(COMTEX) B: AT&T: Cable To Allow More Offerings
B: AT&T: Cable To Allow More Offerings
CHICAGO, Jun 15, 1999 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- Cable companies are
leading the way in offering consumers one place to get Internet, phone
and television offerings and should not face regulation that would slow
that down, AT&T Corp.'s chief executive says.
C. Michael Armstrong, who on Monday opened the National Cable
Television Association's annual meeting here, said he is betting his
company's success on its ability to provide a host of communications
services, including super-fast Internet access, phone lines and
interactive television.
''We're moving toward a single information opportunity,'' Armstrong
said. ''Technology, applications and devices are converging. Customers
are simply going to get more and pay less.''
AT&T has made more than $100 billion in cable purchases over the past
year, including its acquisitions of TCI and MediaOne. That vaulted it
into the position of the nation's leading cable company, followed by
Time Warner, Comcast and now Charter Communications.
As the convention highlighted the accelerating switch to digital
services that will speed development of new forms of communication,
Armstrong argued that federal regulators should not interfere with
companies that provide such broadband, or Internet, access.
Competitors, including local telephone companies have argued cable
companies should face some of the same regulations that have slowed
their quest to provide consumers with a one-stop shopping
communications experience.
Armstrong suggested companies, including local telephone providers and
cable providers, should work together on creating new services or
switching customers.
But Leo Hindery, president of AT&T Consumer Services, said the company
has no additional plans to acquire another cable service. AT&T still
would consider swapping customers to centralize services in a given
region, he said.
Copyright 1999 Associated Press, All rights reserved.
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By CLIFF EDWARDS
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