Denver -- Data-over-cable provider High Speed Access Corp.
said last week that it hired former PrimeStar Inc. president Daniel J. O'Brien to
succeed cofounder Kent Oyler as chief operating officer.
Oyler becomes HSA's chief strategy officer, focusing
on new broadband services and business strategy. The moves are effective Oct. 1.
The 40-year-old O'Brien ran Time Warner Inc.'s
share of the PrimeStar satellite-television business before becoming president of the
entire operation in early 1998.
While he held that job, PrimeStar went private, cut a deal
to buy 1.2 million C-band subscribers (which never closed) and ultimately agreed to sell
its 2.2 million subscribers to DirecTV Inc. The service also won two notices from J.D.
Power & Associates for highest overall customer satisfaction of any satellite or cable
provider.
HSA president Ron Pitcock said in a prepared statement that
O'Brien was a good fit, given his "experience and history of success in
leadership roles at rapid-growth companies."
HSA sets up Internet-access service for cable operators in
"exurban" markets, retaining a revenue cut. When the company went public in
June, it reported offering service to 42 cable systems passing 721,000 homes, with
commitments to provide service to another 32 systems and 564,000 homes passed.
