Service providers need to add value to compete

Sentiment remains negative on internet service providers with European fund managers expressing little optimism about their earnings going forward. Some analysts have delayed forecasts for when ISPs will become profitable, while others are further downgrading their earnings estimates, for example, doubling projections for Freeserve's losses this year from £27m to £60m. The woes of the ISP sector came to the fore last month when web portal Alta Vista, owned by CMGI of the US, revealed it could not afford to provide unlimited internet access in the UK. Meanwhile, a shakeout in European IS...