@Home announces first market for high-speed Internet service; TCI to offer cable-based Internet access to Sunnyvale homes.

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 1, 1995--@Home, a company whose mission is to provide high speed data services to homes, workplaces and schools, announced Wednesday that Sunnyvale will be the initial market for launch.

The @Home services offer high-speed, next-generation Internet access delivered via hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) technology to personal computers. HFC technology delivers both cable television signals and data over a combined fiber-optic and coaxial infrastructure. @Home is expected to debut in Sunnyvale in early 1996.

The @Home services will be offered via a high-speed modem attached to the user's computer. The services are delivered at speeds of 10 million bits per second, an overwhelming improvement over current dial-up modems (by more than 500 times). For example, this connection enables a full range of multimedia experiences, including rich graphics, CD-quality audio and real-time video.

"Using our high-speed capabilities, @Home will go a long way in alleviating the frustration of using the current dial-up methods to access the Internet and online services," said Will Hearst, chief executive officer of @Home.

"New technologies are now being used to provide video, audio and animation via the Internet. These technologies, coupled with @Home's high-speed backbone and the HFC infrastructure, are ideally suited to deliver multimedia services to our customers."

According to Jerry Gaines, senior vice president of TCI, Sunnyvale is an ideal launch market for @Home. "Sunnyvale is a key location for reaching the high technology community," said Gaines.

"The area is comprised of early adopters who are eager for such services and excited about @Home's high speed and local information delivery systems. The Bay Area is a key to TCI's telecommunications plans, and the @Home service is a primary component in TCI's plans to offer more than cable television."

As part of an exhibition held in Sunnyvale today, @Home executives unveiled a demonstration of @Home. In addition to global Internet access and custom content that takes advantage of the high-speed capabilities of the network, @Home will feature a multimedia homepage and a wide variety of local content from third parties, including news, information and community networking. Home will also provide users with a customized browser developed by Netscape Communications.

"While the users of @Home will be able to access information worldwide at unprecedented speeds, a major benefit of @Home is the local content," said Hearst. "If you want local school or city information, @Home will be your central resource."

@Home will operate its own global network infrastructure that connects to the Internet at multiple locations. This backbone will connect information providers to regional data centers via a multi-megabit, switched data system. These regional data centers will be connected to local hubs, which in turn transport data to end users.

@Home's network is based on a distributed model that will connect users to multipole sources of content, and is designed to insure security and reliability. The network's use of caching and replicating optimizes data flow on the system's backbone and supports a high-speed multimedia environment.

"@Home is quickly developing into a valuable tool that will soon be used in the Internet landscape," said Hearst. "By combining high-speed modems with advanced network technology, @Home will make Internet access a richer multimedia experience for everyone who uses it."

Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., @Home is a joint venture between Tele-Communications Inc. and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB).

Tele-Communications Inc. is traded through the TCI Group and the Liberty Media Group common stocks. TCI Group is traded in the NASDAQ National Market with Series A and Series B TCI Group common stock, under the symbols of TCOMA and TCOMB, respectively.

Liberty Media Group is traded in the NASDAQ National Market with Series A and Series B common stock under the symbols LBTYA and LBTYB, respectively. In addition, TCI Group is an 82% stockholder in Tele-Communications International Inc., which is traded on the NASDAQ National Market under the symbol TINTA.

KPCB partners have raised over $1 billion in capital and invested in companies whose total market value exceeds $43 billion. KPCB partners have created some of the most innovative, rapidly growing businesses of the 20th century. The firm is based in Menlo Park, Calif.

CONTACT: Cunningham Communication Inc.

Allyson Husted, 408/764-0760

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Kelly Schwager, 408/764-0783

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Tele-Communications Inc.

LaRae Marsik, 303/267-5277

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