Excite@Home Launches the Next-Generation @Home Service Which Includes the New Excite Broadband Portal
High-Speed, Always on, Personalized Internet Experience Is the Consumers' Easiest Gateway to Broadband
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., March 13 /PRNewswire/ --
Excite@Home (Nasdaq: ATHM - news), the leader in broadband, today announced @Home 2000(SM), the next-generation broadband online service that combines high-speed access from @Home© with new Excite© broadband rich media and personalized content, to help subscribers manage their daily lives. Available to millions, the @Home 2000 service will make the broadband experience easy by packaging together everything a customer needs: high-speed access, an 'always-on' connection, a complete software package designed for broadband, and a personalized Excite broadband content experience. A strategic milestone for Excite@Home, the launch of the @Home 2000 service will be the first time customers can take advantage of the new broadband content experience developed by the popular portal Excite.
The launch of the @Home 2000 service creates a new breed of online service optimized for high-speed access, and is the first to combine high-speed access and personalized content. @Home, the largest broadband ISP, provides more than a million consumers high-speed Internet access over their cable connection. The migration to broadband ISPs is projected to be enormous, with more than 27 million consumers accessing the Web via high-speed networks in 2003, and with 62% of first-time online users choosing broadband over dial-up (source: Forrester Research).
``Broadband represents a major change in the public's Internet experience,' said George Bell, president and CEO, Excite@Home. ``The consumer can now have a fast connection to the Web and rich multimedia content without the hassles of dialing up. With speed, an easy connection and rich, personalized content, @Home 2000 marks the fundamental shift in the consumer movement to broadband. Today we've set a new standard for ease and usability for broadband online services.'
The @Home 2000 service gives consumers more of what they are looking for -- a faster Internet connection, personalized and local content, and rich media -- all in one easy-to-use package, making the broadband Internet experience easy. Its enhanced features include best-of-class ISP services, such as 7 e-mail accounts, a complete software package with a browser designed for broadband usage, and the first-ever personalized Excite broadband portal.
``@Home 2000 has really changed my Internet experience,' said Patrick Colon, a Cox©@Home© subscriber in San Diego, CA and a beta user of the new service. ``It's fast, always-on and I can customize my home page so much that I log on and practically never leave there. The speed is wonderful and the service is easy enough for anyone to use.'
@Home 2000 - A Better Consumer Experience
In today's market, consumers are seeking several key features from their ISP -- a fast connection, no busy signals, and key services such as multiple e-mail accounts. The @Home 2000 service is designed to deliver these features, and the existing @Home service currently has a 94% satisfaction rate -- better than all other national ISPs (source: Harris Interactive, 1/00).
The @Home 2000 broadband Internet service offers a better consumer experience for five key reasons:
-- Speed: Speed removes barriers to clicking and also substantially
reduces the time it takes for ages to load. Additionally, speed gives
consumers access to an enhanced content experience -- one that includes
video and near-CD-quality audio.
-- Always-on: Because the service comes through cable, customers never
have to dial-up or get a busy signal. The service is always-on, which
means that if a customer's computer is turned on, they're on the Web.
The always-on capability of broadband changes customers' usage
dramatically by turning the computer into a useful information
appliance they can readily access at any time.
-- Personalization: Consumers love the ability to personalize their
content such as stocks and news. The @Home 2000 service brings
consumers all the benefits of personalization, now with enhanced
broadband capabilities.
-- Utility: The @Home 2000 service's powerful new browser gives consumers
one-click access to personalized and localized content, keeping their
favorite stuff, such as e-mail, one click away.
-- Rich Media: The combination of speed and content gives consumers
access to the best and richest content on the Web by pointing to, and
then quickly bringing the consumer to, the rich media that they crave.
@Home 2000 Custom Browser
-- New custom browser: The @Home 2000 service features a complete
easy-to-use software package that includes a custom browser, which
allows for a better broadband Internet experience. Built on Internet
Explorer 5.0, the browser is designed for broadband usage, comes with
the latest technology plug-ins, and provides for easier, quicker access
to a customer's personalized national and local content and content
utilities such as search.
-- Integrated content experience: The new browser integrates ISP and
content services such as mail, search, and local content so customers
are just one click away from their favorite services. For example, the
mail icon lights up when a customer has new mail so wherever they are
on the Web, they can tell when a new message has arrived.
Excite Broadband for @Home 2000
The @Home 2000 service includes the first broadband portal with personalization capabilities, built with the content and award-winning navigation from the Excite portal. The content experience combines the best elements of a broadband service -- access to the richest forms of media -- with the personalization capabilities of a leading Web portal.
-- Personalization: For the first time, broadband customers can now enjoy
the benefits of a personalized Excite portal, specifically designed
with broadband in mind. For example, they can view their local weather
from animated Doppler radar weather maps -- a personalized broadband
application not possible with a slower, dial-up connection.
-- Increased Utility: Broadband breaks through the limitations of HTML
and page-driven views, and allows Web sites to perform more like
familiar software applications. For example, customers can now
personalize their home pages using "drag and drop." Also, new roll-over
menus provide visual aids to help consumers learn more about what is on
the service -- such as TV listings -- without adding yet another link.
-- Rich Media Content: Broadband allows customers to view video content
such as news clips and short animation films. @Home 2000 provides video
news content on its Excite broadband portal and provides links to the
best broadband content on the Web.
Upgraded ISP Services
The new @Home 2000 service provides enhanced ISP services such as e-mail, WebSpace, online help, and multiple computer and device support. The enhanced features give consumers the ``best-of-class' services available. New functionality includes:
-- Email accounts: @Home 2000 increases the number of email accounts from
three to seven to provide for multiple individual and family accounts.
-- WebSpace: The new service increases the amount of total storage space
from 15 megabytes to 70. This means that consumers can store a large
amount of personal data -- video, photos and Web pages -- online.
-- Help 2000: @Home 2000's sophisticated online help utilizes broadband
capabilities by providing video tutorials to help consumers help
themselves.
-- Multiple IP Support: Some customers choose to set up personal home
networks to which they attach multiple computers. @Home 2000 allows
consumers to build networks of up to five Web-enabled computer or
devices.
Pricing And Availability
Excite@Home plans to make the @Home 2000 service available to @Home subscribers in the US the week of March 27, 2000. Subscribers will then automatically begin to receive the new Excite broadband content and the upgraded ISP services. Subscribers will also be able to download the new customized browser. The @Home high-speed Internet service is available to consumers in cable-ready markets through local cable operators. The service will roll out in @Home's overseas markets over the next 12 - 18 months. Service pricing averages $40 per month and, because it comes through cable, does not require secondary phone line expenses. To see if the @Home service is available in a particular neighborhood, please visit home.com. |
