MecklerWeb is expected to increase the attractiveness of the Internet to AlterNet's target commercial customers in a variety of ways. By creating a highly visible commercial presence, the service will highlight the acceptability of for-profit Internet use, and will assist in educating the business community on how to use the Internet to its advantage. Once businesses realize the potential for marketing their products through the Internet, and gain an understanding of the mechanics involved, their desire to connect directly to the Internet and maintain their own product information servers will undoubtedly intensify. The growing user community that is spawned by this process will itself create new applications and, in turn, spur even greater interest in connecting to the Internet.
AlterNet has long targeted commercial Internet users, initially by creating the world's first professional Internet access service in 1987, and since then by building the best-connected commercially- available network in today's Internet. AlterNet maintains direct links to most major Internet service providers around the world, ensuring that its customers can reach the greatest possible number of Internet sites. It offers Internet connections via dialup modems or dedicated circuits at a variety of access speeds, with no restrictions on the content of its customers' traffic. AlterNet operates numerous points of presence throughout the U.S., facilitating full Internet access for computer users nationwide.