January 21–28, 1999

on media

Revolutionary Ads

If you've seen RCN Telecom's recent advertisements, you might think the Princeton, NJ, company is leading a local uprising.A center spread ad in a recent Daily News features a swarm of old-fashioned biplanes descending from a red sky on a city that looks like, well, Camden. The slogan reads: "When you're spearheading a communications revolution, it helps to have allies."

This "revolution" started with the deregulation of the telecommunications industry and has continued with the rapid growth of the Internet and technological advances.

Last year RCN had almost no Internet customers—the focus was on providing cable and long distance and local telephone services. During 1998, the company acquired four Internet service providers—Springfield, VA's Erol's; New York City's Interport; Springfield, MA's JavaNet; and Boston's UltraNet—making RCN the largest regional Internet service provider in the Northeast, with about 500,000 customers. (America Online is the largest national service provider.)

The growth of online shopping has made competition among service providers even fiercer. Companies able to afford high-speed connections are at an advantage.

RCN spokesman Jim Maiella doesn't think his company is stifling the competition. If anything, he says, RCN's prices are fair. (Like many local service providers, RCN offers unlimited access for $19.95 a month.)

RCN has been running similar print and radio campaigns in the Boston, New York and Washington, DC, markets. It launched the Philadelphia campaign last month.

As for the city pictured in the ads, Maiella does not know whether it is actually Camden.

-Jen Darr