EarthLink's Apple of Apple's Eye

EarthLink’s Apple of Apple’s Eye

By KAREN KAPLAN

Aug. 10, 1998 12 AM PT

In a deal that could help EarthLink Network close in on the top spot among pure Internet service providers, Apple Computer is expected to announce today that it has selected the Pasadena-based company as the exclusive ISP for its new iMac computers.

The computers will ask users if they already have an Internet service provider. If not, the iMacs will help users set up an EarthLink account and waive the normal $25 setup fee.

“You can unpack an iMac and be surfing the Internet within 10 minutes,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s interim CEO.

More than 20% of EarthLink’s 710,000 customers are Mac users, including EarthLink founder and Chairman Sky Dayton. “When I connected to the Internet for the first time years ago, I used a Macintosh,” he said.

EarthLink executives said they beat out behemoth America Online for exclusive position on the iMac. AOL declined to comment.

The deal with Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple could help EarthLink catch up to AT&T;’s WorldNet service, which has about 1.1 million Internet access customers. EarthLink won’t say how many iMac users it thinks it can sign up, but analysts expect Apple to sell about 650,000 of the $1,299 iMacs by the end of the year.

Technology and the Internet Business

Karen Kaplan

Karen Kaplan covers science and medical research for the Los Angeles Times. She has been a member of the science team since 2005, including 13 years as an editor. Her first decade at The Times was spent covering technology in the Business section as both a reporter and editor. She grew up in San Diego and is a graduate of MIT and Columbia University.

EarthLink’s Apple of Apple’s Eye

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