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Technology Stocks : Ascend Communications (ASND)
ASND 216.57+5.9%Nov 17 3:59 PM EST

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To: Tim Luke who wrote (54678)9/24/1998 8:36:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph  Read Replies (1) of 61433
 
Newbridge gets feisty
Vows battles against pure IP as well as Cisco and Ascend

By Tim Greene
Network World, 09/23/98

Newbridge Networks is finally acknowledging something industry experts have
known for years: It has good products but a lousy reputation.

"Our marketing over the past five years has been absolutely damnedly dreadful,"
Newbridge Chairman Terry Matthews said today.

That is all over, he said during a roundtable discussion before Newbridge's
annual stockholders' meeting. He outlined steps to boost the company:

Newbridge will dole out more contracts to analysts in a bid for better
evaluations of Newbridge gear.

Newbridge has lined up a new P.R. firm for corporate strategic
marketing.

Matthews will announce major customers that Newbridge wins in an
effort to show that people are buying Newbridge's MainStreet ATM gear.

New President Alan Lutz said the company has targeted Cisco and Ascend as its
main enemies. "This is to galvanize our workforce," he said. "There's nothing
better than having an enemy you care about."

Newbridge also will focus on its ability to support IP virtual private networks
(VPN) over its ATM gear, Matthews said.

Today, IP networks that offer quality of service (QoS) rely on ATM in the
backbone. IP is just a customer interface. Matthews and Lutz contend that QoS
on pure IP networks cannot be accomplished yet and that trying to do so is a
waste of time. ATM can already do it and do it efficiently, Matthews said.

Lutz wants to get that message out and have it debated to take the wind out of
Cisco's IP sails. "We haven't crystalized that debate in the marketplace," he said.
"I'm tired of responding to questions prompted by something (Cisco CEO) John
Chambers said about us at a conference."

Newbridge will also cozy up to Microsoft through an affiliated company called
FastLane Technologies. FastLane is focused on integrating Microsoft's Active
Directory with Newbridge ATM gear to support provisioning IP networks using
Active Directory.

Matthews is stepping back from day-to-day management, Lutz said. "I would
send Terry out if I had to counter some visionary statement from Cisco," he
said.

Meanwhile, Matthews said he still considers the possibility of selling the
company outright. Two things stand in the way. Matthews has dominant control
of the stock - that he does not want to sell - and the stock price is too low right
now to make selling a smart option.
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