Network company buys @Work assets

New Edge Networks has bought the business customers and some of the broadband assets of @Work, the commercial division of Excite@Home, for $1.5 million, the company said Friday.

Excite@Home is scheduled to shutter its operations at the end of this month, after declaring bankruptcy and failing to find a buyer.

The consumer broadband customers of Excite@Home for the most part have been handed over to a group of other cable and Internet service providers, including AT&T, Cox Communications and Comcast.

New Edge Networks, a privately held company based in Vancouver, Wash., purchased most of @Work's commercial customer base, along with related premises equipment and network routers in 33 hub locations, in a deal approved by the bankruptcy court this week.

The company offers high-speed Internet service in 29 states, specializing in small and midsized cities. It said the @Home business would add about $18 million in new annual revenue to its business.

This purchase will affect 1,300 @Work customers in 26 cities in 21 states. New Edge said that it would honor current contracts and prices, and that customers would not be required to place new orders or buy new equipment, but added that it could take about two weeks to contact all its customers about the switch.