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EarthLink

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EarthLink
Company typePrivate
Nasdaq: ELINK
IndustryInternet service provider
FoundedMarch 1994; 30 years ago (1994-03) (as EarthLink Network, Inc.)
FounderSky Dayton
HeadquartersAtlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Key people
Glenn Goad (CEO)
ProductsInternet access, premium email, web hosting and privacy and data security products and services
Number of employees
~100
Websitewww.earthlink.net

EarthLink is an American Internet service provider.[1]

Earthlink went public on NASDAQ in January 1997. Much of the company's growth was via acquisition. In 2000, The New York Times described it as the "second largest Internet service provider after America Online".[2][3][4]

Overview

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EarthLink was formed in 1994, and offers services to residential consumers and businesses. EarthLink claims to have five million users.[5][6]

EarthLink business Internet sells business telecom services, IT and virtualization, cloud computing, IT security, digital marketing, colocation, hosted applications, and support services. In 2014, the company stated it owned and operated a U.S. network including 29,421 route miles of fiber, 90 metro fiber rings, and eight data centers.[7]

EarthLink's residential consumer services include wireless, fiber, and satellite internet, streaming content bundles, web hosting and e-commerce. Its products include spam filters, anti-virus protection, and cloud storage.

Private equity firm Trive Capital acquired EarthLink in January 2019.[8]

History

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Early years

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EarthLink logo from 1998–2015.

EarthLink was founded in July 1994 by Sky Dayton when he was 23 years old.[9] Dayton was convinced of the need for a simple, user-friendly dial-up Internet service provider (ISP) after spending an entire week trying to configure his own computer for Internet access.[10] Dayton set up his own network, going to a CompUSA store, purchasing 14-kilobyte modems and connecting them all together in Atwater Village, a location he picked because it was the widest possible area to which a local call could be made. The company later moved to Pasadena in 1996.[11][12]

By 1995, EarthLink offered dial-up service in 98 cities, and was one of the first US ISPs to offer unlimited Internet access for a flat rate.[13] In 1996, they began to offer Internet services for businesses, including ISDN and Frame Relay Internet access[14] and web hosting.[15]

In 1997, Earthlink began to provide 56K dial-up access, doubling the speed of its dial-up service.[citation needed] EarthLink also teamed up with Charter Communications to offer high-speed cable Internet access.[16] In 1998, they entered partnerships with Sprint, Apple, CompUSA, and other companies that helped it reach 1 million members by the end of the year.[13]

In 1999, EarthLink launched its TotalCommerce service for small business Web hosting and also became the first ISP to offer nationwide high-speed Internet access via DSL.[13]

MindSpring merger and other acquisitions

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On February 4, 2000, the company, then based in Pasadena, California, merged with Atlanta-founded MindSpring, making it the second-largest ISP in the U.S., after AOL.[17] Later that year, the company launched EarthLink Biz DSL service.[18] EarthLink also acquired OneMain.com, a large, rural ISP,[19] and Rural Connections in 2001.[20]

In 2001, EarthLink partnered with DirecPC to offer a two-way satellite Internet service.[21] The company also introduced a fixed-IP DSL service for the SOHO business market.[22]

On June 10, 2002, EarthLink acquired PeoplePC, a low-priced dial-up ISP.[23]

EarthLink launched a VoIP phone service for broadband users called Unlimited Voice in April 2003.[24] The company also released several free tools for its members to block spam, viruses, and spyware.[25]

New ventures

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New ventures during the mid 2000s include:

  • A joint venture named SK-Earthlink, later renamed Helio, was sold in 2008.[26]
  • Earthlink acquired Aluria Software, LLC-a seller of anti-spyware software, based in Lake Mary, Florida.[27]
  • New Edge Networks (acquired April 2006) is a provider of network and communication services for businesses.[28]
  • Muni-Wireless: In October 2005, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,[29] and Anaheim, California, selected EarthLink to build their municipal Wi-Fi networks.[30][31] EarthLink's Municipal Networks division launched public wi-fi networks in Anaheim, Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Milpitas, CA,[32][33] and won several more municipal contracts; in 2007 EarthLink decided to exit the muni wi-fi business.[34]
  • VoIP: EarthLink launched two new voice services between late 2005 and early 2006: a VoIP service called EarthLink trueVoice[35] and a high-speed Internet and voice bundle called EarthLink DSL & Home Phone Service.[36]

In July 2005, EarthLink closed its call centers to reduce costs.[37]

