@Home Shuts Down Network in AT&T Markets
WinInfo | at | by Mike
The long-running stalemate between AT&T Broadband and Excite@Home finally came to a head this weekend when over 600,000 AT&T customers lost their cable modem Internet connections after Excite cut off AT&T from its network. Excite@Home had been locked in bankruptcy court and was negotiating with cable access providers such as AT&T, Comcast, and Cox Communications to keep its networks up and running. The company reached tentative deals with Comcast and Cox, but was unable to do so with AT&T. As a result, 850,000 AT&T customers who access the Internet through Excite's network were dropped Friday. But AT&T, which had been working to build its own networks in those areas, was able to restore connections immediately for about 250,000 people. The remaining 600,000 customers should be back online within ten days, the company says.