For Immediate Release
ALTAVISTA TO BRING FREE INTERNET ACCESS TO MACINTOSH USERS IN NORTH AMERICA
Popular Free Internet Service Now Available to 2.3 Million Macintosh
Households Source: Odyssey HomeFront January 2000 survey
PALO ALTO, Calif., June 5, 2000?AltaVista Company, the premier knowledge
resource on the Internet and a majority-owned operating company of CMGI,
Inc. (Nasdaq: CMGI), today expanded its Free Internet Access program to
include support for Macintosh computers. Beginning today, Macintosh users
in the United States and Canada can begin saving money with AltaVista’s
Free Access service, which currently has more than 2.5 million registered
users. AltaVista Free Access is a high-quality dial-up service available
for download in North America at: www.microav.com.
“This new service will continue to put pressure on the obsolete practice of
paying for dial-up access and introduces AltaVista Free Access to the
Macintosh community as the leading Internet brand to offer such a service,”
said Bill Keenan, director of AltaVista free access. “Mac users have been
an untapped market for high-quality free Internet access, and we’re excited
to bring the value of our free service to this dynamic group.”
AltaVista Free Access is the first free, quality dial-up Internet service
offered by a leading Internet brand. The service provides unlimited
Internet usage at no cost in cities across North America through almost
5,000 dial-up phone numbers. AltaVista Free Access features the world’s
first microportal, a small desktop application that provides personalized,
up-to-the-minute news, information and links to valuable AltaVista Network
services. The microportal takes less than five percent of a user’s screen
space and contains a rotating advertisement within the window.
AltaVista Free Access is powered by patent-pending technology from
1stUp.com Corporation, a majority-owned operating company of CMGI, Inc. and
a leading provider of private label Internet access solutions and
innovative advertising technology.
Free Access Macintosh
AltaVista Free Access service for Macintosh is based on the same quality
network as AltaVista’s successful PC version with the following features:
Almost 5,000 dial-up phone numbers covering over 95 percent of the U.S.
and Canada
Free technical support
Compatible with Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3.0+ and Netscape
Navigator 3.0+
Support for Apple Remote Access and QuickTime Requires MacOS 8.1 or higher
AltaVista Free Access user seeking technical assistance can tap into the
AltaVista Support program via phone or online technical support. Online
support is available by email at questions-freeaccess@av.com and has a
guaranteed response time of 48-hours or less. Toll-free telephone support
in the US and Canada is also available at 1-877-584-5551, where users can
speak directly with customer care representatives and technicians.
About AltaVista Company
AltaVista Company is the premier knowledge resource on the Internet at
www.altavista.com. Building on its strong search heritage and patented
technology, AltaVista unlocks the vast Internet to provide the richest,
most relevant information access across multiple dimensions, including: Web
pages, shopping, up-to-the-minute news, live audio and video, and community
resources. AltaVista offers informative services including the
multi-dimensional AltaVista Search, pure Web page Raging Search (
www.raging.com) from AltaVista, AltaVista Shopping.com, AltaVista Live!
personalized portal, and AltaVista Free Internet Access. AltaVista is a
majority-owned operating company of CMGI, Inc. (Nasdaq: CMGI), Andover,
Mass. AltaVista is headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif.
About 1stUp.com Corporation
1stUp.com, a majority-owned operating company of CMGI, Inc., is a market
leader in providing online and offline brand names with private label
Internet access solutions and innovative advertising technology.
1stUp.com’s patent-pending technology enables its distribution partners to
brand, market and distribute free and cost-effective Internet services to
their customers. Multiple leading ISPs support 1stUp.com’s extensive ISP
network to provide reliable connectivity. The 1stUp.com network is the
largest in North America based on total dial-up numbers and delivers
reliable Internet access to over 95 percent of the U.S. and Canada.
1stUp.com powers Internet access solutions for leading brands like
AltaVista, Lycos, Gratis1 by StarMedia, and more than 100 additional
brands. By aggregating the over 3.5 million registered subscribers of its
distribution partners, 1stUp.com is able to pass along the benefits of
optimal connectivity costs and advertising revenues to those partners. For
more information, visit www.1stup.com.