To: John Miz who wrote (8084 ) 6/8/1999 8:31:00 AM From: Sharon Respond to of 57584
AtHome interested in D.Telekom cable TV Reuters Story - June 08, 1999 04:08 FRANKFURT, June 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Internet access group AtHome Corp is interested in buying into Deutsche Telekom AG's cable television network as part of a plan to move into Europe, a German business daily said on Tuesday. AtHome, which partners with cable TV companies to offer high-speed Internet access, is talking to Deutsche Telekom as well as others in Europe, Vice President John O'Farrell told Handelsblatt, Germany's leading business newspaper. "We think that cooperation with the big cable operators is the appropriate model for Germany," O'Farrell was quoted as saying. AtHome is also looking at all European countries that "offer good opportunities," he said. Deutsche Telekom has broken its 17-million subscriber cable TV system into nine regional companies and plans to sell stakes to strategic partners who can upgrade the system to offer Internet access, digital TV and basic phone service. The phone company plans to keep at least 25 percent of the regional units to prevent them from turning into competitors. Microsoft Corp and media giant Bertelsmann AG are interested in making a joint bid for some of the regional systems. AtHome, which recently merged with Internet portal Excite Inc, currently provides Internet access to 500,000 customers via 17 different cable TV systems in the United States. AT&T Corp owns 26 percent of the comapny Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Headlines Next Story --------------------------------------------------------------------------------