COMPANY TOWN ANNEX

TCI to Hold Off on Interactive TV: Tele-Communications Inc. said it won’t begin to sell interactive cable television service, once considered a promising near-term product, for about five years. The main thing that has slowed the launch of the service is the high price of the set-top box, the box that connects to a television set to enable users to interact with the TV, said Larry Romrell, president and chief executive of TCI Technology Ventures. The boxes, which sell for about $2,000, won’t become attractive to consumers until prices fall, he said. Many cable companies have backed away from ambitious plans to deliver interactive TV because they must invest heavily to install fiber-optic cable to make it possible and won’t see an immediate return.