Squabbling ISPs unite

NEWS NetZero and Juno Online Services are to merge to create the second largest ISP in the US behind AOL. The $70.7m venture will see the former rivals, both struggling to cope with the drop in online advertisement revenues, uniting under the moniker United Online. Under the terms of the all-stock deal, NetZero shareholders will own 61.5 per cent of United Online with Juno holding the rest. The combined company will lay claim to seven million subscribers. Only one million of those are paying subscribers and the remainder use free internet services offered by the two companies. United Online will beat fellow competitor Earthlink, which claims to have 4.8 million users, into second spot in the ISP market. AOL will remain, however, the dominant player, with its 30 million subscriber base. Only a few months ago, NetZero was facing Juno in court, arguing fiercely over the technology used to display advertising on free net access services.