I am an Earthlink user and I got this message this morning:
Subject:
EarthLink and Sprint announce strategic alliance
Date:
Tue, 10 Feb 1998 22:29:50 -0800
From:
Sky Dayton <sky@earthlink.net>
It's been just 3 years and 8 months since I sold the first EarthLink
Internet access account. Back then, it was just a few people in a little
office near Glendale, California. We were small, but we had big dreams.
There are now over 450,000 of us using EarthLink's service and 850 staff
here at our headquarters making sure your Internet experience is the best
in the world. (We've since moved up the road to Pasadena.)
Much has changed since I founded the company, but our commitment to the
finest service and support has remained the same. We keep adding new
features which make the Internet more useful and entertaining. We continue
to invest heavily in support, ensuring you get your Internet questions
answered quickly, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
In this short time, EarthLink has become a fairly big company. We took
EarthLink public about a year ago, and we've continued to build up our
technology infrastructure in preparation for more growth.
--
But despite our growth, the masses still haven't joined the Internet
revolution. Only 20% of households in the US have access today -- 80% do
not. The Internet isn't yet a mainstream medium. In the next 10 years, the
remaining 80% are going to connect for the first time, and we at EarthLink
would like to be there to help as many of them as we can.
We have invested in equipment, people and business infrastructure far ahead
of the size of our current member base. We strive to always deliver great
service, even while we're growing at a swift pace.
With these objectives in mind, it is with great pleasure that I tell you
about EarthLink's new strategic alliance with Sprint. As you know, Sprint
is one of the top 3 telecommunications companies in the country. They serve
tens of millions of customers and have 50,000 staff. Sprint is famous for
its innovative technologies and high-quality services, winning many of the
industry's most coveted service awards. Sprint is also one of the largest
carriers of Internet traffic in the world.
As part of this long-term alliance, Sprint is purchasing a minority 30%
stake in EarthLink. EarthLink remains an independent, entrepreneurial
company that also gives Sprint a foothold in the consumer Internet
business. Sprint will provide EarthLink preferred access to their
world-class fiber optic network and will also make financial resources
available to EarthLink.
What does this mean to you?
First, you will have access to a larger high-speed, reliable network and
more local dial-up points of presence (POPs). EarthLink's POPs will expand
from 1,110 to more than 1,200, more than any other Internet or online
service provider, and the only one to support both x2 and k56flex
high-speed access nationwide, through more than 500 56k POPs.
Second, EarthLink's already strong financial position will be bolstered,
which means you can count on us continuing to make investments to ensure
you get great service as we grow.
Much of these advances will happen behind the scenes to ensure you continue
to get great service from EarthLink.
Sprint and EarthLink will also team up to market a combined
EarthLink-Sprint service in all of Sprint's marketing channels. This means
you might see EarthLink-Sprint disks popping up at your local Radio Shack
or advertised with the NFL. So you're likely to notice more and more people
with "@earthlink.net" at the end of their email address.
--
If you'd like more information on the details of our alliance with Sprint,
I invite you to read our news release located here:
earthlink.net
In the meantime, we look forward to continuing to service you, our most
important partner. :-)
Sky |
