Yasha
01-11-2003, 08:35 PM
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/01/11/BU40360.DTL
Like @home.com, @attbi.com is out
Merger means AT&T Broadband e-mail addresses will change again
If you use AT&T Broadband for high-speed Internet access, you'll soon have to switch e-mail addresses -- again.
For the second time in a little over a year, AT&T Broadband plans to change the e-mail addresses for its 1.9 million cable modem customers nationwide, including hundreds of thousands in the Bay Area.
In late 2000, AT&T was forced to dole out new e-mail addresses after it couldn't resolve a dispute with ExciteAtHome, the bankrupt Redwood City Internet access provider that later shut down.
This time the change is due to AT&T Broadband's merger with Comcast Corp. late last year. During the next few months, AT&T Broadband says it plans to change all its customers' e-mail addresses from @attbi.com to @comcast.net.
In the Bay Area, AT&T plans to notify customers in March and make the change in April and May. To give customers time to make the transition and notify all their contacts, AT&T promised that both e-mail addresses will remain active for at least 60 days.
Company spokesman Andrew Johnson said the company is trying to make the change as smooth as possible.
And the company may have had little choice. Under Comcast's agreement with AT&T, AT&T Broadband can only use the AT&T name for a limited time without paying additional royalties. Later this quarter, AT&T Broadband plans to officially change its name to Comcast.
But the move could cause some grumbling from customers already annoyed at having to switch e-mail addresses a year ago -- especially customers who have already stamped the old address on their business cards.
"This could pose major problems for customers who use AT&T as their primary e-mail service or depend on it for their business needs," said Jeff Huntsman, an AT&T Broadband Internet subscriber in Hayward.
But many customers, including Huntsman, already have become accustomed to using more than one account or changing e-mail addresses as needed. "Personally, I am not concerned," Huntsman said.
AT&T Broadband isn't the only telecom company changing its name.
SBC Communications last month officially stopped using the Pacific Bell brand name in California, opting to use the SBC name companywide.
But SBC spokesman Fletcher Cook said the company won't force customers with old Pacific Bell e-mail addresses to switch.
Like @home.com, @attbi.com is out
Merger means AT&T Broadband e-mail addresses will change again
If you use AT&T Broadband for high-speed Internet access, you'll soon have to switch e-mail addresses -- again.
For the second time in a little over a year, AT&T Broadband plans to change the e-mail addresses for its 1.9 million cable modem customers nationwide, including hundreds of thousands in the Bay Area.
In late 2000, AT&T was forced to dole out new e-mail addresses after it couldn't resolve a dispute with ExciteAtHome, the bankrupt Redwood City Internet access provider that later shut down.
This time the change is due to AT&T Broadband's merger with Comcast Corp. late last year. During the next few months, AT&T Broadband says it plans to change all its customers' e-mail addresses from @attbi.com to @comcast.net.
In the Bay Area, AT&T plans to notify customers in March and make the change in April and May. To give customers time to make the transition and notify all their contacts, AT&T promised that both e-mail addresses will remain active for at least 60 days.
Company spokesman Andrew Johnson said the company is trying to make the change as smooth as possible.
And the company may have had little choice. Under Comcast's agreement with AT&T, AT&T Broadband can only use the AT&T name for a limited time without paying additional royalties. Later this quarter, AT&T Broadband plans to officially change its name to Comcast.
But the move could cause some grumbling from customers already annoyed at having to switch e-mail addresses a year ago -- especially customers who have already stamped the old address on their business cards.
"This could pose major problems for customers who use AT&T as their primary e-mail service or depend on it for their business needs," said Jeff Huntsman, an AT&T Broadband Internet subscriber in Hayward.
But many customers, including Huntsman, already have become accustomed to using more than one account or changing e-mail addresses as needed. "Personally, I am not concerned," Huntsman said.
AT&T Broadband isn't the only telecom company changing its name.
SBC Communications last month officially stopped using the Pacific Bell brand name in California, opting to use the SBC name companywide.
But SBC spokesman Fletcher Cook said the company won't force customers with old Pacific Bell e-mail addresses to switch.