>>>Could I ask how this free email is funded ?
That's an interesting question, Ron.
GMX doesn't append advertising to either incoming or outgoing mail. However, like AB, it places ads down the right-hand side of the page when you use its web-based access. (That's only on the home page when you log in or out; they're not present when you're actually viewing or composing mail). But I don't see them anyway because I'm using Adblock Plus with Firefox, which removes all of the ads both here on AB and on GMX. (If you use GMX with an email client, such as Outlook Express or Windows Live Mail, you won't see any ads anyway).
Chris