NetZero Breaks Into Top Ten

Five-month-old Internet provider NetZero Inc. Wednesday announced it had hit the 500,000-subscriber milestone.

NetZero now ranks as the nation’s 10th largest ISP by subscriber volume, as
reported by Interactive Services. NetZero’s accomplishment establishes the
ISP as the fastest-growing access provider on record. NetZero noted that
the company sign-ups a new subscriber every 13.5 seconds on average.

The ISP said its Web site receives more than 400
million page views each month. According to NetRatings, the NetZero web site
ranks among the top 13 sites by impressions worldwide.

“Surpassing the 500,000-subscriber mark in such a short timeframe truly is
a milestone for NetZero,” said Ronald T. Burr, NetZero’s chief executive officer.

“We rank right
behind Prodigy in number of users,
and our growth rate from October far surpasses the rest of the industry.”

On average, fee-based Internet service providers reported 22 percent
subscriber base growth last year. NetZero has surpassed ISP industry growth
averages, but remains a far cry from America
Online’s
reported 17 Million subscribers. At NetZero’s reported growth
rate, it will take the company over 13 years to develop a subscriber base
that rivals AOL’s users right now.

NetZero’s free-Internet access model is supported from a diverse
advertising community that includes Disney, Macy’s, , Amazon.com and Doubleday.

“NetZero provides a method for effectively targeting consumers that other
companies simply don’t offer,” said Gil Penchina, eBay’s senior director of
business development.

NetZero is the first U.S. company to provide subscribers free Internet access
nationwide. NetZero utilizes the same business model as commercially
supported network television and radio stations. NetZero’s revenue is
generated through advertising and e-commerce sponsorships. Subscribers can
move the NetZero window on their PC desktop to a preferred location on
their screen, but cannot close it.

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