End of the line for Excite@Home
By CNET News.com Staff
December 14, 2001, 1:00 p.m. PT
The high-speed Net access company starts laying off workers as part of its plan to wind down operations and close on Feb. 28. Excite@Home is still in the middle of a fierce battle between bondholders and cable partners, as both sides seek to grab as much as they can from the ashes of the once-leading cable Net access provider.
Excite@Home slashes 400 jobs
The company says the cuts are "in line with the company's intention to conserve cash and to work to return value to its financial stakeholders."
Murky future for Excite@Work customers
The likely shutdown or sale of the business department forces thousands of small-business customers to shift their service to a new carrier or take their chances with a new owner.
Lesson learned: Own the pipes
Unfortunately for investors and jilted customers wondering what happened, an autopsy reveals that the signs of distress should have been obvious even during the boom times.
Judge OKs cable partner contracts
Under the agreements with Cox, Comcast and other cable companies, Excite@Home will receive $355 million to maintain the service through February.
E-mail problems dog customers
Complaints include failure to get messages, inaccessible e-mail and too much time spent manually updating sites with new addresses.
CEOs: Glass always half full
Read the optimistic words of top Excite@Home executives as the company rose to a market value of about $20 billion and then crumbled.
Cable companies say no sweat
Excite@Home, the world's largest high-speed Internet network, misjudged the ease with which its cable partners could replicate its network.
Excite@Home to shut down; AT&T drops bid
The Net access provider announces that it will cease operations in February 2002, after AT&T withdraws its withdraws its $307 million offer.
Bondholders: We want to sue
A group of institutional bondholders plans to sue AT&T for withdrawing its bid for the assets of the withering high-speed Internet provider.
Will DSL reap rewards?
As thousands are stranded without a connection in the wake of Excite@Home's shutdown, rival DSL providers rush in with special offers.
What to do if you are unplugged
FAQ
What should you do if you are an Excite@Home subscriber? Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about the broadband crisis.
Blunders aplenty in broadband talks
Excite@Home's creditors engaged in a high-stakes game of chicken with AT&T and lost, largely because they had underestimated Ma Bell's resolve.
AT&T customers first to fall
At least one cable partner has terminated high-speed access to its customers after a court ruling that threatened to shut down the service entirely.
$307 million deal--not good enough
Excite@Home bondholders oppose the sale of broadband assets to AT&T, a move aimed at putting some teeth into demands for a higher price.
Excite@Home files for bankruptcy
The leading broadband ISP says it will seek Chapter 11 protection and sell its high-speed network to AT&T for $307 million in cash.
Was the @Home merger doomed?
special report
Sources say the marriage of the Web portal and high-speed Net service fell short of expectations largely because of management blunders.
Excite@Home's rise and fall
