EarthLink Today

As a leading national Internet service provider, Atlanta-based EarthLink has earned an award-winning reputation for outstanding customer service and its suite of online products and services to facilitate a safe and secure Internet experience.

EarthLink is a brand name that people trust and our heritage is being the best in taking care of the customer. Our goal is to deliver the highest-quality connectivity, best-in-class service and support, minimal online intrusions and customizable features for every household that wants the best Internet experience regardless of access type, speed or location.

Our History — 2000 to 2007

2007 Highlights

1. EarthLink announced that it had entered into an agreement under which SK Telecom may invest up to $270 million in equity contributions to Helio (mobile phones and wireless service). This new agreement enabled EarthLink to retain a substantial ownership position in Helio without investing any more cash into the joint venture.
2. EarthLink announced that its dial-up Internet access and high speed Internet access services were recognized by J.D. Power and Associates in its 2007 Internet Service Provider Residential Customer Satisfaction Study with the highest ranking for customer satisfaction. For high-speed service, the ISP took the top ranking for the United States Eastern and Southern regions.
3. EarthLink launched a Freestanding DSL service, which lets consumers receive high-speed Internet access without having to purchase local telephone service from their phone company.
4. EarthLink began offering a new layer of protection with the launch of the EarthLink Security Center. Available to all Internet users, this Web site is a trusted source of news, information and recommendations for anyone with questions about Internet threats like spam, spyware and phisher sites.
5. EarthLink announced that its Board of Directors named Rolla P. Huff to serve as the Company's new president and chief executive officer.
6. EarthLink's President and CEO Garry Betty passed away on Tuesday, January 2 due to complications from cancer. Garry had been with the company for 11 years.

2006 Highlights

1. EarthLink expanded the addressable market for its DSL and Home Phone service to over ten million households in twelve markets: Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, TX, San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose, CA, Seattle, WA, Miami, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC.
2. In the municipal Wi-Fi arena, EarthLink was selected by the city of Milpitas, CA to build an approximately 6.5-square-mile Wi-Fi mesh network.
3. Helio, EarthLink's joint venture with SK Telecom, began its flagship services in the US market by introducing two exclusive mobile devices.
4. EarthLink completed its acquisition of New Edge Networks, a wholly-owned subsidiary and a national provider of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and secure multi-site managed data networks and dedicated Internet access for businesses and communications carriers.
5. PeoplePC, EarthLink's subsidiary that markets value-priced Internet service, ranked highest among providers in the dial-up segment of the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Internet Service Provider Residential Customer Satisfaction Study^SM.

2005 Highlights

1. EarthLink expanded its converged voice and data offerings with two new services -- EarthLink trueVoice and EarthLink DSL and Home Phone Service bundle.
2. EarthLink was selected by the cities of Philadelphia and Anaheim to develop and implement city-wide municipal Wi-Fi broadband networks.
3. EarthLink and SK Telecom, Korea's leading mobile communications company, completed the formation of SK-EarthLink, a joint venture to market wireless voice and data services in the U.S. It is expected that SK-EarthLink will be capitalized with $440 million of partner investments over the next three years.

2004 Highlights

1. EarthLink received the Readers' Choice Award for dial up access from PC Magazine for the second year in a row.
2. EarthLink launched the Research in Motion (RIM) BlackBerry 7750 Wireless Handheld™ with wireless email and voice service and rolled out EarthLink Free Online Calling.
3. EarthLink became the first major ISP to offer a comprehensive voice and data solution, giving broadband users a competitive alternative to their traditional residential telephone service provider.
4. EarthLink launched the next generation of its anti-phisher site application, ScamBlocker. EarthLink was the first and only major ISP to develop and openly distribute a free phisher-blocking feature to all Internet users.
5. EarthLink once again received the highest ranking for Customer Satisfaction for Dial-Up and High-Speed Internet Service by J.D. Power and Associates in its 2004 Internet Service Provider Residential Customer Satisfaction StudySM. This marked the third year in a row that EarthLink's high speed Internet received the highest ranking (tied in 2002).
6. EarthLink launched EarthLink High Speed 3.0, a new DSL Internet service that is up to 70 times faster than the average dial-up connection.

