DISH Readies Earthlink Relationship

[Steve Mehs]

EchoStar took the wraps off its Earthlink partnership in which the Internet service provider's DSL and dial-up services will be offered to DISH Network customers.

In a satellite feed delivered to DISH Network retailers Tuesday, EchoStar said DISH Network customers who sign-up for Earthlink DSL will get a $5 a month discount on satellite TV services and a $5 discount on the high-speed Internet access offering. That represents a savings of $120 a year. The dial-up savings are $72 a year, with a $3 discount on both Earthlink and EchoStar offerings.

EachoStar and Earthlink first announced their partnership in April.


From SkyReport (http://www.skyreport.com/skyreport/jan2003/012203.shtm#three) (Used with Permission)

[raj2001]

That's great, but... Couldn't they choose a better ISP? I've had nothing but problems trying to sign up with Earthlink DSL. My order was rejected twice, DSL modem was never shipped and I was charged a $150.00 early cancellation fee for a service I never had. Not to mention that I had to wait nearly an hour to talk to customer service. I wish I had never cancelled Verizon!

[marko]

Dang wish they said something about Earthlink cable modem service. That would be cool as heck if they offered discounts for earthlink cable modem and dish satellite service.

One question though, is it just for people that already have Dish then sign up for earthlink, or can existing customers of each automatically get the discount (not really expecting an answer till more details come out, just wondering).

[shilton]

Will the offer be exclusively for Earthlink DSL or will there be a deal for dial-up too? If so, can those of us who are already Earthlink and Dish Customers find a way to get in on the savings

Hope they remember that not ALL of us cal get DSL in our neck of the woods.

[Steve Mehs]

The dial-up savings are $72 a year, with a $3 discount on both Earthlink and EchoStar offerings.


With that I assume us Earthlink dial up customers will get a $3/month discount per bill, so that's a savings of $6/month with E* and ELink. I have to go to the hospital in a few mins but when I get back I'll call both Dish and Earthlink. I hope I'm eligible for the $3 discount on the Earthlink bill, since we already get a $2 discount.

[shilton]

Originally posted by Steve Mehs


With that I assume us Earthlink dial up customers will get a $3/month discount per bill, so that's a savings of $6/month with E* and ELink. I have to go to the hospital in a few mins but when I get back I'll call both Dish and Earthlink. I hope I'm eligible for the $3 discount on the Earthlink bill, since we already get a $2 discount.
Thanks...please post what you find out here so we all know! I'm just concerned because the last time I saw something like this, Earthlink told me..."Oh that's just for NEW customers...You don't qualify since you already are one".

[Steve Mehs]

Just got off the phone with Dish and the guy had no idea what I was talking about, he contacted Earthlink and Elink told him that the discount is only for satellite internet customers. I'll try calling both companies back tomorrow, it seems like no one really knows what's going on yet.

[Jacob S]

Well that is no good, what is the point in offering the deal if nobody knows about it? Is there a website on the internet in which you can find out about this promotional bundling price? Or an email you can send to get a response back? Maybe that will work.

[shilton]

Originally posted by Steve Mehs
Just got off the phone with Dish and the guy had no idea what I was talking about, he contacted Earthlink and Elink told him that the discount is only for satellite internet customers. I'll try calling both companies back tomorrow, it seems like no one really knows what's going on yet.
Please let us all know what comes of this. I too tried Earthlink and no one knows anything but they did say "well...if you are already an existing customer, I doubt you'd get any deal anyway". Does Charlie or anyone else have a link about this deal, or is there some retailer info we would refer to that someone could make available to us? I want my discounts!!!

[Scott Greczkowski]

They said on the Retailer Chat that if the customer was previously a Earthlink customer then they are not eligible for the discounts now.

So if you had Earthlink in 1996 you can't get the discounts now. (Which to me is silly)

[Jacob S]

Long term customers getting punished for being long term customers. That almost encourages them to switch over, but the company does not want to offer discounts to current subs because if they did this, then they might actually lose more money than they want to.

