A new ISP is in town--United States-based Sharinga Networks-- and it's set to take the place of FreeOnline, which announced its foreseeable collapse earlier this week. The ISP plans to open its doors just hours after FreeOnline's planned departure, on September 1.
Sharinga will move into the ISP space to test run its technology platform on Australian users, offering to take FreeOnline's stranded customers under its wing to experiment its products on.
The ISP will not, however, provide the service to customers in Adelaide or Perth as it only plans to run the service as a semi-ISP with what it calls "a much smaller and tightly focused customer-base".
Sharinga's main focus is to on-sell its technology platform to other ISPs in Australia.
FreeOnline is 100 percent owned by Melbourne-based ISMG. Its sister company Sharinga Networks is 75 percent owned by ISMG and 25 percent owned by Global telecommunications giant, Concert.
FreeOnline claimed 10,000 paying customers out its 60,000 customer-base. The collapsed ISP's paying customers will be offered a "seamless transition" to the Sharinga service, according to a statement. The ISP also claims it will provide 'similar' costs and conditions to FreeOnline.
Still testing the -free" ISP waters, Sharinga said it will offer limited free Internet access to its Melbourne customers only.
Sharinga is confident it will achieve double-digit revenue growth within two years of its entry into the Australian market, according to a company spokesman.
