NBI Computer Services
Computer & Technology News Story 1

Earthlink, like AOL, has been hemorrhaging dial-up subscribers. Unlike AOL, Earthlink decided to tough it out in the broadband industry. The company has been doing their best to survive by trying a little bit of everything. They're investing in broadband over powerline (which will surely take off any day now), reselling Covad ADSL2+ and line-powered voice and deploying municipal Wi-Fi.

They've also been engaged in an outsourcing push for several years -- the company slowly closing the doors of U.S. call centers and replacing domestic tech support with offshore labor. Remaining U.S. tech support employees not cut during a big layoff in 2004 have been getting the axe, as documented by employees in our forums.

 

The results? Earthlink's latest earnings report indicates the company saw a $16.3 million shortfall in the second quarter, thanks largely to their money gobbling MVNO, Helio. Revenue also dropped 6% to $312 million, thanks to continuing dial-up customer losses.

New CEO Rolla Huff is still assessing the company's financial situation, and is expected to announce further changes later this quarter. He made it pretty clear this week that the company's Muni-Fi efforts are going to be scaled back, telling investors that "the Wi-Fi business, as currently constituted, will not provide an acceptable return."