Excite@Home to Maintain Operations

"https://www.adweek.com/images/dowjonesLogoByline.gif"/>NEW YORK -- Several of Excite@Home Corp.'s cable partners have pledged to continue to provide uninterrupted high-speed Internet access to their customers, despite Excite's bankruptcy filing Friday.Beset by dwindling cash reserves and a weak media unit, Excite@Home (ATHM) said Friday it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Excite, Redwood City, Calif., also agreed to sell its broadband Internet access business assets and related services to AT&T Corp. (T) for $307 million in cash. Excite@Home has sought to reassure its 3.7 million customers that they won't lose their service as the company plans to continue operating during the bankruptcy proceedings. AT&T, which already controls a voting interest in Excite@Home, also has said service will continue. Excite@Home has partnerships with more than a dozen cable-television operators, with the biggest including AT&T, Cox Communications Inc. (COX) and Comcast Corp. (CMCSA, CMCSK). These cable partners market the service to their customers and handle the billing, while Excite@Home delivers the access via cable modems. The companies share the monthly fees, which range from $35 to $55. Despite being rivals in the cable-TV business, several cable operators said Monday they favored AT&T's offer to buy Excite's network assets. "We welcome the operating strength of AT&T," Dallas Clement, a Cox senior vice president, said in a prepared statement. Cox, one of the largest of Excite's partners, already had taken steps to distance itself from the company. In June, Cox and Comcast said they would end the exclusive status of their respective deals with Excite as of December. And in August, the companies said they would end their relationships when the current contracts expire in June 2002. Those moves cleared the way for Cox and Comcast to open up their cable lines to multiple Internet service providers, in addition to Excite@Home. Excite spokeswoman Stephanie Xavier said the company had been negotiating with Cox and Comcast for a possible new deal. But that was before Friday's bankruptcy filing, and it was unclear where those talks were headed. Rogers Communications Inc. (RG), a Canadian cable company that uses Excite@Home exclusively, plans to continue providing uninterrupted service to its 378,000 Internet subscribers, spokeswoman Taanta Gupta said. Rogers' exclusive contract with Excite expires in March 2003. Ms. Gupta said Rogers is pleased that AT&T has offered to buy Excite's network. Rogers already has a strong relationship with AT&T in providing wireless phone service in Canada, she said. Still, Rogers will stay in contact with Excite and AT&T, and it has "contingency plans in place" in the event that Excite no longer will be able to provide service, Ms. Gupta said. She declined to be more specific. Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR), the cable company controlled by billionaire tech investor Paul Allen, has a nonexclusive relationship with Excite. Charter also offers customers its own Internet access service, as well as that provided by EarthLink Inc. (ELNK) and High Speed Access Corp. (HSAC). Charter agreed Monday to acquire the broadband assets of High Speed Access for $81.1 million in cash and assumed liabilities. Charter spokesman Andy Morgan said the company was exploring the possibility of shifting its Excite@Home customers to its other ISP options. "We've already started taking steps to make sure customers don't lose service," he said. Nasdaq halted trading of Excite shares Monday morning at 15 cents. Nasdaq is awaiting additional information before resuming trading. Excite spokeswoman Ms. Xavier said she didn't expect further announcements Monday. Comcast officials couldn't be reached for comment. Copyright (c) 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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Excite@Home to Maintain Operations

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