Bundled Services From Propel and NetSweeper Attract Several ISPs in Canada and the U.S.
Cybersurf, Crocker Communications and Vircom Add Integrated Web Acceleration and Content Filtering to Their 100K Plus Collective User Base
April 14, 2004, ISPCON, Washington, DC, Propel Software Corporation, a leader in Internet acceleration, and NetSweeper Inc., a leader in intelligent Internet filtering technology, today announced agreements with three Internet service providers: Cybersurf Corp., one of Canada's largest independent ISPs, Crocker Communications, a New England-based ISP, and Montreal-based Vircom, a developer of Modus e-mail security solutions with a reach of over 1200 ISP customers. Under the agreements, Propel and NetSweeper will offer their combined services to the collective user base of over 100K. This marks the first of multiple wins since Propel and NetSweeper were first to market with an integrated suite of value-add services to ISPs at the beginning of March.
According to a recent report from Jupiter Research titled Broadband Distribution Strategies: Uniting Access and Premium Services to Spur Differentiation, ISPs must leverage both content and service offerings as means of distinguishing themselves in the market. In addition, premium content can serve as an opportunity to increased revenue over time while improving subscriber loyalty.
"Our mission was to find a bundled service that fit both our business needs and the needs of our users", said Paul Mercia, president and CEO of Cybersurf. "The potential operational cost savings from bundling Propel and NetSweeper's services and our desire to differentiate ourselves from our competitors by offering acceleration, ad blocking, pop-up blocking and content filtering were other key reasons for choosing the relationship." As for Crocker Communications they were "researching value-added services to add to our dial-up service offering, when we read about the Propel and NetSweeper solution," said Matthew Crocker, vice president at Crocker Communications. "We immediately knew that it could increase the value of our subscriber base and substantially benefit our bottom line." Chad Loeven, Vircom's vice president of business development, mentioned that "the partnership with NetSweeper and Propel will enable us to continue to differentiate ourselves in the market as providing one of the broadest sets of vendor support in the industry in addition to performance and features that make us the solution of choice for ISPs."
"The interest in our recently formed relationship with NetSweeper has been tremendous," said Scott Sorochak, vice president of sales at Propel Software. "ISPs know they need to think of new ways to generate revenue from their subscriber base instead of just relying on subscriber fees. Now Cybersurf, Crocker Communications and Vircom can offer Internet acceleration and content filtering as a means of helping to support growth while staying competitive in today's current market conditions."
About Propel
Propel's mission is to solve the frustrations of using the Internet. The first of these is a problem that affects approximately 600 million Internet users globally: slow Internet connections. Propel Accelerator speeds up Web browsing up to 5 times by using patent-pending compression, caching and connection optimization techniques. Further frustrations have been solved by incorporating the blocking of unwanted pop-up and in-page advertising. And most recently, Propel has partnered to deliver content filtering and parental controls.
Since its launch in 2002, Propel Accelerator has been deployed by over 100 Internet and network service providers in Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the United States - serving over 32 million subscribers - including EarthLink (NASDAQ: ELNK), PeoplePC Online in the US; and has signed over 1200 small ISPs, affiliates and OEMs, such as U.S. Robotics, the largest dial-up modem manufacturer. 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.
"Propel®", "Propel® Accelerator", Propel® Acceleration Service, the Propel logos, and "Speed up your Dial-Up!sm" are registered trademarks or trademarks of Propel Software Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Other trademarks shown are the property of their respective owners.
About Netsweeper
NetSweeper Inc. is a privately held Canadian organization with its head office located in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. With several additional offices now located in the United States, the United Kingdom, South America, and South Africa, NetSweeper Inc. has expanded its markets by providing intelligent Web filtering technology to corporations, Internet service providers, educational institutions, and government organizations around the world. NetSweeper's goal is to provide the most proactive and innovative Web filtering process to the end customer, while maintaining a high level of simplicity and functionality through its easy-to-use Web-based interfaces.
Since its inception in 1999, NetSweeper Inc. has successfully deployed its services to over 150 ISPs, educational networks, corporations, and governmental networks- reaching over 5 million end customers- including The Government of Ontario, Fujitsu Managed Services in the UK, and Bell Canada. NetSweeper is located in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Please visit www.net-sweeper.com for more information.
