Dallas
– AT&T
CruiseCast, the ambitious satellite-TV service for the car, is accepting
activations, and “we continue to operate normally,” said Mike Grannan, COO of
RaySat Broadcasting, partner of AT&T in the CruiseCast service.
RaySat Broadcasting acknowledged, “We are working through
financial difficulties, but the service is up and running today.”
TWICE
reported Wednesday that a call to Bill Blades, RaySat program manager,
found a message stating that “RaySat will no longer be supporting any more
activations of AT&T CruiseCast from this point moving forward” and is “not
fulfilling any equipment orders, anymore.”
Grannan called the prerecorded message a “miscommunication.” “We
did have some provisioning issues. If
someone calls today to activate service, they will be activated.”
Grannan would not elucidate RaySat’s financial concerns, but
stated, “Given the financial difficulty, we’re looking at multiple options
going forward with a goal of securing an agreement that would allow the service
to continue, or if necessary, that would reimburse customers. But right now the service is up and running,
and it’s business as usual.”
The $1,299 AT&T CruiseCast car system officially launched in
June. It delivers 22 channels of video and 20 channels of audio to a moving
vehicle. Carried by more than 600 retailers, including Car Toys, it requires a
service fee of $28/month.
RaySat Broadcasting is an “independently privately held” company
affiliated with RaySat, the
antenna company. RaySat Broadcasting launched in the U.S. to provide seamless
satellite TV to vehicles nationwide.
