Free Seattle Area ISP’s

Few of us can imagine our lives without the Internet. We can use it for virtually everything – no pun intended. It is only icing on the cake if we are lucky enough to find an ISP that provides great service at a great price, or specifically free. There are a number of providers in the Seattle area that fall into this category. These include: NoCharge.com, SCN.org (this Seattle community network will only work for email and website hosting), and Lynx, which provide text-only web browsing. If you opt for a free service, don’t let price, or lack thereof be the sole determining factor in your decision-making. There are a number of other very important considerations. Following are brief highlights of a few such concerns. How reliable is the connection? If the Seattle ISP you are considering is perpetually busy, it is likely to be of little use to you. How stable is the connections? Does the ISP have trouble with clear connections or experience frequent disconnections? Are there any time limits? As you have probably experienced, time flies when you’re online. If your free ISP severely restricts your access it may not be such a deal after all. Before you choose a free ISP make sure you understand how many times you are allowed to dial-up and how long you are allotted per dial-up session. You will save yourself a good deal of frustration in the long run if you gather a little information at the outset. Does the ISP experience frequent downtimes? Customer service is critical. How responsive and accessible are the people who can help you with a question or if something goes wrong? We have all become particularly sensitive to issues around privacy. This is no less a concern

with ISP’s. Make sure to find out before you sign up about the policies and restrictions around privacy. Is email delivered in a timely fashion? This is particularly important consideration if you do business via email and the web. Don’t lose the deal because you didn’t get the message. How long does it take for local Seattle area posts to appear on the ISP’s newsfeed? As you can see, there a number of considerations with Seattle ISP’s. Although it can be a terrific advantage to have a locally based ISP that is free, it is also important to consider your particular needs. If the ISP does not offer the storage or speed that you need, you may be better off going with another ISP.