 |
| ||
| ||
|
|
|
|
Toronto Free-Net is Toronto's oldest public dial-up Internet access provider. Founded in 1993, TFN is the first ISP to over 45 thousand Toronto citizens. TFN has always been free of annoying advertising and has done its best to remove barriers to access for all citizens. TFN is a non-profit ISP, in it for the long haul because Internet access should be for everybody.
TFN receives no government funding for its core operating costs and relies solely on contributions of its members to pay for the development and maintenance of its services. The biggest single cost is for dialup phone lines. All other Internet providers in the GTA insist on payment to get online. By contributing to TFN you are supporting our efforts to provide sponsored and subsidised Internet access to disadvantaged citizens of the GTA who otherwise would have to forgo convenient Internet access in favour of very basic necessities. If (for instance) you are buying a take-out beverage once a week, you can afford to financially support TFN in its goal that all citizens can meaningfully participate online.
By becoming a member of Toronto Free-Net you are agreeing that you support the reality of Universal Internet Access in the Toronto region.
- Memberships with 56K graphic dialup access
- Information Provider pages hosted FREE on www.torfree.net.
- High-Speed DSL Services - perfect for business and serious Internet users!
- For either the beginning or advanced member we have an affordable dialup account to fill your needs.
Level 10 am to Midnight
(Daily Peak Usage)Midnight to 10 am
(Daily Off Hours Usage)Save Previous
Day's Unused Time?Unlimited Short Sessions
(After Daily Time Quota)Web Space Monthly* Annual Basic 7 minutes 7 minutes No No 2 MB donate donate HalfPlus 1/2 Hour 1 Hour No Yes 4 MB $3/volunteer** $30 1Plus 1 Hour 2 Hour No Yes 6 MB $5 $50 442Plus 2 Hours Unlimited Yes Yes 10 MB $9 $90 Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited Sessions Not Limited 20 MB $17 $170 - All membership levels include: E-Mail, WWW Access, Webmail, space for your own Web homepage, storage space for files, voting privileges at FreeNet general meetings.
- Plus membership levels are never really cut off! These accounts allow short connections after you've used your regular daily time. This enables you to still read and compose email responses while disconnected and then you can reconnect to send and receive new mail. If you are browsing the Web, you can continue to read the page you were on even if the system disconnects you. Then when you click on the next link, you will automatically reconnect and be able to view the next page. If you plan to do extensive live text chat sessions, the Unlimited membership level may be your best option.
Account Levels Explained
- The Unlimited account is not time limited in any way. Not too many people need this level of access, but some people just like it. Sometimes people who use this level are interested in supporting TFN to a greater extent than their usage would indicate. Donations of any amount including lottery winnings are also welcome at any account level.
- The 442Plus account is designed to seem like "unlimited" for most people. 442Plus accounts, are unlimited from midnight until 10am ...ideal for early birds and night owls. 442Plus daily quotas allow you to save or timebank the previous day's peak period unused time quota... 4 hours every 2 days. If for instance, during the peak usage period from 10am to midnight you have used 1 hour - the next day you can use 3 hours plus unlimited short sessions. If during peak period the lines become mostly filled, a session length limit of 2 hours has been put in place to make sure that everyone can get access should TFN's phone lines ever become busy. Just dial in again to reconnect for your remaining time and any extra sessions you may require.
- The 1Plus account is our most popular account. It is intended for light to moderate usage.
- The HalfPlus account is for light usage. Only $3 per month or $30 prepaid for a year or $2.50 per month if you agree to or automatic monthly bank debit program. ** If you would rather volunteer than pay money, we provide an option to help promote TFN through keeping a few community bulletin boards stocked with brochures or by doing some team street postering. Other proposals to help TFN in various ways may also be considered. Since management time is at a premium, we normally favour tasks that do not require much orientation or training.
- The Basic account is intended for very light usage, mainly to download and upload email or web page content. Although it may not seem like it costs much to provide, please donate if you are at all able, even if it is only 5 or 20 dollars. Every half year you will be asked to renew your membership and support.
Payments
Add GST to all prices! A $5.00 Set-up Fee will be charged whenever upgrading from Basic level accounts (including Plus and Unlimited accounts which have lapsed.)
*Prepay annually or quarterly (and every half year for HalfPlus accounts) by mailing a cheque, or phoning creditcard information. Payments may be made at the office by cash (please bring exact change!), cheque or by credit card.
We prefer, if possible, monthly payments authorised by you to be debited directly from your bank account; call the office at (416)204-9257 to sign up or use our online signup forms. We will apply the annual discount rate of 16% to monthly payments for the account level you choose. Cancelations of monthly debits require 5 business days notice by signed fax, letter or e-mail from your Toronto Free-Net address to <tfnoffice
torfree.net> from your TFN account, and after that then please phone the office at the above number.
Official hours for processing in-person payments are Tuesdays and Thursdays 10am - 3:45pm, but please phone ahead to make sure we will be there when you plan to come.
New Members: How to Join TFN
In order to become a member,
- A. each individual must first register on-line, indicating they have read and agree to TFN's Membership Agreement, and
- B. then mail, fax or bring a copy of personal identification (because you are becoming a voting member of a non-profit) to the TFN office (which can be attached with your first payment by cheque or credit card if you wish).
- C. This process will create a Basic account. Once you have created a Basic account you can at any point submit payment by one of the methods mentioned above to then upgrade your account to the level desired.
- Choose an account level from the chart above.
- Start the online Registration process.
- If you have already registered (have a User-ID assigned to you), DO NOT REGISTER AGAIN... If your name is not being accepted, please go to our renewal page to login or get instructions on finding out your login id or password.
- New Basic Members only need to send us a copy of Personal Identification to have their account activated. Usually it takes about one business day. Follow this link for instructions on where and how to send us your Personal Identification. Once you have registered you can upgrade your account. We don't normally accept payments until accounts have been activated. If you are using ground mail to send in your personal identification, you can include a cheque or credit card information with you personal identification for either one time or monthly contributions. In the case of a personal cheque with your name on it we can take care of payment and activation all in one step. Otherwise, once you can login or connect to TFN, please come back to this page to upgrade. We now offer a secure web form to pay via Mastercard or Visa or to sign-up for small monthly payments coming from your bank chequing account.
- If you previously stopped at the payment options screen, and now wish to have a Plus Membership you need to send us your payment and a copy of Personal Identification if you haven't sent that in yet. To do this now, follow this link to Select A Payment Method for New Memberships.
Renewing and Upgrading Memberships
If you have an account, you must renew your account regularly (and keep payments up to date for Plus levels). All accounts not renewed in a timely fashion will be reset to BASIC level (7+7 minutes online per day); basic accounts will be archived.It is each member's responsibility to ensure that they keep their account payments current. TFN has developed a system to warn members of impending expiry, via their torfree.net e-mail, but please do not rely on these notices. They could easily be missed because of a full mailbox, or other causes. If you do not use torfree.net email, you can forward email by clicking on the "Telnet TFN" link and pressing "f" when you get to the numbered choice menu.
Membership Agreement
View the Membership Agreement
Notes:All time limits are subject to change depending upon system loads and usage. This is so that a maximum number of users can be served, and to minimize long redial attempts by users. i.e., ease of access is more important than length of access.
Those with a Voting Membership in the TFN will have the ability to determine and approve future directions and policies in keeping with the mandate of the FreeNet. Memberships must be in good standing at the time of the meeting to have voting privileges.
Donations are accepted and encouraged at all times, as these are an essential source of funding to maintain the TFN.
