Earthlink 2000 Annual Report Download - page 4

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THIS REPORT ON FORM 10-K CONTAINS FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS THAT INVOLVE RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES.
ACTUAL EVENTS AND RESULTS COULD DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE ANTICIPATED IN THESE FORWARD-
LOOKING
STATEMENTS AS A RESULT OF CERTAIN FACTORS. SEE ITEM 7, "MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS--SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT".
PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS.
OVERVIEW
EarthLink, Inc. (the "Company"), is a leading Internet service provider ("ISP"), providing reliable nationwide Internet access and related value-
added services to our individual and business customers. The Company was formed in February 2000 as a result of the merger of EarthLink
Network, Inc. ("EarthLink Network"), and MindSpring Enterprises, Inc. ("MindSpring"). The word "Network" was dropped from the name of
the combined company to differentiate it from the former EarthLink Network, Inc. By combining the two companies, we formed the second
largest ISP in the United States. Our objective is to provide directly to consumers the highest quality access to the real Internet and related
Internet-based services, which together make the Internet not only relevant but indispensable in the daily lives of our customers. Success in
achieving this objective will be measured by achieving the highest customer ratings for quality and the highest customer loyalty in the industry,
steady growth in customers and revenues, and high rates of profitability as measured by return on sales and return on equity. This performance
will deliver meaningful rewards to our three stakeholders: customers, employees, and stockholders. We are intensely focused on improving
profitability by capitalizing on the continuing decline in telecommunications costs, the decline in the number of calls to our call centers due to
the quality of our software and reliability of our services, benefits of scale, and streamlining of our internal processes and operations.
Our customer base grew from approximately 3.1 million paying customers on December 31, 1999 to approximately 4.7 million paying
customers on December 31, 2000. Our growth has resulted primarily from strategic acquisitions such as the purchase of OneMain.com, Inc.
("OneMain") in September 2000, as well as traditional marketing channels and alliances. We believe we have a high customer retention rate for
our industry. Our retention rate is a product of our efforts to enhance our customers' Internet experience through (1) simple, rapid and reliable
access to the Internet, (2) superior customer service and technical support, and (3) customer education and support.
Our corporate offices are located at 1375 Peachtree St., Atlanta, Georgia 30309 and our telephone number at that address is (404) 815-0770.
AMENDED RELATIONSHIP WITH SPRINT
Since June 1998, our most important strategic alliance has been with Sprint Corporation. As a part of this alliance, Sprint transferred
approximately 130,000 customers to us and committed to generating at least 150,000 new customers for us during each of the succeeding five
years through their channels. Additionally, we were co
-branded as Sprint's exclusive consumer Internet access provider, and we had exclusive
access to certain dial-up modem ports in Sprint's network. We also had access to Sprint's marketing and distribution channels and the right to
use Sprint's widely recognized brand name.
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