EarthLink Inc. is firing up cable-modem service with a second MSO Monday as
it introduces its high-speed offering in AT&T Broadband's Seattle
market.
With the Seattle rollout, EarthLink now claims the biggest cable-modem
footprint among the non-affiliated Internet-service providers -- a
still-exclusive club that includes America Online Inc., United Online Inc. and a
handful of regional operators in Time Warner Cable's systems.
The EarthLink rollout is similar to EarthLink's Time Warner Cable
partnership, according to vice president of cable sales Staci Parker. Marketing
will initially center on direct mailings, and the ISP is looking into print and
radio spots and other promotions.
EarthLink will target its existing narrowband customers and new residential
business in the 'Emerald City' market. It is offering 1.5-megabit-per-second
downstream, 256-kilobit-per-second upstream cable-modem service for $41.95
monthly plus a $3 modem charge if customers choose to lease the unit.
The service will also include the same 20 hours of dialup remote access
monthly, eight electronic-mail address, eight personal start pages, instant
messaging, anti-spam and firewall protection, as it does in its Time Warner
rollouts, Parker said.
For now, EarthLink will be the only alternative cable-modem ISP in the
Seattle market, although the MSO has indicated that it is looking at other
providers.
'We're excited to be the first,' Parker said.
Next up on the rollout list will be AT&T Broadband's Boston market, which
should go live this fall, Parker said.
'I don't think it is any big secret that we would like to continue expanding
our footprint through our partnerships with cable companies,' she added. 'We are
in technical trials with Comcast [Corp.] and Cox [Communications Inc.], and we
are actively talking with all of them.'
