Lotus, Equatorial Join Forces To Market Signal In Cities Outside FM Coverage

The Equatorial micro earth station -- ubiquitous in the quote business -- will begin showing up on retailers' shelves through a new marketing arrangement with Lotus Development Corp. Lotus and Equatorial will jointly sell the C-100 dish and Lotus's "Signal" quote service in markets where Signal is not available by FM sideband.

The size of the roll-out hasn't been revealed, but both firms emphasize that this is not a test market situation. "Selected" computer retailers will participate, probably in about 20-30 markets. The receiver/dish/software package will be priced at $3,000.

The effect of the arrangement on Lotus's plans for FM network expansion is unclear. "We do not have any firm plans to move into any other FM markets in the immediate future," says Ed Anderson, manager, network development. "That doesn't mean that we won't. It just means we don't have any firm plans to." Lotus now serves 12 markets via FM. The company recently allowed first refusal rights for extra FM capacity in Dallas and Atlanta to expire.

Publicly, Lotus officials say Signal is doing "reasonably well," but privately they are said to be disappointed with sales to date. It was this disappointment, apparently, that led to the recent resignation of Cece McRoskey, vice president, marketing, at Lotus Information Network Corp. Sales figures have not been released, but Lotus is thought to have signed up fewer than 800 new Signal subscribers since its marketing push began late last year. To be sure, this is a larger customer base than PC Quote has at present, but it falls considerably short of Lotus's original expectations.