NetZero's price was right there in the name. While AOL charged about $20 a month, this Southern California company gave away dial-up internet access to anyone who would put up with a small ad window that stayed on screen while they browsed. NetZero launched its service in October 1998 and went public less than a year later. In 1999 most American homes still reached the web by modem, and the monthly bill was the thing that kept millions offline.

Ads Pay the Phone Bill

NetZero was incorporated in California in July 1997 and launched its free service in October 1998. Users downloaded software, dialed in and got online at no charge. In return they filled out a profile and saw targeted ads in a window that NetZero kept on screen. Advertisers paid to reach specific kinds of users. The bet was that ad revenue per user could cover the cost of modems, phone lines and support.

Free Meets the Crash

NetZero priced its IPO at $16 a share in September 1999. Millions signed up, and the free model worked as long as the ad market boomed. When the dot-com crash hit in 2000, online ad prices fell, and NetZero began capping free hours and selling paid plans. In 2001 it merged with Juno Online, another free dial-up provider, to form United Online. The NetZero brand lived on inside the combined company.

Cover: Wakasa Province: Fishing Boat Netting Flatfish, Utagawa Hiroshige. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for a fishing net (Net).