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Technology Stocks : America On-Line (AOL) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Steeny who wrote (23475)	6/21/1999 5:11:00 PM
From: Roy F	Respond to of 41369

INTERVIEW-AOL sees high-speed boost with Hughes June 21, 1999 04:48 PM By Nicole Volpe NEW YORK, June 21 (Reuters) - America Online Inc.'s AOL $1.5 billion investment in satellite TV provider Hughes Electronics Corp. GMH will give the Internet media giant national reach to provide satellite-based Internet access, AOL Chief Executive Steve Case said on Monday. "What this alliance does is gives us a national footprint for high-speed Internet access," Case told Reuters in a telephone interview. He said the alliance represents the largest cash investment ever made by AOL. Case said the partnership would allow AOL to offer high-speed Internet access via Hughes' DirecTV satellite service to the one-third of U.S. households that will not be wired for other high-speed options by 2003. Most of these households are in rural areas. High-speed access over cable and telephone lines is initially being rolled out in affluent urban areas, making satellite access a faster way to penetrate under-served areas. "Even if we had deals with all of the cable providers and telephone companies -- and we don't -- we would not have this national reach," he said. He said the alliance is part of an overall plan to diversify AOL's delivery methods, to include service over cable and phone lines and increase subscribers' options. "We're interested in this idea of 'AOL Everywhere,' extending services across all broadband technologies," he said. Case described "a highly-connected society" in which AOL services could be delivered through televisions, household appliances and hand-held devices as well as on computers. The alliance between AOL and Hughes builds on the companies' earlier agreement to develop a "combination" set-top receiver to make DirecTV/AOL TV available to consumers next year. "If you are watching the Super Bowl, you can then access a sports site, or pull up your buddy list to start a chat about the game or access your e-mail during a commercial," he said. The combination of television and Internet access also provides electronic commerce opportunities. For example, a subscriber watching a music video on television could connect to a Web site and buy the CD containing the song from the video. AOL has led a group of Internet companies that are concerned about being locked out of such e-commerce opportunities that become available as Internet access is offered over cable lines. AOL and the others argue that consumers accessing the Internet via cable should be able to choose their Internet service provider, and not be forced to take the service offered by their cable system operators. In a conference call with reporters, Case said AOL's alliance with Hughes would not undercut AOL's argument to regulators that cable companies are shutting out Internet companies. While the battle for access to cable line customers pits AOL against cable companies, Case said he did not view AOL as being in a race with cable or telephone companies to provide faster connections. "We don't see ourselves as up against other providers because we are looking to work with them," he said. "We want to offer a tapestry of platforms." ((--New York Newsdesk (212) 859-1700)) REUTERS