EarthLink put a feather in its cap Wednesday, cutting a deal with IBM Corp.
to place its
Internet access service on the desktop of all new Windows XP Home-based computers IBM sells in North America.
Under the agreement, IBM customers that sign up for EarthLink’s service will receive 30 days of service for free.
“These days, most people buy new computers primarily to access the Internet, so being prominently on a major brand’s PCs is a big
advantage for EarthLink,” said John Kortier, vice president of channel sales at EarthLink. “IBM customers will have the chance to
take advantage of a great deal on our award-winning Internet service.”
EarthLink is pitching its service on IBM PCs as an “out-of-box experience.” It said that when customers initially boot up their new
IBM PCs, they will be guided through a setup wizard which asks them if they have an Internet provider and offers them an EarthLink
dial-up account.
Subscribers receive eight e-mail mailboxes, eight Personal Start Pages, eight 10 MB Web sites, free 24/7 technical support and
customer service, software and the bLink magazine.