Microsoft continues to steal browser market share from Netscape month on month, while its Microsoft Networks internet arm is suffering from the free ISP phenomenon in the UK. Statistics from WebSideStory Inc, the San Diego internet monitor, reveal that almost 69% of computers on the web use MS Internet Explorer, up 2% since the beginning of March, whereas Netscape browsers account for only 29.5%, down 2% over the same period. The uptake of IE 5.0, released in March, has had minimal effect on the figures, for almost every percentage point the browser gains, there is a corresponding dip in the usage of IE 4.
In the UK, almost every one of the free internet service providers which have recently set up give IE away on their start-up CDs, giving MS up to over a million additional users almost overnight. But while its browser share rises, its subscriber base for its Microsoft Networks paid-for ISP has fallen by up to 20%, from 150,000 subs in January, to 125,000 this month. While MSN expects the numbers to level out, many observers suggest that fall could continue. MSN’s involvement in the free ISP of bookseller WH Smith suggests the firm has not ruled out taking on the new business model.
