Freeserve, Wanadoo and Orange email addresses are no more. Where next?

EE has told Duncan and other readers it's closing email addresses that some have been using for almost 20 years. Where should they go now?

Many of us have been using Orange/Freeserve/Wanadoo email accounts since they were introduced about 20 years ago. Now BT/EE plans to shut them down at the end of May 2017.

Many businesses were built on the back of these addresses, and large investments made using their contact information in brochures, product literature, business cards, letterheads etc. Having started to work out a migration plan, I realise I shall have to invest a substantial amount of time and money to move to a new email address. I also need a new account that allows me to download, archive and work offline with a suitable email client.

Dixons launched Freeserve in 1998, and it was subsumed into France Ti(C)li(C)com's Wanadoo in 2000. Then France Ti(C)li(C)com bought Orange UK, and changed its branding to Orange SA. In 2010, Orange UK merged with Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile UK to become EE (Everything Everywhere). Finally, BT bought EE for 12.5bn, completing the deal in January 2016.