Regards,
Norm
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@Home Delays Sunnyvale Rollout
"The phased implementation in Sunnyvale will be extended
longer than we had first expected because we're concerned with making =
this=20
a first-rate service."
@Home's chief operating officer Sean Doherty, successfully=20
avoiding the word "delay".
Using every possible way to avoid the word "delay," executives with=20
@Home last week settled on saying that it will "extend the alpha=20
phase" of its Sunnyvale, Calif., launch until the end of the year.
Translation: Technical tests of plant and cable modems will eclipse=20
an internally forecast launch date of early April.
On a "first-quarter update" teleconference to journalists last week,=20
@Home's chief operating officer, Sean Doherty, said, "The phased=20
implementation in Sunnyvale will be extended longer than we had first=20
expected because we're concerned with making this a first-rate=20
service."
Last July, @Home's founding CEO, William Hearst, enthusiastically=20
predicted 1 million high-speed data customers by the end of the year.
Instead, @Home will follow a phased-in launch plan for at least two=20
other locations, in addition to Sunnyvale, by year-end.
@Home executives wouldn't name the locations, but Tele-
Communications Inc. executives did, in a separate and almost-
simultaneous phone teleconference to financial analysts last week.
In that briefing, TCI treasurer Bernard Schotters told analysts that=20
the service will also launch in Hartford, Conn., and in suburban=20
Chicago by year-end. A third but still-unconfirmed location is=20
Fremont, Calif., according to sources close to the project.
@Home executives, who carefully sidestepped the word "delay"=20
throughout the one-hour briefing, also wouldn't elaborate on any key=20
technical hurdles, except to say that they're continuously checking=20
plant integrity and waiting for modems that can scale up to support=20
the large number of potential customers.
Motorola Corp. considers itself the lead vendor for the @Home=20
Sunnyvale launch, but LANcity Corp.'s modems are currently holding up=20
the bulk of the alpha tests, sources said.
Schotters also confirmed that TCI will ask for about $35 a month=20
from @Home customers, and it is considering eating up to $100 of the=20
$350 modem cost. The stronger demand is, the smaller the subsidy will=20
be, Schotters said.
However, subscribers could face an additional $100-$150 installation=20
charge because of "the relatively sophisticated installation for the=20
hardware and the installation of the software," he said.
And while Doherty said anticipated demand for @Home continues to=20
increase, Schotters noted that "It's too early to suggest what the=20
impact might be in 1997."