MoneyMade and all,
First Anthrax, etc, etc, and now it's Video,Audio Conferencing..Read this article and check out UDCCF's news..UDCCF could be (IN MY OPINION AND NOT A BUY RECO) a huge play next week
September 18, 2001
Video, Audio Conferencing Soars
In Wake of the Terrorist Attacks
By Don Clark
Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
Video and audio conferences surged in the wake of last week's tragedy, and some experts believe that continued skittishness about air travel could bring long-term gains to the industry.
Companies that provide conferencing services say usage swelled 10% to 50% last week, as companies stepped up efforts to communicate with their employees -- including those temporarily stranded following the attacks in New York and Washington.
With the prospect of continuing delays at airports, some users expect demand to remain strong. "We have just been inundated since this happened," said Craig Brandofino, assistant director for audio and video services at the accounting firm Ernst & Young, which for the first time used its network of more than 100 video conference rooms to capacity. "I'm really seeing a surge in requests for new services."
The growth prospects weren't lost on Wall Street. Amid big declines in all the U.S. stock markets, stocks soared for providers of conferencing products and services, an upbeat contrast to the drubbing most other shares took during the first trading day since the disaster.
Beneficiaries included Act Teleconferencing Inc., whose shares were up 47%, or $2.35, at $7.35, in 4 p.m. trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market; WebEx Communications Inc., which was up 24%, or $4.11, at $21.26 on Nasdaq; Polycom Inc., which was up 33%, or $6.31, at $25.45 on Nasdaq; PictureTel Corp., which PolyCom is buying, was up 13%, or 59 cents, at $5.17 on Nasdaq; and Ptek Holdings Inc., parent of Premiere Conferencing, was up 2%, or four cents, at $2.67 on Nasdaq.
Business was already good for many conference-service providers. A souring economy, plus a combination of new Web-based technologies and falling prices, had been shifting corporate employees from airliners to electronic alternatives.
Conference calls, in particular, have surged in the past two years, driven in part by new services that let companies with special accounts set up calls automatically with no operator assistance. Usage of those services has been especially heavy since last Tuesday.
Genesys SA, a French company with major U.S. operations, said usage of its automated conference-call services grew 40% last week over the prior week. V-SPAN Inc., another conferencing company in King of Prussia, Pa., said demand rose 35% to 50% for some services. Global Crossing Holdings Ltd. said usage by some of its customers is up 20% to 35%, and said some of them expect to double their annual conferencing volume as a result of travel limitations.
Companies that deliver audio, video or computer data to users' personal computers also saw brisk business. PlaceWare Inc., a Mountain View, Calif., company offering Web-based conferencing, said its business is up 49% since the disaster. RealNetworks Inc., the biggest provider of Internet broadcasting video, says 11.4 million people tapped into audio and video content delivered through its network on Wednesday by news organizations and companies -- compared with about two million people on a normal day.
More than 13 million conference calls were placed through North American services in the first half of 2001, up 43% over the same period in 2002, according to TeleSpan Publishing Corp., an Altadena, Calif., research firm that tracks the industry.
Elliot Gold, TeleSpan's publisher, said the conferencing industry also saw a temporary spike in usage during the Persian Gulf War a decade ago, the last similar set of events. But demand remained above prior levels after the crisis, as more people got used to using the technology.
Others say it's too soon to tell if history will repeat itself. "Right now there is a reaction to what happened last Tuesday," said Sue Soares, general manager of AT&T Corp.'s teleconference business, which has also experienced a jump. "Whether or not business will continue, I don't know that anybody would know that."
But service and equipment companies aren't eager to convey the impression that they are profiting from disaster. Some declined to comment on their business outlook. Most are offering free services to companies in need. "I lost a couple of very direct personal friends," said Ken Hayward, V-SPAN's CEO. "I have no interest in being successful on the back of that situation."
