news...similar news on COVD this morning....Yahoo! and NorthPoint Communications Team to Develop and Market New Solutions for DSL Subscribers
NorthPoint and Yahoo! Collaborate to Offer High-Quality Broadband Streaming Media Solutions
November 4, 1999 07:34 AM
SANTA CLARA and SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Yahoo! Inc. YHOO , a leading global Internet media company, and NorthPoint Communications NPNT , a national digital subscriber line (DSL) Internet access provider, today announced a marketing and distribution agreement. Under the agreement, NorthPoint and Yahoo! will develop, market and distribute a co-branded My Yahoo!(R) (northpoint.my.yahoo.com) service featuring content and services designed for broadband-enabled businesses and consumers.
The companies also entered into a streaming media content distribution agreement designed to improve the delivery of high-speed streaming media programming over the Internet. Yahoo! will work with NorthPoint to help optimize the NorthPoint DSL network to deliver broadband streaming content.
Personalize the Web with My Yahoo!
NorthPoint will market the co-branded NorthPoint My Yahoo! start page, along with NorthPoint DSL service, to retailers, online businesses and other companies seeking to strengthen their e-commerce initiatives. NorthPoint My Yahoo! allows users to immediately personalize their Web experience. The customizable service will feature:
-- specialized content designed to allow broadband-enabled businesses and consumers to enjoy streaming audio, video and other multimedia functions of the Internet that require a high bandwidth connection;
-- Yahoo!'s Web directory capabilities and personalized Web pages;
-- updated national news, sports and financial information, local weather reports and other information that can be personalized to individual interests; and
-- broadband-specific content designed to increase awareness of the role NorthPoint DSL plays in enhancing the Internet experience.
"We are pleased to be working with NorthPoint Communications to further expand the distribution of Yahoo!'s programming and services," said Ellen Siminoff, senior vice president, corporate development at Yahoo!. "NorthPoint My Yahoo! provides home and small business DSL subscribers with the intuitive My Yahoo! interface and easy access to the bandwidth necessary for advanced Internet applications."
"NorthPoint's agreement with Yahoo! is an important part of our strategy to dramatically enhance the way video, audio and other content is delivered and viewed over the Internet," said Whitey Bluestein, NorthPoint's chief development officer. "We believe NorthPoint My Yahoo! is a powerful tool that will help drive adoption of NorthPoint DSL and help more businesses and individuals unlock the full multimedia Internet experience made possible by a broadband connection."
Registered NorthPoint My Yahoo! users have the entire suite of Yahoo!'s free member services available, including shopping, auctions, classifieds, travel reservations and ticket purchases, personal home pages, chat, clubs, address book, instant messaging, message boards, and games. Portfolios, community tools, financial market news, and investment research drawn from Yahoo! Finance (finance.yahoo.com) are also personalized through the NorthPoint My Yahoo! start page. Additionally, free Yahoo! Mail (mail.yahoo.com) alerts users to the receipt of new email on their NorthPoint My Yahoo! start page.
NorthPoint will also work with Yahoo! to prepare NorthPoint's DSL network to allow NorthPoint's ISP partners and their subscribers to have improved access to higher quality audio and video content hosted by Yahoo!.
"We are always looking for ways to improve Internet content delivery over our network," Bluestein said. "Working with Yahoo! to optimally connect their streaming content to our networks allows us to deliver content more efficiently and effectively. It improves the broadband experience for our users, and gives our ISP and other partners added value."
NorthPoint DSL uses standard telephone lines to provide access to the Internet at speeds up to 1.5 Mbps. Once limited to dial-up modem connections and speeds of 56 Kbps at best, DSL offers small and midsize businesses, home- based business and telecommuters "always on" Internet access at speeds that will support advanced applications once reserved only for large businesses able to afford expensive T1 connections. NorthPoint DSL is available from more than 200 national and regional service provider partners nationwide.
About Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is a global Internet media company that offers a branded network of media, commerce, and communication services to more than 100 million users worldwide. As the first online navigational guide to the Web, www.yahoo.com is the leading guide in terms of traffic, advertising, household and business user reach, and is one of the most recognized brands associated with the Internet. The company also provides online business services designed to enhance Yahoo!'s clients' Web services, including audio and video streaming, store hosting and management, and Web site tools and services. The company's global Web network includes 21 World properties. Yahoo! has offices in Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Canada and the United States, and is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif.
About NorthPoint
NorthPoint Communications, based in San Francisco, is a national, facilities-based competitive local exchange carrier dedicated to providing affordable, dedicated high-speed Internet access over existing phone lines using digital subscriber line (DSL) technology. The company currently operates DSL-based local networks in 31 major markets, spanning 55 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and expects to reach over 60 markets and 110 MSAs by the end of 2000. By that time, NorthPoint's DSL network will pass nearly 45 percent of homes and more than half of all businesses in the U.S. NorthPoint provides DSL-based Internet access service -- at speeds up to 1.5 Mbps, more than 25 times faster than common dial-up modems -- through national and regional Internet Service Providers, CLECs, long distance carriers, value-added resellers and other partners. For additional information, visit www.northpointdsl.com.
Yahoo! and the Yahoo! logo are registered trademarks of Yahoo! Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements contained in this release which are not historical facts may be deemed to contain forward-looking statements. Such statements are indicated by words or phrases such as "anticipate," "estimate," "projects," "believes," "intends," "expects" and similar words and phrases. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the company's dependence on strategic third parties to market and resell its services, intense competition for the company's service offerings, dependence on growth in demand for DSL-based services, ability to raise additional capital and other risks and uncertainties detailed in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future events or developments.
SOURCE NorthPoint Communications
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