You
would think that with the more relaxed attitude toward sex and other adult
themes, the newsgroup servers for the European ISP's would all the
alt.binaries.pictures.erotica and alt.binaries.multimedia.xxx
newsgroups. You would be be wrong. Providers like T-Online in
Germany may define all the groups on their usenet servers, but they do not
populate anything that might be considered objectionable - especially the
picture and movie groups.
Just like in the US, to get access to the censored newsgroups,
you'll have to pony up some geld for a independent usenet provider.
Generally, your best bet for completion and retention are still the US
providers. The thing you may sacrifice is speed - the transatlantic
link can slow things down a lot - so much so that unlimited usenet
providers like Newshosting are useless because
you can't get enough bandwidth to get your money's worth.
However, there are a few European newsgroup server companies that
deliver competitive services. Many also accept EC card payments or
German direct-payment forms. The list below lists some of those
providers.
Note - you should still consider the US usenet
providers, where you generally get the most value for your money
(especially with the devalued US dollar!) |
| European
Newsgroup Services we can recommend: |
| |
Prices / Rates |
Features |
Notes |
Giganews
$5 off first month for new users when using the Giganews coupon link above
 |
| Unlim |
$25 - mth |
|
| 10 GB / mo |
$12 - mth |
$1.20 / GB |
|
C-
Highest
R- Highest
S- Highest
X-10
I, H, B
P 119, 80, 23
|
Giganews also has
a copy of their US servers based in Europe for faster access on the
"other" continent.
Website is available in English, German (Deutsch), Spanish (Espanol),
Dutch (Nederland), and French (Francais)
Same pricing and retention / speed/ completion as the other Giganews
servers, just located within Europe for faster ping times. |
Eweka.NL
Not accessible from all ISP's |
|
C-
Highest
R- Highest - sortof
S- High
|
Eqeka
runs their own servers - they are not a front end for any other service.
They up to 8 connections, even from different IP's.
Must prepay monthly (need an EU bank account). Before
signing up, note the ISP's that DON'T work on the signup page.
One strange note: Although messages may be retained for up to 120 days,
headers are only stored for 10 - so unless you also uses a service like
Newsleacher and NZB files, most newsreaders will only see 10 days of
retention. |
Don't forget to compare the US Newsgroup
Servers too!
|
| Other
European Usenet Providers we have some experience with |
Eurofeeds
|
| 10 GB / mth |
€ 7.50 |
| 25 GB / mth |
€ 14 |
| 50 GB / mth |
€ 23 |
| Unlimited |
€ 11 to €25 |
|
C-
High
R- High
S- ?
X-8 |
Resellers
for news-service.com usenet service. Unlimited options based upon
speed. Pay less if your ISP connection is already slow, or more if
you have a fat pipe. |
www.usenet-replayer
|
| Non-Adult Groups |
$0 |
| Adult Groups |
$15 / mth |
|
C-
Low
R- Med
S- Low
T |
German
based firm offers web usenet access with very difficult user
interface. Completion and retention rate hard to figure
out. Adult groups require $15 monthly X-Check adult membership. |
| News-Service.com |
| 10GB / mth |
€ 7 - mo |
| 25 GB / mth |
€ 11 - mo |
| 50 GB / mth |
€ 22 - mo |
| 100 GB / Mth |
€ 40 - mo |
| 200 GB / Mth |
€ 75 - mo |
|
C-
High
R- High
S- ?
|
Based
in Amsterdam. Primarily focused on reselling through companies like
Eurofeeds. |
Simonnews
|
| 6 GB / mth |
€7 |
| 50 GB / mth |
€16 |
| 120 GB / mth |
€29 |
| Unlim / mth |
€12 - €30 |
|
C-
High
R- High
S- Med
|
German
company re-selling access to Supernews (US Based). Unlimited
options based upon speed. Simonnews takes payment in euros by credit
card or bank account access. An option if you are in Germany and
must use a bankübderzweisung. Web page in German and English. |
Features: |
| S |
Speed
- based on connecting from Europe, not US - Subjective, based on distance
from backbones) |
| C |
Completion
Rate (Highest 95%+, High 90+, Med 80+, Low 60+, Lowest 0+) |
| R |
Retention
Rate (Typical Binary Group - Highest 60+ days, High 30+, Med 15+, Low 7+,
Lowest 0+) |
| P# |
Alternate
port numbers you can use to connect (Default is 119) |
| X# |
Number
of simultaneous connections - Note, bandwidth limits may reduce
effectiveness of multiple connections |
| I |
ISP
options: ISPs like comcast, or cox cable may offer their customers this
service under their own names. |
| M |
Re-branding
of another company's servers under their own name. Caution - some of
these companies are fly-by-night! |
| W |
Web
interface available. Interface may only list headers unless also
includes "T" (Below) |
| T |
Thumbnail
based interface, Combines all parts of multi-part files and allows
previews before downloading |
| B |
Blocks
spam posts automatically, frees up more disk space for longer retention
and faster header downloading |
| A |
Allows
anonymous posting - Blocks X-trace user header information |
|
Back to the newsgroup server list
|
|