Write to Don Clark at don.clark@wsj.com
HUGE NEWS ON UDCCF
(COMTEX) B: Universal Domains Incorporated Signs Formal Acquisition Agre
B: Universal Domains Incorporated Signs Formal Acquisition Agreement
CALABASAS, Calif., Oct 19, 2001 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Universal Domains
Incorporated (the "Corporation") (OTCBB:UDCCF) announces that it has signed a
formal agreement for 100% acquisition of VCL Communications Corp. ("VCL").
Consideration for the acquisition will be the issuance of 5,000,000 restricted
common shares of the Corporation to the principals of VCL.
VCL is a teleconferencing services company targeting clients throughout North
America. VCL gives the customer the power to conduct automated conference calls,
on their own, for small groups or with the assistance of an operator for larger
groups. A key component of VCL's business model is the ability to offer clients
a cost effective, yet scalable means of communications that can be customized to
meet individual customer needs. On demand or scheduled conference calls allow
the moderators control to conduct their own conference calls in a convenient,
quick and cost effective manner. With firmly established relationships within
the industry and extensive knowledge of teleconferencing technology, VCL is
aiming to capture a substantial share of revenues generated within the billion
dollar teleconferencing industry. VCL's customer base will have access to
undisrupted services twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. VCL's advantage
in this industry is management's years of experience in providing
telecommunications services along with very competitive rates to end users. VCL
has state of the art technology and relationships with key providers that will
allow VCL to be a leader within the teleconferencing industry. VCL's products
and services can be viewed at www.viacall.com.
The Corporation also announced that in conjunction with the acquisition, the
following persons have been appointed as officers of the Corporation:
Karim Rahemtulla, Chief Operating Officer
Karim Rahemtulla is a prominent business entrepreneur with over twenty years
experience as a consultant and business development specialist. He has extensive
experience in the Internet and telecommunications fields.
Mr. Rahemtulla developed products and services for the corporate and public
markets. His strategic alliances have included "best of breed" companies such
as: Intercall and Accutel.
Mr. Rahemtulla's creativity, leadership and management skills have earned him an
outstanding reputation as an innovator and businessman.
Peter B. Wiggans, Vice-President of Business Development
As Vice-President of Business Development, Peter Wiggans is responsible for
developing the corporation's potential as a worldwide leader in corporate
communications. Mr. Wiggans is very familiar with the telecommunications,
information systems and services industries. He has been involved in
international sales, marketing, and its operational aspects for over the past 20
years.
Prior to joining VCL, Mr. Wiggans served as Director of Sales for Group Telecom
(GT), a Canadian Competitive Local Exchange Carrier (CLEC). He played a key role
in implementing marketing and growth strategies contributing to the successful
launch of the Initial Public Offering and GT's unrivaled position in the
Canadian telecommunications marketplace. Prior to GT, Mr. Wiggans has held a
number of senior sales, marketing and operations management positions with
leading companies such as IBM, BC Tel (Telus), Motorola and Hewlett-Packard.
Mr. Wiggans holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in electrical engineering from
Queen's University.
UNIVERSAL DOMAINS INCORPORATED
Per:
Alan Brown
President and Chief Financial Officer
Certain matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking
statements within the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and, as
such, may involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors
that may cause the actual results to be materially different from the results
implied herein. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the
forward-looking statements made in this press release.
Universal Domains Incorporated
4505 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, CA 91302
Telephone: 604/646-1075
Investor Relations: 800/889-6005
Email: robert@viacall.com
CONTACT: For Universal Domains Incorporated
Allan Brown, 604/646-1075
or
Robert Larocque, 604/646-1075
robert@viacall.com
Investor Relations, 800/889-6005
URL: businesswire.com
Today's News On The Net - Business Wire's full file on the Internet
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Copyright (C) 2001 Business Wire. All rights reserved.
-0-
KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
MERGERS/ACQ
SOURCE:
Universal
Domains
Incorporated
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