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Technology Stocks : C-Cube -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DiViT who wrote (25928)	12/1/1997 3:00:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Hymco using Creative. How many PCs do they sell? TCI is rolling out digital...................................... denverpost.com TCI steps up digital rollout By Bloomberg News Service Nov. 26 - Tele-Communications Inc., fueled by the success of its digital cable-television rollout in Denver, quietly began selling its new product in eight more markets in seven other states. Markets where local cable systems began taking orders today include Buffalo, N.Y., the largest market to date after Denver; Carlsbad and Davis, Calif.; Bainbridge, Ga.; South Bend, Ind.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Scottsbluff, Neb.; and Cheyenne. TCI is on "a very aggressive" schedule, expecting to add additional markets in each week through the end of the year, said LaRae Marsik, spokeswoman for the company, based in the Denver Tech Center. Digital technology, which compresses broadcast signals into a series of zeros and ones, allows cable TV operators to provide clearer sound and pictures, competing with satellite TV companies, which transmit to customers' homes through a specially installed receiver dish. Digital cable arrived in TCI's hometown market of Denver about two weeks ago. The company is using a "soft launch" approach, relying on word of mouth and local news reports rather than a massive marketing campaign to introduce the service. "We don't see a whole lot on marketing until after the first of the year," Marsik said. The company declined to disclose any sales figures for Denver. The largest U.S. cable TV operator is offering a package of 36 digitally transmitted channels for about $10, sold on top of existing cable programming packages. The company plans to market digital cable service to about 9 million of its 14.1 million customers, using set-top control boxes from NextLevel Systems Inc., by early next year. Denver customer-service workers were overwhelmed Nov. 14, the first day orders were accepted, said Margaret LeJuste, spokeswoman for TCI of Colorado. Since then, the company adjusted staffing levels, she said. Orders are being filled in two days to two weeks, depending on where customers live, LeJuste said. Most of those ordering the digital package, which includes channels with history, the arts, science fiction, home and garden and digital music programming, are current TCI customers, the company said. A second-generation digital-signal converter box, expected to be available in mid-1998, will allow cable customers access to the Internet.