AOL and DirecTV to Resell EarthLink Wi-Fi Service

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7:30 am on July 2, 2006 | Category: Business, Wireless Technology, Telecom Services, Internet, Wi-Fi

EarthLink announced last Thursday that it has reached Wi-Fi distribution agreements with DirecTV Group and AOL.

This deal will give EarthLink a more effective distribution network throughout the United States, while adding more appeal to the AOL and DirecTV offerings. AOL will get a chance to recapture its dwindling dialup user base, while DirecTV will be able to bundle television and internet service and better compete with cable companies.

The two resellers now have the right to sell Wi-Fi subscriptions anywhere that EarthLink builds a network. The fact that all three companies will be offering the same service in many regions will keep pricing in line, potentially making EarthLink’s Wi-Fi bids more attractive to municipal governments seeking private partners for wireless broadband deployments.

“We don’t want to be a franchise that has a monopoly on Wi-Fi,” said EarthLink’s president of municipal networks, Donald Berryman. “It will be a truly open market, price-competitive system, and that was a big selling point for the cities.”

The distribution agreements with AOL and DirecTV are non exclusive, meaning that EarthLink still has a chance to recruit more partners, including local service providers. Ultimately, the ISP estimates that between 70% and 80% of its customers will subscribe to the service through a reseller.