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

To: Jing Qian who wrote (5000)	2/1/1999 6:22:00 PM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29970

Hi Jing, What makes you say this? >>But, it's kinda sad to think that cable telephony is beyond @Home's reach. << FAC

To: Jing Qian who wrote (5000)	2/1/1999 9:14:00 PM
From: ahhaha	Respond to of 29970

Cable telephony or any telephony's profitability will be constrained by the fact it will be subsumed under a "lifeline basis" status of protection by the FCC. This means there can't be much profit in telephony per se, because it is in precedent already to be cheap. The FCC may allow a little front end profiteering in order to encourage establishment of cable/DSL telephony, but that won't last for long. Once you have an aspect of an industry regulated, it is almost impossible to un-regulate it. So it doesn't matter whether T believes it is thin margin or not. They know it's thin margin and they are stuck with supporting it, so they are trying to make the best of the situation by using this to run interference while they pursue other strategies unimpaired by useless regulation. Your glib comments show that you haven't done your homework here. Just ask yourself what supports all those free local calls? then ask yourself whether long distance is competitive. Finally explain how the FCC is going to get around the current intent of Congress to preserve ISP based call origination to remain under the local cost auspices? Congress is moving towards taxing the net because it is a revenue source, but they have a major problem with their constituents if they vote for it. the only alternative is to levy a corporate tax on carriers. Thank you telephony for erasing its "Mom and Dad" margins altogether and then some. It's kinda good that ATHM involvement with this can of worms is minimal. That isn't within the charter or purview of the company. That's T's business. ATHM is going in too many directions as it is. They need to concentrate on what is almost now forgotten: the damn build-out. There is nothing worse than to see a company become unfocused because of all those "opportunities".