After a short period of adjustments, Cisco MCI announced: "Cisco MCI will invest a substantial sum of $1 billion to expand its network!"
Immediately following this announcement, CommScope Optical Fiber, a subsidiary of Cisco MCI, declared publicly: "We will invest $100 million in research and development to innovate and enhance optical fiber technology, aiming to develop more economical and high-speed broadband solutions. Our goal is to bring fiber optics to every home!!!"
Currently, many people are still connecting to the Internet through slow dial-up connections, reminiscent of a tortoise's pace. Watching videos online is nearly impossible... it's just frustrating!
While Cisco makes these significant strides, Isearch is not one to be outdone. As early as January 1990, it launched Isearch-Adsense, enrolling the top 1,000 websites in terms of Internet traffic. Naturally, competitors like America Online and other search engines were excluded from participation.
Coca-Cola emerged as the primary advertiser for this initiative, and Isearch was determined to create a sales miracle!
Isearch initially approached Pepsi, but they were turned down. The reason cited was concerns over fraudulent clicks on their websites. However, Isearch countered this claim by explaining that repeated clicks from the same IP address within a specified timeframe would be considered invalid. Even if some instances of fraud occurred, their impact would be minimal. Additionally, Isearch pledged to monitor affiliated sites to ensure compliance with these terms; any violators would be removed from the Isearch-Adsense network!
Despite these assurances, Pepsi remained uninterested in partnering with Isearch.
Eventually, Isearch approached Coca-Cola. Upon hearing Isearch's proposal, Coca-Cola initially withheld a response. However, when they learned that Isearch had already reached out to Pepsi and received a negative answer, Coca-Cola felt that this meant Pepsi was afraid to collaborate. Thus, they agreed to join Isearch-Adsense.
To express their sincerity, Isearch offered Coca-Cola a trial promotion for the first month. If the results were favorable, payment would be expected; if not, Coca-Cola would incur no costs!
Given these appealing terms, Coca-Cola had little to argue.
The two parties swiftly signed a contract!
Not long after the agreement was in place, Isearch's advertisements began to flood the Internet! Not only did they promote Coca-Cola, but Isearch also benefited immensely from increased exposure for its own brand!
By February, Coca-Cola released sales figures showing a 4% increase compared to the previous month. Typical performance increases for Coca-Cola hover around 1%, so a 4% jump was astonishing! This news sent shockwaves through the industry. Without hesitation, Coca-Cola signed a three-year deal with Isearch! Their rationale was straightforward—while the Internet had yet to reach full penetration in the U.S., once it did, Coca-Cola's sales could potentially surge well beyond that initial 4%!
Coca-Cola's three-year contract with Isearch was exclusive—among soft drinks, Isearch would only promote Coca-Cola and not Pepsi! In exchange, Coca-Cola agreed to pay more.
Isearch didn't harbor any fondness for Pepsi and readily sealed the deal with Coca-Cola!
Seeing Coca-Cola's decision to join the Isearch-Adsense platform—and subsequently report a significant rise in sales—spurred other merchants' interest. All at once, Isearch's threshold for partnership was breached!
Hundreds of U.S. manufacturers—advertisers seeking exposure—sought to join Isearch-Adsense, and at that point, Isearch's bargaining power soared. Their terms became substantially more demanding than those given to Coca-Cola! For the same number of clicks, other businesses would need to pay 5% more than Coca-Cola. Notably, that 5% wouldn't be distributed to the participating sites but instead would bolster Isearch's profits!
Despite the elevated costs, a steady flow of businesses clamored to join Isearch-Adsense!
Given the surge in advertisements, Isearch-Adsense subsequently undertook classification adjustments to target ads effectively, boosting performance even further!
So immense was Isearch-Adsense's success that AOL Search was compelled to announce its exit from the search market.
On February 10th, AOL issued a statement: "AOL Search will cease providing search services to regular users and instead shift focus to offering enterprise-level search engine services."
Henry chuckled to himself while sitting in the Isearch office after hearing that AOL planned to introduce an enterprise search service: "As the saying goes, desperate souls should chase after the impoverished spirit, not the celebrated academic. How could someone launch an enterprise search service without realizing they're killing the AOL search engine?"
He promptly called Bill Joyce and Luke Stowe, directing them: "Announce that Isearch will also provide enterprise search services!"
"Understood!!" replied Bill Joyce and Luke Stowe. Providing enterprise search should be straightforward for Isearch; they could manage the entire online data landscape, let alone accommodate small enterprises!
The market for corporate search services remains ripe, with high demand emerging from patent agencies, libraries and information organizations, media outlets, and governments requiring high-quality information services!
Henry hadn't originally intended to enter this market so early, but upon seeing AOL make their move, he relished the idea of stealing their thunder while keeping them behind!
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AOL Headquarters.
Steve Case was nearly seething with anger. "Isearch is cunning; they've cornered AOL Search into a corner where we have no choice but to take desperate measures! Now that we're trying to pivot and offer enterprise-level search services, Isearch refuses to let us be!"
No matter how much AOL bemoaned their fate, Isearch wouldn't allow them any breathing room!
Isearch was making lightning-fast advancements through the launches of its Encyclopedia, Post Bar, and Isearch-Adsense, becoming a significant player alongside Global Online and the Nicholas Group—dubbed the Big Three of the Internet! Together, these companies accounted for over 75% of U.S. Internet traffic.
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At the start of 1990, the number of Internet users in the U.S. exceeded 3 million, reaching a total of 3.4 million!
Cisco MCI had just completed its merger, and once resources were integrated, along with substantial investment in network development, it was anticipated that an additional one million users would come online by the year's end. This figure represented merely the new users of Cisco MCI and did not include individuals from other telecommunication firms. If additional users from rival companies were accounted for, the number of new internet users in the U.S. could easily total two to three million!
Once the underwater fiber-optic connections between the U.S. and France were established, the user base in France would also see significant growth. The Big Three companies were already strategizing their global expansion, preparing to develop localized versions of their websites for the French market. To facilitate this, they were recruiting many translation experts and computer science students fluent in French! Thus, when the time came to open a branch in France, they would have a pool of necessary talent!
Not long after the Cisco MCI merger, Henry was taken aback to see Qualcomm suddenly reach out.
At the time, Henry was inspecting operations at Cisco MCI and was intrigued by Qualcomm's unexpected visit. After inquiries, he learned that in 1989, the Telecommunications Industry Association had approved a digital technology known as Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA). Qualcomm was pioneering a CDMA technology based on TDMA for wireless applications and data products. This visit aimed to seek support from Cisco MCI!
TDMA had garnered skepticism within the industry, and Qualcomm's endeavors were seen as a challenge to existing wireless technology norms. Consequently, few telecommunication firms dared to adopt its products. "The smell of wine doesn't scare the dark alleys," they thought. If communications companies avoided Qualcomm, even an introduction to CDMA technology would bear little fruit. However, when Henry heard "CDMA," his ears perked up!
CDMA technology represented an advanced form of wireless communication, dramatically reshaping global wireless communication! Simply put, its three primary advantages were enough to eclipse existing wireless tech: improved signal coverage, enhanced call quality, and reduced infrastructure costs.
With these advantages, there would be no doubt that CDMA technology could become an industry standard!
Henry was determined to acquire Qualcomm! Given its prowess, should there be an opportunity to ally with them, there was no reason to let it slip by!