"AT&T-TCI Phone Trial Slips To March"
Courtesy of Stephen Temple on the VoIP Thread
February 19, 1999
Inter@ctive Week: The start of an eagerly
awaited cable-telephony trial by AT&T
and Tele-Communications Inc. has slipped
a few weeks, into March, because
systems and service still need work.
The trial in Fremont, Calif., was to start
Feb. 16, the companies told California
regulators. AT&T (www.att.com) now
expects the trial to start in March,
spokesman James Peterson said last
week. The providers are "working through
operationalizing the technology," he said.
They also are working on service, he said,
but he wouldn't provide details.
The Fremont trial -- the first to test
AT&T's crucial strategy of relying heavily
on TCI (www.tci.com) and other cable
companies to offer residential local phone
service -- should last about six months,
the companies told regulators.
The trial is expected to involve thousands
of customers. It follows technology
testing with a few hundred AT&T and TCI
employees plus a small number of
additional Fremont "friendlies," Peterson
said. The companies also provide phone
service at a San Jose apartment complex.
No marketing beyond the participants is
likely before the market trial concludes.
Last week, AT&T said Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer C. Michael Armstrong
will take on a more direct role in managing
AT&T's cable operations. He will work
closely with TCI President Leo Hindery to
oversee day-to-day operations of TCI's
network and the partnerships AT&T
forged with cable operators as part of its
telephony strategy.
AT&T is moving ahead with its $48 billion
TCI purchase despite the lack of
approvals from scattered cities.
Share-holder merger votes are set for
Feb. 17. |
