ATT/TCI......................................................
sfgate.com
ONE SET-TOP BOX
With one multipurpose set-top box next to the TV set, customers will be able to create an extra phone line, speed up their Internet service, watch a wrestling match or order AT&T long-distance service just by pointing and clicking an on-screen menu, Malone said.
''Would you like to order Viagra while you watch your favorite show?'' he asked. ''Just point and click.''
TCI had plans for such services even without AT&T as a partner. But its heavy debt load constrained how fast the cable company could roll them out. AT&T's huge resources will change the equation. ''If all goes well, this deal should light a match under the rocket of digital infrastructure,'' said Michael Dortsch, an analyst with the Robert Francis Group in San Jose.
TCI already offers telephone service over its cable lines to a few customers in Hartford, Conn.
In California, Cox Cable is the biggest provider of cable-telephone service, with 3,500 customers in Orange County. It charges its cable customers only $9.99 for the first phone line and $4.99 for the second, compared to Pacific Bell's basic rate of $11.25 per line.
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