Propel Reaches Out to ISPs

The dial-up accelerator software maker is seeking ISP resellers and affiliates that want to speed up dial-up page loads for their narrowband users.

by Alex Goldman ISP-Planet Associate Editor [October 4, 2002]

Founded in 1999, Propel released its dial-up accelerator product, dubbed Propel Accelerator, in July 2002. The product, which promises to solve "dial-up frustration," was originally offered directly to consumers for $4.95 a month. Now the company is looking to make larger sales by enlisting ISPs in its nationwide campaign.

Adriaan Theron, Propel vice president for worldwide sales and marketing, explained the finer points of the company's ISP offering.

"We divided the ISP community into two tiers: gold and silver. Gold is ISPs with over 10,000 subscribers and silver is ISPs with between 1,000 and 10,000 subscribers," Theron said. "We estimate that the two groups together are about 5,000 or 6,000 ISPs, of which about 700 to 1,000 fit in the gold category."

Propel began demonstrating its technology to ISPs about nine months ago. About two months ago the company put Paul Tocatlian in charge of developing an inside sales group to focus on the ISP community. Tocatlian, now director of ISP channel development, said that the two categories of service reflect two different ISP business types.

"ISPs with 4,000 or 5,000 subscribers may not have the billing capabilities to charge for Propel service," Tocatlian said. "The silver program allows them to offer it, while we do billing and support. On the other hand, larger ISPs want to do their own billing and level 1 support, and in the gold program, we simply invoice them monthly."

Tocatlian said that creating new revenue streams remains important for ISPs, but that this is not the only benefit Propel Accelerator delivers.

"According to the partners I have spoken to, ISPs first and foremost want to differentiate their dial-up service," Tocatlian said. "They also expect Propel to help them reduce churn. The additional revenue from our revenue sharing program is last in importance."

Theron added that the key to selling the product is to demonstrate the technology in action. He added that its exasperating what some of Propel's competitors will do to make a sale.

"I'm constantly amazed at how much snake oil is out there. There are even some companies that were deceitful. They just collected user data and did not deliver performance," Theron said."We've standardized the sales process so that we can deliver our technology to a sales prospect and demonstrate it within thirty minutes."

And sell they have. This week, Propel announced that 14 ISPs had already signed up for the program. The announced ISPs are:

• St. Louis, Mo.-based ISP and webhost Access US
• Los Altos, Calif.-based virtual ISP enabler Affinity Path
• Byron, Calif-based prepaid ISP Budget Dialup
• South Yarmouth, Mass.-based ISP and webhost Cape Cod Mail
• Salem, Ore.-based local ISP Capitol Quik Internet
• Chewelah, Wash.-based local ISP Inland Northwest Internet (INWI)
• Rockford, Mich.-based ISP Magnus High Speed Internet
• Middletown, N.J.-based local ISP MM2K
• Grandville, Mich.-based cut-rate ISP Net Penny
• Ukiah, Calif.-based Pacific Internet
• Dittmer, Mo.-based ISP and consultant Rural Communications
• Florence, S.C.-based ISP and webhost Talent Group Enterprises
• Billing, Mont.-based ISP, webhost, and consultant TGR Solution (The Global Road)
• Warwick, N.Y.-based local phone and Internet provider Warwick Valley Telephone (WVT Communications)

Theron is optimistic about the future of Propel. "It seems as though we have found a great formula. ISPs are hungry for a solution like this, and for some, adding cash flow is a high priority. Sometimes we don't call them, they call us. In one case, someone found us on the Web, and we signed an agreement in two hours and had service up and running within 24 hours."

As the customer list above makes clear, Propel is genuinely interested in even small ISPs (as long as they have more than 1,000 subscribers). If your business fits the bill, you should examine this offer. If you offer dial-up and do not offer broadband, this product should be particularly interesting.

— End