AOL Accelerates Netscape Internet Service
In a bid to make its low-cost dial-up offering more attractive, America Online has tacked some premium features onto the Netscape Internet service.
For $5 USD per month, subscribers can now add on a tool that guards against pop-ups, as well as the Netscape Web Accelerator to browse Web pages faster. For a nominal fee of $1 USD per month, Netscape will also provide protection against spam and e-mail viruses.
The Netscape Internet service offers a basic dial-up package with barebones client software that costs $9.95 USD a month, with unlimited access to thousands of AOL's nationwide dial-up access numbers. Value-minded rival NetZero offers a service with enhanced downloads speeds and upgraded e-mail complete with spam filtering for $14.95 USD per month.
A beta of the Netscape service was fielded in December 2003. According to testers, the beta included unlimited Internet access, personalized e-mail addresses, Web searches enhanced by Google and faster page load times.
The Netscape Internet service is the lynchpin in AOL's strategy of covering all its bases to meet its customers' online needs. Rather than cannibalize its flagship America Online service to tackle the growing popularity of cost-conscious ISPs, AOL claims that it has identified a market for a low-end Internet services and is not cutting into its subscriber base.
"Netscape is targeting a significant, growing market segment that cuts across demographic groups," AOL spokesperson Anne Bentley told BetaNews in a previous interview.
The extended AOL offering descends from AOL for Broadband to the classic AOL dial-up service, down to the Netscape Internet service.
Netscape subscribers can upgrade by modifying their "My Account" settings, or by following links on the services homepage. New members can opt-in to Netscape's premium services during registration.