Company Supports 1stUp.com's Private Label Internet Access Offerings to Lycos,
AltaVista and Excite Search Engines and Over 70 Additional Distribution
Partners Including Seventeen Magazine and the Denver Rocky Mountain News
SAN FRANCISCO, April 18 /PRNewswire/ --
Electric Lightwave Inc. (Nasdaq: ELIX), a broadband integrated communications
provider, today announced that the company will provide managed modem and
network services to 1stUp.com Corporation, a leading provider of
sponsor-supported Internet access solutions and majority-owned operating
company of CMGI, Inc.
According to the agreement, Electric Lightwave's network connection
services will help 1stUp.com's distribution partners offer branded Internet
access services to their subscribers so that end-users can connect to the
Internet marketplace at little or no cost.
"This deal expands 1stUp.com's ISP network, giving it greater control over
network performance, and allows Electric Lightwave to carry 1stUp.com's
customer traffic on our nationally-acclaimed Internet backbone," said
Michael Morey, Electric Lightwave's regional vice president of California,
Nevada and Colorado. "The reliability of an Internet backbone is essential for
the success of online communities, where Internet transactions and the sharing
of information takes place."
"1stUp continues to expand its ISP Network in North America with the
addition of a leading managed modem support provider like Electric Lightwave,"
said Charles Katz, president and CEO of 1stUp.com. "With well over
4,000 dial-up numbers, 1stUp now has the largest dial-up network in
North America and is able to deliver its affiliated end-users among the most
reliable and cost-effective Internet access services available."
1stUp.com provides companies with a complete, private label Internet
access package to customize for their consumers. This package is backed by a
reliable, nationwide ISP network and features customer support, e-mail and
other back office services as well as 1stUp.com's patent-pending private label
access technology.
1stUp.com's Internet access technology establishes a high-quality Internet
connection with a small "always-on-top" navigation bar featuring useful web
tools and highly targeted advertising. The easily downloadable application
(less than 700 KB) ensures that the navigation bar travels with consumers,
wherever they go on the Internet, enabling distribution partners to keep
content, products and services just a click away from consumers during every
online session. 1stUp.com's distribution partners include AltaVista, Excite
and Lycos as well as a number of online publications such as The Denver Rocky
Mountain News, Seventeen Magazine and Boulder Daily Camera.
In addition to its popular free Internet access service, 1stUp.com also
offers its distribution partners the ability to brand and distribute paid
dial-up and broadband accounts to consumers.
About 1stUp.com
1stUp.com, a majority-owned operating company of CMGI, Inc., is a market
leader in providing consumer-oriented businesses with sponsor-supported
Internet access solutions. 1stUp.com provides patent-pending technology that
enables its distribution partners to brand, market and distribute leading
edge, cost-effective Internet services to their customers. The 1stUp.com free
access solution enables consumers to receive unlimited, free Internet access
in exchange for keeping a compact, sponsor-oriented navigation bar on their
computer screen. 1stUp.com also enables its distribution partners to brand
and distribute paid, premium Internet access accounts to employees and
consumers. Multiple leading ISPs support 1stUp.com's extensive ISP network,
which delivers free, reliable Internet access to over 95 percent of the U.S.
and Canada. Aggregating the end-user bases of AltaVista, Excite@Home, Lycos,
and over 70 additional distribution partners to support over 2.5 million
registered subscribers, 1stUp.com has the buying power of multiple brands and
is able to pass along the benefits of optimal connectivity costs and
advertising revenues to its distribution partners.
For more information, visit http://www.1stUp.com. The company is located at
88 Kearny Street, Suite 800, San Francisco, CA 94108.
Telephone: 415-293-4700.
About Electric Lightwave
Electric Lightwave Inc. is a broadband integrated communications provider
of Internet, data, voice and dedicated access services to
communications-intensive businesses and the growing online business community.
The company owns and operates high-speed fiber optic networks that
interconnect major markets in the West and operates a nationally acclaimed
Internet and data network. Headquartered in Vancouver, Wash., the company
employs 1,167 and generated revenues of $187 million in 1999, up 85 percent
from 1998. The company also offers Internet and data services from two Bay
Area offices: 301 Howard, Suite 1350 in San Francisco and 1732 North First
Street, Suite 390 in San Jose. For more information on Bay Area services,
please contact Gloria Strimpel at 415-901-3000.
Additional information about Electric Lightwave is located on the Web at
http://www.eli.net. The company is 82 percent owned by Citizens Utilities
(NYSE: CZN).
This release contains forward-looking statements which address a variety
of subjects including, for example, the expected benefits of the agreement
between 1stUp and Electric Lightwave and the expected functionality of the
combination of technology and products of 1stUp and Electric Lightwave. The
following important factors and uncertainties, among others, could cause
actual results to differ materially from those described in these
forward-looking statements: 1stUp's products and technologies may not
successfully interoperate with those of Electric Lightwave; 1stUp's business
model is dependent upon advertising and may be adversely affected by the
adoption of new laws and regulations affecting the provision of Internet
advertising services, including laws and regulations covering privacy, pricing
and content; and increased competition and technological changes in the
markets in which 1stUp competes. For a detailed discussion of these and other
cautionary statements, please refer to CMGI's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including CMGI's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most
recently ended fiscal year.
NOTE: 1stUp and 1stUp.com are trademarks of 1stUp.com Corporation. All
other products and services mentioned may be trademarks or service marks of
their respective owners.
SOURCE Electric Lightwave, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.eli.net
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/117258.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 117258
CONTACT:
Enid Lamey of Electric Lightwave, Inc.,
360-816-4682, or pager, 800-368-9102, or enid_lamey@eli.net; or
Jennifer Giles of 1stUp.com Corporation, 415-293-4774, or
jgiles@1stup.com
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