Usenet “Block Accounts” are accounts where Usenet access is purchased by the gigabyte (GB). For example, a 100 GB block account will allow you to download up to 100 GB of data from a Usenet feed. Most block accounts have no expiration date so you can use them for years. Many people use block accounts as backup accounts to fill in files missing from their main Usenet feed.
Here are some of the best block accounts available:
Tweaknews Usenet Block Accounts
Tweaknews is a Dutch Usenet provider that offers a Highwinds news feed. They are one of the fastest providers in Europe and have one of the best completion rates in the industry. Their block accounts are quite popular. For example, their “100GB Block Package” costs only €13 (euros). However, please note that the download speeds for block accounts are capped at 100 Mpb/s.
- Link: Tweaknews
- Headquarters: Netherlands
- Server locations: Netherlands only
- Backbone: Highwinds
- Retention: 2500 days
- Connections: 40
- SSL connections: Yes
- Max. Speed: 100 Mpb/s
- Payment types: Credit Cards, Paypal, iDeal, Giropay, Direct Debit, SOFORT Banking
- Account sharing: No
Usenet ExpressBlock Usenet Accounts
Launched in 2017, UsenetExpress is a new tier-one Usenet provider based in the US. I’ve used this service for about two years, and it’s been fast and reliable. One of their popular offerings is a 500 GB block account for $20.
Here’s how the company explains its service:
[W]e run our own spools and transit servers. Currently our spool set isn’t as “deep” since it takes time to build retention. To supplement our spools we have agreements with other providers for older articles. Our internal numbers show around 75% of requests being fulfilled by our own spools. This number will grow as we add retention.
They accept Bitcoin as a payment option.
- Link: UsenetExpress
- Headquarters: Florida, USA
- Server Locations: USA
- Retention: 1100 days for binary, 3000 days for text
- Connections: 50 (can go to 150)
- SSL Connections: Yes
- Max. Speed: up to 1 GB/s
- Payment Types: Credit cards, Paypal, Bitcoin, and others coming soon
- Account sharing: Yes
You may use a block account for as long as you want, which is often years. Numerous users use secondary block accounts to supplement their primary Usenet feeds with any missing files.
What happened to free-usenet?
free-usenet is down … 🙁 Or do use it ?
I’ve used usenet-news.net block accounts satisfactorily.