NetZero Inc. Wednesday introduced
a new feature designed to end user frustration due to busy
signals and Internet traffic congestion.
The patent-pending “auto-dial” program automatically queues users through a series
of local access numbers to transparently shift its network load. NetZero’s
3 million subscribers should receive fewer busy signals and achieve a
first-try connection rate of 95 percent.
Mark R. Goldston, NetZero (NZRO)
chairman and chief executive officer, said its subscribers value the
ability to have an immediate, reliable connection to the Internet.
“For our users, the frustration of repeated re-dialing will be a thing of the past, the last vestige of an earlier time in the Net’s history,” Goldston said.
Goldston said that in addition to offering NetZero users freedom from a
monthly invoice, its now providing freedom from busy signals as well.
“Expanding our technological capabilities to include dynamic Internet
access numbers that change according to network load, gives our users the
best chance of first-time connection,” Goldston said. “We’re proving that
NetZero users can expect premium quality when they sign up for our free
service.”
Since its launch in 1998, NetZero currently offers free Internet access to
more than 2,300 cities nationwide. NetZero operates its free Internet
service on an ad revenue business model.
NetZero users must provide personal information to the free ISP upon
subscribing to the service, which NetZero in turn sells to advertisers for
one-to-one targeting capabilities of ads, sent to its subscriber base.
