Free or cheap access to the Internet can also be found in increasing numbers in the form of community or civic networks and "free-nets." These are on-line network services similar to but simpler than the commercial services like Prodigy and CompuServe, with no charges for access and often with publicly accessible terminals or "kiosks" (Ugelow 1994, F15). Growing numbers of these networks are being installed across the country with the goal of giving residents free Internet access and a means of tying communities together electronically (Ugelow 1994, F15).
So far there are no standards for how community networks and free-nets are set up or funded (Dunn 1994, B1). Most of them rely on federal or state grants or by "piggybacking" on the computer resources of a local university (Dunn 1994, B1). The federal government committed $26 million in grants for developing community networks in 1994 and promised $100 million in 1995. (Dunn 1994, B1). Some free-nets solicit contributions from their users in a manner similar to that of public television or radio (Ugelow 1994, F15).
A coalition of business and community leaders, The National Public Telecomputing Network (NPTN), was formed in 1984 to coordinate donations of time and money to build community networks and free-nets (Abernathy 1995, 62). By 1994, NPTN had established free-nets in 50 cities with 40 more scheduled for 1995 (Abernathy 1994, 62). A spin-off of NPTN, the Rural Information Network (RIN), was established to set up "a shrink-wrapped Free-Net that would work anywhere there's phone service." These free-nets cost about $10,000, and are tailored to supply information emphasizing K-12 services to be accessed in public schools and libraries in areas with less than 50,000 residents (Rural Information 1994, 8).
There is some controversy over the issue of free access to these networks. As the telecommunications industry grows, "...free networks have found themselves at the heart of a national debate: Should the public be guaranteed free access as the technology evolves?" (Dunn 1994, B1). Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, proposed a bill in 1994 that would guarantee some public access to the Internet (Dunn 1994, B1). But Tom Grundner of the NPTN believes that grants and mandated access will ultimately not solve the access problem and that free-nets must eventually find a place in the market economy (Dunn 1994, B1).
As of August 1994, there were fewer than 100 of these networks in existence in the United States, but numbers were increasing rapidly (Dunn 1994, B1). The first free-net was established by NPTN as an electronic bulletin board system (BBS) in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1984, where locals could solicit medical advice from Case Western University staff (Nolan 1994, 17). Initial funding was provided with the help of the university and AT&T (Nolan 1994, 17). Santa Monica's Public Electronic Network (PEN) became the first government sponsored free-net in 1989, creating an opportunity for interaction between residents and their government (Kirschner 1994, 13). In 1994 PEN, which provides kiosks in the local city hall, libraries and recreation centers, was accessed by an average of 1,500 people per day in a city with a population of 96,000 (Kirschner 1994, 13).
Free-nets may be helping to diversify the on-line world. At a 1994 membership meeting of CapAccess, a Washington, D.C., area community network, half of those present were women and one third were black (Ugelow 1994, F15). CapAccess reported that 35 percent of its total users were women compared with 10 to 15 percent of users of commercial on-line services, such as CompuServe and Prodigy (Ugelow 1994, F15).
Free-nets provide a convenient means for residents to communicate with their government officials. With PEN, "Citizens who never have had the time or patience to play telephone tag with city officials, to write them letters, or to sit through public hearings now can participate in local government" (Kirschner 1994, 13). These networks also provide a simpler, more familiar place than the huge and often intimidating Internet for people to connect on-line (Abernathy 1995, 62).
The United States might look to the North for examples of successful free access networks. Canada has the fastest growing community network system in the world (Kainz 1994b, D3). Canadian community networks, funded by grants, sponsorships and donations, had 40,000 registered users in 1994 (Free Data 1994, B8).
Ottawa has the National Capital Free-Net, the second-largest free community network in the world. It had 28,000 users in late 1994 and was adding them at the rate of 100 per day (Kainz 1994c, E3).
Boulder, Colorado's, version of a free-access network, the Boulder Community Network (BCN), went on-line in the spring of 1994 (Zieger 1994, C1). According to Ken Klingenstein, director of Computing and Network Services (CNS) at the University of Colorado and co-founder of the network, BCN has three goals: "To weave a coherent information stream from all the information providers in the city and county; to provide public access via kiosks and dial-up modems; to conduct university-directed research that will come up with a 'Dewey Decimal system' for information organization" (Ellis 1994, 3).
BCN is actually not an independent network but a site on the World Wide Web that requires users to have access to a personal computer with the appropriate Web "browser" software, such as Lynx, Mosaic or Netscape, and an Internet connection. However, anyone can access BCN and the WWW at large for free from the numerous public kiosks on the University of Colorado (CU) Boulder campus, at the Boulder Public Library, the public library in nearby Longmont, the Boulder Senior Center, and the Woodlands housing complex, part of a program that helps low-income families become self-sufficient (Whitey's).
Because it is on the World Wide Web, anyone in the world with Web access can connect to BCN. The site provides a wide variety of information, including a version of the CU student-produced Campus Press; city council agendas and minutes; local, national and "extraterrestrial" weather reports; information for seniors; entertainment; a restaurant guide; a place to post messages, and much more.
According to Klingenstein, BCN was funded by a $249,000 grant from the Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP), part of the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunication Infrastructure Administration (NTIA). In addition, BCN relies on computers, staff, office space and funds supplied by the university and other public and private institutions. In the future, however, BCN may become a non-profit company.