ISPs Find Free Internet Costs Them Online search portal AltaVista on Sunday will cut off some 3 million users from its free
Internet access service, the latest sign that freebies over the Web do not always pay.

The announcement comes after a host of smaller free Internet service providers shut down earlier this year and
as Kmart-owned BlueLight.com said Monday it is considering dropping its free service after the holidays.

``We're seeing a very necessary shakeout among the free ISPs,'' said Dylan Brooks, an analyst at Jupiter
Research. ``The ad-supported ISP business grew far too quickly for what was healthy.''

The demise of AltaVista's Web access giveaway is linked to the downfall of 1stUp.com, an Internet service
provider that funneled 3 million out of its 5.5 million paying and non-paying clients through AltaVista.
1stUp, which like AltaVista is a unit of CMGI Inc, is closing down by Jan. 31.

Only Netzero, Juno and Bluelight.com remain as the major free Internet service providers, with BlueLight's
giveaway potentially coming to an end.