But, with or without Dell, these cut-rate bundles are sending shock waves through the Internet service provider marketplace. For small providers, like Kathryn Cooper and her recently sold Eureka Networks, this is just another competitive force driving consolidation across the ISP industry. Cooper is most impressed with Gateway's service, which actually manages much of the ISP infrastructure on its own. Already, the ISP behemoth has inked deals with Micron Computer and IBM to provide the access portion of their PC-Internet bundles. Although a company like Micron may turn around and offer a year of free EarthLink access to prospective customers, the ISP still gets paid, albeit at a discounted rate.
Churn goes way down as time goes on.
Others, including none other than Michael Dell, dream about climbing the Web-services food chain. Mary Jo Foley contributed to this story. A survivor's guide. Custom News ZDNet News brings you a summary of top headlines each business day.