EarthLink
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
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| Type | Public |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Location | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Key people | Garry Betty, Kevin M Dotts |
| Industry | Internet & Communications |
| Products | ISP |
| Revenue |  $1.4 billion USD (2004) |
| Employees | 2000 (709 IT) |
| Website | www.earthlink.net |
EarthLink Inc. (NASDAQ: ELNK), headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is one of the major Internet service providers in the United States, with 5.4 million members (2004 estimate).
It was founded in 1994 by Sky Dayton. From a modest beginning of ten modems, the company has grown to include more than 2,000 POP numbers in the US—and more than 40 internationally.
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.
EarthLink provides a variety of Internet connection types, including DSL, satellite, and cable. It is one of the industry leaders in the crusade to rid the world of spam as well as spyware. EarthLink takes an almost laid-back approach to the Internet, allowing its users as much freedom and personal configuration as possible. Although it does provide its own TotalAccess software to users, it doesn't require its use (unlike AOL). The support section of the EarthLink website has detailed instructions for configuring Windows and Mac OS to access the company's network, either with the EarthLink software or with those operating systems' standard networking features. Instructions for configuring a number of popular e-mail clients are also available. Linux is not listed on EarthLink's support pages, but because the company operates entirely via standard Internet protocols, any experienced Linux user can easily translate the standard settings for either Windows or Mac OS to the needed Linux settings.
In addition to selling the company's various Internet connections online and by phone, EarthLink operates retail kiosks in all Fry's Electronics stores, manned by two to five representatives directly employed by EarthLink rather than Fry's. For signing up in-store, EarthLink offers customers special promotions not available elsewhere (including cash back and extended discounts). Services sold at the kiosks include PeoplePC dial-up, PeoplePC Accelerated dial-up, EarthLink Accelerated dial-up, EarthLink High Speed (including Cable, DSL, and Satellite), and EarthLink Wireless's AirCard, which provides Internet service over digital cellular signals across the United States. EarthLink provides the large majority of its users with free anti-virus software (Win 2000 & XP only).
On June 10, 2002, EarthLink acquired PeoplePC, a value-priced dial-up service that has more dial-up access numbers than any other ISP (including AOL). PeoplePC's direct competitors are NetZero and Netscape.
In July 2005, EarthLink announced that it was closing the last of its in-house American call centers, though the company still has American call centers via out-source telecom companies. In the late 1990s, when all of EarthLink's technical support was provided through in-house call centers, the company promoted the knowledgeability of its agents specializing in its service, rather than general outsourced reps.
SIPshare
EarthLink SIPshare is a Session Initiation Protocol-based file sharing network made by Clay Shirky and David Beckemeyer.
