Midwest to get @Home service
@Home is teaming with cable provider Bresnan Communications to deliver high-speed access to Bresnan's subscribers in the Midwest.
The service, dubbed Bresnan@Home, first will be offered in Midland and Bay City, Michigan, the companies said.
Bresnan said it is awaiting the completion of cable system acquisitions that would make its service available to 340,000 homes in the upper Midwest over the next two years. Bresnan, based in New York, began offering high-speed Net access in the summer of 1997. In April, @Home said its user base had surpassed the 100,000 mark, though it continued to lose money in the first quarter.
@Home last week announced it is partnering with British cable and telecommunications firm ComTel to offer high-speed cable access in the U.K. It also has forged alliances of late with Century Communications for several U.S. markets and two Dutch cable operators for service in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Cable access competes with access
over traditional copper telephone lines, known as digital subscriber lines
(DSL). Some cable firms--such as Bresnan--are investing heavily to upgrade their systems to allow them to carry two-way Net traffic. Several Baby Bells and America Online are testing or rolling out DSL service.