EarthLink's New Retail Service Level Agreements Provide A Single Source For Accountability

Unique SLAs provide network guarantees down to the last mile

NEW YORK, NY – NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION SHOW, Booth #C356 — Extending its commitment to large retailers, EarthLink, Inc. (NASDAQ: ELNK), a leading IT and communications provider, today announced the launch of comprehensive new Service Level Agreements (SLAs) designed specifically for widely distributed, national retail customers on its nationwide MPLS network. Unique in the industry, EarthLink’s enterprise retail SLAs provide accountability for both service availability and meantime to repair (MTTR) and include both the customer premise equipment and the local loop even when EarthLink is not the local provider. EarthLink’s SLAs guarantee proactive monthly reporting that tracks customers’ overall network performance and issues retailers a credit if monthly performance targets for repair time and service availability are not met.

New EarthLink customer Anna’s Linens operates 300 stores in 18 states with more than 2,800 employees. With plans for continued growth, Anna’s Linens President and COO Scott Gladstone specifically sought the assurances that this SLA provides.

“During our search for a network provider, we found that EarthLink offered this type of holistic accountability for network performance,” Gladstone commented. “It certainly proved key to our decision to move forward with an EarthLink MPLS network solution.”

Joe Grauman of Grauman Communications spearheaded the RFP process for Anna’s Linens and said, “EarthLink offered competitive pricing along with a comprehensive Enterprise SLA that fulfilled the customer’s unique requirements, which is something you do not often see in a MPLS WAN solution using blended access types such as MPLS over DSL, T1 and Ethernet.”

With hundreds of marquee retail customers including GNC, HoneyBaked Ham, Geneseco and The Sleep Train plus thousands of others, retail continues to be a key vertical market focus for EarthLink. The company has an extensive portfolio of IT and communication solutions tailored for retailers of all sizes, including a nationwide private MPLS network, managed security, integrated voice and data, and Direct Connect, offering a fast, secure direct connection to leading payment processors.

“Retailers have been frustrated by the lack of provider accountability for their network performance in the last mile. Current industry practice does not align with customer expectations and as such, most SLAs are nothing more than marketing fodder,” said Greg Griffiths, EarthLink

Vice President of Network Services. “We’re committed to providing the most reliable network performance we can because we know our retail customers depend on us. EarthLink’s retail SLA demonstrates that we’re willing to stand behind that commitment.”

About EarthLink

EarthLink, Inc. (NASDAQ: ELNK) is a leading IT services and communications provider to more than 150,000 businesses and one million consumers nationwide. EarthLink empowers customers with managed services including cloud computing, managed and private cloud, and virtualization services such as managed hosting and cloud workspace. EarthLink also offers a robust portfolio of IT security,application hosting, colocation and IT support services. The company operates an extensive network spanning 28,800 route fiber miles with 90 metro fiber rings and 4 secure data centers providing ubiquitous nationwide data and voice IP service coverage across more than 90 percent of the country. Founded in 1994, EarthLink’s award-winning reputation for outstanding service and product innovation is supported by an experienced team of professionals focused on best-in-class customer care. For more information, visit EarthLink's website at www.earthlink.net.