@Home Network
| Company type | Joint venture |
|---|---|
| Industry | Internet service provider |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Founder | Milo Medin, William Randolph Hearst III, Tele-Communications Inc., Comcast, Cox Communications |
| Defunct | 2002 |
| Fate | Filed for bankruptcy in 2001; assets acquired by AT&T; brand ownership transferred to Japanese and Benelux partners |
| Successor | Excite@Home (merged entity) |
| Headquarters | Redwood City , United States |
Area served | United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Benelux region |
Key people | William Randolph Hearst III (initial CEO), Thomas Jermoluk (CEO), George Bell (CEO), Patti S. Hart (CEO), Milo Medin (VP engineering, CTO) |
| Products | High-speed cable Internet service, broadband access, email services (@home.net), Excite@Home web portal |
| Owner | Joint venture partners: TCI, Comcast, Cox Communications, William Randolph Hearst III |
Number of employees | Approximately 1,350 (at bankruptcy) (2001) |
@Home Network operated as a high-speed cable Internet provider from 1996 until 2002. Established by Milo Medin alongside cable operators Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), Comcast, Cox Communications, and founder William Randolph Hearst III (who served as the initial CEO), @Home was a collaborative venture that utilized two-way cable television infrastructure. At its zenith, the service reached 4.1 million subscribers spanning the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, and the Benelux region. The enterprise functioned through four joint ventures, including three partnerships overseas. In 1999, @Home acquired the Excite web portal, leading to the creation of Excite@Home. The U.S.-based company filed for bankruptcy in 2001; afterward, the Japanese and Benelux partners took ownership of the @Home brand within their territories.
History
The 1996 Telecommunications Act allowed cable providers to introduce Internet telephony services, setting the stage for @Home’s business approach. Milo Medin held roles as VP of engineering and later CTO, with initial capital provided by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
In December 1998, @Home entered negotiations to acquire Excite during merger discussions with Yahoo!, culminating in a $6.7 billion transaction in January 1999. This consolidation merged @Home’s profitable broadband infrastructure with Excite’s search engine and portal under the Excite@Home name, while retaining At Home Corporation (ATHM) as the legal entity. Following the merger, George Bell (previously Excite’s CEO) assumed the CEO role at Excite@Home; Thomas Jermoluk resigned as CEO but stayed on as chairman.
Excite@Home pursued rapid expansion by purchasing iMall for roughly $425 million in stock and Blue Mountain Arts for $430 million in stock plus $350 million in cash. Additionally, the company sponsored IndyCar driver Eddie Cheever Jr. during the 2000–2001 seasons.
In June 1999, @Home established a joint venture with Cable & Wireless Optus in Australia aimed at reaching 2.2 million households.
Despite these efforts, the merger failed to deliver anticipated results. The share price dropped dramatically from $128 in early 1999 to $1 by late 2001 amid the dot-com crash and decline in online advertising revenue. Leadership instability followed: George Bell resigned as CEO in September 2000; Patti S. Hart took over as CEO in April 2001 amid escalating losses ($61.6 million net loss on $142.8 million revenue in Q1 2001).
In June 2001, Excite@Home secured $100 million in financing from Promethean Capital Management and Angelo Gordon & Co., with loan terms granting lenders priority claims on assets if delisting occurred.
By August 2001, bondholders demanded immediate repayment of $50 million debt; Cox Cable and Comcast announced intentions to withdraw by early 2002. In September 2001, Blue Mountain Arts was sold for $35 million—less than five percent of its original acquisition cost.
On October 1, 2001, Excite@Home filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection; over subsequent months, its remaining workforce of approximately 1,350 employees was dismissed. During asset liquidation, AT&T acquired @Home’s national fiber network for $307 million in cash.
Following bankruptcy proceedings, Stanford University Medical Center purchased the former Redwood City headquarters and converted it into outpatient clinics by 2009.
Features
The @Home network offered largely uniform features among cable providers. Subscribers were assigned email addresses formatted as (username)@home.net along with a broadband-tailored homepage, which was uncommon during that period. Included in the service was access to Excite-owned sites such as Blue Mountain and its email greeting card platform. The Excite@Home web browser was essentially a customized version of Netscape Navigator featuring built-in Excite@Home functionalities. Additionally, users could install the Excite@Home Instant Messenger and the @Home Assistant desktop widget, which provided access to Excite Search, wire service news updates, and an Internet radio gateway named "TuneIn" (distinct from the current streaming service sharing that name).
Cobranded @Home services
- AT&T@Home (previously TCI@Home)
- Charter@Home
- Cogeco@Home
- Comcast@Home
- Cox@Home
- Optimum@Home
- Intermedia@Home
- Rogers@Home
- Shaw@Home
- SusCom@Home
- Optus@Home
- Videon@Home
Excite@Home collaborated with 16 partners throughout the United States and Canada, including Cablevision Systems, Charter Communications, Cogeco Cable, Comcast, Cox Communications, Insight Communications, Rogers Cable systems, and Shaw Communications, collectively serving more than 60 million households.
@Home Benelux
In 1999, @Home Network initiated @Home Benelux BV in Amsterdam through a joint venture with Intel Corporation and Dutch companies EDON NV and Palet Kabelcom BV. EDON (later renamed Essent) ultimately took full control and rebranded the entity as Essent Kabelcom. In 2007, Essent sold the company to private equity investors Warburg Pincus and Cinven, at which point it reverted to the @Home name. On May 16, 2008, @Home combined operations with cable providers Casema and Multikabel to create Ziggo, establishing the largest cable operator in The Netherlands.
Chief executive officers
- William Randolph Hearst III 1996–1997
- Thomas Jermoluk 1997–2000
- George Bell 2000
- Patti S. Hart 2001–2002
Joint ventures
- Cable & Wireless Optus
- Chello
- Excite Chello
- @Work
- @Home Solutions
Further reading
- Frank Rose, "The $7 Billion Delusion," Wired Magazine, January 2002.
External links
- Articles with short description
- American companies established in 1996
- Telecommunications companies established in 1996
- Internet properties established in 1996
- Telecommunications companies disestablished in 2001
- Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001
- Defunct Internet service providers
- Private equity portfolio companies
- Dot-com bubble
- 5
- Companies of the United States by year of establishment