The Government of Canada provides funding for this initiative.
For Everyone
The services listed here are free services we provide for Individual, Non-Profit and Group accounts.
If you have a Non-Profit or Group account, please also see the Non-Profits & Groups only section for the list of additional services we provide Non-Profits & Groups.
We have three pools of 56K modems to allow users in the toll-free area in Greater Vancouver to get connected to the internet. For help on setting up your computer to dial up to the internet, consult the Setting Up Dialup section of the help pages.
Phone numbers for dial-up lines:
604.638.0189 - Regular User
604.638.0195 - Community Group Line
604.638.1365 - Alternate Number
All users can use any phone line at any time.
Dialup Sessions are limited to 90 minutes at a time. After 90 minutes, you will be disconnected to allow others to connect. You can always re-connect to start a new dialup session. If you are experiencing connection problems, please consult Connection Problems help pages. For password problems, please consult Password Problems help pages.
Our lines are often busy, you can check our usage graphs to plan the best times to use dial-up.
We offer free email accounts to all registered users. To sign up for an email account as an individual or a non-profit group, go to our Sign Up page. You can use POP or IMAP to transfer your mail between your computer and the mail server, or use our webmail program. You can also use encryption to protect your privacy.
VCN offers our users a web-based email (or Webmail), as an alternative to Outlook, Eudora, etc, called SquirrelMail. This means you can check your email from any computer with an Internet connection. To access your email account, you can log in at the top of our VCN home page, or you can go to the SquirrelMail home page at mail.vcn.bc.ca.
SquirrelMail also has some common applications included and is customizable to suit your needs. Some of the functions include an address book, folder management, message filter, spell checker, translator, search tools, to-do list, and a scheduling calendar.
All registered users and community groups get webspace of up to 10 MB in size and can transfer files using File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Web site addresses are:
http://www.vcn.bc.ca/~username, for individuals
http://www.vcn.bc.ca/groupname, for Groups
Community groups can also request an installation of our Content Management System, WebGUI if they wish - see "CMS Website"
To get help on posting to your webpages go to the help pages "Web Pages"
VCN’s Technical Help Desk is located at our main office on the 2nd floor at 411 Dunsmuir Street, in downtown Vancouver. The Help Desk staff is mostly made up of volunteers who are trained to deal with a wide range of tasks and problems and are available to speak to you in person, by phone: 604.257.3811 or by email:help@vcn.bc.ca
Help desk volunteers are here to assist you from 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday and can help you with your VCN account management, donations, or setting up, training and troubleshooting for any of our VCN services. These services include dial up, email, mailing lists, and web hosting for individual accounts and for group accounts.
If you need assistance or would like to know about volunteering opportunities, please contact us.
VCN Help Desk 411 Dunsmuir Street, 2nd Floor Vancouver, BC Open Monday to Friday, 10 AM to 4 PM
VCN offers free drop-in classes for
members of the public. They're offered every Monday except for
holidays. Check this page again for upcoming training sessions.
Free Geek, a non-profit organization in Vancouver, specializes in collecting computers, refurbusing them and giving them back to its volunteers through its Computer Adoption Program.
