Net access reaches final frontier

EarthLink and Paramount boldly go into StarTrek.net

From...

By Laura Rohde,
IDG News Service

(IDG) -- In a hope that Trekkies can be made into paying ISP customers, EarthLink and Viacom subsidiary Paramount Digital Entertainment have joined to create an ISP themed around "Star Trek."

StarTrek.net's features are to include a site e-mail address (in addition to a more planet-bound EarthLink e-mail address), browsers and desktop customization options including a "StarTrek" version of EarthLink's Personal Start PageSM subscriber portal. What's more, the package should offer access to "Star Trek" content created exclusively for users, EarthLink and Paramount have announced this week.

The service should be available to users in the United States and Canada through dial-up and high-speed connections, the companies say. The StarTrek.net ISP service is expected to be priced at the same rates as the regular EarthLink service and users should be able to register through both EarthLink and Paramount's "StarTrek" Web sites, the companies say.

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Powerhouse competition

This is the latest attempt by EarthLink, an Atlanta-based ISP, to compete with its powerhouse rivals -- Microsoft's MSN Service and the country's largest ISP, America Online, a sister AOL Time Warner company to CNN.

While MSN has 7.7 million subscribers worldwide -- to AOL's 33 million -- EarthLink has 4.8 million paying subscribers, according to its fourth-quarter report published in late January.

AOL cross-presents entertainment content though its parent, AOL Time Warner, while MSN has close ties to NBC for entertainment promotions.

On Monday, MSN and NBC announced ISP tie-ins with the NBC television programs Access Hollywood and The Tonight Show that will include entertainment content such as music videos, movie trailers and backstage content from the TV programs. And on Tuesday, AOL announced exhaustive coverage of the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, which includes desktop software for tracking event results and medal tallies.

And recessionary times make for hard competition. Last month, EarthLink reported a net loss for 2001 of $112.3 million, after a loss of $179.5 million the year before. Three days later, the company announced it's teaming up with Compaq Computer to offer digital subscriber line (DSL) Internet service to all United States Compaq customers who buy Presario Internet PCs.