2003 Highlights

1. EarthLink added its Spyware Blocker and Virus Blocker to its suite of protection tools in the fourth quarter. EarthLink was the first major Internet service provider to provide software to combat spyware at no additional charge to our customers.
2. EarthLink rolled out its Parental Controls which delivers over 14,000 kid-friendly Web sites and can be tailored to block or permit access to sites at a parents' discretion.
3. EarthLink's high-speed Internet service was recognized by J.D. Power and Associates with the Highest Customer Satisfaction among High-Speed Internet Service Providers two years in a row, tied in 2002.
4. EarthLink received dual Readers' Choice Awards from PC Magazine for both its broadband Internet and dialup access services. EarthLink was the only broadband provider to be honored that offers both broadband DSL Internet and broadband cable Internet access.
5. With the launch of spamBlocker, EarthLink became the first major Internet service provider to offer customers at no additional charge, an optional feature that enables its subscribers to eliminate virtually 100 percent of all junk email.
6. EarthLink received a CNET Editors' Choice award for its EarthLink Plus dial up connection service which debuted in the first quarter.
7. To grow its narrowband subscriber base, EarthLink began providing an accelerated dial-up service.

2000 to 2002 Highlights

1. EarthLink acquired PeoplePC Inc., a provider of value priced Internet access.
2. EarthLink announced it received the highest ranking in customer satisfaction among dial-up ISPs and shared the top ranking for highest customer satisfaction among high-speed ISPs, according to J.D. Power and Associates 2002 Internet Service Provider Residential Customer Satisfaction StudySM.
3. EarthLink became the first major Internet provider (ISP) to include, at no additional charge, a new feature that lets subscribers block annoying pop-up advertisements.
4. Continuing its expansion in the wireless Internet arena, EarthLink announced the launch of EarthLink Wireless High Speed powered by Boingo Wireless.
5. Citing EarthLink's "cool tools and reliability," CNET for the third consecutive year awarded top honors to EarthLink in its annual review of Internet Service Providers (ISP).
6. EarthLink reached an agreement with AT&T Broadband that allowed EarthLink to offer broadband cable Internet service via AT&T Broadband's network.
7. EarthLink received the only five-star rating among Internet service providers from the editors of Ziff Davis Smart Business.
8. EarthLink achieved top honors among Internet service providers, according to Interactive Week magazine.
9. EarthLink and Time Warner Cable announce their definitive agreement to offer EarthLink broadband Internet services over Time Warner Cable systems.
10. EarthLink receives PC World magazine's 2000 World Class Award for best Internet service provider.
11. EarthLink announces a definitive agreement to acquire OneMain.com, one of the country's ten leading ISPs.
12. MindSpring and EarthLink complete a merger transaction creating the world's second largest ISP with more than three million subscribers.

EarthLink and Mindspring Pre-Merger

1999 - MindSpring launches DSL services in eight cities nationwide: Atlanta, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas, Chicago, Sacramento, and Houston.

1999 - EarthLink commences its nationwide high speed DSL Internet service rollout, launching in four major markets: Los Angeles, New York City, Dallas and Charlotte, N.C.

1999 - MindSpring receives the highest ranking in overall customer satisfaction among Internet Service Providers in an independent study conducted by J.D. Power and Associates.

1999 - MindSpring launches MindSpring Biz, a new division of MindSpring that provides business customers with a complete package of Internet access and Web-based tools for small businesses.

1997 - MindSpring wins first national award, "1997 NetGuide People's Choice Award for Best ISP."

1997 - EarthLink goes public on NASDAQ and is traded under the symbol "ELNK."

1996 - EarthLink rolls out nationwide ISDN and Frame Relay services, providing higher bandwidth to power-users and businesses.

1996 - MindSpring completes its IPO at $8/share (split adjusted $2.66).

1995 - EarthLink goes flat rate, offering the first unlimited Internet access via dial-up for $19.95 a month.

1995 - An alliance with UUNET Technologies allows EarthLink to go nationwide, providing local dial-up access in 98 U.S. cities within two weeks of signing the contract.

1995 - EarthLink's founder, Sky Dayton, introduces EarthLink Software, the world's first open and direct Internet access software.

1995 - The EarthLink/Netscape alliance is the first of its kind to incorporate speculative retail distribution of Netscape Navigator.

1994 - EarthLink founded by Sky Dayton.

1994 - MindSpring is founded in Atlanta by Charles Brewer with 32 customers and eight modems.