Offering everything from wholesale dialup to a full turnkey package, DialupUSA services 1,600 ISPs and nearly 200,000 end-users nationwide.

by Jeff Goldman [April 30, 2003]

Brandon Mullenberg founded DialupUSA in June of 1998 as a retail ISP, using the MegaPOP network for Internet access. Within a few months, however, Mullenberg found that he was getting more business reselling MegaPOP access to other ISPs than he was getting as a retail ISP. As a result, in January of 1999, he changed DialupUSA's focus to wholesale services.

That change in focus was successful: DialupUSA now services about 1,150 ISPs directly. In addition, the company provides a wholesale-to-wholesale offering that allows its ISP customers to wholesale to other ISPs. That offering now services about 450 customers, bringing DialupUSA's full customer base to a total of around 1,600 ISPs, servicing over 195,000 end users.

DialupUSA Voice: (866) 422-8890 sales@dialupusa.net

DialupUSA's customers receive ISPWizards subscriber management software for free. ISP customers also get access to DialupUSA's proprietary backroom solution. "We've developed a whole bunch of scripts that ISPs can use for instant account activation off their web site and for managing their own accounts," Mullenberg said.

In addition to wholesale dialup access, DialupUSA offers wholesale web hosting, colocation, and domain registration, as well as a full turnkey solution that provides everything from billing software to technical support. According to Mullenberg, about half of DialupUSA's customers take advantage of the full turnkey offering, and it's been growing in popularity in recent months.

Customizable and profitable
DialupUSA offers wholesale access to about 8,000 POP locations nationwide through agreements with Qwest, UUNET, MegaPOP, Aleron, WorldNet, Electric Lightwave, and O1 Communications. Mullenberg says the company is planning to expand its offering soon through additional agreements with Level 3, ICG, Allegiance Telecom, and Sprint.

The company's backroom solution gives ISP customers real time access to their user data. The focus, Mullenberg says, is on allowing ISPs to be proactive in their customer relationships. "They can go in there and actually pull up a report on all the users that have used bad passwords in the last 24 hours, so they can contact those users and resolve the issue before a customer cancels," he said.

The back office is also both automated and customizable, empowering the end user to take care of their own needs. "We provide highly customizable scripts for usage checking on people's web sites, account activation, call finder, and changing passwords," Mullenberg said. "An end user can change their own passwords, and the end user can update their own billing information."

In the current economy, another strong selling point for the company is its profitability. "We're the most profitable wholesaler in the industry," Mullenberg said. "We always pay our bills on time. We've never had a problem; we have no outstanding loans and no investors. I'm the sole owner, and I've never taken out a loan at all."

Staying power
Dialup USA requires a setup fee of $100 and a $100 monthly minimum. The company offers three different pricing options, per user, per hour and per port. Dialup USA offers everything from just dial-up to a full turnkey package. "The Turnkey includes tech support, e-mail, billing service, FTP, hosting: everything you would need to become an ISP," Mullenberg said.

Pricing depends on the network used (the company offers service over 15 different networks right now including Qwest, UU.net, Aleron, Megapop, Sprint, Level 3, FullNet, WispNet, ELI, O1, WorldNet, CP Wholesale, Bitwise, PacWest, and Grande Communications) and on the hour limit, which can be 100, 200, 250, 300, or unlimited.

Additional options, such as national ports with a minimum 10 port commitment, can also affect the final price.

Mark Whitmoyer is the owner of A-1 ISP, a small ISP based in San Diego, California. Whitmoyer has been working with DialupUSA ever since A-1 was founded four years ago. Cost was the biggest factor when he initially made the decision, but he's been very happy with the service since then. "The fact that we're still with them after four years should tell you something," he said.

Whitmoyer says that DialupUSA's support has been particularly impressive, with 24/7 service that's redirected to Mullenberg's personal cell phone after hours. "They're very responsive, they're fair, and they're honest," he said. "They're quick to fix anything that needs to be taken care of."

Ultimately, he says, DialupUSA's reliability has been its greatest strength. "Brandon's business model hasn't deviated a whole lot since he first started," Whitmoyer said. "He has added some services, but he's pretty much held the course—and he had a good product when he first started. It's an evolving market, and it will continue to grow, but they will hold their own."

— End

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	[July 3, 2002]	Rockstar's Subscriber Management Software

Online resource:
	Wholesale Dialup Directory