Bob Peale
angeli ribelli
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Excite@Home service could cease Friday
By PCWORLD STAFF AND IDG NEWS SERVICE
(November 29, 2001)
If Excite@Home Inc. creditors have their way, the high-speed cable Internet service will shut down tomorrow to keep the network from burning any more cash while debt holders negotiate with AT&T Broadband Inc. and other cable operators for better financial terms in a reorganization or buyout.
Excite@Home briefly stopped hooking up new customers after it filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in September. It reached agreements with its largest cable partners -- Cox Communications Inc., Comcast Cable Communications Inc. and Rogers Cable Inc. -- to restore Internet service deployment, but those agreements expire tomorrow.
Creditors of the service provider seek to shutter the company to conserve capital while trying to better a $307 million buyout offer from AT&T (see story). Most of AT&T Broadband's approximately 1.35 million customers get Internet service through Excite@Home, an AT&T spokesperson said. Excite@Home's management opposes efforts to shut down the network, as does AT&T, she said.
Warning customers
Some of the cable companies that rely on Excite@Home equipment and network management services to provide their own Internet services are scrambling to reassure customers. Among the 21 companies that contract with Excite@Home are AT&T Broadband, Comcast and Cox Communications.
Insight Communications in New York sent e-mail to its customers saying it doesn't believe the system will go down tomorrow. "We are working on a number of fronts to prevent this from happening, including direct motions in the court," said Kim D. Kelly, Insight's executive vice president and chief operating officer, in a message that is also posted on the company's Web site. Insight is also exploring options with other service providers to ensure continued service for its customers, Kelly said.
Several other companies' sites are offering information on backup access services. Excite@Home's own site didn't refer to any possible problems.
Stranding customers
The Excite@Home bankruptcy carries shades of the NorthPoint Communications Group Inc. Digital Subscriber Line shutdown in March this year (see story). NorthPoint's demise abruptly cut off tens of thousands of customers -- mostly small businesses -- from their high-speed Internet connections. California regulators moved to block the shutdown, demanding a 30-day warning period and exhorting service providers to make alternative arrangements in haste.
The impact of an Excite@Home shutdown is significantly greater than NorthPoint's. Excite@Home reported 4.2 million residential broadband customers nationwide in its third-quarter earnings report this month.
AT&T will keep Excite@Home alive if its bid is accepted and approved in another federal bankruptcy court hearing next week in San Francisco. AT&T already holds about a 38% ownership in Excite@Home, with a voting interest of 79%.
Shaky months
The @Home Network merged with the Excite portal in 1999 in a deal with an estimated value of $6.7 billion. However, the merger wasn't the financial success that both companies anticipated. The company has acknowledged that advertising revenue didn't materialize as expected.
In September, @Home laid off close to 25% of its staff and made large cutbacks in its portal services. However, the company emphasized that despite its financial troubles, customers would continue to receive their broadband access services (see story). Many AT&T Broadband customers receive their service through Excite@Home.
AT&T has emphasized that the sale of Excite@Home to AT&T Broadband should make it possible for customers to continue using the company's service. AT&T has also said that if the asset sale is approved, it will build on the equipment it acquires and develop a more robust network, while improving and growing its broadband high-speed Internet access business.
By PCWORLD STAFF AND IDG NEWS SERVICE
(November 29, 2001)
If Excite@Home Inc. creditors have their way, the high-speed cable Internet service will shut down tomorrow to keep the network from burning any more cash while debt holders negotiate with AT&T Broadband Inc. and other cable operators for better financial terms in a reorganization or buyout.
Excite@Home briefly stopped hooking up new customers after it filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in September. It reached agreements with its largest cable partners -- Cox Communications Inc., Comcast Cable Communications Inc. and Rogers Cable Inc. -- to restore Internet service deployment, but those agreements expire tomorrow.
Creditors of the service provider seek to shutter the company to conserve capital while trying to better a $307 million buyout offer from AT&T (see story). Most of AT&T Broadband's approximately 1.35 million customers get Internet service through Excite@Home, an AT&T spokesperson said. Excite@Home's management opposes efforts to shut down the network, as does AT&T, she said.
Warning customers
Some of the cable companies that rely on Excite@Home equipment and network management services to provide their own Internet services are scrambling to reassure customers. Among the 21 companies that contract with Excite@Home are AT&T Broadband, Comcast and Cox Communications.
Insight Communications in New York sent e-mail to its customers saying it doesn't believe the system will go down tomorrow. "We are working on a number of fronts to prevent this from happening, including direct motions in the court," said Kim D. Kelly, Insight's executive vice president and chief operating officer, in a message that is also posted on the company's Web site. Insight is also exploring options with other service providers to ensure continued service for its customers, Kelly said.
Several other companies' sites are offering information on backup access services. Excite@Home's own site didn't refer to any possible problems.
Stranding customers
The Excite@Home bankruptcy carries shades of the NorthPoint Communications Group Inc. Digital Subscriber Line shutdown in March this year (see story). NorthPoint's demise abruptly cut off tens of thousands of customers -- mostly small businesses -- from their high-speed Internet connections. California regulators moved to block the shutdown, demanding a 30-day warning period and exhorting service providers to make alternative arrangements in haste.
The impact of an Excite@Home shutdown is significantly greater than NorthPoint's. Excite@Home reported 4.2 million residential broadband customers nationwide in its third-quarter earnings report this month.
AT&T will keep Excite@Home alive if its bid is accepted and approved in another federal bankruptcy court hearing next week in San Francisco. AT&T already holds about a 38% ownership in Excite@Home, with a voting interest of 79%.
Shaky months
The @Home Network merged with the Excite portal in 1999 in a deal with an estimated value of $6.7 billion. However, the merger wasn't the financial success that both companies anticipated. The company has acknowledged that advertising revenue didn't materialize as expected.
In September, @Home laid off close to 25% of its staff and made large cutbacks in its portal services. However, the company emphasized that despite its financial troubles, customers would continue to receive their broadband access services (see story). Many AT&T Broadband customers receive their service through Excite@Home.
AT&T has emphasized that the sale of Excite@Home to AT&T Broadband should make it possible for customers to continue using the company's service. AT&T has also said that if the asset sale is approved, it will build on the equipment it acquires and develop a more robust network, while improving and growing its broadband high-speed Internet access business.
