Putting It All Together
Here's what I mean by taking the time to put the publicly disclosed information together before making conclusions based on an isolated Press Release. Also be cognizant of the limits placed upon senior management of a publicly traded company with respect to what and when they can or cannot disclose with regards to material informtion. I think Plaintree's management has done the best they could have at giving us information when they could have.
Read the following parts of the press releases, interviews or articles that have appeared since the 'Fiberless' strategy announcement on August 28, 2000. They are in order as they happened. You will find that bit by bit the story was
made clearer culminating with the announcement today. Draw your own conclusions, but personally I can't wait to see the next press release and IMHO, this is only the beginning of much more to come.
You may also want to print out all of the press releases, articles and interviews that are available and read them in their entirety.
Ready for the "Fiberless" Explosion - 8/25/00
stockhouse.com
Top names in both the GSM and ISP markets have shown a strong interest in Plaintree''s optical fiberless technology. A number of these customers are flying from as far away as Europe and the Middle East to view Plaintree''s operations and design work. According to some market research, it is reported that the GSM market represents a possible $1/2 billion in potential optical fiberless business. There are currently about 200,000 ISPs around the world and that number is growing. ISP market estimates have yet to be determined.
CEO Watson's RobTV Interview - Aug.28, 2000
plaintree.com
RobTV: Talk about new deals/contracts
Watson Commented that: There has been a lot of excitement and interest in the technology. They have had discussions with many customers. 5 of the biggest names in the GSM/ISP sector are flying in from all over the world to see Plaintree.
RobTV: What are your comments on future profitability
Watson Commented that: They have major new products coming out before X-Mas. Beta products will be shipped to customers for testing. This should help to address that issue. (Note: 1st product already announced on October 11, 2000 ahead of schedule)
Ottawa Business Journal Article - August 28, 2000
ottawabusinessjournal.com
Plaintree's CEO David Watson said Monday a worldwide tour to find out what Plaintree customers wanted had resulted in a flood of tentative orders to the company and a positive market reaction.
Watson has visited customers in England, the Middle East, Asia and Africa since April. He will tour Europe and South America in the coming months.
"Just one customer alone said they might place an order for 700 links," Watson said.
Several other large customers have indicated they could place similar orders. (Note: Could SB Telecom be one of these customers?)
"I went specifically to discuss with clients what they want. We are designing our product to a niche market you find out what they really want then you go back to your engineers."
CANADA-iNVEST.com Article - Aug.28, 2000
canada-invest.com
Watson also sees a turning point once the company launches its products and advises that by the end of the calendar year, investors will see some announcements that are going to please them.
“There’s not much I could say right now that couldn’t get me in trouble. All I can say is when we do our initial product launch, people are going to see exciting news,” says Watson. (Again remember the time frame has moved up significantly as the first Fiberless product has been released on October 11, 2000)
StockHouse Interview with CEO Watson - Sept. 11, 2000
stockhouse.ca
StockHouse: Are you in joint venture talks with any companies?
Watson: We are definitely in discussions with numerous companies with regards to JV's or possible acquisitions.
StockHouse: When will the new optical wireless product be released into the market?
Watson: We are hoping that the initial units will be ready for shipment to our customers by Christmas. I'm hoping early 2001, we should see the first real contract potential beginning to show.(Again remember the time frame has moved up significantly as the first Fiberless product has been released on October 11, 2000 so everything is happening now not early 2001)
StockHouse: Do you have potential customers who have already shown interest in this product?
Watson: Right now we have customers waving large potential orders under our nose saying, 'Get us the product, if we like it, this is yours.' They are very hot for the product right now. There is an immediate demand for it, and we are definitely one of the leading competitors for this business.
StockHouse: Any large contracts in the pipeline that we may see an announcement on in the next couple of months?
Watson: There is a lot of large contract potential and we can't really discuss it any further than that, until they receive our product.
StockHouse: Any significant announcements that may come out of the company in the next few months?
Watson: As I said before, at Christmas we will be making some product announcements and then after that we will be making announcements as far as interests from potential companies.(Again remember the time frame has moved up significantly as the first Fiberless product has been released on October 11, 2000)
Report On Wireless Article - September 28, 2000
stockhouse.com
That’s why the GSM carriers in some parts of the world are taking a serious look at implementing infrastructure systems as an inexpensive last mile solution to connecting consumers to the wireless network, he says.
“The developing countries and Europe are putting in extensive work to upgrade their mobile phone capabilities and what they need is 2km to 4km links operating at E1/T1 speeds with reliability, low-cost and high volumes”, he says.
(Note: Sounds like the WaveBridge Multiplex (MT) Series and SB Telecom as well)
WaveBridge Multiplex (MT) Series Press Release - October 10, 2000
stockhouse.com
The new WaveBridge MT series is specifically designed to meet the requirements of the global system for mobile (GSM) communications and Internet service provider (ISP) markets. These links enable ISP and GSM customers to transmit data at high bandwidth speeds over Ethernet, while continuing to offer E1/T1 speeds together or separately in the same unit. Essentially, this means that a user can access its telephone lines and Ethernet data transmission over the same link.
"This is just the first of a number of product releases that Plaintree will be announcing over the next two quarters," said David Watson, president and chief executive officer of Plaintree Systems. "The ISP market has strongly requested this Multiplex product which offers unique capabilities. We have completed the design work on this product substantially ahead of schedule." Mr. Watson continued, "and we are also on track for our dedicated WaveBridge Telco series and our WaveBridge ATM series, which will meet the higher-capacity requirements in the marketplace. Plaintree has listened to its target customers and is working very hard to meet their requirements and frankly, the response has been beyond our original expectations."
