MSN, Cable ISP Sign Agreement

Charter Communications’ high-speed cable Internet access service, Charter Pipeline, will offer MSN content and services to its users. Beginning in Oct. 2001, Pipeline customers will see a co-branded home page with links to MSN Search and selected content from MSN properties such as MSNBC and MoneyCentral. By early 2002, Pipeline customers will be able to use a co-branded version of MSN Explorer, a specialized Web-browsing client with built-in links to numerous MSN services such as Hotmail, MSN Messenger, eShop, and MSN Music. Controlled by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, Charter Communications is the fourth largest U.S. cable TV provider with about 7 million subscribers, but it lags in Internet access service, ranking 19th with about 400,000 subscribers. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Less Risky Broadband Strategy

The move is a new and less risky attempt to capitalize on what Microsoft feels is the immense-but delayed-potential of broadband Internet access. In the past, Microsoft invested tens of millions of dollars in broadband companies such as NorthPoint, Rhythms NetConnections, and Qwest, then offered these companies’ Internet access services under the MSN brand name, with links to MSN services included as part of the deal. But broadband companies, particularly independent DSL providers, have experienced difficult times recently-both NorthPoint and Rhythms filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001.