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Technology Stocks : AUTOHOME, Inc

ATHM 23.76

+1.2%

Nov 28 9:30 AM EST

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To: Solid who wrote (23862)	7/25/2000 9:34:08 AM
From: Michaelth1	Read Replies (3) of 29970

Solid: I totally agree that ATHM has not reached its potential for the two reasons that you stated (which are tied): management and slow rollout. I tried to suggest (but heaven forbid anyone contest what ahhaha says) that problem one (management) can't be solved until AT&T (or whomever) steps in and wrestles control away from the puppets of the consortium of cable owners. As for the slow rollout, I don't think that ATHM will succeed until they get self install kits. In fact, I don't see how ATHM can meet its current estimates of sub growth without self installs. Will self installs cause some technical problems? Of course; but I think that as more and more people use the self install process, the percentage of problems will drop (PCs will come cable modem ready; technicians will be able to walk people through fixes over the phone; web sites will crop up walking people through; people in general will adapt). What should ATHM do that AOL did? I'm not sure, but it's worth taking a look at. For one, AOL marketed the he%# out of itself and did anything else that it could to increase subs. AOL knows that once you reel a sub in, they most likely aren't leaving (the sub needs a reason to leave their precious e-mail address, etc.) unless something much better exists. ATHM has that service. Anyone who doesn't think that ATHM competes with AOL is a dope. AOL has 25 (or so) million subs. ATHM has 1.8 million. ATHM wants AOL's subs. That's competition. I know this doesn't address your comments directly, but I think that ATHM can't deliver on its promises without self install. I agree that there's a large amount of frustrated potential customers who want cable access (I don't think that they care if it's @Home or otherwise). As for the deal they cut with their "owners" regarding the warrants, I think it was (as is often the case with ATHM) a good deal for the cable companies and a bad one for ATHM.

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