Dear John, indeed

I had to laugh. I've written columns about my own bad experiences with cable TV customer service. I always felt it was a good way to provide real-life examples of a problem that has haunted the cable TV industry. My efforts bore what I thought they would: some notes of support from readers who felt the same way I did, and some letters of criticism from cable industry readers who felt I was unfairly waging my personal wars in print.

It was funny, then, to read a recent column by the Chicago Tribune's TV critic explaining why he was dumping his cable operator, TCI, in favor of a satellite dish.

With the headline "Dear John," and a photo of TCI Chairman John Malone, he wrote a tongue-in-cheek piece about all the reasons he needed to "end the relationship." The primary reasons had to do with billing misunderstandings and poor service response.

It was interesting to see the TV critic's column directed at Malone. The proposed AT&T/TCI merger raises questions about Malone's future role in TCI, as well as the future strategies for operating TCI's core cable TV business.

It is true that TCI and other cable TV companies have made important inroads in the data and Internet business. It is also clear that TCI's reach into homes will be a primary factor in AT&T's future assault on the local loop. In addition, there will be great advantages to packaging cable TV with other AT&T services.

One has to wonder how AT&T will manage the core business of the nation's largest cable TV operator. AT&T's biggest concern right now must be its entry into the LEC business. Can it also manage a suitable defense in a business it knows little about, in the face of intensifying competition and a lame customer service record?

Of course, AT&T has maintained a strong defensive posture in the long-distance business for years, but long-distance has always been its core business.

If the merger goes through, AT&T will have to figure out where cable TV falls within its other competitive assets. If the company follows its pattern of installing AT&T-bred management at the top of organizations it acquires, these executives will have to figure out two things: Not only how to integrate two 800-pound gorillas without making a mess, but also how to use TCI for competitive insurgence without leaving it vulnerable to same.

Meanwhile, Malone and his cohorts may walk away laughing.