Acer And AT&T Make Internet Pact

The cooperation plan is part of Acer_s new century strategy to develop software businesses, including Internet, e-commerce and communications, that group chairman Stan Shih has seen as a necessary evolution for what has been a hardware-intensive group. The strategy has prompted Acer to pull out of the microchip business. Acer in December gave up control of TSMC-Acer, a memory chip maker it owned with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (2330.TW)(TSM.N), in a share swap that enabled Taiwan Semicon to absorb the unit. TSMC-Acer had started out in the mid-1990s as TI-Acer, a joint venture with Texas Instruments (TXN.N). In 1999, Acer forged an alliance with Cisco Systems (CSCO.O), world's largest maker of data-networking equipment, to develop global communication services. It has signed a deal with General Electric Co (GE.N) to form a business-to-business e-commerce joint venture.