To get more comprehensive access to files on Usenet, it makes sense to use a combination of Usenet providers. In most cases, you’ll want an unlimited primary provider in the same geographic region as you.
For a secondary or backup provider, you want a provider that fills in files that are missing from your primary provider’s feed. This secondary provider account can be a block Usenet account or an unlimited Usenet account, depending on your downloading needs.
In regards to location, I recommend:
- Using a provider with US servers if you live in North America or South America or Australia
- Using a provider with European servers if you live in Europe or Asia
Recommended Usenet Combination For USA & Canada
This is my recommended combination for North American users: NewsDemon (unlimited) + Tweaknews (unlimited).
In this configuration, NewsDemon provides a fast primary connection to North American servers. This is supplemented by a European backbone (Highwinds) feed via Tweaknews.
No Frills Usenet Access: NewsDemon
NewsDemon is a good choice if you want a reliable, no-frills Usenet service and you are comfortable using NZB files to initiate downloads. NewsDemon offers retention of 3808+ days and good download speeds using servers in the UK and US. They accept bitcoin for payment. Full details here.
Tweaknews: An Inexpensive European Usenet Provider
Tweaknews is a Dutch Usenet provider with some of the fastest connections in Europe. They also have one of the best completion rates in the industry. This provider charges € 7.50 (euros) or $8.57 USD per month for 40 SSL Usenet connections, with a 2500-day retention. A VPN and search engine are also included.
Recommended Usenet Combination For Australia
This is my recommended combination for Australia users: NewsDemon (unlimited) + Tweaknews (unlimited). It’s the same recommendation as North American users because US servers offer the fastest connections for Australian users.
In this configuration, NewsDemon provides a fast primary connection to North American servers. This is supplemented by a European backbone feed via Tweaknews.
Recommended Usenet Combination For South America
This is my recommended combination for Australia users: NewsDemon (unlimited) + Tweaknews (unlimited). It’s the same recommendation as North American users because US servers offer the fastest connections for Australian users.
In this configuration, NewsDemon provides a fast primary connection to North American servers. This is supplemented by a European backbone feed via Tweaknews.
Recommended Usenet Combination For Europe
This is my recommended combination for Australia users: XS News (unlimited) + Eweka. In this configuration, XS News provides a fast primary connection to Dutch servers. This is supplemented by an additional European backbone feed via Eweka.
Recommended Usenet Combination For Asia
This is my recommended combination for Australia users: NewsDemon (unlimited) + Tweaknews (unlimited). It’s the same recommendation as North American users because US servers offer the fastest connections for Asia users.
If you are in an area of Asia closer to Europe you might want to consider using the European configuration above.
A List Of All Usenet Backbones
US & European Backbone 1 — Omicron (HW Media)
- US & European-based servers
- 3700+ days of retention
- Unlimited & block accounts
- Follows DMCA
- Recommended providers: NewsDemon (full details here)
- Other providers: Newsgroup Ninja, Astraweb, BlockNews, Frugal Usenet, NewsgroupDirect, ThunderNews
US and European Backbone 2 – Giganews
- US & European-based servers
- 1100+ days of retention
- Offers accounts with unlimited downloads (no block accounts)
- Follows DMCA
- Providers: Giganews, Supernews
US-Only Backbone 1 – UsenetExpress
- hybrid retention – 365+ days primary/1100+ days secondary via Abavia
- Unlimited & block accounts
- Follows DMCA
- Providers: UsenetExpress (full details here)
US-Only Backbone 2 – Altopia
- 20+ days of retention
- Offers accounts with unlimited downloading (no block accounts)
- Follows DMCA
- Providers: Altopia
European-Only Backbone 1 – Omicron (Eweka)
- 3700+ days of retention
- Offers accounts with unlimited downloading (no block accounts)
- Follows NTD
- Recommended provider: Eweka (full details here)
European-Only Backbone 2 – Omicron (Tweaknews)
- 3200+ days of retention
- Offers accounts with unlimited downloads (no block accounts)
- Follows NTD
- Recommended provider: Tweaknews (full details here)
European-Only Backbone 3: Omicron (XLned)
- 3000+ days of retention
- Offers accounts with unlimited downloading (no block accounts)
- Follows DMCA
- Recommended providers: XLned (full details here)
- Other providers: SunnyUsenet, UsenetBucket
European-Only Backbone 4 – Usenet.Farm
- hybrid retention – 70 days primary/1000+ days secondary
- Unlimited & block accounts
- Follows NTD for primary retention, DMCA for secondary retention via Abavia
- Recommended provider: Usenet.Farm (full details here)
European-Only Backbone 5 – Abavia
- 1100+ days of retention
- Unlimited & block accounts
- Follows DMCA
- Recommended providers: XS News (full details here)
- Other providers: XS Usenet, Bulknews, Cheapnews
European-Only Backbone 6 – ViperNews
- 30+ days of retention
- Offers accounts with unlimited downloading (no block accounts)
- Follows NTD
- Provider: ViperNews