New business acquisitions

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Other acquisitions in the early 2010s included ITC Deltacom,[38] One Communications,[39] STS Telecom, a privately held business in Florida and Georgia.[40] LogicalSolutions.net,[41] part of Synergy Global Solutions in 2011,[42] and Business Vitals, a provider of IT security and professional services.[43] EarthLink also acquired xDefenders, a managed IT security company.[44]

In May 2011, the company created a new EarthLink Carrier division for wholesale customers with fiber-based transport, voice and data service, and switched services.[45]

In July 2013, EarthLink acquired CenterBeam, Inc., a provider of remote managed IT services—with an IT Support Center providing help desk, desktop technical support and application support services.[46]

In August 2023, it was announced EarthLink had acquired the Athens, Texas-headquartered fiber and fixed wireless business internet provider, One Ring Networks for an undisclosed amount.[47]

Business network and data center expansion

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In July 2013, EarthLink completed its previously announced plans to open four new data centers in San Jose, Chicago, Dallas and Miami on its next-generation cloud platform. This brought its total to eight.[citation needed]

In March 2017, EarthLink was acquired by Windstream Holdings, Inc., in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $1.1 billion, including debt.[48]

In early January 2019, Trive Capital acquired EarthLink for $330 million in cash from Windstream Holdings Inc. In 2021, Earthlink published a statement in which the company confirmed that customer's passwords can be read by its staff. Shortly later, the company deleted this statement without any clarification.[49]

TotalAccess

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Earthlink's TotalAccess software bundled various tools, including a dialer, but had initial[50] negative reception both from users[51] and from hardware vendors such as Dell.[52] The 2nd iteration, TotalAccess 2004, added Earthlink Accelerator; a reviewer wrote: "EarthLink says lets dial-up users access Web pages up to 5 times faster."[53]

Awards and recognition

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Other rankings and awards include:

