NetZero to launch free wireless broadband service | General Homesteading Discussion | Forums

It only allows for 200 megabytes for data transfer, but hey free is free. For us old farts that just surf the web and e-mail, it's not a bad deal

http://finance.yahoo.....11045.html

NEW YORK (AP) — It's like the '90s never left: Billy Crystal hosted the Oscars. Internet IPOs are back. And NetZero is returning with free Internet service —only this time it's wireless.

United Online Inc. announced Monday that it will offer free wireless Internet service under its NetZero brand, the one that started the free dial-up phenomenon in 1998. The company is backing up the plan with TV, print and online advertisements.

There are plenty of catches with the free plan. United Online isn't offsetting its costs by making users look at advertising, as it did with its original offer of free dial-up Internet access. The "free" users will be money-losers for the company, United Online Chairman and CEO Mark Goldston said. That means United Online is using the free plan as a way to lure customers with the hope of upselling them to paying plans, which start at $9.95 per month.

To take advantage of the offer, consumers will need to buy a $50 antenna stick that plugs into a laptop, or a $100 "mobile hotspot" that allows any Wi-Fi equipped device to connect to the Internet. United Online will be selling the devices on the NetZero website.

The free accounts are limited to 200 megabytes of data per month— enough for some email and Web surfing, but little else. Half an hour of full-screen streamed video will eat up the whole month's allotment. By comparison, AT&T Inc.'s cheapest wireless data plan costs $14.95 per month for slightly more data — 250 megabytes per month — but that plan is only available for tablets with built-in cellular modems.