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Technology Stocks : AUTOHOME, Inc -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Michael P. Michaud who wrote (2917)	10/22/1998 7:26:00 PM
From: Bob Zacks	Respond to of 29970

AT&T and Time Warner in talks to provide local phone service.This would be a great coup for T . biz.yahoo.com

To: Michael P. Michaud who wrote (2917)	10/22/1998 9:49:00 PM
From: ahhaha	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 29970

a) isn't a question. The intent of your assertion is not relevant to merger. The "exclusive contracts" are not that at all. There is a collection of MSOs who own the lion's share, say 80%, of the outstanding common. Those shares are somewhat locked up and represent a form of working interest. These MSOs helped create ATHM in the first place, so I doubt they want to let go of their invested interest. On a business level they have non-exclusive agreements with ATHM to deliver over their plant broadband services supplied by ATHM. There's no requirement that they can't carry Road Runner too, but there is a cost factor that makes that alternative currently superfluous. Besides, why interfere with your operating agreements and stock holdings potential appreciation? The agreements are renewable in 2001 in most cases. They are exclusive from ATHM's perspective, but the MSOs own the cable, so that exclusivity direction is superfluous also. There has been some discussion about this being some kind of worrisome circumstance. That is ridiculous. To think otherwise is to believe that T bought TCI for the cable to deliver an extra 200 tv channels. T bought TCI for the cable and the ATHM delivery infrastructure so that they can provide broadband based telephony with video capability and other broadband multimedia services worldwide. ATHM has an unbeatable model for accomplishing this. It is part of the ATT master plan for a high quality, complete, face to face worldwide communications system. b) A rising tide raises all boats. You have to get away from the mostly mindless non-thinking that goes on in public circles. The public believes monopoly or proprietary, protected market circumstances provides the best investment environment. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is in ATHM's, T's, TCI's, AOL's, UMG's, interest to enable each other to use the premises on the proviso of paying rent. TCI's President, Hindery, has already stated that they would provide access to AOL when Case started carping. Indeed, that is the intent of the Telcom Act of '96 even though the airheads at the FCC can't see it that way. They need to see their concept of fair supported. That means all the companies above would lose, but mostly it would mean the cable would be delayed in its deployment. Everyone loses, even the airheads. Later, a Republican administration will clean out the clowns both at the FCC and Justice, so progress can proceed over the dead bodies of Luddites. If ATHM cuts a deal with AOL, how do either lose? ATHM gets this vast established market and AOL gets this great delivery. The MSOs don't have a problem about it. They don't decide ATHM content anyway. It means more revenues for everyone. @Home@AOL. Sounds great and will be great in spite of all the mindless non-thinking that goes on in SI. When you understand that the way to maximize your own revenue is to increase other's, you will have learned.