National Capital Freenet (Ottawa)

Pros: Free, reliable, and community-oriented.
Cons: At present, dial-up is only 28.8K.

I have been a member of the National Capital Freenet for more time than I can remember now (eight yearsish, I believe). It was one of the first public places in Ottawa to have full internet email through a dial-up/telnet text connection, which is still...

Pros: cheapest full-function ISP in the known universe
Cons: may be LD call; newsgroups full of kooks

The National Capital Freenet began with very modest means in 1992, during the nascent days of the Internet being opened up to civilians. The idea was that the Freenet would be a community meeting-place and town hall where neighbours would get together...

Pros: Very affordable, community-based ISP with great service, dial-up and DSL internet.
Cons: Limited dial-up access during peak usage hours. Fewer support resources.

The National Capital FreeNet is a community-based ISP with a mission of providing affordable, accessible internet services to the Ottawa area. Although donations from new members are strongly encouraged, there is no cost for dial-up internet access. Members are provided an e-mail account that can be accessed from a desktop e-mail program (such as Outlook) or through webmail (which is very convenient when one is at work or otherwise on the move). I have been a member for thirteen years, and the NCF has grown to meet the changing needs of Ottawa's internet community in that time.

Better still, members can subscribe to high speed DSL with speeds of up to 5mbps download, and 800kbps upload, which is equivalent to DSL and cable internet packages available from commercial providers. Although you must purchase your own DSL modem, the service itself is excellent and affordable at approximately $31 per month. It is great to have this choice in Ottawa and I strongly recommend it to anyone thinking of subscribing to a high speed internet provider.