  • In October 1996, EarthLink was named "Internet Company of the Year" by the Southern California Software Industry Council.[57]
  • In 2000, the company won PC World's World Class Award for Best ISP.[58]
  • In 2002, the company was named Top ISP by CNET for the 3rd consecutive year and received a 5-star rating from Smart Business.[59]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Internet: Earthlink Reports A Loss". The New York Times. October 24, 2001.
  2. ^ "Earthlink agrees to buy OneMain". The New York Times. June 9, 2000.
  3. ^ Anders, David (April 21, 2022). "Need Home Internet Service? Find the Internet Providers in Your Area". CNET. Red Ventures. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  4. ^ Anders, David (April 30, 2022). "EarthLink Internet Review: High Prices, Low Hassle". CNET. Red Ventures. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  5. ^ "About Us | EarthLink". www.earthlink.net. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
  6. ^ Rosenberg, Marc (May 23, 2022). "EarthLink Overview and Prices". U.S. News 360 Reviews.
  7. ^ https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/earthlink-announces-completion-of-holding-company-formation-238428131.html
  8. ^ Mandel, Eric (January 24, 2019). "Private equity firm buys EarthLink for $330M, bringing HQ back to Atlanta". bizjournals. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  9. ^ Borland, John. "The ultimate ISP survivor faces a crossroads in broadband". Cnet. Archived from the original on May 15, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  10. ^ Evans, Jonny (May 7, 2021). "Apple, EarthLink, and the digital transformation of everything". Computerworld. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  11. ^ "EarthLink". New Georgia Encyclopedia. August 19, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  12. ^ Bowles, Nellie (June 14, 2014). "A Very Short History of LA Tech". Vox. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  13. ^ "EarthLink Inc". Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  14. ^ "Repeat/EarthLink cuts unique domain web site hosting set up fee by more than $800". Archived from the original on June 23, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  15. ^ "Earthlink Inc". Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  16. ^ Kaplan, Karen (September 24, 1999). "EarthLink, MindSpring Agree to Merge : Technology: The combination would create 2nd-largest Internet service provider". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  17. ^ "EarthLink Offers B2B DSL Services in Three States". internetnews.com. April 12, 2000. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  18. ^ "EarthLink to Acquire OneMain.com; Deal Will Help Compete With AOL". The Wall Street Journal. June 9, 2000. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  19. ^ "Earthlink buys OneMain.com for $308 million". CNET. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  20. ^ "EarthLink launches satellite Internet service". CNN Tech. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  21. ^ "EarthLink offers DSL users fixed IP address option". Macworld. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  22. ^ "EarthLink Agrees to Buy PeoplePC for $10 Million". The Wall Street Journal. June 10, 2002. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  23. ^ "EarthLink Introduces EarthLink Unlimited Voice Broadband Telephone Service; EarthLink Becomes First Major Nationwide ISP to Deploy Full-Scale Voice-over- IP Solution to End-Users". The Free Library. Archived from the original on May 29, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  24. ^ "EarthLink Launches Virus Blocker". PR Newswire. Archived from the original on June 5, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  25. ^ Reardon, Marguerite. "Virgin Mobile USA buys Helio for $39 million". Cnet. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  26. ^ Aug. 2005: "EarthLink Acquires Aluria Software". August 22, 2005. Archived from the original on April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  27. ^ "EarthLink Acquires Virtual Private Network Company, New Edge Networks". The Hosting News. Archived from the original on March 16, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  28. ^ "Philadelphia Picks EarthLink for Wi-Fi". The Wall Street Journal. October 5, 2005. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  29. ^ "EarthLink wins second muni Wi-Fi contract". Connected Planet. Archived from the original on January 26, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  30. ^ "EarthLink Launches The City Of Anaheim Municipal Wireless Network". PR Newswire. Archived from the original on October 7, 2011. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  31. ^ "EarthLink to Trim Work Force and Close Offices". The New York Times. August 29, 2007.
  32. ^ Reardon, Marguerite. "EarthLink rolls out more citywide Wi-Fi". Cnet. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  33. ^ "Philadelphia Wi-Fi project now in jeopardy, EarthLink may back out". Beta News. November 19, 2007. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  34. ^ "Earthlink launches trueVoice a national broadband VoIP service". Archived from the original on October 1, 2005. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  35. ^ "Earthlink Launches DSL, VOIP". Light Reading. Archived from the original on March 8, 2006. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  36. ^ Husted, Bill (July 26, 2005). "EarthLink to cut 180 customer service workers Work to be outsourced overseas". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  37. ^ a telecom service provider with 32,000 customers. "EarthLink to Acquire Deltacom for $516M". Fox Business. Archived from the original on October 17, 2010. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  38. ^ "EarthLink Buys Telecom Services Company One Communications For $370 Million". Techrunch. December 20, 2010. Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  39. ^ "EarthLink Completes Acquisition of STS Telecom Adds Hosted VoIP Expertise to EarthLink Business Product Portfolio". Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  40. ^ "EarthLink Acquires LogicalSolutions.net". Archived from the original on September 20, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  41. ^ "EarthLink Completes Acquisition of IT Solution Center from Synergy Global Solutions". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  42. ^ "Earthlink Buys Business Vitals". telecomramblings.com. August 3, 2011. Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  43. ^ "EarthLink acquires xDefenders". TelecomPaper. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  44. ^ "EarthLink launches EarthLink Carrier". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Archived from the original on August 4, 2011. Retrieved January 12, 2012.
  45. ^ Couret, Jacques. "EarthLink acquires CenterBeam". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Archived from the original on August 7, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  46. ^ FinSMEs (August 19, 2023). "EarthLink Acquires One Ring Networks". FinSMEs. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  47. ^ "Windstream acquires EarthLink for $1.1B, creates 145K fiber route mile network". November 7, 2016.
  48. ^ "Thread on Twitter". June 29, 2021. Archived from the original on June 30, 2021.
  49. ^ TotalAccess 2003
  50. ^ "Earthlink Total Access". June 26, 2003.
  51. ^ "Caution Earthlink Total Access". November 11, 2003.
  52. ^ caching: Peter Cohen (December 18, 2003). "EarthLink TotalAccess 2004 adds accelerator". MacWorld.
  53. ^ ranked EarthLink Dial-Up Highest in Customer Satisfaction. EarthLink High-Speed tied for the Highest in Customer Satisfaction ranking. "J.D. Power and Associates Reports: EarthLink Ranks Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Dial-Up Internet Service Providers". All Business. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  54. ^ ranked EarthLink High Speed Highest in Customer Satisfaction for the second consecutive year. "EarthLink High Speed Internet Service Ranked Highest in Customer Satisfaction By J.D. Power and Associates". Archived from the original on March 23, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  55. ^ ranked both EarthLink Dial-Up and EarthLink High Speed Highest in Customer Satisfaction. "J.D. Power: Customers rank EarthLink as top ISP". CED. Archived from the original on May 21, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  56. ^ "EarthLink Network Selected as Internet Company of the Year". Archived from the original on May 21, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  57. ^ "IDG's PC World Announces 2000 World Class Award Winners". PR Newswire. Archived from the original on June 5, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  58. ^ "EarthLink's History". Archived from the original on January 9, 2012. Retrieved January 11, 2012.

Bibliography

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