Free PC Program Inundates ISP

New England Internet service provider Empire Net has yet to officially announce their
free personal computer program, but that hasn’t stopped its customer
service lines from being deluged with inquiries about the unique offer.

In a strategic partnership with Connect Plus!, Empire Net is the first ISP
to offer a free PC when you sign-up for a three-year service term.

Michael Salvanelli, Connect Plus marketing manager for Connect Plus said there are no hooks to the free PC program.

“Initially, we placed small
advertisements in remote New England communities because we expected a big
response to the program and we needed to work out the terms for delivery.
We wanted to make sure that the credit application and terminal system
worked smoothly and we could deliver the systems smoothly,” he said.

Salvenelli added that Empire Net had been quietly testing their systems for
the past three weeks. Empire Net will officially launch its free PC program
this Sunday. The company plans on
advertising new distribution points for the program in 18 additional New
England markets.

“There’s no hook, and there’s also nothing new here,” Salvenelli said.

Customers seeking to obtain Internet access through the free PC program at
Empire Net are required to complete a standard credit application which is
reviewed by TRW. Upon approval, Salvenelli said that customers can walk
into an Empire Net distribution point, sign up for a
3-year term of essentially unlimited service and walk out with a new PC
in under 15-minutes.

“We’re simply taking a
simple appliance and giving it to you when you sign up for a term of
service. Connect Plus is a telecommunications business that has applied the
same type of marketing program to our cellular services, so why not apply
the same marketing program to Internet access?” Salvenelli said.

Salvenelli added that its free PC program is nothing like the NetZero PC giveaway.

“It’s no great gift when you
ask customers to provide you with private data and personal information
about their tastes, likes, dislikes and children only to intrude on their
PC every minute of the day.”

As free PC programs for advertising venues and access plans begin to
proliferate the IP market, the cascading value of computer hardware will
continue. Those companies that can create margin in commodity-like
industries will survive because they have created brand or service loyalty.

Empire Net currently offers Internet access to Maine, Vermont, New
Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Customers pay their $29.95 300-hour access fees on a monthly basis with credit approval.

Connect Plus is a Massachusetts-based information technology service
offering telephone services, data processing, data and wireless
communications, and wide/local area networking solutions.