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Technology Stocks : America On-Line (AOL) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Annette who wrote (34164)	11/16/1999 4:28:00 PM
From: JayPC	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 41369

More info on Brazil AOL Makes Aggressive Bid for Brazil Market Updated 3:25 PM ET November 16, 1999 By Shasta Darlington SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The world's largest Internet service company America Online Inc. broke into Latin America Tuesday when it launched its Brazil operations, marking the start of a cyber-war for the region's biggest market. AOL, with regional partner Venezuela's Cisneros media group, said it will conquer Latin American Internet users with aggressive advertising, access to its 19-million-strong global client base, advanced technology and local content. "America Online will be an unrivaled full service company in Brazil," Bob Pittman, president and chief operating officer of AOL said at a launching event in Sao Paulo. He said AOL will eventually be the No. 1 Internet service provider in Brazil. With Internet use growing at over 80 percent a year, Latin America has become the latest virtual frontier for online firms and Brazil, the region's largest economy, is home to about half of the cybersurfers and two-thirds of all electronic commerce. AOL will direct the lion's share of a $200 million Latin America investment toward Brazil in the hopes of toppling current Internet access leaders Universo Online (UOL) and Zaz, bought up earlier this year by Spain's Telefonica, directors said. Though AOL declined to comment on the exact size of investments for Brazil, rumors of a splashy launch party -- that will feature Afro-Brazilian pop star Carlinhos Brown -- spurred competitors to step up their own advertising campaigns. The mammoth UOL, owned by Brazil's second and third-biggest media groups Abril and Grupo Folha de Sao Paulo, has reigned over the country with little competition until now. But AOL is likely to grab spotlights this week as the Dulles, Va.-based bombards Brazil with television, radio and billboard ads and floods the market with Internet access programs on computer discs tucked into newspapers and magazines and distributed in shopping malls and schools. AOL also plans to open stores in Brazil's financial center of Sao Paulo and in Rio de Janeiro where browsers can see its Internet service with orientation from computer experts. "The secret is just getting people to try AOL -- they'll taste the difference," said Francisco Loureiro, president of AOL's Brazil operations. "We want to become the market leaders as quickly as possible." According to analysts, AOL expects to replace Zaz, Brazil's second-largest Internet provider, within a year. Then it will take on UOL, the world's largest non-English Web site. AOL is betting its sophisticated services and the access it offers to a huge global community at competitive prices will lure individual users and advertisers. Still, it will be hard to compete with UOL's strong local content that includes access to the country's major magazines and newspapers. AOL directors said the company expects most of its clients to be newcomers to the Internet as the online community in Brazil explodes to 5 million by 2002 from a current 2 million. "Our focus will be the market to come," said Loureiro. "We expect to gain a disproportional percentage of it...though some of the market will also migrate to us." In Brazil, AOL will use Netstream's IP-based network, recently bought by AT&T . AOL also announced a deal with IBM Corp. to offer financing to Brazilian clients. AOL will be joining other international heavyweights that have already staked claims in the giant Portuguese-speaking nation of 165 million, including Yahoo!, StarMedia and Microsoft . But as the world's No. 1 online service, AOL will be coming from a privileged position. AOL expects to boast 20 million subscribers by the middle of next year with Internet use growing in Europe, Asia and Latin America. The company plans to expand to Argentina and Mexico by the middle of next year. Brazil's UOL is the biggest Internet provider in all of Latin America with only 500,000 subscribers. news.excite.com