YourNetPlus offers access to eight different national dialup networks, along with additional services ranging from DSL to satellite.

by Jeff Goldman [December 10, 2003]

YourNetPlus was originally founded in 1995, and was acquired and incorporated by President and CEO Vince Dima in 2000. Dima's company, the 21st Century Group, owns a number of other businesses including a $30 million bridal registry business and a national vacation premium business. Taking over YourNetPlus, Dima says, was a way for his company to become involved in the Internet.

After the purchase in 2000, Dima greatly expanded YourNetPlus' coverage, putting together eight distinct networks to offer to wholesale customers. "We realized that our numbers were our inventory," Dima says. "To offer our ISPs the optimum coverage, we went out and developed our eight networks, which cover 32 different backbones."

YourNetPlus Voice: (845) 782-6079

The company also offers a wide range of additional services including a turnkey VISP program, one-way satellite, a dialup accelerator, and a content filter. DSL and wireless offerings will be added within the next few months. In addition, the 21st Century Group's vacation premium business can provide ISPs with an excellent tool for marketing.

21st Century's vacation premiums, Dima says, are unique to YourNetPlus and the 21st Century Group. "If somebody wants to give away a three day, two night hotel package at 17 different resorts across the country when you sign up for a year's Internet service, and the vacation is worth more than the actual yearly service, that absolutely helps to bolster sales," he says.

Combining networks
As mentioned, YourNetPlus' wholesale dialup offering covers eight national networks, including two made up of smaller networks grouped into proprietary offerings—which means that 32 backbones are included in the total. "Our customers can cross networks without paying twice," Dima says. "If one day they're using Qwest and the other day they're using UUNET, the customer can authenticate twice and only get charged once."

In addition, an ISP can choose to sign up for any combination of networks, with discounts provided for the total number signed up. "Let's say they have 1,000 customers on Qwest, 1,000 customers on UUNET, and 1,000 customers on Aleron," Dima says. "We'll give them a 3,000 user discount across all networks, so they don't have to worry about ramps on one particular network."

On UUNET and Qwest, as well as its other networks, YourNetPlus offers unlimited access, "capped" at 744 hours per month (=24x31). "The norm there is 150 or 200," Dima says. "But how do you tell a customer that they've used too much Internet? In my opinion, you shut the customer off just once, and they're gone. We offer truly 744 hours unlimited."

The company now offers over 30,000 dialup numbers nationwide: Dima says he's particularly proud of the breadth of the coverage. "We worked out arrangements with little telcos in areas where there is no dialup on a national presence, and we've added that into our YourNetPlus network," he says. "In Hawaii, for example, we've 76 dialup numbers out there."

YourNetPlus' ISP clients have access to a back office system, which provides comprehensive information in real time. "This is something that nobody else in the industry is offering right now: the ability to see it in true real time, directly off of our servers," says William Calamia, the company's Executive Vice President.

Setup fees for the service range from $250 to $500, and pricing starts at $3.50 per user per month. The company's ability to offer discount pricing, Calamia says, is a key advantage. "We stand out in the market because we have the buying power to give ISPs a good, competitive rate, as well as a decent range of products that most backbones can't," he says.

A better back office
Ruben Bybee is the General Manager of Blue Mountain Internet, an ISP based in Walla Walla, Washington. The company began working with YourNetPlus two years ago in order to expand its coverage nationwide. "We liked what they had to offer—the services, the multiple networks—and they had good pricing," Bybee says.

According to Bybee, one of YourNetPlus' greatest strengths is its back office system. "They have in-house programmers, and most of the things that they've developed I haven't found anywhere else," he says. "From one central control panel, we can check status on all the networks, check our customers, and do a lot of great troubleshooting and tech support."

The fact that the system provides real time data across all networks allows Bybee to take the initiative and contact customers who need help before they get frustrated enough to call tech support. "We can see who's online, we can see who's had trouble getting authenticated, and we can do proactive callbacks to our customers when they have trouble logging on," he says.

In addition, Bybee says, YourNetPlus is uniquely accessible when problems arise. "If you have a problem with authentication on a network, it's nice to be able to call in and talk to somebody who manages that service," he says. "When we have questions or problems, we can get right through to the person we need to talk to."

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Related articles:
	[Nov. 3, 2003]	Accurate Billing is a Value-Added Service
	[Sept. 20, 2001]	NaviPath Quietly Closes Door On Dialup
	[Nov. 27, 2000]	How to Pick A Wholesale Access Provider

Online resource:
	Wholesale Dialup Directory