Picture the University of Utah or the Utah Jazz as gateways to the Internet. Ikano Communications Inc., the parent company of Sisna, hopes that will happen.

The company, based in Salt Lake City, sells a new service that essentially puts a company, organization or institution into the business of providing Internet service.

"This is a real hot area in the Internet space,"said Jeff Brimhall, Ikano's executive vice president of business development.

The so-called private-label Internet service lets a company or organization set up its own portal to the Internet. Ikano provides the actual service, from the equipment to the technical support to the billing. But the home page that customers first see when they log on to the Internet would be designed by the company or organization. A die-hard fan, for instance, would see a home page filled with information on his or her beloved team.

The sport team -- or university or organization -- would market and sell the Internet service, potentially generating tens of thousands of new customers for Ikano. And the idea apparently holds enough promise to attract venture capital. Ikano announced this week that Chicago Ventures and Insight Capital Partners, based in New York, invested $11.5 million in Ikano.

"Ikano is a home run," said Jon Hansen, an associate with Chicago Ventures Partners, a venture-capital fund that has invested in Utah software companies Caldera Systems Inc. and PowerQuest Inc.

Sisna, one of Utah's largest Internet service providers, claims about 150,000 customers in the Intermountain West. In addition, Ikano hosts Web sites for corporations and organizations, with tens of thousands of national accounts.

Ikano's new service is likened to the "affinity" credit cards that bear the names of universities and organizations. The service also could be likened to the Internet version of a personalized license plate, since the customer's e-mail address would contain the name of the university, organization or company.

Think of an e-mail address that reads "janesmith@nyyankees.com" or "joesmith@harley-davidson.com."

"It's a really strong trend [in the industry]," Hansen said.

So far, about 100 entities have signed up with Ikano to sell Internet service. Other companies provide a similar service. But Brimhall said Ikano's competitive advantage is its investment in the equipment needed to add customers quickly.

The company hopes to go public -- that road to riches in the Internet economy -- by the end of this year.

First, Ikano must prove its business model works. The company hasn't signed the New York Yankees or even the University of Utah. But Ikano probably will pitch the idea to the U. of U. -- not to mention dozens of other universities. And Brimhall said it already approached Harley Davidson and the Utah Jazz.