To: Maya who wrote (29893 ) 2/24/1998 11:35:00 AM From: Stoctrash Respond to of 50808
TCI picks At Home for digital set-top software Reuters Story - February 23, 1998 21:12 SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Cable giant Tele-Communications Inc. said Monday it had selected the At Home Network to develop software and support for TCI's next-generation digital television set-top boxes. Financial terms were not disclosed for the deal, which is expected to cover up to 11 million next-generation devices. "Cable television enhanced with digital video services will become the centerpiece for delivering interactive entertainment, communication and commerce to the home," TCI Chairman John Malone said in a statement. "At Home will be a key partner as we create new products and features for our cable television customers." At Home Corp., which provides a high-speed cable modem-based Internet access service, will provide connection services for TCI customers' electronic mail. At Home will also manage the systems that run TCI e-mail services on those devices. TCI also selected At Home as its primary contractor for integrating the software for digital video, Internet access, e-mail and other services in the advanced set-top devices. TCI of Englewood, Colo., owns a majority stake in Redwood City, Calif.-based At Home. A spokesman for At Home said the deal was important for the company because it represents a move for the company in developing products with more interactivity. At Home stock rose $4.81 to $33.94 on Nasdaq. TCI fell 46.875 cents to $29.03125, also on Nasdaq. TCI has said it will introduce its next-generation digital set-top devices by the end of the year or early 1999. TCI is also working with Microsoft Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc. and other companies, which are providing operating systems for the 11 million advanced set-top devices TCI is developing.