The "@HOME.COM" system was operated by AT&T (USA) out of California.  Local cable ISPs could connect to the California servers as SOME-MACHINE-NAME.HOME.COM or ATTBI.COM or SHAW.CA, all routing non-local traffic to HOME.COM in California.  The California servers were delegated to serve various areas/clients ("franchises") and when the system in California began to fail due to lack of funding, franchise services sufferred first.  AT&T contributed a large sum of money to HOME.COM in an effort to keep it alive, ostensibly on the heels of a joint venture, takeover, or such, but the system was too crippled and the core of the system (HOME.COM's "own" customer base) followed in collapse.

With that, the core network vapourized, preventing DNS updates to the franchises, network routing of their email, etc., forcing them to set up their own mail servers under their proprietory names, ATTBI.COM, SHAW.CA, SOME-DOMAIN.COM, etc.  I think you'll find that ATTBI.COM to be a subsidiary of AT&T.

Michael


At 11:10 AM 3/10/02 -0500, Rich Greenberg wrote:
>
>I am not positive on this, but I believe the "home.com" is a franchise
>that some cable operators can subscribe to.  Not all of home.com folded,
>just one cable operator's chunk of it.  Most if not all of those were
>picked up by attbi.com which took over the failed cable company.