BlueLight Limits Free Internet Use

T R O Y, Mich., Jan. 4 -- BlueLight.com has informed its subscribersthat they will have to pay for using more than 25 hours online.

The company, a free Internet service provider and e-commerce armof Kmart Corp., said the decision is a cost-cutting measurenecessary to keep the service running.

“The unlimited free model is pretty much dead,” saidBlueLight.com spokesman Dave Karraker.

NetZero, BlueLight’s main competition, said last month it waslimiting its users to 40 hours a month. Users who want more timemust pay $9.95. Users then get unlimited time for the rest of themonth.

The life span of free ISPs was about a year, said DarylSchoolar, an industry analyst with ISP Strategies, a division ofCahners In-Stat Group, a digital communications research firm.

“The free ISP seems to be the flavor of the month that’s gonereal quick,” he told The Detroit News for a story in today’s paper. “It’sunrealistic for people to think they can get a free ride. Someone’sgot to pay.”

San Francisco-based BlueLight.com’s ISP has 5.6 million users.Troy-based Kmart owns 59 percent of the site and has invested morethan $55 million in the site.

Last month, BlueLight’s Internet provider shut down, forcingBlueLight to purchase some of its assets to keep the ISP going.