Get ready Excite@Home Users...

TOCSYS

Senior member
Oct 22, 1999
487
0
86
Look at this little gem I got in the mail today:

Dear Comcast @Home Customer,(ME)

As you may know, Excite@Home, the Internet service provider for Comcast
@Home, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the end of September
2001. During this process, we are committed to keeping you informed about
any new developments and to providing you with the best high-speed Internet
service.

This month, Excite@Home petitioned the Bankruptcy Court for permission
to terminate agreements with its cable affiliates - including Comcast,
Cox and AT&T - on November 30, 2001. If the Court grants Excite@Home's
request, there could be a temporary disruption in the services Excite provides
to the more than four million customers served by its North American affiliates.


Please be assured that we value your business and are doing everything
possible to ensure that there will be no interruption of your Comcast @Home
service. Additionally, we have taken the following steps to minimize any
inconvenience should a temporary service disruption occur as a result of
the Court's ruling:

* Toll-free Customer Information Hotline (1-888-433-6963): you can call
in for the latest updates as we work to quickly resolve any issues.
* Web Site Message Center at www.comcastonline.com/info.htm: we will provide
online updates and an FAQ section to answer your questions.
* Automatic Account Credits: we will credit your account automatically,
so you will be properly reimbursed for any time you are without service.


We also have been working to develop a Comcast-managed network that will
provide you the always-on cable-powered, high-speed Internet service you've
come to enjoy. We will make this new service available as quickly as possible
and will provide you with more details in future correspondence.

Five years ago, Comcast became one of the first cable companies to offer
customers high-speed Internet service. We remain committed to providing
you with high quality service both now and in the future and thank you
for choosing Comcast.

Sincerely,


David Juliano
Sr. Vice President & General Manager

This is gonna be fun....
 

IBuyUFO

Golden Member
Oct 9, 1999
1,717
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76
How could excite@home have gone bankrupt when they have over 4.1 million customers??
 

AdamDuritz99

Diamond Member
Mar 26, 2000
3,233
0
71


<< How could excite@home have gone bankrupt when they have over 4.1 million customers?? >>


That's what i want to know too

peace
sean
 

Viper GTS

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
38,107
433
136
When you sell something for less than it costs you to provide it, you take a loss.

Then the more you sell the more you lose.

Simple math folks.

Viper GTS
 

flot

Diamond Member
Feb 24, 2000
3,197
0
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Well I think the real question is, how can you be dumb enough to sell something at a loss to 4 million people?

This is totally absurd. I don't actually check my @home email so have only heard this 2ndhand... but if I lose my internet access I am going to totally wig out
 

Looney

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
21,938
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Hm, i'm using Rogers@home up here in Canada, and our cable internet cost is cheaper than the US ($40Cdn, which is about $20-25 USD a month... and our cable modem is free, they can't charge something that you can't buy in the store, and you can't buy cable modems in the store just yet), and i haven't heard of them having problems. Besides, why would you all of a sudden file bankruptcy, wouldn't you just raise the price? At least until you lost all your customers to competitors?

 

SpongeBob

Platinum Member
Jan 16, 2001
2,825
0
76
Well I think the real question is, how can you be dumb enough to sell something at a loss to 4 million people?

Well, I'm sure that when they developed their business model, they weren't expecting to take a loss, and then when they started too, they tried to turn in around by restructuring.
 

Viper GTS

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
38,107
433
136
Besides, why would you all of a sudden file bankruptcy, wouldn't you just raise the price?

Didn't you see all the threads with people bitching?

Viper GTS <-- Safe & secure on dial-up
 

Murpheeee

Diamond Member
Apr 30, 2000
3,326
0
76
w00t!

I love dial-up!

The back-up plan they are offering their customers is Netzero.
Can you imagine 4.1 milliion @HOME customers suddenly hitting netzero's networks.....this aint gonna be pretty. :(
 

Talon

Golden Member
Oct 29, 1999
1,426
0
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Moralpanic,

Rogers hasn't notified anyone yet (I don't think), but they are going to start charging a $5.00 monthly rental fee for the cable modems. From what I've heard, it should start about Jan. 1. Also, you know that AT&T owns about 1/6 of Rogers stock.
 

bozack

Diamond Member
Jan 14, 2000
7,913
12
81
Personally I hope it dumps and a nice respectable company like Road Runner picks it up here in VA.....Comcast@home seriously blows...so bad I wrote an epinion on it...At first the speed was decent...however every time the network goes down for mantinence (add more people to my node) the service has gone down the toilet..slower than 56k most times.

