Michael ~ I can certainly appreciate you or anyone else being 'disillusioned' right now. The price of the stock is very depressing. I'm not about to give you a 'Rah-Rah' about the opportunity to buy more. Like me, you might already be fully positioned.
You're right, there have been numerous times when Franklin changed directions in the past. But I think most of us would agree that following the IP trail holds the most potential for this company. It has certainly been an interesting ride to say the least.
Trust me, Franklin is very aware of the stock price and the need to give it attention. The new FNET mgnt. team has outlined a strategy that hopefully will achieve not only the minimum price req. for Naz, but something a bit more inspirational. If all we are hoping for is $4 then the Risk/Reward ratio is way out of whack.
So why haven't the releases had an effect on the stock price? Beats me. When they announced the Nato deal and RB pointed us to that site, I would have thought that maybe somebody out there would take notice. So let's see, we buy this whole kit & kaboodle for less than a $1 mil, its already producing $100,000 per month in revnues, which means it will be paid for around the end of this year and nobody wanted a piece of that action.
Then they announce that they have a schedule to open 10 countries per month (that's confirmed BTW) and the market yawns. O.K. So we as shareholders wonder what in the blarney is going on, at least I do.
I've mentioned before that the folks that have held thru thick and thin without having been to Franklin, or even tried the product, deserve some kind of reward. It is only because of having visited and thru talking to the company on a regular basis that I have been able to not only hold...EDIT
(PR NEWSWIRE) DJ: Franklin Appoints Telecom-Industry Veteran, Board Member
DJ: Franklin Appoints Telecom-Industry Veteran, Board Member Peter Buswell, to
New Post as President and Chief Operating Officer
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 23, 1998--In an executive
appointment designed to accelerate its plan to become a global leader in
telecommunications and Internet products and services, Franklin Telecom
(OTC:FTEL) Tuesday named industry veteran Peter Buswell as the company's
president and chief operating officer.
"Peter is a key addition to Franklin's executive team," said Frank W.
Peters, chairman and chief executive officer. "Having served on our board of
directors since 1996, he not only envisions the specific opportunities for
our technology, he understands how to translate that technology into
marketable products and services."
Peters also noted: "I have known Peter since 1980. In all candor, Franklin
is fortunate to have someone with Peter's ability to quarterback and deliver
on this mission-critical agenda at Franklin. With Peter's help, we should be
solidly on schedule, and hitting our goals within the year."
For the past two years, Buswell has served as chief operating officer of
Xantel Corp., an industry leader in the application of computer telephony
integration (CTI) to improve customer care and management. Prior to joining
Xantel, Buswell was chief marketing officer for TAA, where he helped move
this voice-processing company to the No. 37 position on INC. magazine's
fastest-growing 100 companies.
Previously, as a president and general manager of Farmstead Telephone
Group's Cobotyx division, Buswell expanded its entry into the international
marketplace through the creation of an entire voice- processing product
line.
Through strategic market planning, he also enabled the company to market
voice mail and debit-card calling platforms in China as a cost-effective
economic alternative to hard-wired telephone-equipment installations.
Earlier, Buswell was responsible for several innovative telecommunications
product-development activities involving voice/data switching applications
for several major companies, including Brite Voice Systems, Exxon
Enterprises, ITT and Datapoint. Buswell began his career in
telecommunications as a central office engineer with AT&T technologies in
1969.
"Franklin's award-winning Tempest Data Voice Gateway System is designed to
provide highly advanced Internet telephony services that will substantially
reduce monthly long-distance voice and fax phone bills for domestic and
international companies," said Buswell.
"I'm pleased to have an active role in continuing our momentum as we expand
our international presence with our robust technology and our dedicated
team.
"The writing is clearly on the wall -- companies failing to execute in this
rapidly evolving industry will dead-end on the information superhighway. My
job is to make sure this doesn't happen at Franklin. We will not miss this
opportunity, period."
Buswell earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration and
computer science from Marymount College in New York. He also completed
courses at the Hartford Graduate Center in Telecommunications, and
postgraduate studies in electronics, computers, telecommunications and
programming systems.
Franklin Telecom, founded in 1981, designs and manufactures communications
devices and software. It has an installed base of more than 100,000 nodes
worldwide, holds two major patents on hardware designed in the LAN
transmission area, and has copyrights on 20 hardware designs and more than
350 software programs.
Since 1997, the company has focused on voice-over-IP technology with the
introduction of Franklin's Tempest System, consisting of the Data/Voice
Gateway, Authentication Mapping & Billing Systems and the Multi Media Net
Meeting systems. Franklin's subsidiaries, FNet Corp. and Internet Passport,
provide telephony services using FTEL products.
Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward- looking
statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933
and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors
that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the
company to be materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
CONTACT: FNet Corp.
Diane McCarthy, 805/379-8649
dianemc@ftel.net
12:03 EDT JUNE 23, 1998
*** end of story ***
~ Jack |
