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In related news - Something along Mr. Dahlgren's lines...
Excerpt from C|NET Week in Review.
Discusses telecomm doings concerning AT&T, Comcast, MediaOne, and AOL.
A road map may soon be the only way to keep up with these
companies!
Robert Reese~
________________________________________________________
AT&T
topped Comcast in a much-publicized bidding war for
cable company MediaOne,
but side deals could reshape the
high-tech industry as well as cable and
telecommunications.
Ma Bell's surprise $54 billion counteroffer was
accepted by
MediaOne's board of directors on Sunday, giving Comcast
until
Thursday to reply. Tuesday evening the Philadelphia
company threw in the
towel, settling for a $1.5 billion
termination fee and an agreement with
AT&T to swap regional
cable systems in the interests of concentrating
networks. The
switch gives Comcast a potential net gain of 2
million
subscribers, at a cost of about $9 billion.
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2C4%2C35965%2C00.html?dd.ne.txt.wr.0508
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2C4%2C36114%2C00.html?dd.ne.txt.wr.0508
Changing
landscapes
Comcast also agreed to offer AT&T-branded telephone
services
"on an expedited basis" and at the "most favorable
terms" AT&T
is offering other potential partners, including Time
Warner. Both
the MediaOne victory and Comcast's consolation
prize--along
with AT&T's recently completed acquisition of
TCI--demonstrate
the phone giant's eagerness to compete in local phone
markets by
means of cable lines, a compelling but unproven bet.
Before
AT&T had won out, Microsoft and America Online
had each signed a
confidentiality agreement with MediaOne
allowing them to examine the
company's books, as both were
interested in joining Comcast's failed
effort. AOL dropped
out of the picture, but Microsoft ended up taking a
$5 billion
stake in AT&T and won Ma Bell's commitment to use
the
Windows CE operating system in 5 million forthcoming
TV
set-boxes.
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2C4%2C35907%2C00.html?dd.ne.txt.wr.0508
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2C4%2C36186%2C00.html?dd.ne.txt.wr.0508
Redmond's
latest gambit--apparently a quid pro quo deal--
demonstrates the software
giant's increasingly prevalent
strategy for making sure it is not left out of
emerging
technology opportunities. Armed with plenty of cash and a
$1
billion investment in Comcast, Microsoft garnered a better
deal for its
software business and closer ties with a rapidly
transforming
telecommunications powerhouse.
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2C4%2C36220%2C00.html?dd.ne.txt.wr.0508
Meanwhile,
AOL for now looks the big loser.