Earthlink and Mindspring merge to threaten AOL

NEWS Earthlink and Mindspring, two US ISPs, have joined forces in a bid to topple AOL from its number one spot in the US Internet access market. It is expected the merged companies will be worth $3.3bn and their combined customer base is estimated at over three million users. But compared to AOL's market leading share - estimated by ISP market analyst, James Eibisch, to be at around the 20 million mark - the partnership has a way to go before it can threaten AOL's lead. "It will be difficult for any company to knock AOL off the number one spot. Currently with a subscriber base of 20 million [between AOL and subsidiary, Compuserve], AOL holds around 10 per cent of the world's online population - which is hard to beat," said Eibisch. Jim Whitney, an AOL spokesman, dismissed the merger saying it posed no threat and wouldn't provoke any major strategy adjustments. He insisted: "We've been saying all along that the ISP industry is going to consolidate and this is a reflection of that trend." Reiterating Whitney's point about ongoing consolidation in both US and European markets, Eibisch said that he has expected this particular merger for some time.