B-92's coverage of anti-government protests in Belgrade in 1996 and recent events in

B-92's coverage of anti-government protests in Belgrade in 1996 and recent events in Kosovo, against the wishes of the Milosevic government, meant that it has always operated under the constant threat of closure. On 23 March, with Nato bombardment imminent, the transmitter of Radio B-92 was confiscated by the authorities and its editor-in-chief, Veran Matic, was held in custody at a police station for more than eight hours. Its broadcasts of music and uncensored news reports were heard across Serbia through a network of local partner stations. Its signal was also picked up by the BBC World Service and retransmitted via satellite around the world. "There is a cost of providing Internet access, but it is a very low cost. It is more a question of whether you can afford not to do it.".

Until 2 April, Radio B-92, an independent FM station based in Belgrade, had been a respected source of independent news in the Balkans, winning a number of international press and media awards, including the prestigious "Free Your Mind" award presented by MTV Europe in 1998. Companies such as Demon may choose to focus on small businesses and homeworkers, who need an ISP that they can stay with as their business grows.Internet companies with strong content, such as AOL, may opt to become portal sites. AOL recognised the value of portals when it purchased Netscape last year: Netcenter, Netscape's home page, is one of the most visited sites on the Web. In the UK and Europe, the Microsoft Network has already chosen the portal route. MSN continues to provide dial-up accounts, but the portal is where MSN is currently focusing its attentions."It is smart for us to offer access, but we do it in a non-strategic way," says Judy Gibbons, MSN's director. Some have already done this: I-way abandoned consumer dial-up accounts last year, and Easynet has successfully moved away from the mass market and now concentrates on providing Internet access to businesses and to partners, who sell services on to the public.

Rumours abound of problems going online with free ISPs, including busy lines and slow connections, but even users who pay subscriptions face similar problems.Internet companies appear to face a stark choice over the next few months: they can go free, or move out of the consumer market entirely. It is hard to justify charging pounds 10 a month or more for a service that other companies give away. "There is actually very little about Virgin on the service." Instead, Virgin Net hopes its material, from partner publishers in areas ranging from health to music, or specially commissioned, will help it stand out among ISPs.For Internet service providers with neither their own networks, nor a brand, the future looks less rosy. Virgin Net's challenge is to come out from the shadows of the Virgin brand."Our content is not just about Virgin," explains David Johnson, the company's commercial director.

The switch to free Net access coincides with a new Internet strategy across the Virgin group. An Internet transaction, such as paying a bill online, costs a bank a fraction of the cost of the same transaction in a branch.If there is one company that knows about branding, it is Virgin. Freeserve can promote offers at Dixons or PC World; the Ministry of Sound can publicise club nights, merchandise and CDs Banks have an even more attractive reason for becoming ISPs Selling financial services over the Net is big business. Eidos, for example, can use its ISP home page to promote Lara Croft's latest adventures and other computer games. In turn, they share a proportion of the income with the brand. This is only a fraction of a penny a minute, but, with the potential for millions of users, it could be an important source of cash.Companies, though, have other reasons for offering Internet services Capturing, or keeping, the hearts and minds of users is one.

They can leverage their existing customer base and achieve volume. When they achieve volume, they will receive revenue."Phone-call revenue-sharing arrangements have made free ISPs possible. Internet users pay BT or a cable company for a local call each time they go online. Part of that money goes to the company operating the local- rate modem lines. The company operating the modem lines passes some revenue on to the service provider.