Lycos Inc. Tuesday launched its
nationwide free dial-up offering made possible through long-term
agreements with 1stUp.com Corp. and
wholesale Internet access provider ZipLink, Inc.
CMGI-owned 1stUp.com also supplies ad
revenue based free Internet access services AltaVista and Excite@Home (ATHM)
through a transport agreement with super-carrier PSINet, Inc. (PSIX). ZipLink (ZIPL) has been tapped to serve up the backbone network infrastructure for the free Lycos service in the U.S. and Canada.
Since AltaVista launched its free access service in August, the popular
portal has garnered more than 1 million subscribers to date. Excite@Home
launched its free dial-up service about 6-weeks ago. The power portal has
already subscribed more than 500,000 new users in the U.S. and Canada.
Jupiter Communications, Inc. (JPTR) predicts that free Internet service providers will provider 13 million Americans with free dial-up access by 2003. Of those 13 million projected
subscribers, Jupiter forecasts that 8.8 million will use free ISP services as their primary access to the Internet.
With the addition of Lycos Free Internet
Access to its network, the portal expects to rival top search site, Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO),which last year launched its Bluelight.com free ISP service through a deal with Kmart.
Lycos (LCOS), the second most popular search destination on the Web, looks to capture significant advertising revenue based on the American Online, Inc. business model of capturing customers through content.
Bob Davis, Lycos president and chief executive officer, said its free
dial-up offering bridges the allure of its content with unlimited online
access to provide consumers with a single destination to the Web.
“Lycos has seen exceptional growth in page views and registrations over the
last few years,” Davis said. “We have always relied, however, on an access
service to provide that essential connection to the Web. With today’s
announcement we now combine our premium content with Internet access.”
Charles Katz, 1stUp.com president and chief executive officer, said the
Lycos service marks a turning point in the free access movement.
“By combining 1stUp.com’s technology and infrastructure with Lycos’ brand
and leading network of Web resources, consumers are growing to realize that
there is a better alternative to paid Internet subscriptions,” Katz said.
The Lycos free access service is available to about 95 percent of the U.S.
The service will be entirely advertising supported, and Lycos intends to
aggressively market its free access offering to the 30 million regular
users that visit the search site each year.
With more than 100,000 daily new registered users, Lycos may be the next
content-based Internet entity to challenge America Online’s (AOL)
premium-priced Internet access in the marketplace.
The Lycos free dial-up offer includes unlimited Internet access and e-mail
accounts t
hat may be accessed from a personalized start page. Instant
messaging and personal homepage services are also available. There is no
limit to the number of accounts an individual or business may open and no
restrictions apply to business usage.
