Broad Point Communications Review and History

Broad Point Communications no longer appears to be active as a direct sales company.

The historical www.broadpoint.com domain should not be confused with later companies using the BroadPoint name, including Broadpoint LLC/Broadpoint Wireless, the Gulf of Mexico cellular and satellite telecommunications company.

Original Npros business profile for Broad Point Communications, preserved below for archival purposes:

roadPoint Communications, Inc. was a Landover, Maryland telecommunications and advertising company founded in October 1997 by A. Perry Kamel, who served as president and CEO. Kamel had previously worked in strategic planning and business development at MCI Communications and as a consultant with McKinsey & Company. BroadPoint developed an unusual business model that combined long-distance telephone service with targeted advertising, describing the concept as "Sponsored Communications." Duquesne Enterprises, a subsidiary of DQE Inc., took an equity stake in BroadPoint and partnered with the company for its initial market launch.

BroadPoint's principal service was FreeWay, an advertiser-supported long-distance telephone service. The service was first tested in Pittsburgh beginning April 6, 1998, initially attracting about 800 users before growing to more than 10,000 during the trial. Customers registered at broadpoint.com and completed a questionnaire covering demographics, interests, shopping habits and other information. When making a call, the customer dialed a toll-free access number and listened to targeted advertisements lasting approximately 10 to 15 seconds. Each advertisement generally earned the caller two minutes of free U.S. long-distance calling. Advertisers paid BroadPoint for delivering their messages to selected customer demographics. Early advertisers included Blockbuster Entertainment, Acura, TGI Friday's and The Wall Street Journal.

FreeWay was rolled out nationally in January 1999. Approximately 40,000 consumers had registered around the time of the national launch, and BroadPoint reported approximately 300,000 subscribers about ten months later despite doing little conventional consumer advertising. The company developed proprietary technology for matching promotional messages with individual callers and received U.S. patents covering the delivery of targeted advertising through telecommunications systems and transactions initiated directly from advertisements heard during calls.