At its first quarter 2001 conference call, EarthLink Inc., officials predicted little gain in residential dial-up Internet access for 2001 at a time when they've almost perfected the process. Customer loyalty remained high for the company known for its high quality of service. Accounting for that, officials said, was the 90 percent of retail customers using the self-install option, which reduced the provisioning time dramatically.
Officials hope to increase the percentage over the year.
Little was said about its satellite service, offered through a partnership with Hughes Networks. The high-speed option has seen lukewarm acceptance from mainstream bandwidth junkies and remains the broadband service of choice only in remote areas. Already providing high-speed Internet access with DSL and satellite service, its upcoming inclusion on AOL Time Warner's cable network is expected to bring a boost to broadband numbers. Officials expect to get on the cable network sometime in the third quarter of 2001. Time Warner, a division of AOL Time Warner, is required to send notice to EarthLink 120 days before its eligible to sign AOL subscribers to the network.