ExxxcitesAtHome could cease service on Nov. 30-Buh Bye
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 27 (Reuters) - High speed Internet access provider ExciteAtHome Corp. (OTC BB:ATHMQ.OB - news), a former high flyer that fell on hard times in the dot-com meltdown, said on Tuesday that service could cease for its 4.1 million U.S. subscribers on Nov. 30 if it fails to reach new agreements with cable companies that carry its service.
Representatives of Redwood City, California-based company will appear on Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Francisco, where a judge will decide whether to have the service blocked if current negotiations fail, spokeswoman Stephanie Xavier told Reuters.
The company, whose major backers included AT&T Corp, has been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since late September.
It briefly stopped accepting new subscribers in early October, but resumed after reaching interim agreements with the cable companies that act as a conduit for its high-speed Internet service, Xavier said.
But unless a permanent new agreement can be reached before Friday, when the interim agreements expire, a bankruptcy judge will decide whether or not to pull the plug on the service, she added.
``It depends on the decision of the judge,'' she said. ``All I can say is we're in active negotiations with the cable companies. We're doing all that we can to maintain service.''
Xavier said many of the cable companies that carry ExciteAtHome have informed users that their service could cease after Nov. 30. ``They've been notifying them and giving them a heads-up,'' she said.
ExciteAtHome had agreed to sell its high-speed Internet access service to AT&T for $307 million when it filed for bankruptcy. But a lawyer for ExciteAtHome bondholders said the group was unsatisfied with the agreement because it would leave little cash for the repayment of creditors.
Xavier said a bankruptcy hearing on the AT&T sale is set for Dec. 5, but it was unclear how a possible cessation of service might affect the transaction.
AT&T spokeswoman June Rochford declined to comment on possible outcomes of the Nov. 30 court hearing, but said her company remains ``committed'' to its bid.
``We are going to participate in the court proceedings on Friday,'' she said. ``We have options and alternatives that we'll continue to review and look at those pending court decisions.''