Prodigy Gets Competitive With Pricing, Usage Plans

Prodigy Communications Corp.
Friday introduced two new Internet usage plans for Prodigy Internet users
nationwide.

Prodigy announced a new plan for people who use the
Internet just minutes a day. For less than $10 a month, customers can
utilize 10 hours of Internet access. Additional hours of access cost $1.50
per hour. Prodigy Internet users also can add up to five additional
mailboxes for just $2 more each month, when subscribed to the standard
unlimited usage plan.

“E-mail is now a critical communications tool for everyone in the
household,” said David Trachtenberg, Prodigy’s president and chief operating officer. “With
this new plan, we’re giving our members
an affordable way to organize their e-mail so that they can more easily
create separate mailboxes and vanity addresses to give out to a growing
circle of family, friends, and business associates.”

“Prodigy Internet is a perfect choice for people who use the Internet a few
minutes a day to return e-mail and check their stocks,” Trachtenberg added.
“We’re tailoring price plans to meet every market need because one size
does not fit all when it comes to the Internet.”

Top national ISPs have been offering the same services since late 1998. AOL currently offers 5 email addresses on
every type of Internet usage plan and AT&T offers the same services
fees for a 10-hour limited access program as Prodigy, but additional hours
of service are just under $1.

Currently, Prodigy is in the midst of a national marketing plan that criticizes AOL’s practice of displaying “pop-up” ads on log on screens. The Prodigy marketing strategy is devised to
stress the value of unlimited monthly Internet access in a
crowded marketplace that includes offers of free Internet access in exchange for viewing advertising.

Prodigy is a nationwide ISP providing access to over 638,000 customers in
more than 750 cities across the country.