AT&T Broadband To Merge With Comcast Cable 214
quualudes was one of the many people to
submit the AT&T Broadband/Comcast merger. CNNfn has more of the story as well. 72$ billion is the cost. Wow. I wonder how this affects @Home. One alert reader also submitted the news that Comcast will evidently by launching a video gaming channel - more information will be coming in February 2002.
Hmm, my list of TV channels is going to shrink ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Now I guess I'll have only the Home Shopping Network, the weather channel, and the 3 (*3*!) religious-oriented channels left before I can finish posting this. Oh well, time to sell that TV and the TiVo and start reading again ...
@homeattbicomcastdial-up? (Score:3, Insightful)
Just when I was hoping my damn connection would get stable. Got a signal to the cable modem a half hour ago after another 6 days outage after the 5 day outage during the excite debacle.
Now what, we gotta change all our settings, e-mail forwarding, accounts, etc.?
Can anyone recommend a high speed internet provider in Chicago that looks stable financially, and provides good service. And, dare I ask, has technicians that know their asses from gopher holes?
Or do I have to use the built-in 56K modem on my new iBook indefinitely?
Whatta pile a horse pucky!
MSFT wins out [bg ingo] (Score:3, Insightful)
AOL was heavily looking into buying the corp which made MSFT very scared. MSFT's entire coming business plans rely on broadband:
MSFT started backing COX and COMCAST in the bidwars. I can say I am thankful that comcast won, even though its basically the least of the two evils (AOL vs. MSFT).
This deal is a lot more important than just ATT. It could play a huge role in both AOL and MSFT's core strategies.
Timeline - AT&T History (Score:2, Insightful)
1900s - AT&T is formed as a union between the various telephone companies, and becomes "the telephone company"
1900-1983 - AT&T network is built. While originally something only the rich and technically elite and adept have, the telephone soon becomes an fixture in every American home. Enormous technological advances enable faster, more reliable calling. Despite the size and complexity of the AT&T "Bell System", the "One company, universal service" concept enables quick, easy and reliable service coast to coast
1983-84 - AT&T is declared a monopoly and is ordered to divest itself of its local service providers and stick to providing long distance services. While this move created competition, it also created confusion and a general decline in the quality of service provided by long distance carriers and local phone companies. Cost cutting measures result even worse service to the customer. Calling coast to coast can become a slow and tedious process.
1995 - The online world exists in the form of local BBSes and various online networks such as CompuServe, Delphi, GEnie etc. Sending messages and communicating from network to network is a slow and tedious process. The Internet becomes available to the general public, linking up these disconnected resources into one common network, allowing information to pass from network to network easily.
1995-2001 - The Internet, once something only the rich and technically elite and adept have, soon becomes a fixture throughout the world. Enormous technical advances allow faster, more reliable network connections. Despite the Inernet's size, the universal TCP/IP standard ensures quick, reliable information flow between computers around the world.
2002 - AT&T begins purchasing local ISPs and nationwide service providers and soon becomes "the Internet company."
2003 - AT&T is once again declared a monopoly and is ordered to divest itself into separate companies. Individual regional networks form separate from nation and world wide "long haul" networks, giving the customers the choice of who carries their data around the world. Cost cutting measures cause a decline in the quality and reliability of various internet providers.
Any paralells?
-Wembley
Re:Restrictions? (Score:3, Insightful)
Believe it or not, this is completely typical stuff probably cut-and-pasted out of a boilerplate terms and conditions for commercial service document.
Any time you sign up for any kind of service, from telephone all the way up to managed technical support like my company sells, you're told in the sales contract that you're waiving your rights to sue in case something goes wrong. It's right up there with the "no warranty express or implied, including guarantee of merchantability or fitness of purpose" language that goes in every software license agreement.
It's the company's way of saying, "Just because we're providing you with this product or service, don't think we're accepting the full and permanent responsibility for any deranged misuses of our product or service that you might think of with your sick little mind."
So if you violate the AT&T terms and conditions and they shut off your connection, thereby costing you umpteen million boxtops in lost business from your work-from-home pyramid scheme web site, don't think you can run to your lawyer and claim damages.
On the other hand, if AT&T violates their end of the bargain in any way-- although I can't think of an example; those T&C documents are usually pretty well written-- you still have all those rights and privileges that flesh is heir to.
So don't get all huffy about these conditions. They're nothing new or unusual.
Do we have just one Cable company already? (Score:2, Insightful)
The largest cable company in the US owns 25% of the second largest cable company in the US.
Will Comcast seriously compete with Warner when it may be in their financial interest not to?
Choice in the market is good, unless they decide it's better for us to have no choice.