GATEWAY ANNOUNCES FREE INTERNET ACCESS IN CONJUNCTION WITH YAHOO! AND UUNET
Gateway is first direct PC marketer to become a UK nation-wide Internet Service Provider with gateway.net Gateway, one of the world's leading computer manufacturers today announced it has become a UK Internet Service Provider with the launch of gateway.net. Clients ordering new Gateway PCs across consumer and business lines, will receive systems configured to access the Internet through gateway.net at no extra cost. Gateway has entered into a contract with UUNET, a global leader in Internet communication solutions, to provide the Internet access for gateway.net. In addition, Gateway has partnered with Yahoo!, the UK's leading web guide to provide co-branded, personalisable Web pages to gateway.net access subscribers.
"Gateway is excited to be working with two leading players in the Internet market. With this level of expertise, Gateway is entering the market place with a product that that is designed to give our clients the easiest & fastest way to get on and experience the Internet," commented Mike Swalwell, managing director, Gateway UK & Ireland. "This is another prime example of Gateway's philosophy, to offer the client choice and technology which is adapted to suit their needs."
The Internet infrastructure for the Gateway service will be provided by UUNET who Gateway selected on the basis of their consistent quality of service and capacity to deliver on Gateway clients' expectations. UUNET already provides dial access infrastructure for Gateway's Internet service in the United States. Gateway clients registering to use the service will be eligible for V90 access, Internet access at no charge, five e-mail addresses and 15MB of web space.
"UUNET is very pleased to be able to offer Gateway the level of service that suits their brand and their client profile. As an MCI WorldCom company we have built a reputation as a major supplier of Internet infrastructure to ISPs world-wide. This continues with the development of these new branded offerings", said Joe Clift, UK director of marketing at UUNET. "These new services must match the needs of the client and as the leading provider of Internet services to business offering the highest capacity infrastructure locally and globally we believe we are uniquely placed to do that." he added.
Gateway has partnered with Yahoo!, the UK's leading web guide to produce their co-branded, personalisable home page. When gateway.net subscribers launch their Internet service via a gateway.net desktop icon, they will be greeted by a Gateway Yahoo! start page, which allows users to personalise their Internet experience using Yahoo's My Yahoo personalisation tools.
"As the Web increasingly becomes part of people's day to day lives, they need a web guide like Yahoo! and tools like My Yahoo! to personalise their Internet experience," says Fabiola Arredondo, Managing Director, Yahoo! Europe. "Our agreement with Gateway offers users the opportunity from their PCs to fine-tune the Web's resources to suit their individual needs."
"The ISP market is increasingly competitive and with the number of UK Internet users practically doubling in the last six months, the client is in danger of becoming confused," comments Michael Hughes, product manager gateway.net, Gateway EMEA. "As the Internet becomes inextricably linked to the computing experience, we've taken the word "simple" and applied it to a technology that some of our clients, historically may have found intimidating or frustrating. gateway.net is designed to remove those fears and provide cutting-edge technology and a family-friendly assortment of content offerings." Technical support calls for gateway.net will be charged at premium call charge rates (£1.00 per minute).
Clients can choose how they wish to purchase their Gateway PC, pre-configured with gateway.net, by contacting Gateway direct on 0800 14 2000. Alternatively they can visit our Gateway Stores located in Covent Garden, The Whitgift Centre, Croydon, The Bentall Centre, Kingston or the The Trafford Centre, Manchester, where they can test-drive the systems and discuss their specific requirements with our fully trained sales staff.
About Gateway
Gateway (NYSE: GTW), a Fortune 500 company founded in 1985, is a leading global direct marketer of PC products. The company has manufacturing facilities in the United States, Ireland and Malaysia and employs more than 19,000 people worldwide. Gateway products and services consistently win top awards from leading industry publications. Revenue for the year 1998 was $7.5 billion. For further information, visit Gateway at http://www.gateway.com.
