FCC warns of perils of possible ExciteAtHome shutdown
biz.yahoo.com
Friday November 30, 1:48 pm Eastern Time
FCC warns of perils of possible ExciteAtHome shutdown
WASHINGTON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Shuttering bankrupt high-speed Internet service ExciteAtHome Corp. (OTC BB:ATHMQ.OB - news) could be a big blow to the deployment of the service, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell said on Friday.
A federal bankruptcy judge in California could shut down the service, to which about 4 million customers subscribe, if the company cannot reach new agreements with three cable companies that offer the high-speed service though cable modems.
``It would be a great setback for consumers if something wasn't resolved,'' Powell told reporters after a speech.
In a letter he made public, he urged the bankruptcy judge to establish a transition period so millions of customers would not be cut off.
``We're trying to get broadband out there. Talk about two steps forward and one really big step backwards,'' he said. ``In one fell swoop, you could have a real big setback, which I think would be just terribly unfortunate.''
Powell lamented the fact that the agency was able to intervene in situations involving the shuttering of digital subscriber line (DSL) high-speed Internet service sold by the telephone companies, but had no such authority over cable companies.
``In telephone services, a common carrier has to obtain the commission's approval to terminate service. We don't have a parallel provision in cable service,'' he said. ``I haven't thought about it long and hard but it seems to me that whether we have a role here, it should be parallel.''
Earlier this year, the FCC prevented Rhythms Links from closing down for two weeks while its customers searched for a new service.
AT&T Broadband (NYSE:T - news) offered to buy ExciteAtHome's service for $307 million when the company went bankrupt, but a lawyer for bondholders said they were not satisfied because the price would leave little cash to repay creditors. |
