Yahoo! Online Powered by MCI Internet Now Available
PR Newswire - March 16, 1998 08:38
MCIC YHOO %MLM %TLS %PDT V%PRN P%PRN
Combines Yahoo!'s Popular Web Programming and Internet Navigation with MCI's
Fast, Reliable Internet Access
SANTA CLARA, Calif. and ARLINGTON, Va., March 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Looking
for a simple way to get online? Already use Yahoo! but not connected at home
yet? Yahoo! and MCI have just the solution. The companies today launched
Yahoo! Online powered by MCI Internet, a new, easy way to get online and take
advantage of all the resources the Internet has to offer. Yahoo! Online is an
integrated online service, featuring user-personalized Web pages; a full
family of communications services, including e-mail; rich content and merchant
services; fast and reliable Internet access; and award-winning customer
service. Individuals can sign up for Yahoo! Online powered by MCI Internet by
calling 1-800-GET-YAHOO (438-9246) or going to the Yahoo! Online download site
at online.yahoo.com. The service is available to all subscribers for
just $14.95 per month for unlimited local access. After three months,
customers can enjoy a low rate of just $19.95 per month, however, if a
subscriber is already an MCI long-distance customer or chooses to become one,
the low $14.95 price will continue.
"Yahoo! already has more than 30 million unique, adult users in the U.S.
alone, making it the world's most popular Internet guide," said Jeff Mallett,
chief operating officer at Yahoo!. "With Yahoo! Online, we're now offering a
complete solution, including all of Yahoo!'s popular Internet programming and
services along with fast and reliable Internet access from MCI to give users
an easy and rewarding way to explore the Internet from home or anywhere else."
"The online market is expected to double this year, so now more consumers
can benefit from one of the easiest, most comprehensive and most affordable
ways to get on the Net," said David Trachtenberg, MCI's executive director of
brand marketing. "The combination of MCI Internet and Yahoo! for only $14.95
per month is unbeatable. Now consumers have every reason to experience all
the Internet has to offer."
All Internet, All The Time
Yahoo! Online powered by MCI Internet is completely Web-based and combines
all the resources of the Internet with the navigational and programming
expertise of Yahoo!, the world's leading Internet guide. By leveraging
Yahoo!'s relationships with leading Web content providers, Yahoo! Online
offers subscribers value-added features in online customization, content,
communications, community and commerce.
Personalization: Yahoo! Online powered by MCI Internet allows users to
fully personalize their Yahoo! Online service to include news, weather and
local content relevant to their interests. In addition, Yahoo! Online
includes a Yahoo!-customized version of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 4.0 Web
browser to further enhance the Web experience. The customized browser
includes Yahoo! content channels and Yahoo! as the default search provider to
help users navigate the Web quickly and easily.
Content: Subscribers to Yahoo! Online powered by MCI Internet can find
all the quality Web programming and services currently found on Yahoo!, the
world's leading Internet navigational guide, plus additional premium content.
Yahoo! Online provides comprehensive content for popular areas such as News,
Sports, Personal Finance, Entertainment, Health and Travel. Users also have
one-click access to Yahoo!'s popular Web directory as well as Yahoo! Get
Local, which allows users to seamlessly get information and Web resources for
their local community based on their zip code. In addition, Yahoo! Online
subscribers receive premium content features and offers. Premium content
currently includes programming from The Sporting News, Zacks and Ziff-Davis.
Community and Communications: With Yahoo! Online powered by MCI Internet,
subscribers never need to be out of touch with friends, family or others who
share similar interests. Yahoo! Online features a full family of community
and communications tools including chat, classifieds, e-mail, instant
messaging and message boards. Yahoo! Online's unique e-mail service allows
users to have multiple e-mail addresses and integrates Web-based e-mail with
client software-based e-mail. This gives individuals the ability to access
their e-mail account from any Web-connected computer around the world and take
advantage of working offline for enhanced productivity on the road. Once
online, users can sign up for unlimited Web-only, e-mail accounts by going to
Yahoo! Mail ( mail.yahoo.com ). Instant messaging capability through
the Yahoo! Pager ( pager.yahoo.com ) allows users to communicate
instantly with their online friends and have a real-time, one-on-one chat.
