Qwest Communications
International Inc.,
today announced it reached an agreement with Netscape
Communications Corp. to sell Qwest’s phone services on Netscape’s
Netcenter site.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Under terms of the three-year agreement, potential Qwest customers will be
able to sign up for telecommunications services on Netcenter, including
long-distance, Internet access, and conference calling. Users can also
check billing status and get messages through a combination mailbox that
provides for voice, e-mail and faxes.
The companies said the first co-branded version of Netcenter will bundle
Internet access provided by Qwest with Netcenter’s content and services.
Net access will be competitively priced, the companies said, and will offer a
customized version of Netscape Communicator.
The firms expect to launch long-distance and address-book services by
the end of this month.
Qwest said customers who sign up on Netcenter will be charged 9 cents a minute
to receive 24-hour long-distance services. The company will also offer
high-volume customers another package, charging 5 cents a minute in
addition to a $14.95 monthly fee.
The agreement also calls for Qwest to start carrying traffic for the
Netcenter site on its Macro Capacity Fiber network, saying it will boost
performance and bandwidth of Netcenter, at speeds up to 622 megabits per
second. Another contract provision will allow Qwest’s sales personnel to
offer Netscape software to its customers.
Long-distance companies are increasingly using the Net to cut
customer-associated costs and provide sales surges with customer gains.
Qwest said that this agreement will enable it to slice customer acquisition
related costs by as much as 60%.
Rival telco AT&T also e-tails its
long-distance services on co-branded sites, including Lycos Online Powered
By AT&T WorldNet, Infoseek Online Powered By AT&T WorldNet, and Excite
Online Powered By AT&T WorldNet.
“Netscape and Qwest share the same vision and will create a one-stop
integrated service that puts control into the hands of customers to manage
all of their communications,” said Jim Barksdale, president and chief
executive officer at Netscape, in a statement.
“Our goal in combining the strengths of Netscape’s Internet software and
Netcenter services with Qwest’s leading multimedia services and
sophisticated fiber optic network is to provide consumers around the world
with easy access to advanced, reliable and affordable global
communications,” Barksdale said.
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