Help with obtaining an e-mail address

E-mail is a useful facility for contacting the Migration Watch organisers or support team with queries or if you encountered problems with the system. It is also important that we should be able to contact you if we have queries about your records. Most users will already have an account with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) which will include e-mail facilities. However, if you do not, then the summary below may provide some help regarding getting your own e-mail and, if you don't already have one, choosing an ISP that best suits your needs.

E-mail

If you are a home user, you will probably already have your e-mail set up. If not, then the section below on ISPs should help in getting you online. However, if you do not own a computer at home, and would still like to contact Migration Watch via e-mail, then we recommend you register with a third-party Webmail service that lets you send and receive e-mail via any internet connected computer at your local library, or even anywhere in the world! Links to a few popular ones are shown below.

Webmail providers

We cannot recommend any particular supplier, it is up to you to evaluate which service best suits your needs.

Internet service providers

If you are currently accessing Migration Watch away from home (for example, from work or a public library) and you would like to get access from home with your own ISP, then this section describes the different types that are available.

Types of ISP

Unmetered ISPs make a monthly subscription charge, but you are not billed for any Internet access phone charges.
Free ISPs don't charge monthly subscription rates, but you pay local phone rates when online.
Pay ISPs make a monthly subscription charge. You also pay local phone rates when online. However, they are generally faster and more reliable.

Support

If you are new to the internet, you may need to make calls to the ISP's telephone helpline - so pick one with low-cost support.

E-mail

Most ISPs provide an e-mail service, although this requires a specific connection to your home computer, which should meet your needs in most circumstances. However, if your ISP offers a Webmail service, then it is possible to access your e-mail from anywhere in the world through a web browser. Once registered with an ISP, you needn't be bound to a specific, supplied e-mail account or their own Webmail. You can still choose to use one of the global e-mail accounts, described above, that will work everywhere. In general Webmail is likely to be less secure than e-mail supplied to a specific computer.

We cannot recommend any particular supplier, it is up to you to evaluate which service best suits your needs. To help you make the right choice, you can find further, more detailed information of UK Internet service providers at ISP review.