TRANSCRIPT OF CNBC INTERVIEW!!!!!!!!!!
MARK HAINES, CNBC SQUAWK BOX ANCHOR: Investors have been screaming fo
shares of data amplifier Amplidyne (AMPD). The stock took off last week.
Jumped 400 percent from $3 to as high as $16. Lost some steam yesterday.
Closed down 3 at $9. The move came after the company debuted new wireless
equipment that provides Internet access 35 times faster than the more common 56k modem. That lets Internet service providers offer faster and
cheaper 24-hour service without dial-up or user intervention. So, what does
all this mean for the company? Here to answer that is Dave Bains. He`s
chairman and CEO at Amplidyne. Mr. Bains, thanks very much for being with
us.
DAVE BAINS, CHAIRMAN & CEO, AMPLIDYNE: Thank you.
HAINES: Who buys this equipment that you`re talking about? I get the
feeling this is a professional piece of equipment.
BAINS: Yes, the equipment would be bought by ISPs. They will be the
providers of the service to the local users, which would include
businesses, small enterprises, small offices, and eventually home offices.
HAINES: OK. Now, which direction is the device that they`re buying point
in? I mean, is it -- does the ISP get their connections wireless or are you
talking about the ISP providing a wireless connection to the retail
customer?
BAINS: The ISP provides the wireless connection to the retail customer.
HAINES: I see. David Faber.
DAVID FABER: Sir, you know, your stock took off in part because of this new
equipment, I guess, that you announced, but there`s been some questions
about just how new the equipment is and also whether it`s really ready to
go. You said it`s in beta testing, I believe. Can you clarify, please, what
exactly is going on? Is it new? And are you ready to actually sell it?
BAINS: Yeah. The equipment is new. And we are ready to sell it. We feel
that with this type of equipment, we need the time to get it rolling into
the marketplace. We will be signing up ISPs in the next 60 to 90 days. And
after that we will be able to roll out the service.
FABER: Do you have any equipment though in the field at this time? And what
has the beta test been involved with? Because my understanding is it has to
operate over, what, 50 miles? Is that correct?
BAINS: The service is able to get to 50 miles by using the (INAUDIBLE)
technology. So we are able to project these numbers based on our experience
and our testing.
FABER: So, you`re projecting them, but don`t know whether it works in the
field at this point?
BAINS: No, it does work in the field.
FABER: Do you know that?
BAINS: I know that, yes.
FABER: Because you have tried it there?
BAINS: Yes.
FABER: Over the 50 miles.
BAINS: Over the 50 miles, yes.
DAVID SIMON: Mr. Bains I have a question for you. As recently as December
`98, you entered into a merger agreement with Microwave Power Design
whereby you were willing to sell your whole company for $7.2 million. Now
your company has a market value of somewhat closer to $50 or $60 million.
That merger transaction fell apart, because Microwave decided not to go
forward. What`s changed in the last eight months that you think your
company is still undervalued at $50 million where somebody walked at $7
million?
BAINS: I think once we started looking into the wireless Internet market,
we decided to pursue this very aggressively. We see -- we saw that the key
element is time to market. And that is why, I think, that we are where we
are now. As far as the MPD situation, that was a mutual decision for two
companies not to proceed. And we did issue a press statement relating to
that.
HAINES: OK. We`ve got to leave it there. Mr. Bains, thank you very much.
BAINS: You`re welcome.
HAINES: Dave Bains is chairman and CEO at Amplidyne.
END
TRANSCRIBED FROM MY OWN TAPES |
