Easynet rolls Web carpet out to VIPs

UK internet service provider (ISP) Easynet is attempting to harness the rise in businesses linking up to the Web by introducing a programme which allows resellers to set up their own electronic pages.

Called the Virtual Internet Provider (VIP) scheme, the programme enables resellers to target users by providing a branded, dial-up and ISDN internet connection to Easynet?s infrastructure.

The scheme has been launched in the wake of research carried out in March by Durlacher, which indicated that 85 per cent of large UK companies have some form of internet connection. The survey indicated that this figure is expected to rise to 92 per cent in the next six months.

Brian Mulligan, managing director of Easynet, said the company?s main focus was to create a place for the internet as a sales tool in the channel market. He added that the internet was still seen by many as virgin territory.

?Technology is going to polarise and the second wave is coming,? he said.

Mulligan added that selling products over the internet is the facilities management style of business, and the scheme will enable resellers to make a 10 to 25 per cent margin on the service.

The VIP programme allows resellers to sell via the Web using their own branding. While Easynet provides the logistics of the service, there is no mention of the firm on the site.

VIP partners will purchase 50 internet accounts on CD-Rom with registration codes that the user enters to access a server, which presents a front-end branded for the reseller.