Software Warehouse offers free Net access

Software Warehouse and telecoms provider Telinco have joined the growing ranks of retailers and telcos offering free internet access.

The number of free or pay as you go ISPs is snowballing as companies hope to emulate the success of Dixons' Freeserve.

The Software Warehouse service, called Softnet, is free, but it will undercut Freeserve by charging 49p per minute for technical support, compared with the #1 charged by Dixons. The site went live on 2 December and registration will require a CD because there is no online registration.

The mail-order company will also launch Softnet Gold on 1 January 1999, an alternative service costing #4.99 per month with free technical support.

Steve Bennett, managing director of Software Warehouse, revealed: 'Softnet cost a lot to set up and it's a strategy thing. It will help us offer value and build loyalty with our customers. We will shortly be mailing out between 30,000 and 40,000 CDs. Eventually, we'd like to have a similar number of users to Freeserve - you've got to aim high.'

Meanwhile, Cheshire-based Telinco, a telephony and internet services company, is offering a free internet service and Yahoo has teamed up with BT to create a pay as you go service, Yahoo Click.

Analysts are already predicting an explosion in the number of free ISPs as the sector differentiates; there are already nine in the UK. Microsoft insisted last week its free email service, Hotmail, has reached 30 million active users and claims a growth rate of one million users per week.

Adam Daum, internet analyst at Inteco, said: 'Many companies are entering the free ISP sector but they're not sure where the profits will come from.

There is an element of brand building, but largely it's an act of faith.

Revenue from both advertising and e-commerce are negligible in the UK.'

See Dealer Profile, page 23.