RCN and Lycos Join Forces to Deploy High-Speed Internet Content for Broadband Market
RCN to Integrate Lycos' Personalized Portal Services For Its More Than 500,000 RCN.COM Subscribers
PRINCETON, N.J. and WALTHAM, Mass., July 7 /PRNewswire/ -- RCN Corporation (Nasdaq: RCNC - news), the nation's first and largest single-source, facilities-based provider of bundled communications services to the residential market, and Lycos, Inc. (Nasdaq: LCOS - news), the fastest growing Internet portal and the world's largest online community, today announced a strategic alliance to collaborate on a number of Internet-based initiatives, including the development of high-speed content to be deployed over RCN's state-of-the-art fiber optic network. The alliance marks each company's commitment to offering high-speed access to the best content. The exclusive agreement will bring a co-branded version of Lycos' ''My Lycos'' personal portal start page to RCN's large and growing subscriber base.
''An alliance between RCN and Lycos makes perfect sense, given RCN's unparalleled resources in the area of high-speed Internet access and Lycos' expertise in content development and deployment,'' said David C. McCourt, RCN's Chairman and CEO. ''The future of the Internet is clearly in the realm of high-speed content, and RCN and Lycos are committed to bringing that content into every home we jointly serve.''
''This agreement marks an exciting step in Lycos' strategy for offering Lycos products,'' said Bob Davis, president and CEO for Lycos. ''Lycos Lightning is our platform for multimedia information and entertainment services made possible by a high-speed connection. We chose to align with RCN because they are a proven leader in deploying cable modem broadband services.''
Lycos' broadband initiative, code named ''Lycos Lightning,'' is a network-wide initiative to develop, test, and deploy services that exploit the power of high-speed Internet access. Lycos plans to continue to roll out Lycos Lightning products over the next several months, which will be seamlessly integrated into existing Lycos portal services.
In addition to the high-speed content project, RCN's dial-up customers will have access to a co-branded version of My Lycos, providing users not only personalized news, weather and stock quotes, but also the unique ability to read e-mail, update their homepage, search, or shop, all from one place. With more than a half million subscribers from Boston to Washington, RCN is the largest regional Internet service provider in the country.
''We use dial-up Internet access as a way to build a satisfied customer base in advance of our network construction,'' McCourt said. ''As our network is completed, our dial-up customers will have the opportunity to migrate to our high-speed fiber optic network. In the meantime, by providing superior content from Lycos, we believe that RCN customers who access the Internet over conventional modems can have a great Internet experience.''
About the RCN Network
RCN's True Local Network(TM) is a unique broadband fiber optic platform capable of offering a full suite of communications services -- including fully featured voice, video and high-speed Internet -- to residential customers. The network employs SONET ring backbone architecture, and localized nodes built to ensure RCN's state-of-the-art fiber optics travel to within 900 feet of RCN customers, with fewer electronics and lower maintenance costs than existing local networks. RCN's East and West Coast local fiber optic networks target densely populated areas comprising nearly 40% of the U.S. residential communications market spread over just 6% of its geography.
About RCN Corporation
RCN Corporation (Nasdaq: RCNC - news) is the nation's first and largest single-source, facilities-based provider of bundled communications services to the residential market, and the nation's largest targeted Internet service provider (ISP), with all of its 500,000+ customers strategically clustered in the Boston to Washington corridor. The company is currently providing local and long distance phone, cable television and its rcn.com Internet services in several markets from Boston to Washington, D.C. RCN has expanded its target market to include California's San Francisco to San Diego corridor.
About Lycos
Founded in 1995, Lycos, Inc. is a leading Web media company and owner of the Lycos Network, one of the most visited hubs on the Internet reaching one out of every two Web users. The Lycos Network is a unified set of Web sites that attracts a diverse audience by offering a variety of services, including leading Web navigation resources, homepage building and other Web community services and a comprehensive shopping center. The Lycos Network is composed of premium sites: Lycos.com, Tripod, WhoWhere, Angelfire, MailCity, HotBot, HotWired, Wired News, Webmonkey, Suck.com and MyTime.com. Lycos.com (http://www.lycos.com), ''Your Personal Internet Guide,'' is dedicated to helping each individual user locate, retrieve and manage information tailored to his or her personal interests. Headquartered near Boston in Waltham, Mass., Lycos, Inc. is a global Internet leader with a major presence throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia.
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