This deal is no good then for a lot of people. If someone has Earthlink Internet Service then the discount for getting Dish Network is only half than what it would be if they were not a customer. I bet Dish Network does the same, does not offer a discount if someone is already a Dish subscriber. They would not want to lose money by giving another business a customer when there would be no advantage to Dish.

The only way this would work for anyone is if someone does not have either Earthlink or Dish Network service, must sign up as a new customer for both.

[shilton]

Originally posted by Jacob S
Long term customers getting punished for being long term customers. That almost encourages them to switch over, but the company does not want to offer discounts to current subs because if they did this, then they might actually lose more money than they want to.

This deal is no good then for a lot of people. If someone has Earthlink Internet Service then the discount for getting Dish Network is only half than what it would be if they were not a customer. I bet Dish Network does the same, does not offer a discount if someone is already a Dish subscriber. They would not want to lose money by giving another business a customer when there would be no advantage to Dish.

The only way this would work for anyone is if someone does not have either Earthlink or Dish Network service, must sign up as a new customer for both.
Hmmm...maybe its just me...but if Dish and Earthlink allowed existing subs to cash in on this, wouldn't this cause more customer loyalty? You better bet, no matter how mad I got at Earthlink, I'd think twice about jumping ship if it meant I lost out on my $6.00 discount per month. Funny though. Earthlink also gives a AAA discount of $2.00 per month. You know, they let me sign up for that too and I got it for about 2 mnths, then it went away. When I asked them about it, they told me that I was not eligible because that deal was "only for new customers". How the heck do you hold on to a customer base when you refuse to offer incentives to your existing customers. If this is Earthlink's best, Charlie should RUN like his hair is on fire and do business with someone else!

[Steve Mehs]

This sucks! I've been with Sprint Internet Passport/Earthlink since the middle of '98. If this doesn't change by May, I'll just have my mom cancle Earthlink, then sign up on my own name.

[sorahl]

EarthLink, EchoStar sign bundling pact


By Larry Dignan
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
February 10, 2003, 6:35 AM PT


EarthLink and EchoStar said Monday that they would bundle DSL and satellite TV services.

Under the deal, EchoStar's Dish Network will offer its subscribers EarthLink's DSL service directly and through retailers. EchoStar customers who sign up for the DSL (digital subscriber line) service will get credits of up to $10 a month on service charges.

EarthLink's DSL service costs $49.95 a month. The deal applies only to new EarthLink subscribers who sign up for a minimum of Dish Network's America's Top 100 programming package, which runs $33.99 a month or more, depending on premium channels.



EchoStar customers who can't get EarthLink DSL will get a discount on dial-up service.

Bundles of satellite TV and DSL service have been tried before with limited success. Hughes Electronics' DirecTV bought DSL provider Telocity in 2001 with hopes of offering customers bundled services. DirectTV DSL had 160,000 subscribers. But late last year, DirecTV watched its proposed merger with EchoStar unravel and later decided to shut down its DSL operations.

For EarthLink, the EchoStar partnership is the latest move to grab more broadband subscribers. The third-largest Internet service provider has partnered with cable giants AOL Time Warner and Comcast to gain broadband market share. EarthLink ended 2002 with 779,000 broadband subscribers, a 65.4 percent increase from 2001.

Like America Online and other ISPs, EarthLink has to move its dial-up customers to broadband service. EarthLink's total number of dial-up subscribers for 2002 declined 4 percent to 4.03 million from the preceding year. Meanwhile, a Nielsen/NetRatings study showed that U.S. households using dial-up access declined by 10 percent, compared with a 59 percent jump in broadband households.

Dial-up ISPs are being squeezed from above by cable and telecom companies that offer broadband service, and from below by profitable value-minded companies such as United Online, which offer dial-up service for $9.95.

According to Salomon Smith Barney analyst Eileen Furukawa, EarthLink is navigating the dial-up-to-broadband transition better than some of its larger rivals, but the game is still in the early innings.

"We believe the pressures EarthLink has navigated so well thus far--migration of dial-up users to broadband, new competition from facilities owners (DSL, cable) in broadband--are likely to intensify in the next 24 months," said Furukawa.

[James_F]

Doesn't seem like it helped Earthlink stock... Still in the low to mid 5's. :p