Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Non-Tech : Amati investors -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Galirayo who wrote (29505)	12/1/1997 1:50:00 AM
From: MangoBoy	Respond to of 31386

[@Home, Fourth Communications Plan Fast Hotel Internet Service] By David Bank Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- At Home Corp., which staged a successful initial public offering in July by promising highspeed Internet access for homes, is moving to offer a similar service for business travelers staying in hotels. At Home and Fourth Communications Network Inc., a closely held communications start-up in San Jose, are expected to announce an agreement to develop the hotel service Monday. The deal is part of At Home's attempt to broaden its offerings beyond its original business, which is off to a slow start. At Home's backers include Tele-Communications Inc., Comcast Corp., Cox Enterprises Inc. and other cable television heavyweights, in addition to the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Its primary business is to offer high-speed Internet access over cable TV systems to consumer PCs equipped with special modems. But that effort has encountered difficulties that include the slow rate that cable companies are upgrading their systems for two-way capabilities and slow consumer adoption of high-speed services. At Home claimed 26,000 subscribers at the end of September, far short of early projections that it would attract one million users by the end of 1996. At Home's service for hotels, marketed under Fourth's At Hotel brand name, is not based on the cable-modem technology. Rather, At Home is using conventional leased telephone lines to connect each hotel to its nationwide network. "We have a real preference for cable because it's a great price performer," said Don Hutchison, At Home's senior vice president and general manager of its At Work unit. "But I have to use what works." Fourth signs exclusive contracts with hotels to set up internal data networks that connect to the Internet at speeds that corporations offer their employees, which typically are 50 to 100 times faster than standard PC modems. It says it has agreements to provide Internet access to hundreds of thousands of hotel rooms world-wide, through either television sets or PCs provided by the hotels. Under the new agreement, At Home will be its primary provider of network services, said Scott Lewis, Fourth's chief executive. The service using At Home has been deployed on a test basis in several lobbies and business centers and is expected to be available in guest rooms at the Hyatt Hotel in San Jose this month. As part of the agreement, At Home paid approximately $2.5 million to acquire a 1.5% stake in Fourth, which is preparing for an initial public offering of its own. At Home's IPO in July was one of the most successful of the year, with shares soaring from $10.50 a share to a high of $27.50. In trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market Friday, At Home's shares closed at $20.625, up $1.625, or 5.4%. Mr. Hutchison said At Home would receive a monthly fee from Fourth for providing Internet connections, as well as a share of advertising revenues. "Advertising is a very small fraction at the beginning but over time it could be a notable contributor to revenues," Mr. Hutchison said. Fees received by At Home may also increase as it adds special services, such as interactive gaming, Internet telephony and video conferencing. Fourth's Mr. Lewis compared its relationship with At Home to that of a local cable system. Just as a cable company might have exclusive rights to provide service to a particular city, Fourth has the right to provide services through hotel chains. "At Home can come to us and get hundreds if not thousands of connections," he said.