Wholesale Dialup Directory: Extend A Pop
Jeff Kompon founded Extend A Pop in late 1999 to help both ISPs and affinity groups offer value added services along with dialup Internet access. "I saw that there were a lot of affinity groups that could utilize this type of product as a communication tool, not just for selling Internet service," Kompon says.
The company first tried partnering with various software and wholesale dialup providers, but soon decided to develop its own system. "We built it in house from the ground up," Kompon says. "That's nice because of the flexibility that comes with owning it-if a company wants it to integrate with their billing system, we have that flexibility. It's really made a difference in our marketability."
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Similarly, the company tries to empower ISPs by providing them with as much flexibility as possible in managing various aspects of the system. "We've created a very simple, full-featured virtual portal system that allows the ISP full control over the home page," Kompon says. "We try to take away the guesswork and allow them to do what they do best."
Using the company's ExtendAPortal platform, ISP clients can offer a wide range of value-added services to their customers, including an accelerator, a content filter, and spam and virus filtering, among others. A number of VISP services are also available, from billing to 24x7 technical support.
Any single piece of the offering can also be purchased separately. An ISP can simply get wholesale dialup, for example, or opt only for the accelerator—ithout signing up for the portal or any other service. "We built it in a modular fashion so that we could try to please everyone," Kompon says. "We tried our best to make it simple."
Customized portal
The cornerstone of Extend A Pop's offering is its virtual portal system. "We're one of the only portal system companies right now that give you absolute, full care and control over the entire experience as an ISP," Kompon says. "You can literally change the entire look and feel. We have 12 different skins to choose from, and for some groups, we've created custom skins so they can have a unique look."
In order to compete in today's marketplace, Kompon says, any ISP needs to have a full-featured portal. "We've always kept the focus on the end user, because if our partners are going to acquire more customers, they're more than likely going to come from an AOL or an MSN, and we want them to enjoy the exact same experience, if not better," he says.
End users are given access to a members' area which allows them to correct or change their own information, add or delete email accounts, manage web space, download additional software like a pop-up blocker or accelerator, and access a member newsletter. The functionality, Kompon adds, is continually changing. "We do approximately two uploads per month with new features and benefits," he says.
Basic pricing for all services is listed on Extend A Pop's web site, though Kompon says all prices are negotiable depending on volume and on the combination of services purchased. On March 1, 2004, the company will be announcing a $9.95 per user offering which includes all of the company's services, including full branding, billing, tech support, and accelerator, among others.
For smaller companies, Kompon says he's more than willing to work out a compromise on setup fees. "We get people coming to us with 500 or 1,000 customers, and we love to embrace them," he says. "They're the mainstay of the industry: they're in the trenches every day. If there is any additional cost involved in the switch, we can play with a few numbers to make everything comfortable for them."
Beyond wholesale
Additional products available from Extend A Pop include ExtendARadius, which provides a full management console for RADIUS, email, and web-mail. "We also have an internal trouble ticketing system with the ability to integrate with our partners' platforms," Kompon says. "So if they need to write to different databases on signup, that can be developed on the fly."
Last year, Extend A Pop helped Argent Solutions develop a complete back-end system for the SlipStream accelerator, which is now also available to its ISP clients. "With the integration of the accelerator, we can provide a fully branded solution ready for deployment in under five hours," Kompon says.
Kompon says it's important to understand that Extend A Pop doesn't position itself merely as a wholesale dialup provider. "Our customers range from startup ISPs to existing small and medium-size ISPs, to very large organizations with existing clients or members," he says. "We also deal with a couple of facilities-based providers and organizations—so we don't just go after the wholesale market."
While Extend A Pop tries to be aggressive on pricing, Kompon says the company's programming is what makes it stand out. "We've got a lot to offer, and a lot to integrate," he says. "Depending on what you're looking for, we can provide anything from per-port, per-user, or hourly pricing on the raw wholesale end, all the way up to a fully featured, managed system."
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