|
IKANO News
Title:
IKANO Acquires San Antonio-Based Internet Service Provider, STIC.net
Date:August 17th, 2004
URL: http://biz.yahoo.com
http://biz.yahoo.com
Partnership Gives STIC.net a Nationwide Presence and an Expanded Range of Features
SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- IKANO Communications, the world's largest provider of private-label Internet services, announces the acquisition of STIC.net, a San Antonio-based Internet company providing Internet access to customers in San Antonio, Houston, and Austin.
The STIC.net name will not change, and customers will be able to keep their STIC.net email addresses. While there will be several enhancements to the STIC.net Internet service, the price will remain the same ($10.00/month for dial-up Internet). Please visit http://www.STIC.net/ for additional details.
"Smaller ISPs are at a disadvantage when compared to larger ISPs because the cost to service each subscriber is higher," said Henry Smith, president and CEO of IKANO Communications. "Our business model and goal is not only to keep local ISPs in operation, but to strengthen them and allow them to flourish within the local or regional market in which they operate. This partnership will give STIC.net the cost advantages that have been afforded to IKANO while maintaining STIC.net's local ISP appeal."
As a result of this acquisition, STIC.net customers will now have available to them a sizable array of features and services that were not previously offered. STIC.net customers previously had access to three dial-up numbers in local Texas cities, but now they have access to the nationwide IKANO network featuring over 3,000 dial-up locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. STIC.net customers will also have the option to add more e-mail accounts than before the migration with more storage space per account. In addition, each account now includes 100 MB of personal web space and access to the PageProducer Web page creation tool, two features that were not previously offered.
Another key feature of the new STIC.net service is the new 24-hour free technical support provided by IKANO's award-winning call center. Prior to the partnership, STIC.net's customer support facility was only available during normal business hours, Monday through Friday. Now, customers can call in at any time of the day on any day of the year to receive customer service, technical support, or billing assistance. Plus, the service that they receive is from a call center that has received the prestigious "Call Center of the Year Award" from Call Center Magazine.
Other upgrades that are available to customers of STIC.net include the optional ProxyWatch content filter that blocks objectionable web page content, the new STIC.net Instant Messenger client, a fully customizable portal page with news, weather, and calendar options, free high-speed Wi-Fi access to any of the 200+ hot spot locations on the nationwide HOTSPOTZZ network, and the BrowseBlast Web Accelerator that accelerates browsing speeds by up to 6 times.
"We feel that this acquisition will be immediately beneficial to STIC.net subscribers," said Jack E. Gorman, Jr., president, STIC.net, LP. "Many small ISPs are being forced out of business by larger competitors, but this agreement will allow STIC.net to continue offering the service that our customers have come to expect for years to come."
About IKANO
Stemming from the classical Greek word meaning, "to enable," IKANO is the market-leading enabler of private-label Internet services. IKANO partners with Internet Service Providers to help reduce operating costs, increase revenue and expand geographic reach/product offering. The IKANO network provides access to over 600,000 users, allowing IKANO to fully utilize economies of scale and provide high quality service at highly competitive prices. IKANO is the parent company of SISNA, one of the nation's original Internet Service Providers; Interhop/auracom, offering ISP franchises and consumer Internet services throughout Canada; and HOTSPOTZZ, one of the largest private providers of Wi-Fi hot spots. IKANO served as the official network provider for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. For more information visit www.ikano.com.
|
|
|
Wholesale DSL
Our Model
History
IKANO Start Center
