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Technology Stocks : AUTOHOME, Inc

ATHM 23.54

-0.9%

3:46 PM EST

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To: E. Davies who wrote (13113)	7/29/1999 8:46:00 PM
From: Jing Qian	Read Replies (2) of 29970

Good that someone like you recognize the real issue. Fremont is ATHM's first test market. But to be honest to all of you, the penetration ratio is NOT that great. Only about 6000 accounts out of 225K residences. And the fact is, Fremont area was entirely upgraded 2 years ago. I can attribute only one reason to the low penetration ratio, the price. I can also rule out the installation backlog as the culprit. My sister called them a few days ago to see if they have any backlog. None! They were eager to come to your home right away! That tells me something, with full availability and with zero backlog, the penetration ratio is still that low. I did an informal survey among my friends and relatives in the Fremont area. They obviously like the @Home speed. But they were not eager to sign up for exactly the price reason. Pacbell.net here in Fremont is actually pretty fast, but for only $14 a month. Another reason my friends are not signing up is the lack of dialup availability while they are in office. One of my friends is a small business owner. He is currently sharing a pacbell.net account between his office and home by dialing up a toll free number. He told me that he would lose such convenience when switched to @Home. I am not sure if things can improve with TCI's new round of mail flyer bombardment. If people like Ahhaha think this is a trivial issue. Then what is more important? Fremont area is one of the most tech savvy city in the nation, yet the penetration ratio remains well under 10%. What would happen to other cities? I am sure the situation would be much better. If T/ATHM ever dream to replace AOL, they must play AOL's game. Isn't it something TCI and ATHM's marketing people need to be alarmed?

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