Comcast adds EarthLink to multi-ISP trial

(Telephony) Comcast's Cable Communications business unit will discover what it's like to offer EarthLink as part of its staple of broadband high-speed data ISPs when it launches a technical trial in the Philadelphia area in the second quarter of this year.

The trial, which is similar to one Comcast is running with Juno Online Services, will allow the MSO to test EarthLink's services before negotiating a definitive agreement to run EarthLink on its broadband networks. Comcast's primary ISP is Excite@Home, although the MSO indicated it would open its networks to Juno during an announcement last November. Initial participants in that trial are expected to be on line by the end of this week.

"They're separate trials initially, but there's a possibility they could be conducted in the same system," a Comcast spokesman said. "It's a learning curve to see what it takes, from a technical standpoint, to implement this."

Comcast, and other MSOs, are under pressure to open their broadband networks to competing ISPs and must resolve myriad technical issues to make it happen.

"Obviously, we have to learn about what kind of ISP relationships are important to our customers," said the spokeswoman. "The emphasis is on learning at this point."

Selected Comcast customers in the Philadelphia area will be offered the option of using EarthLink's broadband services through a Comcast broadband connection.