TANSTAA Free Internet Service

2000-07-31

Oh, how the wired world must envy the UK! Over here in Blighty, we have free Internet Services, and what a wonderful place it is to be. Well, it would be if only such services worked. Unfortunately the realities are proving shockingly different to the hyperbolae.

Take LineOne, for example. This ISP was originally a subscription-based service, before adopting the “free” model where LineOne took part of the cost of the call to finance the service. In April this year, LineOne launched a joint venture with low-cost call provider Quip, in which £5 per month of telephone calls would qualify the subscriber for free Internet access. The initial service was swamped – users reported slow connections after many failed connection attempts: an infrastructure upgrade speeded up the free service but it continued to degrade and at peak times was almost unusable. The problems also impacted on performance for the “paying” customers. Two weeks ago, a letter was sent to the Quip subscribers saying free access would be terminated in September, and the original £20 cost of the Quip box would be refunded in call charges. So – no loss financially, just in time and effort.

Second we have Breathe. At the end of last week company took the shocking step of disconnecting some of its heavier users and cancelling their subscriptions, all in the name of customer service. A note was sent out saying that the service was discontinued and giving a web address for those affected to claim their money back, but – as one subscriber pointed out – how the heck do you get there, once your Internet connection has been cut off? This move is staggeringly insensitive and will most likely prove very damaging to Breathe’s business. Finally, users of one of the more successful free ISPs – \link{http://www.thefreeinternet.net,The Free Internet} – have been finding that the 0800 calls have been appearing as chargeable calls on their phone bills. Other horror stories, concerning free service providers such as Screaming.net and others, abound.

What is going wrong? There is the inevitable issue of service quality – in LineOne’s case, the company misjudged demand and failed to protect its existing subscribers from its new services. Having decided that its business model is fatally flawed, it looks like the company is extracting itself reasonably well from a situation it clearly finds untenable. As for Breathe, who has also suffered from service level failures, the reaction of the company against its customers absolutely cannot be condoned. It will be interesting in the extreme to see how the company puts this behind them.

The bottom line is the bottom line – there is nothing for free in this world. The business model of The Free Internet is, in fact, a subscription model and it is likely that this is the only model that can work: costs may be reduced to £50 per year, but they do not vanish completely. Companies giving the impression that they can deliver on the promise of 100% free services, will be found out sooner or later. Nice dream, nice dream.

(First published 31 July 2000)