AT&T Corp will offer Microsoft Corp’s browser with its WorldNet Service Internet connection software and Redmond will reciprocate by pre-installing WorldNet in Windows 95 this fall, the companies said yesterday. AT&T previously only shipped Netscape Navigator with its installation CDs and floppies, but said yesterday’s agreement is a sign that it’s now browser
independent. AT&T said it hasn’t decided whether it will ship both Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer on a single disk or whether users will select one of the browsers when they call to subscribe to AT&T’s pure Internet service. How we will offer customers the choice of browser is something we aren’t discussing at this time, AT&T said yesterday. Netscape Communications Corp released a statement a few hours after AT&T’s announcement to emphasize that its agreement with AT&T is ongoing. Meanwhile, AT&T said it has signed up 300,000 subscribers and rebounded from its backlog in orders which plagued its launch in May (CI No 2,921). AT&T is in the process of adding links to America Online Inc and CompuServe Inc’s services which would give users a discount on AOL and CompuServe and said it expects to sign similar agreements with other service providers this year. AT&T said it anticipates releasing a Macintosh version of its software, but would not give a timeline for that project.
