The cable television end of Time Warner Inc is pursuing cable-telephony convergence and has filed with California regulators for permission to construct a fibre optic network in San Diego and offer telephone service on it. The company says the network, built to provide telephone, video conferencing and high speed data transmission services, should be completed by 1994, and in service by 1995. Time Warner already has competitive local access operations in Kansas City and Indianapolis, has just bought a 50% stake in MetroCom Inc, an existing operator in Columbus, Ohio, and has a joint venture with Vision Cable Inc in Charlotte, North Carolina. Its new major investor, US West Inc, has held a cellular franchise in San Diego since 1986, and the thinking is that a fibre loop in San Diego could take traffic up to US West’s cellular system for connection into the long distance network.
