MSN Broadband Marketplace

A new MSN Web site refers visitors to broadband ISPs and gives MSN a chance to promote its “bring-your-own-access” (BYOA) model for MSN 8. The MSN High-Speed Marketplace (https://broadband.msn.com) asks users to enter their address, then returns a list of broadband providers who offer service in their area. Microsoft earns an unspecified fee from each referral, and users are presented the opportunity to sign up for MSN 8, which offers features such as spam protection, parental controls, and access to exclusive online content.

Microsoft already has deals with DSL providers Verizon and Qwest, both of which are listed in the Marketplace. These deals require customers to use MSN 8, but they pay no extra fee—the charges are built into their monthly Internet access fee, and MSN splits the revenues with the providers. However, the other six providers listed in the Marketplace—cable providers Charter, Comcast, and Mediacom; DSL providers BellSouth and Sprint; and satellite provider DirecWay—currently support only the BYOA plan, under which customers must pay US$10 per month to use the MSN client, in addition to their regular ISP fee. As an added incentive, users who sign up for BYOA access through the Marketplace will receive the first three months of MSN 8 for free.