usenet@mcdchg.UUCP (09/30/87)
PORTAL ANNOUNCES LOWEST ONLINE INDUSTRY PRICING
Cupertino, Calif., September 21, 1987 -- Portal Communications
Company today announced lower pricing for its online
communications service, the Portal System(TM). The new pricing
makes Portal the lowest cost online communications service
available. The new price for Portal is $10 per month,
independent of use.
Portal's new pricing marks the beginning of a new industry trend
towards low cost online communications. "Our low prices will
open online communications to companies, groups, and individuals
who have avoided the high prices," said Phil Sih, Portal co-
founder. "This radically different pricing, coupled with our
powerful communications tools, promises to make online
communications affordable to a whole new market of users and
information providers."
The online market today has been limited by the high costs of
using the online services. Many individuals and groups have
avoided the online medium, due to its high cost. Portal's new
pricing removes this barrier, and lets online users enjoy the
same low cost, flat rate pricing of local telephone service.
Organizations, user groups, information providers, and others now
have a powerful, affordable tool for their communications needs.
The new pricing is made possible by the state-of-the-art
technology used by Portal. John Little, designer of Portal and
co-founder said, "We designed Portal from scratch as a low cost
system. No other system offers our combination of efficiency,
power, and ease of use." The basic design allows Portal to
quickly adopt new developments, and these recent developments
permit these new, lower prices.
Portal enjoys a strong lead in technology. The proprietary
developments in communications software give Portal a big
advantage over its competitors. Existing services are
constrained by expensive computers, old software, and high
operating costs and will be unable to match Portal's new rates.
Portal Communications provides online communications service for
companies, organizations, and individuals. The Portal System(TM)
is an all-purpose online communications network which includes
electronic mail , on-line conferences, matching, a type of
introduction service, and computer meetings, a form of real-time
computer party line. Typical applications include customer
support, user group communications, electronic bulletin boards,
advertising, and information distribution. Portal provides
connections to many other networks including Usenet, an
international conferencing network, and to UUCP, ARPA, BITNET and
other mail networks. Portal may be reached by modem for
information or online signup at 408/725-0561 (300/1200 bps),
408/725-0569 (2400 bps), or through the Telenet public data
network (connect portal). Telephone iniquires should be directed
to 408/973-9111.
(30)
Portal Communications Company
19720 Auburn Drive
Cupertino, CA 95014
Phil Sih 408/973-9111 (voice)
408/725-0561 (data)
phil_sih@cup.portal.com
sun!portal!cup.portal.com!phil_sih