Yahoo! bets success on Excite business model

NEWS Yahoo! will team up with US broadband company SBC Communications to take on MSN and AOL with a co-branded internet access product. The deal will see the launch of Yahoo! branded broadband and narrowband access products in the 13 US states covered by SBC in 2002, with Yahoo!'s premium email, webcam, parental control and other products bundled in. SBC will also re-brand its 4.8 million existing customers under the Yahoo! banner. Yahoo! has already launched various access products in different parts of the world, but this is the most significant deal to date, deepening its commitment to controlling both the access and content sides of the internet business. However, the recent failure of Excite@Home - the company formed by the merger of the Excite internet portal and @Home's cable access business - shows that combining content and access isn't enough to guarantee success.