They are a joke, at least by me here in Arlington VA...you hear that comcast you STINK :) good riddens.

LOL just had to vent
 

Ryan

Lifer
Oct 31, 2000
27,519
2
81
AAHHH! @Home was good for me (I have had excellent connections all the time). :(
 

vi edit

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 28, 1999
62,484
8,345
126
Cox can burn in bankrupcy hell for all I care. They are one of the most unorganized, overpriced, and incompetent group of monkies that I've ever had the displeasure of working with.
 

Looney

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
21,938
5
0
Yeah, but from what i was told, that was only for certain areas, the ones that have been upgraded to the newer modems, which will be available for purchase.

But for those still using the Lancity modems like me in the areas that haven't been upgraded, we won't be charged the modem rental charges.

I've got a buddy that works with rogers, so i'll ask him when i see him.

 

Balt

Lifer
Mar 12, 2000
12,673
482
126
<<Viper GTS <-- Safe & secure on dial-up>>

Ahhhh, so that's why you've been doing a Nelson in every thread about this. You are jealous of people with fast access.

At the very worst, some people will lose their cable modem service temporarily and end up on dial-up like you for a while. At best, they will experience no interruption at all. So, either way, you still lose.

You stay safe and secure on your dial-up going at 5mph while the rest of us zoom by you at 60. :D

 

Ziptar

Platinum Member
Jul 7, 2001
2,077
0
86
Hmmmm.... interesting stuff for us Comcast Folks......

go to icomcast.net looks familiar... however I can't access members services with my @home Id....

also found these boxes out there..... they are up and pingable.....
smtp.icomcast.net
mail.icomcast.net
relay1.icomcast.net


could it be that comcast is already at work setting up their own ISP????

I know that they didn't renew their contract with exite@home and it was set to expire in June 2002.

Comcast has been good for me... Maybe 4 outages in Three and a Half Years.... I can only get ADSL in my neighboorhood However it will be nice to see some competition openup and the UP Caps removed or at least made bigger than 128K.

I just realized I am up Sh1t's Creek without a paddle if they shutdown.... I haven't owned a modem in Three Years... I won't even be able to use their awesome netzero backup plan......

My only DSL options are verizon and earthlink 768/128 :disgust:
 

bozack

Diamond Member
Jan 14, 2000
7,913
12
81
Good luck ziptar...I heard and have read verizon sucks almost as bad as @home when it comes to service.....

and earthlink, no thanks In would take aoHell any day over that.
 

Viper GTS

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
38,107
433
136


<< <<Viper GTS <-- Safe & secure on dial-up>>

Ahhhh, so that's why you've been doing a Nelson in every thread about this. You are jealous of people with fast access.

At the very worst, some people will lose their cable modem service temporarily and end up on dial-up like you for a while. At best, they will experience no interruption at all. So, either way, you still lose.

You stay safe and secure on your dial-up going at 5mph while the rest of us zoom by you at 60. :D
>>



Jealous? Sure, I'd love to be able to get broadband.

But that's not why I'm doing it. I'm laughing my ass off because of all the spoiled brats on cable who bitched like crazy when rates went up not too long ago. Everybody likes cheap service, but a business that operates at a loss doesn't operate very long. Pretty simple economics. Unless your name is Amazon.com.

;)

Viper GTS
 

mithrandir2001

Diamond Member
May 1, 2001
6,545
1
0


<< However it will be nice to see some competition openup and the UP Caps removed or at least made bigger than 128K. >>


Now that's one thing that's happened in the last week or so. Throughout October/early November upstream speeds were capped at 128K, but now suddenly, the caps must have been lifted because peeps are back to uploading from my PC in WinMX at 1.2-1.5MB. I hope they don't ever revert back to 128K because that STINKS and the architecture can obviously support much more. How can you call it "broadband" when it takes 15 seconds to upload a 250K jpg to your web space? Now it's back to where it belongs: 2-3 seconds.
 

grifterspawn

Golden Member
Feb 16, 2000
1,007
0
0
Well damn it to hell! I have only had cox@home for a few months and it is great, had one down period for a few hours than I know of, very fast and stable otherwise....I dont want to end up back on dialup!
 

brtspears2

Diamond Member
Nov 16, 2000
8,659
1
81
Excite@home did buy something called bluemountain.com for about $700 million....gotta hurt how thats worthless now. For those living the SF Bay Area, check out their new headquarters, very nice...musta cost them another nice chunk of change.


Company is just poorly orgainized, made bad decisions, time for them to meet their fate.