Commerce: Yahoo! Online powered by MCI Internet subscribers have access
to the Web's largest directory of products and services. Through Yahoo!'s
merchant program and the Visa Shopping Guide by Yahoo!, Yahoo! Online offers
members convenient 24-hour online shopping in the most popular product and
service categories such as apparel, music, books and software. In addition,
subscribers can use the "personal shopper" feature on the Visa Shopping Guide
to do comparison shopping, minimize shopping time, and find the best prices on
products of interest.
Get Connected, Stay Connected
Yahoo! Online powered by MCI Internet features fast, reliable Internet
connections from MCI Internet, one of the world's most powerful and reliable
Internet networks. Subscribers receive nationwide dial-up access with local
phone numbers for more than 90 percent of the U.S. population with support for
speeds up to 56K (X2 technology). Yahoo! Online is backed by MCI's
award-winning, dedicated customer service available toll-free, 24-hours-a-day,
7-days-a-week.
Pricing and Availability
Yahoo! Online powered by MCI Internet is available for just $14.95 per
month for unlimited local access. After three months, customers can enjoy a
low rate of $19.95 per month, however if a subscriber is already an MCI
long-distance customer or chooses to become one, the low $14.95 rate will
continue. Customers can also sign up for MCI One Net Savings -- offering
interstate long-distance for just nine cents per minute Monday through
Saturday and five cents per minute all day Sunday (available only through
online enrollment). To sign up for Yahoo! Online, individuals can call toll
free 1-800-GET-YAHOO to request a CD or go to the Yahoo! Online powered by MCI
Internet sign-up page ( online.yahoo.com ) and register online or
download the "to go" version of the software to a floppy disk. Yahoo! Online
is available for Windows 3.1 or Windows 95 machines.
Advertising Opportunities
Yahoo! Online provides an ideal platform for advertisers and merchants to
reach a vast audience of online users. Advertisers for the launch of Yahoo!
Online include CareerMosaic, CDnow, Egghead.com, Hallmark and Travelocity.
About MCI
MCI, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a leading provider of
local-to-global communication services to business, government and residential
users. The company's fast-growing portfolio of advanced data, Internet and IT
services now accounts for nearly a quarter of MCI's $19.7 billion in annual
revenue. MCI operates one of the world's largest and most advanced digital
networks, connecting local markets in the U.S. to more than 280 countries and
locations worldwide. MCI has agreed to merge with WorldCom, one of the
world's fastest-growing communications companies. The merger, which is
expected to be completed by mid-1998, will create MCI WorldCom, a company
uniquely positioned in the U.S. local and long distance markets as well as the
global data and Internet markets.
About Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) is a global Internet media company that offers
a network of branded Web programming that serves millions of users daily. As
the first online navigational guide to the Web, www.yahoo.com is the single
largest guide in terms of traffic, advertising, household and business user
reach, and is one of the most recognized brands associated with the Internet.
Yahoo! Inc. provides targeted Internet resources and communications services
for a broad range of audiences, based on demographic, key-subject and
geographic interests. Yahoo! is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif.
Yahoo! and the Yahoo! logo are registered trademarks of Yahoo! Inc. All
other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective
owners.
SOURCE MCI Communications Corp.
/CONTACT: Bryant Hilton, 703-415-6839, or bryant.hilton@mci.com or Kelly
Seacrist, 703-415-6124, or kelly.seacrist@mci.com, both of MCI; or MCI
Internet Service Center, 800-563-5944, support@mci2OOO.com; or Jennifer Hwang,
Yahoo! Inc., 408-731-3362, jenhwang@yahoo-inc.com, or Lindsay Walsh, NRG PR
for Yahoo!, 415-827-7026, or lindsay@nrgpr.com/
/Photo: newscom.com
or NewsCom, 305-448-8411; AP PhotoExpress Network, PRN2, PRN3; PressLink
Online, 800-888-6195/
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