screaming.net you must pay the cost of a local phone call.
X-stream offers free calls at certain times.
Q WHO offers this?
A ABOUT 30 ISPs.
Dixon's Freeserve is easily the largest, with more than 1.1 million users.
But Virgin.net is also free; Tesco.net is, too. Then there are smaller companies, including Arsenal Football Club, whose fans receive a mine of useful information about the Gunners.
Q SO WHAT'S the catch?
A CALLS to the help-line are charged at premium rate, usually 50p a minute. With traditional internet firms, which charge a monthly fee, help costs nothing.
Virgin gives the choice of either paying GBP 1 a minute for helpline calls or a monthly fee of GBP 5.99 for unlimited calls.
A handful of firms do not offer a telephone helpline at all. Instead you must email your queries, which is hard if you can't get online in the first place.
Q SO IS it worth signing up with a free firm?
A YES. The traditional ISPs usually charge about GBP 10 a month, and you are unlikely to spend that on calls to the helpline.
Q SHOULD I switch if I'm already with another internet firm?
A YOU have to balance the subscription money you save against other factors, such as telling your friends that you have a new email address.
You may have to reprint stationery and business cards, too. Or you may have a personal website hosted by the old internet firm, and you will have to shift this.
Q BUT don't the fee-charging firms offer exclusive content?
A YES, in the case of AOL and Compuserve, but not in the case of well-regarded no-frills firms such as Global Internet.
AOL costs GBP 16.95 a month (or GBP 4.95 for those who are only online for three hours a month); Compuserve costs GBP 6.50 a month for five hours and then GBP 1.95 for each extra hour.
But do you really need this exclusive content?
Some of it may already be available for free on the web. On the plus side, these are global firms which you can access anywhere - you don't need a separate account to pick up email when you are travelling.
Q ARE there any free services which don't charge a fortune for the helpline?
A YES. Barclays.net - which goes live soon - has no monthly subscription to pay, while helpline calls cost 8p a minute at peak times and 3p to 4.2p a minute at other times.
But you have to bank with Barclays to qualify.
* WAYNE ASHER is editor of This Is Money, the Daily Mail's financial website at www.thisismoney.com
USEFUL CONTACTS
Screaming.net
www.screaming.net
Virgin - www.virgin.net
Freeserve
www.freeserve.co.uk
AOL - www.aol.co.uk
Arsenal FC
www.arsenal.co.uk
Compuserve
www.compuserve.co.uk
Tesco - www.tesco.net
X-stream
www.x-stream.co.uk
LOAD-DATE: May 6, 1999
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