AT&T WorldNet Service Deploys Brightmail Anti-Spam Service; ISP Leader Begins 'No-tolerance' Campaign Against Spam - Product Announcement

Cambridge Telcom Report, Sept 6, 1999

Brightmail, Inc. has announced that AT&T WorldNet Service will become the first major Internet Service Provider to deploy the Brightmail Anti-Spam Service, allowing its subscribers to read email without the annoyance of searching through unsolicited email messages.

The Brightmail Anti-Spam Service is the first and only comprehensive way to eliminate unsolicited email, commonly known as spam. AT&T WorldNet Service said it will make the service available to subscribers -- free of charge -- by the end of this year.

"Our subscribers deserve nothing less than an enjoyable email experience each and every time they access their account," said Michael Chaplo, vice president, marketing, AT&T WorldNet Service. "By deploying Brightmail's service for all our subscribers, we will take the lead in establishing an industry standard for eradicating spam."

AT&T WorldNet Service has always provided information through its newsgroups on how to stop spam and has also suggested software to help their members filter these messages. Deploying the Brightmail Anti-Spam Service will significantly improve a user's email experience by removing spam before it even reaches their mailbox, thus freeing up email resources and saving the user from the time-consuming and irritating aspects of dealing with spam.

"The implementation of the Brightmail Anti-Spam Service will present a tremendous benefit to AT&T WorldNet members, providing them with an email box free of the junk email that offends and frustrates so many email users," said Sunil Paul, CEO of Brightmail, Inc. "With its Brightmail implementation, AT&T WorldNet Service is establishing a clear leadership position in the fight against spam."

Spam is an industry-wide epidemic. Estimates from various ISPs indicate that 5-25 percent of email received is spam. In a recent survey by GartnerGroup (available at www.brightmail.com), 74 percent of email users believed that their ISP should regulate spam. The study also noted the financial impact of spam on ISPs reflected in higher churn rates among subscribers, greater infrastructure costs, and additional personnel costs.

Through Brightmail's Probe Network, an extensive array of over 35 million Internet email addresses, Brightmail can detect newly launched spam and deliver it for analysis, in real time, to the Brightmail Logistics and Operations Center (BLOC). Anti-Spam specialists at the BLOC, which is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, evaluate newly detected spam and issue updated rules that sideline the spam at each customer's Spam Wall.

The Spam Wall automatically sidelines suspected spam by sending it to the user's Brightmail Inbox, where the messages can be viewed by the user for up to 30 days. Users can view their Brightmail Inbox at any time to ensure that it does not contain any mail that they would like to keep. They also periodically receive a digest notifying them when spam has been caught and sidelined. Since software does all of the email filtering and routing, no person, other than the intended recipient, ever sees any of the user's email.

Brightmail, Inc. develops advanced email services and software to enhance the quality and utility of email. Its initial product, the Brightmail Anti-Spam Service, fights unsolicited commercial email, otherwise known as spam, which is one of the greatest obstacles to the continued evolution of the Internet and e-business.

Brightmail has formed technology and distribution partnerships with email system providers Netscape, Sendmail and Software.com. Other partners include AT&T WorldNet Service, Concentric Network, EarthLink, Excite, FastNet, FlashNet, Juno Online Services and USA.NET. FMI: http://www.brightmail.com.

Brightmail, Probe Network, Spam Wall, Brightmail Logistics and Operations Center, and BLOC are registered trademarks of Brightmail, Inc. All other brands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and should be treated as such.

AT&T WorldNet Service (www.att.net) is the number one direct Internet Service Provider in the U.S., serving 1.6 million members. It provides reliable, easy Internet access across the nation, free email, chat, 30-megabytes of free Web space, online communities and discounted games. Additionally, AT&T WorldNet members can consolidate their Internet access, AT&T long distance and AT&T wireless charges on a single bill with AT&T Personal Network. AT&T WorldNet members who "refer-a-friend" to the Internet service can earn a $10 reward for every referral. AT&T WorldNet Service was recently named "Best Buy" in PC World Magazine (March 1999), won PC Magazine's "Editors' Choice" award (April 1999), and was praised as the top ISP in SmartMoney (April 1999).

AT&T WorldNet Service consumer software for Windows 95/98/NT, Windows 3.1, Windows 3.11 for Workgroups and Macintosh is available by download free-of-charge from the public AT&T WorldNet Web site (http://www.att.net/).