For providing free email accounts like Yahoo/Google, you would need high-end servers properly configured and a webmail software. There are no free webmail softwares available which is as good as that of gmail. Also, their servers are very well maintained by clustering in different countries. Also, I haven't ever seen a free Anti-spam method as good as that of gmail.
There is... actually its just quite funny. Do you know that in Malaysia where I'm currenly living, those people who are fanatic about myspace, they don't really know how to open a myspace account AND not even close to have basic knowledge of what an EMAIL is. So what they'd do is they would register a myspace account, without an email. In the end, they'd ended up opening Unverified Myspace account. But luckily the email that they are using most of the times is available for registrations.