New York City – Oct. 24, 2000 — A new prepaid, toll-free CD-ROM will open the Internet to more consumers than ever before by providing access without a credit card, personal information, or a monthly contract. Slingshot, which premieres at Internet World, will be the first to bring prepaid Internet to retail checkout lines nationwide beginning in November.

Keith Kegley, CEO of Slingshot Communications, the manufacturer and marketer of the product, predicts prepaid Internet access could become the next high-growth prepaid retail segment, coming on the heels of the popularity of prepaid wireless. The number of wireless customers using prepaid services is expected to account for 22 percent of the total wireless population by 2003, according to the Yankee Group.

The attributes that made prepaid wireless popular to a wider range of customers are also evident in Slingshot, Kegley explained. The product allows consumers to pay only for the amount of time they spend online by purchasing prepaid minutes at a retail location near their home or work. Neither a credit card nor a contract is needed, and the Internet is always accessible toll-free from anywhere in the U.S.

"Our prepaid Internet product is designed to be a cost-effective, commitment-free alternative to traditional Internet Service Providers (ISPs)," Kegley said. "We want to make purchasing Internet time as easy and convenient as buying a gallon of milk."

Getting online with Slingshot is a quick process. By simply inserting the CD into any CD-ROM driver and typing in the provided access code, users can be surfing in about 60 seconds. Slingshot offers local access numbers in most areas of the country. A toll-free number is provided for those living in rural areas without a local access number to avoid costly long-distance access fees. Slingshot is ideal for:

• College students and other "credit-challenged" individuals who want quick, economical and anonymous Internet access without a credit check, long-term contract or a credit card;
• Business and leisure travelers who need portable Internet access and/or a back-up Internet Service Provider any time from anywhere in the U.S.;
• Families looking for affordable, private Internet access with the ability to track the amount of time spent online; and
• Seniors interested in the Internet but who do not want to be locked into paying for more than they may use.

Slingshot’s basic prepaid CD-ROM package retails for $9.95, and includes free e-mail service and either 600 minutes of Internet time when using a local access number or 200 minutes when using the toll-free access number. An onscreen message always alerts users to how many minutes they have left. When the allotted time is depleted, additional minutes can be purchased at retail outlets and soon will be available online through Slingshot's Web site.

For Customer Support, call 1.866.506.9600 or visit www.slingshot.com

Slingshot Communications was founded by a team of entrepreneurs, technologists and former Microsoft engineers who are committed to providing affordable and easily accessible communications services to people who are not well served by today's product offerings. The privately held company was founded in January 2000 and is based in Seattle.