TO ALL:
I was able to listen in on the second half of the conference call CAWS held yesterday afternoon after releasing their press release. Although I would have preferred an earlier response I am glad they had some type of response yesterday.
I see that Tom has already given you his notes from this conference cal so you are likely to see some duplication. Below are my notes (for all but Antoski to read) from the part of the conference call I heard. I had expected a call back from their IR's office with a phone number for a replay of the conference call (so that I could listen to the part I missed and to pass it along to others) but never heard back (they were not sure if replays would be available).
Notes (personal comments, or my opinions, are labeled as such):
****************************************************************
JA appeared to have learned of the BANX decision from the New York Times. I don't think he was lying about this point.
JA has only been able to get through to one person at BANX to discuss this thus far (at the time of the conference call).
Liquidity seems to be an issue they are going to have to deal with. JA would not be specific about what they will do and need to do.
CAWS seems to have some potential plan B's to consider. Possibly new partner(s). Efforts will be more than just video. They would NOT disclose any details on their plans.
The changes needed to be made to get the 75% reach promised to BANX are minor. The fixes include a new tower location and some system tweaking. (This is my note: I got the feeling from one of their technicians before that they weren't going to put more money into the systems until BANX came to a contractual agreement with them). Further dealings and negotiations with BANX did not seem out of the realm of possibility. When given the opportunity JA would not say anything negative about BANX. (Another personal note: he has greater restraint than I do).
JA still would not comment on any part of the on-going BANX negotiations due to legal reason. (Yet another personal note: I don't understand the need for privacy and secrecy at this point. BANX has already been quoted in the NY Times saying that they were not satisfied with the network technically and were only going to deploy VA Beach and Boston. Why can they get away with disclosing issues being negotiated and CAWS can't?)
JA did not burn his bridges with BANX; a lesser man would have.
Households currently reached in Boston is approximately 1,000,000; 300,000 in VA Beach. These are not small potential markets.
JA, more than once during the portion of the conference call I had an opportunity to listen to, indicated that he was greatly concerned about shareholders right now and that they would be taking some aggressive actions quickly. he sounded genuinely concerned (of course, he is the largest shareholder).
Through CS Wireless, which they are the majority owner, they will be deploying and video and Internet system in Dallas in 1997 on their own with no partners.
JA kept making the point that definitive contractual arrangements with BANX will occur by the end of this calendar year. (Another personal note: I think BANX made their position petty darn clear already.)
They did not see a link between the failure of TeleTV and MMDS since the technology being developed by TeleTV was not going to be support by MMDS. It really needed the advantages of fiber.
AS far as JA and CAWS are concerned, they are not folding up their tents and going home.
Liquidity was brought up repeatedly by those asking questions. No real solutions were disussed by JA (questioners asked about partners, selling off some licenses in smaller makets, etc). He was obviously not going to make a public comment about this. I am not sure what the pressing issue here was.
******************************************************************
I don't know if this helps. To me, the story is lots of money lost and the relationship with BANX (the one thing which really sold me on this stock) is gone. I don't think JA is totally willing to give up on the relationship with BANX. The big question is, can he go new direction quickly and successfully?
*******************************************************************
On a personal note, I apologize to all (except for Antoski) for posting my response to Steve Antoski on the thread. He does not have his E-Mail address available so I couldn't send it privately. After coming back to my office yesterday and seeing so much of my money down the drain, the last thing I was going to tolerate were accusations from someone of his caliber. |
