<That said, the more I read, the more promising Winstar seems. Removing the debt would certainly make me more comfortable, but I still have certain reservations about the technology, both due to current obstacles and potential future advances in cable modem, wireline, and fiber installation.>
<reservations about the technology, both due to current obstacles>
What do you see as current obstacles to the technology?
<potential future advances in cable modem>
I think that cable modems are a residential solution, but I don't think it's viable competition in the business market.
<and fiber installation>
Again, "While we are confident that WinStar can also reach the same buildings served by Worldcom/MFS and Teleport, we believe WinStar's greatest opportunity is perhaps with those buildings that are not attractive prospects for wired CLECs. There are approximately 700,000 office buildings in the United States, of which two-thirds are uneconomical for a wired CLEC to reach because of a low density of lines per office building. However, WinStar, particularly with the introduction of point-to-multipoint technology, should be able to address thousands of buildings economically with a single hub, for an incremental capital equipment cost of only $4000 per building.
The typical target customer set consists os small and medium-sized businesses in buildings that have more than 100,000 square feet of office space and have no high-speed communications link. WinStar has targeted more than 8,000 buildings in this group, with a population of 9.7 million workers, using more than 2.1 million phone lines. These buildings represent an aggregate local exchange market of more than $3.3 billion per year. Excluded from the estimate are buildings that have a single tenant, universities and hospitals, as well as multi-dwelling residential buildings, which all present viable incremental target opportunities."
<...list of corporate clients that have already signed on with Winstar for primary local access?>
If I remember correctly, the New York Commodities Exchange was one of WinStar's first customers. |
