Wholesaler’s major build-out of technical support services and
user interface improvements maximize subscribers’ Internet experience

ATLANTA and FORT MILL, SC (March 27, 2000) — Info Avenue Internet Services, LLC, a leading wholesaler of Internet access services, announced today that its Internet service provider customers—independent telephone companies and cooperative utilities—slashed subscriber churn in 1999 to 2.4 percent per month, down from 5.2 percent per month in 1998. Info Avenue’s technical support services expansion, and its implementation of Netsurfer’s NetKit subscriber software continue to drive subscriber churn rates well below industry averages.

"We want our customers to have the best technical support services and best subscriber software available," says Ann DiSilvestre, president and COO of Info Avenue Internet Services. "Our ‘build out’ of customer support services, increased bandwidth, and the implementation of Netsurfer’s NetKit, which provides subscribers with an enhanced Internet experience, produced dramatic improvements in support related call handling, talk times, and call volumes."

"Netsurfer is pleased to be a part of Info Avenue’s churn reducing ‘mix’ of service improvements," says Scott Williford, executive vice president of Netsurfer. "We have seen similar churn improvements wherever NetKit has been deployed. It’s clear that customer churn can be minimized with proactive service improvements and enhanced software products like NetKit."

Info Avenue's network continues to expand, providing Internet access services in South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Florida, West Virginia, Illinois, Texas, Oklahoma, Nevada, Missouri, Alabama, North Dakota, Idaho, and Montana—to more than 225,000 dial-up users and hundreds of commercial connections.

About Info Avenue
Info Avenue Internet Services, LLC is a full service Internet access provider based in Fort Mill, South Carolina. In business since 1993, it was the first provider of local Internet access in the State of South Carolina. Info Avenue provides wholesale Internet services throughout the United States. Info Avenue currently serves 80 companies in 15 states, offering a wide range of services from dial-up to dedicated connections as well as Web services.

About Netsurfer
Founded in 1994, Atlanta-based Netsurfer, Inc. develops innovative solutions that help Internet access providers simplify and improve the Internet experience for their subscribers. Netsurfer’s NetKit® is a flexible offering of unique subscriber solutions. Internet access providers can choose from several customer service improving features, such as automated sign-up, a custom-branded subscriber interface, and a Web-view that provides immediate access to popular sites—where new revenue streams can be established with content providers. Netsurfer’s SoftCast electronic distribution solution creates an "electronic tether," enabling Internet service providers to automatically deliver software and configuration updates to assist in subscriber management and lower technical support costs. For more information, visit www.netsurfer.com.

Contact:
Wayne Harrison 
Info Avenue 
www.infoave.net
(803) 802-4674 

Janice Upson
Netsurfer
www.netsurfer.com
(770) 956-7873 x3101