Mercury News: AT&T clients lose Net access. Exite@Home’s decision to pull the plug on AT&T came after a San Francisco bankruptcy court judge ruled Friday that the Redwood City company, which filed for Chapter 11 in late September, could terminate money-losing agreements with cable companies that use its network.
At Home has kept service operating for other cable companies. It’s only AT&T, which has tried to strong-arm a deal to buy the At Home assets for pennies on the dollar, that is being treated this way.
Customers, of course, are the last consideration for anyone in this mess. When have customers ever really mattered in such deals?
I think my colleague, Mike Langberg, is right to say that customers should scream bloody murder about the shabby treatment.
But I think Mike is wrong to call for government intervention. His loss is convenience, not a vital service. If he has to dial up to an ISP, that’s too bad. But he’ll still have some access.
One of these years, broadband access will be as important as having a dial tone on the phone. Not yet.
Meanwhile, a pox on the houses of AT&T, Excite@Home and all the rest of the telecom robber barons and screw-ups who’ve left customers in the dust as they pursue their power games.