DSL Moves in the News

• DSL.net Goes VPN
• Speakeasy Makes a Bank Shot
• ClearPath Taps New Edge

by ISP-Planet Staff [June 26, 2002]

DSL.net Goes VPN
New Haven, Conn.-based DSL.net, Inc. recently debuted its new virtual private network service, named NETlink VPN. The high-speed service is designed for businesses seeking secure inter-office communications without managing their own VPN access program in-house.

NETlink features secure access to corporate Intranets, proprietary databases and e-mail, enabling branch office employees to share and exchange mission-critical information with their corporate base of operations.

Ray Allieri, DSL.net (Nasdaq:DSLN) senior vice president of sales and marketing, said the NETlink service offers a robust set of solutions to multi-location customers.

"With NETlink VPN, we can now meet the growing demand from our customers to deliver the business benefits of a fully-managed and custom-configured VPN solution without the traditional, associated high costs," Allieri said.

Leveraging DSL.net's national network, NETlink provides customers with a secure, network-based solution over a private IP backbone without the need for significant additional investments in infrastructure or personnel. With NETlink, traffic is totally separated from public Internet traffic, assuring maximum protection from interception.

DSL.net, Inc. combines its own DSL and T1 facilities, nationwide network infrastructure, and Tier I Internet service provider capabilities to provide high-speed Internet access and value-added services directly to small- and medium-sized businesses throughout the U.S. A certified CLEC in all 50 states, plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, DSL.net sells exclusively to businesses, primarily through its own direct sales channel.

DSL.net's NETlink service can be customized to meet specific customer requirements, without additional customer premise equipment. Pricing for the program starts at $50 per month.

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Speakeasy Makes a Bank Shot
Speaking of new DSL programs, the Seattle-based national broadband service provider Speakeasy launched a new program for residential and SOHO [definition] customers. The new program allows customers to bank their monthly dial-up payments and apply them toward setup and hardware costs when upgrading to DSL access.

Speakeasy figures that lowering the cost of migrating from dialup service to broadband access will motivate customers to upgrade to DSL service. Under Speakeasy's new Broadband Bank program, dial-up customers are able to "bank" their fees to offset the cost of an eventual move to broadband access.

This means that the average dial-up customer paying $19.95 a month could bank up to $225 in just under a year, earning their free customer premise equipment in anticipation of switching to Speakeasy DSL access.

ARS, Inc. broadband research analyst Bruce McGregor said the new program gives consumers an incentive to upgrade to broadband when they are ready, making it one of the more unique DSL offerings in the industry today.

"Speakeasy has developed an innovative way to facilitate consumers' transition from dial-up to broadband while simultaneously growing its dial-up customer base," McGregor said.

In conjunction with its Broadband Bank program, Speakeasy is also introducing its new entry-level DSL price-point, making it even easier for customers to move from dialup or cable modem access to DSL. The new $39.95 broadband package includes a 200 kbps/64 kbps connection, access to streaming music, an online gaming community and Speakeasy's premier customer service.

Michael Apgar, Speakeasy chief executive officer, said both programs would help the company broaden its reach in regional markets, especially since the new DSL pricing is comparable to the $40 fee many customers are already paying for a second phone line plus dial-up Internet access.

Founded in 1994, Speakeasy is one of the largest privately held, national broadband service providers specializing in DSL access in the U.S.

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ClearPath Taps New Edge
Los Angeles-based ClearPath Networks struck a deal with New Edge Networks to sell high-speed DSL services as part of its to small- and medium-sized business service offerings. Under terms of the agreement, ClearPath is able to provide New Edge Networks' DSL to customers as a stand-alone broadband access solution or bundled with its iVPN service.

Cliff Young, ClearPath Networks president and chief executive officer, said high-speed Internet access shouldn't be viewed as a luxury item or as a service useful only to large corporations.

"Broadband opens the door to a wide range of other network services, such as managed VPNs, that can be extremely valuable to small businesses trying to compete on both a regional and national scale," Young said. "By including New Edge Networks' DSL in our product portfolio, we ensure these benefits are available to businesses throughout the United States—even those located in small cities typically ignored by other service providers."

Based in Vancouver, Wash., New Edge Networks is a national enhanced data communications provider and broadband DSL carriers specializing in delivering high-speed services to under served markets, like small and midsize cities. The company operates a national backbone network that has 18 regional aggregation points and almost 600 nodes, making it one of the largest ATM networks in the U.S.

Dan Moffat, New Edge Networks president and chief executive officer, said the company is pleased its DSL program will play a role in bringing broadband solutions to small businesses in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas alike.

Through its agreement with New Edge Networks, ClearPath will be able to expand the reach of its managed network services product family to business customers in more than 360 small and midsize cities in 29 states.

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