| MediaOne |
188 Inverness Dr. West,
Englewood,
CO
80112 |
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www.mediaone.com
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(303) 858-3000
Fax: (303) 858-3732
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The road to number three
MediaOne was the third largest cable television system operator in the country until it was merged with AT&T Broadband in a 1999 deal (approved by the FTC in June 2000). Known as Continental Cablevision until 1997, the company changed its name after its acquisition by U.S. West's Media Group (one of the Baby Bells) - the first merger ever between a cable television operator and a telephone company. Continental Cablevision was founded in 1963 by current CEO Amos Hostetter, Jr. and H. Irving Grousbeck. Though they offered a scant 10 channels, these two young Harvard Business School graduates boldly predicted a customer base of at least 20,000 subscribers within their first 10 years. Their expectations were soon surpassed - the company was already providing cable service to 117,000 customers by 1974. One of the founders of C-SPAN and "Cable in the Classroom," MediaOne now serves more than 5 million households in the U.S., and 8.9 million subscribers overseas.
Big plans for broadband
The company's future, though, like most cable or telecom providers, is in superfast access to the Internet. MediaOne now offers Internet service through a broadband cable service that enables users to download information 50 times faster than they can over telephone lines. As cable access becomes more popular, MediaOne hopes to convert its cable programming customers into Internet subscribers. MediaOne began offering its first digital television technology in 1999 to customers in Atlanta, GA. The television, called Digital NexTV, features 222 stations and movie services including pay per view programming. The company also began offering Digital Telephone services to customers in the Massachusetts area as part of its plan to increase customer options and its influence in the area.
Merger mania
In March 1999, MediaOne agreed to be acquired by rival Comcast Corp. in an all stock deal worth $48.63 billion. The union would have created the third-largest cable company in the country. But by May, MediaOne recieved a much more attractive offer from AT&T Corp., valued at $55.8 billion in cash and stock. The deal was finalized in 1999 but did not grant AT&T exclusive control over the media giant; Comcast and Microsoft won stakes in the deal as well. Between the three companies the MediaOne acquisition totalled $115 billion with AT&T paying $60 billion, Comcast paying $9 billion through stocks, and Microsoft giving $5 billion to ensure that its Windows CE software would be installed in AT&T's cable/TV boxes for customer homes. AT&T plans to use MediaOne's broadband technology to connect its long distance customers to its local cable lines. MediaOne will begin offering local telephone service in New England and Colorado if it can get past an annoying roadblock -- there aren't enough new telephone numbers available in either area.
In June 2000, the FCC approved AT&T's $60 billion acquisition of MediaOne, giving the company the green light for a merger that creates the nation's largest cable television, telephone and high speed Internet company. The merger gives MaBell the necessary local service opportunities in high-speed internet and cable access to offset the rising cost of providing long distance service.
Listening to Big Brother
In eliminating the final significant regulatory obstacle to the merger, the FCC gave the companies a choice of which programming and cable assets they would need to sell to come within the regulation that forbids any corporation from having interests in more than 30 percent of the nation's cable market. The FCC had estimated that the combined companies, without any divestitures, would control more than 40 percent of the industry. Just before the FCC acted, the Justice Department's antitrust division approved the merger after the companies agreed to sell each of their interests in Road Runner, the nation's second-largest cable Internet service. The FCC demanded a bit more from the companies, however, ordering another round of divestitures in order to come into compliance with a law that says the agency will only approve mergers that are found to be in the public interest. The FCC gave AT&T and MediaOne a year to choose from three options to meet the 30 percent limit. They can sell their interest in the Liberty Media Group, a programming company that AT&T acquired an interest in when it bought Tele-Communications Inc. last year. They also have the option to sell MediaOne's 25 percent interest in Time Warner Entertainment, or they can sell enough individual cable systems around the nation to bring down their share of the market to 30 percent.
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Applicants may submit resumes via fax, regular mail, or the on-line service available at MediaOne's web page, located at www.mediaonegroup.com/employ. Both the job hotline and the web site provide a descriptive list of current job openings, including information on degree and experience requirements, locations, and appropriate contact names. Applicants also have the option of posting the type of position they are seeking within the company electronically. MediaOne will then notify applicants of openings in their desired field.
MediaOne insiders note that applicants experience an "inital interview, an entrance test, and a drug test" before being hired.
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Insiders note that a typical work day is "nine hours long minus an hour for lunch." Projects at MediaOne require "substantial teamwork", and sometimes long work days are required. Employees enjoy the perks that MediaOne offers, such as free cable service, half price Pay-Per-View, and "high speed internet access through its MediaOne Express cable modem for only $10.95."
Relaxed atmosphere
Additionally, employees describe the company atmosphere as "relaxed." One insider claims that "everyone is on a first-name basis even with upper management." Furthermore, the dress code is described as "business casual with jeans sometimes allowed on Friday's." Others, however, claim that they "sometimes go from jeans and T-shirts to suits and ties in the same day." "At meetings and public presentations, we dress up," comments one insider "but on productions, we get to dress grubby." Most contacts further claim that MediaOne actively promotes equal opportunity employment and is "not tolerant of discrimination," noting that the company's CEO is a woman.
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Human Resources
(888) 4CCI-WORK
Cable television services;"Cable in the Classroom" for junior and senior high schools;High-speed data; Paging;Telephone services;Digital NexTV
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