NETSCAPE AND FIVE REGIONAL BELL INTERNET UNITS FORGE MARKETING PACT AND PLAN LAUNCH OF NETSCAPE ISP SELECT FOR EASY CHOICE OF INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (December 10, 1996) -- Netscape Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: NSCP) and five Regional Bell Internet companies today announced a marketing agreement that establishes Netscape Navigator software as the default browser for their services, allows Internet users to easily select these telephone companies' Internet services through the new Netscape ISP Select and provides their customers with free access to a rich set of content through the Netscape In-Box Direct service.
Ameritech Interactive Media Services, Bell Atlantic Internet Solutions, BellSouth.net, Pacific Bell Internet Services and Southwestern Bell Internet Services will use Netscape Navigator, the market-leading Internet browser, as the default browser for their Internet access services. Together, the companies represent a potential market of 72 million consumers and businesses in 26 states - including Washington, D.C. - and in 15 of the nation's 20 largest markets.
BREAKTHROUGH
NETSCAPE
ISP
SELECT
SERVICE
OFFERS
EASY
WAY TO
CHOOSE
LOCAL
TELEPHONE
COMPANIES AS
PROVIDERS
Netscape's new ISP Select service will allow people to select an
Internet service provider (ISP), create a personal Internet account and
establish an Internet connection easily and quickly. ISP Select will
make it easy for customers to select the five regional Bell Internet
companies for Internet access services. In addition, ISP Select users
will automatically receive free access to premium content from more than
40 information providers who are part of the Netscape In-Box Direct
Service.
ISP Select will be accessible through a section of Netscape's Internet site which will take users through the necessary steps for easily creating an account, selecting an ISP or choosing a different ISP. After users enter their area code and phone number, they will be presented with a list of service providers with coverage in their particular area. ISP Select enables users to create a new account automatically with their local telephone company, directly from their computer. Accounts are fully active at the completion of the sign-up process. This new service is designed to meet the needs of business users wanting to establish home accounts, new customers looking to choose an ISP and users who want to establish an Internet connection. Future plans include offering the ability for ISP Select users who choose their local telephone company's Internet access service to bill their Internet fees directly to their phone bill. Netscape ISP Select also provides the local telephone companies with an easy way to market information about their services directly to potential customers.
"ISP Select is a breakthrough in customer choice, providing easy selection of and access to leading Internet service providers, such as the regional Bell companies," said Jim Barksdale, president and chief executive officer of Netscape. "In addition, the selection of Netscape Navigator as the default browser by leading telecommunications companies such as Ameritech, Bell Atlantic, BellSouth, Pacific Bell and Southwestern Bell underscores the widespread appeal of Netscape software. This agreement will give millions of new and existing customers access to a service that combines leading Internet software with the quality service and support that the regional Bell companies have demonstrated they can provide."
REGIONAL
BELL
INTERNET
UNITS
POSITIONED AS
MAJOR
INTERNET
PROVIDERS
"As major regional Internet service providers, our companies represent
one of the newest and fastest growing distribution channels for online
access to the Net," said Mark Fisher,
general manager and marketing vice president for Pacific Bell Internet
Services. "We believe in customer choice, in the importance of the
local component of the Internet and in the value of positioning
ourselves in a rapidly changing and highly competitive marketplace.
Coupled with Netscape's commanding market share, presence and Web site
that receives more than 120 million hits daily, we're partnering with
the company that makes one of the top-selling software products on the
market today."
BellSouth, which provides Internet access services in 11 markets and six states in the nation's south, said the Netscape agreement sends a strong signal to the industry that the regional providers are serious about providing high-quality, reliable services. "Our customers expect BellSouth.net to deliver superior quality, reliability and ease of use. We are delivering on those expectations today," said John Robinson, president of BellSouth.net Inc. "Over time, we will help make the Internet as easy to use as the telephone. Our agreement with Netscape helps to accomplish that by making it easier for customers to sign up for our service and make it a part of their everyday lives."
Robinson's comments were echoed by Robert Beran, president of Bell Atlantic Internet Solutions. "Customers want an easy way to select a reliable Internet provider and sign up for service," said Beran. "Netscape ISP Select will be that venue for customers to choose Bell Atlantic as their Internet service provider."
Netscape will also offer Netscape ISP Select users free access to Netscape In-Box Direct, a customized multimedia news service that delivers rich-text messages directly to the inboxes of Netscape mail users. In the two months since its launch, Netscape In-Box Direct has already attracted 1.5 million subscriptions. More than 40 content providers including Mercury Mail, The New York Times and The Weather Channel are already participating in Netscape In-Box Direct. Netscape In-Box Direct builds on a new class of electronic information services that combine the multimedia capabilities, integrated newsgroups and electronic mail features in Netscape Navigator to enable open, cross-platform, rich-text messaging on the Internet and Intranets. Through Netscape In-Box Direct, Netscape Navigator users register their interests and preferences with a broad array of Internet content providers and receive daily Web-based messages directly to their Netscape mail inbox.
Ameritech, which plans to launch its Internet access service soon, said consumer needs drove its decision to support and select Netscape Navigator and ISP Select. "Consumers want their Internet experience to be easy, reliable and fast, and they want to be able to easily choose an ISP," said Greg Buck, director of product development and content for Ameritech Interactive Media Services. "Netscape Navigator and ISP Select will help us meet these customer demands."
Southwestern Bell's top Internet executive said the agreement with Netscape made "good business sense" for the company. "This deal enabled the five companies to work with Netscape to simultaneously improve our cost-effectiveness for key products and services and gain a competitive edge in critical distribution channels, which expands our potential customer base," said Bob Casali, president and chief executive officer of Southwestern Bell Internet Services. "It also represents a commitment by the companies to individually develop and deliver Internet services that respond directly to business and residential customers' needs for market-leading services."
Netscape Communications Corporation is a leading provider of open software for linking people and information over enterprise networks and the Internet. The company offers a full line of clients, servers, development tools and commercial applications to create a complete platform for next-generation, live online applications. Traded on NASDAQ under the symbol "NSCP," Netscape Communications Corporation is based in Mountain View, California.
Additional information on Netscape Communications Corporation is available on the Internet at http://home.netscape.com, by sending email to info@netscape.com or by calling 415/937-2555 (corporate customers) or 415/937-3777 (individuals).
Netscape, Netscape Communications Corporation, the Netscape Communications Corporation logo, Netscape Navigator, Netscape ISP Select and Netscape In-Box Direct are trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation. All other product names are trademarks of their respective companies.