Leading South African ISP Launches Accelerated Dial-Up Service
MWEB to Offer Propel® Accelerator to Over 250,000 Subscribers
San Jose, CA January 26, 2004, Propel Software Corporation today announced a distribution agreement with MWEB, South Africa's leading provider of Internet services which currently maintains approximately 50% of the South African ISP market. Under the terms of the agreement, MWEB will now offer fast Internet dial service to subscribers, deploying Propel¬ Accelerator free of charge. Awarded Editor's Choice on CNET and reviewed in the Washington Post, The Mercury News and others, Propel¬ Accelerator speeds up the browsing experience by up to five times.
"The biggest frustration of browsing the Internet via dial-up is the sluggish speed," says Mervyn Goliath, general manager of MWEB technology operations. "By giving our customers access to Propel Accelerator, free of charge, we are alleviating this frustration and dramatically improving their experience of using the Internet."
After a comprehensive process of testing and analysis, MWEB selected Propel. Goliath added, "Propel is a leader in the US market with consumer friendly, yet extremely effective Web surfing compression technology, and was committed to do work with us to make the necessary changes to suit the South African telecommunications environment in order to bring this unique service to the SA Internet market."
"As the clear leader in the South African market today, MWEB is in a position to set the standard for a superior Internet experience," said Scott Sorochak, Vice President of Worldwide Sales for Propel Software. "MWEB has chosen to offer Propel Accelerator to improve that experience, and we're delighted to be working with them."
Propel Accelerator will be available as of February 1, 2004, branded MWEB Accelerator service as part of the standard MWEB dial-up package delivered to MWEB's over 250,000 subscribers.
How Propel Accelerator Works
Based on a client/server architecture, Propel Accelerator speeds up first page visits using patent-pending compression techniques and optimized TCP/IP connections. Subsequent page visits are further accelerated using multi-tiered caching technology that can accelerate both static and dynamic content by leveraging common page fragments shared across repeat visits to dynamic pages. These techniques result in significantly fewer bytes being transmitted across what is known as the "last mile."
About MWEB
MWEB, South Africa's leading provider of Internet services has pioneered developments in the local industry since its launch in 1997. As a result of its ongoing leadership position in the industry for five years, MWEB understands that the Internet is a tool. The company therefore draws on its experience and expertise to develop meaningful, benefit-driven solutions to ensure that the Internet adds value to companies' business processes and enhances consumers' ability to communicate access information and transact. Since its inception, MWEB has delivered premium, reliable Internet products and services to SA's consumers and leading businesses. In addition to providing a professional, quality service, MWEB focuses on making the Internet easy for its customers, which include approx 250 000 residential Internet and small business members and blue-chip corporate clients. Visit www.mweb.co.za or www.mwebholdings.co.za
About Propel
Propel Software, an innovator in Web acceleration, was founded in November 1999 by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Steve Kirsch, who also founded Web search engine and portal Infoseek (acquired by Walt Disney Company), authoring and publishing developer Frame Technology (acquired by Adobe Systems) and computer peripheral pioneer Mouse Systems Corporation.
Propel's mission is to solve the frustrations of using the Internet. The first of these is a problem that affects approximately 585 million Internet users globally: slow dial-up Internet connections. Propel Accelerator speeds up dial-up Web browsing by up to 5 times using patent-pending compression, caching and connection optimization techniques. With recently added features, Propel Accelerator now solves the frustration of unwanted pop-up and in-page advertising by combining dial-up acceleration with world-class pop-up and ad blocking technology.
Since its launch in 2002, Propel Accelerator has been downloaded by over 500,000 end-users; deployed by over 100 Internet and network service providers in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the United States - serving over 8 million subscribers - including EarthLink, CyberSurf and Tutopia; and has signed over 500 reseller and affiliates, including U.S. Robotics. Propel Accelerator has received critical acclaim from Silicon Valley's Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post, and has been named "Editor's Choice" by both CNET and ZDNet. Propel is located in San Jose, California. Visit Propel at www.propel.com.
