# How does my free ISP support itself?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-free-isp-support-itself/257225>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 28, 2004, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-free-isp-support-itself/257225 "2004-07-28T04:01:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Powers106](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@Powers106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers106)\
**Post date:** [July 28, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-free-isp-support-itself/257225/21 "2004-07-28T22:20:27Z")

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I’ve wondered about this too - though common sense says they can sell the information they gather or the pop-up ads pay for it, I wonder. A few years ago Dell was offering free internet out of France, called Dellnet. Now maybe i just can’t find the link anymore, or the homepage is meant to be “not found” but I can still dial up for the cost of a phone call and have free internet even if the service has been “nixed”. Interesting, wonder what they’re getting from me?..

Powers

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**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\
**Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-free-isp-support-itself/257225/22 "2004-07-29T07:47:22Z")

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> [@Powers106](#):
>
> I’ve wondered about this too - though common sense says they can sell the information they gather or the pop-up ads pay for it, I wonder.

Maybe you’re talking about something else, but with NoCharge, there are no pop-up ads, even on the website.

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**Author:** ![Ross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@Ross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ross)\
**Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-free-isp-support-itself/257225/23 "2004-07-29T15:03:19Z")

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It doesn’t have to be a pop-up ad, any old ad will bring in money.

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**Author:** ![Early\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Early\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Early_Out)\
**Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-free-isp-support-itself/257225/24 "2004-07-29T15:05:31Z")

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> [@Ross](#):
>
> It doesn’t have to be a pop-up ad, any old ad will bring in money.

Well, not quite. If I visit CNN’s website, and there are banner ads on the page, CNN is making money from those. My ISP doesn’t get a thing for it.

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**Author:** ![Ross](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@Ross](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ross)\
**Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-free-isp-support-itself/257225/25 "2004-07-29T15:16:01Z")

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I just meant on the ISP’s own page, though, that they send people to first. Maybe Coke is putting ads there and paying, like, £40,000 per ad, per show, as a humanitarian gesture or something.

That’s bound to be it.

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**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\
**Post date:** [July 29, 2004, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-my-free-isp-support-itself/257225/26 "2004-07-29T16:33:42Z")

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[NoCharge.com](http://NoCharge.com) is apparently owned by [International Telecom LTD](http://www.itltd.net/), a Seattle-based regional telecommunications carrier.

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