ISP Planet Article - October 13, 2000
plaintree.com
Actual sales
We spoke to Bill White, Director of Sales and Marketing, who told us that many clients have been large institutions with specific point-to-point needs, such as a university that needed to cross a government-owned highway that cut through the campus, and could not get permission to dig. The university used an OW connection between two science buildings to complete its network.
Ottawa Citizen Article - October 18, 2000
ottawacitizen.com
In one form or another, "wireless is definitely where we really want to be," Mr. Watson says. He's just spent the last several months talking to equipment distributors in England, the Middle East, Asia and South America, a journey that gave him two reasons to smile. First of all, most of those distributors complain that their own suppliers are chronically late with product, often up to 20 weeks. "They're looking for more reliable firms, and we think that gives us a clear opportunity," Mr. Watson says.
"With a market as big as wireless, you should be able to grasp a huge amount of it if your product's good and you can get it out the door quickly," he says. "On both counts, we're going to fit the bill. The industry's growth will be exponential -- and I'm betting we'll follow that curve upward."
CEO Watson Canada Business Report - October 18, 2000
plaintree.com
Canada Business Report: In August you said that Plaintree would be ready for the explosion in the Fiberless Optical market and you followed it up earlier this month by just announcing a new product line, the WaveBridge Multiplex Series of Fiberless products. How does it work and how fast is it?
Watson: It is just the first product release and it is the product that the ISP's have come to us and said they needed, that's 10 megabits per second multiplexed with a T1 or E1 link, so speed isn't that high but is quite fast for the ISP's with regards to the existing technologies they are using.
Next will be a dedicated E1/T1 link, which is exactly what GSM market is looking for, and shortly after that we will be following it up with ATM speeds, 155 mbps over 1 and 2 kilometers and that is something for which there is an extremely high demand for also.
Canada Business Report: Who would your customers be for that, would they be cable co.'s in addition to ISP's?
Watson: We are talking to a number of cable companies that are looking at it as a last mile solution, all of this stuff is primarily aimed at the last mile solution. When they run their main trunk they now need to be able to now hit a number of different subscribers and users in any particular neighborhood and this is one of the fastest ways to do it without the problems of interference and overlap that you get with RF technologies and the fact that you get much higher bandwidth speeds.
Canada Business Report: You are certainly not limiting your efforts to the domestic market, you have talked about customers flying in from all over the world to take a look at your operations. Have you signed any significant deals or are you on the verge of making some big announcements?
Watson: I think we're definitely on the verge of making some big announcements and you are absolutely right, a lot of people are concentrating on the North American Market and we have an excellent presence in the N.A. market but I would have to say that the rest of the world right now, the Middle East, Mexico, South America, Africa, Europe, they are far bigger than the N.A. market and the response has been absolutely incredible in these particular areas also. (Note: This should answer the question posted earlier today about N.A. contracts!)
Signs Strategic Partnership For International GSM Markets - 11/6/00
stockhouse.com
Plaintree Systems Inc., a leading manufacturer of optical wireless products and network switches, announced it has reached an agreement in principle with the Vermoin Company, based in Geneva, Switzerland, to act as a regional sales representative for Plaintree''s optical wireless products in the Middle East and Belarus. Vermoin is a privately held organization comprising of key members from SB Telecom (SBT), a multinational telecommunications group.
Plaintree develops and manufactures optical wireless links using robust and reliable LED technology. These links, which are part of Plaintree''s new WAVEBRIDGE series of products, are a customized cellular solution, providing high-speed connections between cellular towers and base stations, bypassing the need for expensive cable installation and frequency licensing.
SB Telecom is primarily involved in the cellular telecommunications industry, and also holds the license for and operates the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) sector in the Republic of Belarus under the name of Mobile Digital Communications, Velcom. Initially, SB Telecom will invest in excess of $32 million into the Belarus operation and hopes to cover half of Belarus territory over the next 18 months. SBT has forged alliances with many of the industry''s key organizations as a member of the GSM MoU (Global System for Mobile Communications, Memorandum of Understanding). The GSM MoU is the governing body responsible for the development, deployment and evolution of the GSM standard for world-wide digital wireless communications. European Mobile Communications (EMC) has published a Middle East and Arab World Mobile Communications report citing a regional market potential of some 35 million GSM users over the next three years.
"Vermoin Ltd. is a very big player in the Middle East and Belarus telecommunications markets and they have been researching Plaintree and our products for months," said David Watson President and Chief Executive Officer of Plaintree Systems Inc. "I will be in Belarus in late November for the contract signing ceremony and to finalize Vermoin''s product requirements. We are pleased that they have decided that we are the best solution available for the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) market. The Optical wireless market potential in the Middle East and Belarus is enormous and the demand for Plaintree''s WAVEBRIDGE solution is very high, particularly with the exciting new range of products being launched over the next two quarters."
In addition to Vermoin''s founders being shareholders of SBT, and Advisory Board members for the Velcom GSM operation in Belarus, they also encompass an invaluable contact base attained from years of experience in the Middle East market. The combination of technical expertise in the fields of telecommunication and optical wireless marketing, as well as its reputable standings in the Middle Eastern market makes Vermoin an ideal choice as a strategic partner.
Now I can understand that it would be nice to have seen a news release today with an actual contract and a dollar figure associated with it. However, after reviewing this information, IHMO it is no longer a matter of if but when and how many press releases announcing contracts comes out. Make your own decisions but my gut tells me we will see something fairly soon.
At the least print out this post and read it a few times until the light comes on. It is time well worth spending IMHO.
PJD |
