FREE THE NET dotmusic.com Unmetered Internet access may still be some way off for UK music fans. In Britain the concept of 'free music on the Net' is rendered decidedly unappetizing by the prospect of a hefty phone bill. For the digital download scene to really take off, listeners need to be able to browse through tracks at their leisure. Recently ISPs have indeed jumped on the flat-rate bandwagon, but with deals that often involve switching phone providers or paying monthly fees. Net4Nowt.com, a site which lists free ISPs, features a discussion board brimming with complaints from customers across all networks. Callnet0800.com, for example, might be entirely free but it's also extremely slow, with transfer rates reported to be so low as to make downloading MP3s nigh-on impossible. To the rescue -perhaps- come Excite, in association with TheFreeInternet.net, launching their own unmetered service which according to a press release is available "24 hours a day... without restriction, via a free, 0800 access number." Unfortunately for music lovers, it seems there are in fact restrictions, as the company states in its FAQs "...we prohibit high- bandwidth activities such as streaming content and MP3 music files." So you can forget the RealAudio streaming webcasts and any online gaming or video conferencing: precisely the reasons why people might want unmetered Net access in the first place. Marketing Director Lister Park asserts that such measures are needed to ensure "...a high speed connection at all times." The rules, he says, "...are designed to protect the public from others who abuse the system". Park denies that limits on digital audio are due to the political controversies surrounding MP3. "Our MD Chris Whalen has Napster- he says it's great, it's not a problem...Eventually we want a service for all, including those who want MP3." But economics are to blame: "While there's so much cheap bandwidth in the US, it's still expensive here." comment on this article e-mail this to a friend start a discussion [about i-drive] writing index dotmusic index Problems? Questions? Suggestions? Contact me: mail@tobyslater.com back to top back to home page

back to writing index back to dotmusic index comment on this article e-mail this to a friend start a discussion recommend *or condemn* this site to a friend