Return-Path: <sentto-279987-3987-1007168066-fc=all.net@returns.groups.yahoo.com> Delivered-To: fc@all.net Received: from 204.181.12.215 [204.181.12.215] by localhost with POP3 (fetchmail-5.7.4) for fc@localhost (single-drop); Fri, 30 Nov 2001 16:57:07 -0800 (PST) Received: (qmail 2623 invoked by uid 510); 1 Dec 2001 00:54:48 -0000 Received: from n31.groups.yahoo.com (216.115.96.81) by all.net with SMTP; 1 Dec 2001 00:54:48 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-279987-3987-1007168066-fc=all.net@returns.groups.yahoo.com Received: from [10.1.4.55] by n31.groups.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 01 Dec 2001 00:54:26 -0000 X-Sender: fc@red.all.net X-Apparently-To: iwar@onelist.com Received: (EGP: mail-8_0_0_1); 1 Dec 2001 00:54:26 -0000 Received: (qmail 49467 invoked from network); 1 Dec 2001 00:54:24 -0000 Received: from unknown (216.115.97.171) by m11.grp.snv.yahoo.com with QMQP; 1 Dec 2001 00:54:24 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO red.all.net) (65.0.156.78) by mta3.grp.snv.yahoo.com with SMTP; 1 Dec 2001 00:54:23 -0000 Received: (from fc@localhost) by red.all.net (8.11.2/8.11.2) id fB10uOY24500 for iwar@onelist.com; Fri, 30 Nov 2001 16:56:24 -0800 Message-Id: <200112010056.fB10uOY24500@red.all.net> To: iwar@onelist.com (Information Warfare Mailing List) Organization: I'm not allowed to say X-Mailer: don't even ask X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.5 PL3] From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net> X-Yahoo-Profile: fcallnet Mailing-List: list iwar@yahoogroups.com; contact iwar-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list iwar@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:iwar-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com> Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2001 16:56:23 -0800 (PST) Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com Subject: [iwar] [fc:Bankruptcy.Judge.Clears.Way.to.Turn.off.At.Home.Internet.Service] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Bankruptcy Judge Clears Way to Turn off At Home Internet Service More Than 4 Million Subscribers Could Lose Service By Michael Liedtke AP Business Writer Friday, November 30, 2001; 3:54 PM SAN FRANCISCO ญญ A judge cleared the way for bankrupt ExciteAtHome to turn off its high-speed Internet cable network as early as Friday night, which could affect more than 4 million subscribers around the country. The cable companies that connect their customers to the AtHome network said they plan to appeal the decision to U.S. District Court in San Francisco as soon as possible. Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Carlson said Redwood City-based ExciteAtHome could reject its existing contracts with the cable companies as early as midnight Friday PST. Carlson gave ExciteAtHome the leeway to end the contracts after concluding they had become "clearly burdensome" to the company. Under the contracts, ExciteAtHome executives said the company was losing up to $6 million per week. ExciteAtHome's bondholders urged Carlson to unplug the service and offer it for sale on the market to prove it is worth substantially more than the $307 million that AT&T has offered for the AtHome network. The bondholders have accused AT&T of using its controlling position on ExciteAtHome's board to steer the company into bankruptcy as part of a scheme to buy one of the nation's biggest high-speed Internet networks at a sharp discount. If ExciteAtHome does shut down the service, AT&T Corp. and several other major cable companies including Comcast Corp. and Cox Communications Inc., risk losing a lucrative stream of revenue from subscribers who pay $40 to $50 per month for the high-speed service. AT&T so far has refused to sweeten the offer it first made when ExciteAtHome filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late September. In briefs leading up to Friday's crucial hearing, AT&T characterized the bondholders' threat as a form of blackmail. The bondholders "seek to play a 'game of chicken' in which the threat of a blackout is used to extort the (cable companies) into paying yet more for AtHome's services," the company said. In a letter Friday to Carlson, FCC Chairman Michael Powell urged the court to provide for an "orderly transition" in the event it decided to discontinue service, "rather than a precipitous shutdown of ExciteAtHome, to avoid disrupting broadband service to a significant percentage of U.S. customers. Carlson expressed confidence that his ruling would force the cable companies and ExciteAtHome to settle on new terms that would avoid disruptions for consumers. Lawyers for both sides said ExciteAtHome and the cable companies would talk into the night if need be to reach a deal. The judge was unmoved by the argument that he shouldn't close down the network because it would affect consumers. "The end users may be affected by these proceedings but they are not parties to these proceedings," Carlson said Friday. "Bankruptcy typically causes much disruption all the time, leading to loss of jobs and services to communities." Ultimately, Carlson said, shutting down ExciteAtHome doesn't pose a risk to public health or safety, the only legal standard he could invoke to put consumers' interests before creditors'. As of Sept. 30, 9.8 million businesses and people received high-speed Internet service, Powell said, about 65 percent of which use cable broadband. When ExciteAtHome balked at taking on new subscribers shortly after its bankruptcy filing, the cable companies agreed to raise the fee that they pay for connecting to the high-speed network to $20 per subscriber. The new rate is "substantially more" than the connection fee paid to ExciteAtHome before the bankruptcy, according to court documents. AT&T has scoffed at the claim that it was seeking to buy AtHome on the cheap. To avoid a possible conflict of interest, AT&T relinquished four of its six seats on ExciteAtHome's board last month. Industry analysts had said it was highly unlikely Carlson would shut down the service because of the disruptions it would cause subscribers. Nevertheless, many AtHome customers were bracing for the worst after receiving e-mails from the cable companies warning them to prepare for possible service disruptions as early as Friday. If the AtHome network shuts down, some cable companies have indicated that they may temporarily switch subscribers to dramatically slower dial-up modem services an option that rankles many customers accustomed to high-speed access. "If they shut down, I will start looking for another service as soon as possible," said AtHome subscriber Todd Ambur of Fremont. "I need Internet service all the time and there is no way I am going back to dial-up modems." On The Net: <a href="http://www.excite.com">http://www.excite.com> ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Universal Inkjet Refill Kit $29.95 Refill any ink cartridge for less! 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This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : 2001-12-31 21:00:00 PST