By Bloomberg News
May 10, 2001, 1:50 p.m. PT
TORONTO--@Home will agree to pay customers, such as Cox Communications and Comcast, when it provides poor service, a senior executive said.
Agreements being negotiated with the cable companies will require @Home, the No. 1 provider of fast Internet access using cable networks, to meet 12 to 15 service standards, including that its network operate at least 99.95 percent of the time, said Steve Brookstein, senior vice president of @Home's Internet division.
The company "will provide some service guarantees" to the cable companies that resell Internet services to customers, Brookstein said in an interview.
The agreements will cover numerous issues, such as network outages and the performance of @Home's call center in solving customer complaints, and set penalties when @Home fails to meet the standards, he said. The agreements should be in place within 30 days to 60 days.
Brookstein briefed reporters on progress @Home and Rogers Communications have made in ending network interruptions that shut down Rogers' @Home Internet service during the past six months. Toronto-based Rogers has 346,800 fast Internet customers and is spending $81.3 million (C$125 million) to upgrade its network by the end of this year.
@Home has 25 percent of its customers in Canada. Between November and January, network failures left customers unable to access e-mail accounts for days and prompted Rogers, Shaw Communications and Cogeco Cable to consider abandoning @Home and establishing their own Internet services.
Rogers Chief Operating Officer John Tory said the company in the past 90 days added routers to handle Internet traffic and reduce the possibility of outages. Complaints to the Rogers help center declined 25 percent, he said.
"I have gone from being a fairly dissatisfied customer to a much more satisfied customer," Tory said in an interview.
Want to learn more? http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-5891257.html
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"I can't believe this. I got a midterm tomorrow, and I'm being chased by Guido the killer pimp."
May 10, 2001, 1:50 p.m. PT
TORONTO--@Home will agree to pay customers, such as Cox Communications and Comcast, when it provides poor service, a senior executive said.
Agreements being negotiated with the cable companies will require @Home, the No. 1 provider of fast Internet access using cable networks, to meet 12 to 15 service standards, including that its network operate at least 99.95 percent of the time, said Steve Brookstein, senior vice president of @Home's Internet division.
The company "will provide some service guarantees" to the cable companies that resell Internet services to customers, Brookstein said in an interview.
The agreements will cover numerous issues, such as network outages and the performance of @Home's call center in solving customer complaints, and set penalties when @Home fails to meet the standards, he said. The agreements should be in place within 30 days to 60 days.
Brookstein briefed reporters on progress @Home and Rogers Communications have made in ending network interruptions that shut down Rogers' @Home Internet service during the past six months. Toronto-based Rogers has 346,800 fast Internet customers and is spending $81.3 million (C$125 million) to upgrade its network by the end of this year.
@Home has 25 percent of its customers in Canada. Between November and January, network failures left customers unable to access e-mail accounts for days and prompted Rogers, Shaw Communications and Cogeco Cable to consider abandoning @Home and establishing their own Internet services.
Rogers Chief Operating Officer John Tory said the company in the past 90 days added routers to handle Internet traffic and reduce the possibility of outages. Complaints to the Rogers help center declined 25 percent, he said.
"I have gone from being a fairly dissatisfied customer to a much more satisfied customer," Tory said in an interview.
Want to learn more? http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-5891257.html
------------------
"I can't believe this. I got a midterm tomorrow, and I'm being chased by Guido the killer pimp."