earthlink

Internet provider Earthlink announced today that it has agreed to buy regional telecommunications carrier ITC Deltacom.

To complete the merger, Earthlink will pay $516 million in cash, but that includes $325 million in Deltacom debt.

As a competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC), Deltacom provides voice and data telecommunications services to the Southeast. The company owns most of its 16,400-mile fiber-optic network and serves around 32,000 small and medium-sized businesses, government agencies, and enterprise customers.

Through the acquisition, Earthlink said it's looking to combine its ISP and IP businesses with Deltacom's communications operations to offer customers a … Read more

EarthLink reported on Tuesday lower sales and profits for the second quarter, though its earnings per share passed analysts' expectations.

For the quarter ended June 30, the Internet service provider earned $31.5 million, or 29 cents a share, compared with $50.6 million, or 45 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter.

Sales fell 24 percent to $185.6 million from $245.6 million in the year-ago quarter.

Analysts polled by First Call had forecast earnings of 26 cents a share on revenue of $186.5 million.

At quarter's end, EarthLink had 2.45 million subscribers, compared with … Read more

EarthLink beat analyst expectations for the first quarter of 2009 as fewer customers dumped its Internet service.

The company, which provides dial-up and broadband Internet service, said first quarter profits fell to $32.5 million, or 30 cents a share, from $51.7 million, or 47 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue was down 24 percent to $199.1 million.

But these results beat analysts' expectations. Analysts polled by Reuters expected earnings of 27 cents a share, excluding exceptional items, on revenue of $202.4 million.

EarthLink is still losing dial-up Internet users. But it appears that rate is … Read more

Internet service provider EarthLink has successfully cut its way to profitability.

The Atlanta-based company on Thursday announced it posted a yearly profit of $189.6 million in 2008 compared to a net loss of $135.1 million in 2007.

Despite the profit, the company's annual revenue fell 21 percent to $955.6 million. The company said it had expected the dip in sales as it anticipated the continued loss of dial-up and broadband subscribers. EarthLink ended 2008 with 2.8 million subscribers compared to 3 million in 2007.

EarthLink CEO Rolla Huff started making major cuts to the company'… Read more

Internet service provider EarthLink has turned the corner.

On Tuesday, the company reported profits of $54.7 million, or $0.49 per share, for the third quarter of 2008, compared to a net loss of $79.4 million, or $0.65 per share, during the same quarter a year ago.

The company's revenues were actually down about 22.5 percent, compared to last year. It brought in only $230.8 million, compared to revenue of $298 million in the third quarter of 2007.

EarthLink's financial turnaround comes as a result of massive cost-cutting. The company sold off and … Read more

The implosion of EarthLink's citywide Wi-Fi business may have been the best thing that ever happened to Wireless Philadelphia, the nonprofit charged with helping Philadelphia bridge the digital divide.

Now under new management, the citywide Wi-Fi network that was originally funded and built by EarthLink will have a new business model, better coverage, and a new contract that should make it easier for Wireless Philadelphia to meet its primary goal of getting low-income families online.

"The new network owners are supposed to have a much more sustainable business model," said Karen Perry, director of the Connected Communities … Read more

CNET News senior writer Dawn Kawamoto contributed to this report.

Time Warner has taken a step closer to splitting up AOL's business, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Time Warner is expected to announce Wednesday that it has completed the internal process of separating AOL's dial-up Internet access business from its advertising business, the newspaper said.

Time Warner has been talking about splitting the company into two different entities for a while now. And it's been a main focus of Time Warner Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes, who took over as CEO seven months ago. AOL has long … Read more

Internet service provider EarthLink could be interested in buying AOL's dial-up business, its CEO told The Wall Street Journal in a story published Wednesday.

EarthLink CEO Rolla Huff first brought up the idea of EarthLink buying AOL and other dial-up providers during the company's quarterly conference call Tuesday.

"We believe we're best-positioned to be the consolidator in this industry," Huff said during a conference call with analysts.

The news has spurred a flurry of speculation that EarthLink is looking to buy Time Warner's AOL. Huff wouldn't comment specifically on whether his company has … Read more

A group of investors has agreed to take over Philadelphia's Wi-Fi network, just as EarthLink was set to pull the plug on the network.

The group of investors, which announced their plans Tuesday, includes Boathouse Communications Partners, a private equity firm based in Philadelphia, technology entrepreneur Richard Rasansky and former Philadelphia mayoral candidate Tom Knox.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the group plans to change the business model. Instead of charging $20 a month for network access, the group will offer free Wi-Fi based on advertisements, according to a story in the Wall Street Journal.

The … Read more