Urban Media CTO pushes broadband envelope

WHEN IT COMES to data, Paul Mockapetris has a need for speed. Best known as a creator of DNS (Domain Name System), Mockapetris has spent his professional life pushing the envelope in technologies that hasten the delivery of information.

So it is only fitting that now, as CTO of Urban Media, he spends his working hours devising ways to deliver broadband to small and midsize businesses for free.

Urban Media is taking the classic loss leader approach to business. The idea is that, once customers have whet their Internet appetite on the free 200Kbps access Urban Media serves to each desktop, they will be hungry for additional goodies from the on-site service provider.

"By giving away basic service, we believe we are tripling the market," Mockapetris says. "We may be crazy, but we're hoping we're crazy like a fox."

The Palo Alto, Calif., company's menu of pay services includes local and long-distance voice, managed e-mail, videoconferencing, and VPNs. Through partners, the company offers a grab bag of business services including travel arrangements, office equipment and supplies, insurance, payroll, and accounting.

Of course, along with a handful of competitors, Urban Media faces critics who question whether the giveaway will make dollars and sense.

That's just fine with Mockapetris. The 52-year-old is attracted to enterprises that buck conventional wisdom. "It's always been my philosophy that the absolute best place to be is in a business you believe works but one where other people are skeptical," he says.

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