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To: jeffbas who wrote (6566)	1/20/1999 12:34:00 PM
From: Goodboy	Respond to of 21143

That had nothing to do with my point. AOL wants access to the cable MSO's new broadband network. They are saying to TCI that even though you have spent billions to build this broadband pipe and want to pay for it by offering your own internet access service (@Home), we should have access to your cabled homes to offer AOL as an alternative. AOL and other ISP's are trying to get access to the cable pipe stating they would pay a modest access fee. The cable companies have gone out and spent billions to upgrade and compete against telco's and bring in the digital video age as envisioned by the 1996 Telecom Act. They are delivering on that commitiment, but now AOL is asking to have the rules changed midway through the game and wants access to their cable lines. I think they will lose and be forced into relationships with the telco carriers or a deal with one of the Cable ISP (@home or Roadrunner). Oregon is shaping up as the battleground. As it stands right now, you can get access to the net via several speeds by telco (a matter of how much you will spend until DSL is widely available), by satellite as recently announced by DirectTV and Echostar, by a dedicated line or by a high speed cable access. The reality is that not every or even the top few teleco ISP's can be resident on the Cable platform with out causing huge interoperability issues and bandwidth concerns. This in my opinion was a deliberate move by the MSO's. This is why the many internet based VOD, internet access IP based protocols while looking good on paper or in the lab, won't cut it in the reality of the deliberate network design of the MSO. What matters here is to understand that the standards issues and the technology and delivery methods that are being employed have more than just "what works best" ramifications. There may be future solutions or designs that 5 to 10 years from now will be better, but will they be better if the Cable MSO's loses control of his own cable plant to outside providers and a proliferation of ISP's? The answer is no and the cables are aware of these risks and have and will take appropriate technological, political and legal steps to prevent this outcome.

To: jeffbas who wrote (6566)	1/21/1999 11:00:00 AM
From: Goodboy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 21143

Jeff another point worth making is that the Intertainer model is being created as a competitor to the offerings of @home. It won't simply be a high speed internet portal, but attempt to redifine the space. @home may find that they need to offer similar entertainment options for their subs. That would mean they need servers. Can you think of a company that is emerging as a leader in VOD that already has broken into this space with @home newest (although different model) competitor. We are like Lucent or SFA. We don't really have a stake in who wins in the end. Lucent doesn't much care if MCI does better than Sprint. They win because they supply the swithches and networks to both parties because they are good at it. It is like supplying weapons to countries in battle. You sell to both countries and they both need to buy to keep up with their enemy. The supplier doesn't much care who wins, just that they pay. SFA isn't playing favorites, they will sell their boxes and systems to all of the top 10 MSO's, it just so happens that Time Warner is farthest ahead, thus they are currently (and because they are a top three MSO) their largerst customer.