Mark,
I concur with the responses you got from Rich, add, and LiPolymer. If I were to add anything it would be to expand on the significance of WSTL doing more than just DSL, i.e. TAP and CPI. Some see it as a negative because Wall Street does not know how to value it and call it a distraction. Marc Zionts was asked that question at a meeting at a time when the market was dumping on stocks that were 'one trick ponies' and DSL deployment was delayed. Marc said that WSTL had more value than just DSL and he saw this as a plus,-- even if the market is not fully valuing those businesses.
The fact that WSTL is into T1s and T3s, and HDSL2 and application service provision (ASPs) of video and audio conferencing gives it an excellent handle on the ramifications of bandwidth entering the home and office. It is in touch with software and hardware engineers to address those portending developments. That is a far cry from a 'screwdriver' company that just follows designs to slap modems together. Capt_Smartjack referenced this is in a post found in YAHOO and that I brought to SI as well, where he explains WHY WSTL modems do not lock up like many others using the SAME chips because of additional logic circuits. The new Webshare software is another example.
Clearly Wall Street is most concerned today on who will become the market leader in DSL since it is a source of enormous money and growth and the other businesses seem inconsequential by comparison. Time will answer this question, but I think WSTL has the advantage of knowing the right moves to make because of its prior experience and business relationships, present contracts, and awareness of future developments in DSL.
All the best,
Michael |
