|
|
Enron Mail |
----- Forwarded by Sue Nord/NA/Enron on 02/01/2001 01:24 PM -----
=09apisciotta@kelleydrye.com =0901/31/2001 02:01 PM =09Please respond to apisciotta =09=09=20 =09=09 To: sue.nord@enron.com =09=09 cc:=20 =09=09 Subject: Individual.com - News From a Friend! INDIVIDUAL.COM Here's an article recommended by: Aileen Pisciotta and it comes to you via Individual.com, Inc. The following message was attached: Sue -- Here is an article reporting the advantages to Earthlink of the=20 AOL/Time Warner ISP access requirement. Best regards. Aileen. HERE IS THE STORY WE WERE REQUESTED TO SEND YOU This story appeared on http://www.individual.com January 31, 2001 _________________________________________________________ [B] Earthlink CEO: AOL-Time Warner merger to increase customer access By Kelley O. Beaucar, BridgeNews Washington--Jan. 30--Internet service provider Earthlink Inc. may be playing second fiddle to mammoth AOL-Time Warner in the world of ISPs, but Chief Executive Officer Garry Betty says its cozy relationship with the=20 largest media company in the world is agreeable to them. No doubt, as EarthLink's newest pact with AOL-Time Warner includes access for the smaller ISP to 20 million households. * * * "It provides us access to Time Warner cable in 20 million homes ... for us that's the only significant thing the merger had done for us," Betty told BridgeNews Tuesday, shortly after the Atlanta-based company released its fourth-quarter earnings, which beat analysts' expectations and provided mos= tly positive guidance for 2001. Betty explained that EarthLink, which is the second largest ISP in the world with a current total of 4.7 million paid subscribers has been both a competitor and partner with AOL for several years. AOL-Time Warner now has nearly 30 million Internet subscribers, for a total of 130 million customer= s. Betty said the newly merged corporation's giant footprint gives his own=20 company no pause. "They (AOL) are as much a source of technology and customers as they are very formidable competitors," he said. Earthlink already has a licensing agreement with AOL for its Instant Messaging protocol, and use AOL-owned Netscape's server applications. In return, Betty added, "many of our=20 customers come to us directly from AOL." Betty said he didn't share the concerns held by Internet and media companies that AOL-Time Warner's merger will create a monopoly. "I think competition will take care of itself," he noted. The agreements AOL-Time Warner made with the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission to open up access to smaller companies guarantees competition wi= ll occur, Betty added. EarthLink is the biggest benefactor of the government's open access deal with the media giant, as Time Warner's cable lines will be opened up to the ISP beginning in the second half of 2001, Betty said. As for the rest of EarthLink's business, the company is looking forward to expanding its own footprint in the high-speed market in 2001 and it doesn't foresee problems from the current slowdown in the economy, Betty said. The Internet companies that did get hit the hardest in 2000 depended heavily on online advertising for revenues, EarthLink only depends on ads for 2% of it= s income, he said. "It's not going to impact us too much," he said, adding the ISP may be affected slightly from the slowdown in PC sales. Today, 84% of the company's revenues come from dial-up narrowband customers. Officials hope to diversify that percentage, focusing on broadba= nd via digital subscriber line (DSL), wireless, satellite and cable platforms. Officials said the company's broadband subscriber base has already grown 760% from 1999. The key is keeping costs down and customers happy, an issue many companies have had problems with of late, especially those with DSL. "There are challenges that are well-documented," Betty said, adding, "we've done a lot better job than just about anybody in DSL." Earthlink reported fourth-quarter revenues of $286.8 million Tuesday and net losses excluding acquisition-related costs of $52.2 million, or 40 cent= s per share, beating First Call/Thomson Financial estimates handily by 11 cen= ts. The company's annual revenue of $987 million is almost a 50% increase over 1999. Company officials said they expect revenues to reach $1.2 billion to= =20 $1.3 billion by the end of 2001 and an annual loss of 85 cents to $1.05 per shar= e. Shares of EarthLink were recetnly trading at 8 27/32, up 4.04% on the day. END _________________________________________________________ Individual.com is the #1 provider of free, individualized news and information to business people over the Internet. Visit us at=20 http://www.individual.com to browse the largest free collection of business= , financial, industry, trade, and company-specific news and information on the web. This news story was sent by Aileen Pisciotta through Individual.com.=20 You will not receive email messages directly from Individual.com=20 unless you register at http://www.individual.com. Get more headlines and stories like this delivered FREE to your desktop every business morning! Register at=20 http://www.individual.com/welcome.shtml. Individual.com also brings you FREE news on your investments! Sign up at http://www.individual.com/welcome.shtml. ___________________________________________________________ Entire contents Copyright , 1999-2000, Individual.com=01v, Inc., 8 New England Executive Park, Burlington, MA, 01803, USA
|