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Industry Insight
16 February 2001
M-Web attacks ‘portal critics'
BY
JASON NORWOOD-YOUNG
[
16 February 2001
] -
M-Web responded to its “portal critics” in a press release issued last night. The release states that its restriction to its content is a logical step in its business plan. The company also directly attacked the free Internet service provider (ISP) model.
This follows M-Web's move this week to restrict non-M-Web subscribers from accessing M-Web's content portals, services and special offers.Absa responded harshly to the development yesterday, as it coincides closely with the bank's launch of its own free ISP offering.
As far asITWeb has been able to ascertain, dial-up users that do not access the Internet through Absa are still able to access the M-Web portals, despite M-Web's claims to the contrary.
“Premium services and content becomes subscriber-exclusive as part of M-Web's ongoing plan to pursue a profitable business model that is sustainable in the long-term,” states the press release. “M-Web today [Thursday] reacted strongly to critics who attacked its move to offer the ISP's premium content and services exclusively to M-Web members.”
Antonie Roux, CEO of M-Web, says: "This is a deliberate plan to create a profitable and sustainable long-term business. It's no secret that we have followed AOL, which offered its services only to subscribers from day one. Most M-Web tools and services are premium offerings for subscribers only.
"We are a media business that invests significantly in resources and development to bring premium content, tools and services to our subscriber community. Running a free service is a loss-making proposition that the market cannot and won't sustain. The whole concept of free is a misnomer," he says.
The press release cites international Internet research house,Jupiter Research , as stating: "The free ISP business is a pretty tough business to make work in any market." Jupiter says free businesses struggle to turn a profit, particularly in markets where ISPs compete for a limited pool of users.
Jupiter does not allude to content, instead focusing on the viability of free ISP offerings, such as the service recently launched by Absa.
“Jupiter's comments where made recently following the migration of a number of free services to paid models, and the sale or failure of other free ISP business,” states the press release.
Marc ter Mors of stock broking firm UBS Warburg, who is also quoted in the press release, does comment on content and services, stating: "We have severe doubts about the long-term success of the free Internet model. With this implementation of an ISP model whereby subscribers pay a monthly fee for packaged dial-up access and content, M-Web now follows the AOL model. AOL's member services are not accessible for non-AOL subscribers. We believe that this step makes good business sense in the circumstances. An important issue now is how current and potential M-Web subscribers value the content and services provided."
The press release continues with examples of failed free Internet offerings, although of the four examples given, only one – that of Yahoo finding new revenue streams from its services – does not attack free Internet access.
M-Web says access to www.mweb.co.za is open to LAN users, people connected through corporate networks and international users. Its e-commerce offerings still remain open to all users regardless of their point of origin.
In another ITWeb test today, access through Icon's dial-up still allows access to M-Web's portals, while numerous readers using dial-up services from ISPs apart from Absa and M-Web have confirmed that they are still able to access the portals.
This follows M-Web's move this week to restrict non-M-Web subscribers from accessing M-Web's content portals, services and special offers.
As far as
“Premium services and content becomes subscriber-exclusive as part of M-Web's ongoing plan to pursue a profitable business model that is sustainable in the long-term,” states the press release. “M-Web today [Thursday] reacted strongly to critics who attacked its move to offer the ISP's premium content and services exclusively to M-Web members.”
Antonie Roux, CEO of M-Web, says: "This is a deliberate plan to create a profitable and sustainable long-term business. It's no secret that we have followed AOL, which offered its services only to subscribers from day one. Most M-Web tools and services are premium offerings for subscribers only.
"We are a media business that invests significantly in resources and development to bring premium content, tools and services to our subscriber community. Running a free service is a loss-making proposition that the market cannot and won't sustain. The whole concept of free is a misnomer," he says.
The press release cites international Internet research house,
Jupiter does not allude to content, instead focusing on the viability of free ISP offerings, such as the service recently launched by Absa.
“Jupiter's comments where made recently following the migration of a number of free services to paid models, and the sale or failure of other free ISP business,” states the press release.
Marc ter Mors of stock broking firm UBS Warburg, who is also quoted in the press release, does comment on content and services, stating: "We have severe doubts about the long-term success of the free Internet model. With this implementation of an ISP model whereby subscribers pay a monthly fee for packaged dial-up access and content, M-Web now follows the AOL model. AOL's member services are not accessible for non-AOL subscribers. We believe that this step makes good business sense in the circumstances. An important issue now is how current and potential M-Web subscribers value the content and services provided."
The press release continues with examples of failed free Internet offerings, although of the four examples given, only one – that of Yahoo finding new revenue streams from its services – does not attack free Internet access.
M-Web says access to www.mweb.co.za is open to LAN users, people connected through corporate networks and international users. Its e-commerce offerings still remain open to all users regardless of their point of origin.
In another ITWeb test today, access through Icon's dial-up still allows access to M-Web's portals, while numerous readers using dial-up services from ISPs apart from Absa and M-Web have confirmed that they are still able to access the portals.
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