TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

On-Line Computer Services Reach 3.9 Million Homes: The number of households subscribing to such services jumped 10% in the past six months to nearly 3.9 million, according to a semiannual survey published by a trade newsletter. The homes are primarily in the United States, according to the Washington-based Information and Interactive Services Report. The survey attributed part of the increase to strong sales at America Online Inc., which gained 130,000 users, or 59%, and CompuServe Inc., which added 190,000 subscribers, up 16% from six months earlier. Prodigy Services Co., the largest on-line computer service reaching 950,000 households, lost 5% of its customers after raising prices in July.