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To: Kenneth E. De Paul who wrote (4068)	6/7/1999 2:15:00 AM
From: Rande Is	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12823

I originally bought TCOMB which converted to T just before the split, yielding about 1.2 shares of T for each of the original TCOMB shares, which I bought in the low 40's. I sold most of T along with the internets and other high techs around April 15th, having predicted the summer lulls in high techs. Now I am looking to jump back into T at 45 bucks. . .perhaps this week, maybe next. . . Why buy T? In my opinion, digital fibre optics via cable will be the undisputed winner. Analog cable modems and xDSL will leave too much to be desired, due to the rich high-resolution video/audio requirements of the new broadband content . . . Check out the amount of data transmitted on a 24-bit/96kHz 5.1 surround movie. . . just a single minute of program requires one staggering amount of data. I think all POTS and coaxial driven modems will soon become like the Hayes 2400 or even 9.6K modems that were so expensive not that many years ago. . . and now can be found at garage sales and surplus stores. Wireless broadband, via satellite will survive in limited areas, including downtown areas, large business complexes, apartments, condos and hotels. . . due to no need to run wires. Basically, we will either be fibre or microwave. . . anything less, in my opinion, just won't cut the mustard. . .[whatever the heck that means.] Rande Is

To: Kenneth E. De Paul who wrote (4068)	6/7/1999 2:21:00 AM
From: chirodoc	Respond to of 12823

the ws journal--evenhanded analysis.............June 7, 1999 Oregon Ruling Could Hurt AT&T Plan To Offer Internet Access on Cable Lines By KATHY CHEN and LESLIE CAULEY Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL A federal court ruling against AT&T Corp. could throw a wrench into the company's plan to offer speedy Internet access via cable-television lines. In a closely watched case, the U.S. District Court for Oregon ruled Friday that the city of Portland can require AT&T to open to competing Internet-service providers the high-speed lines it acquired in its takeover of cable company Tele-Communications Inc. The court said that the city has the right to link the condition to its approval of the deal, to protect competition. AT&T argued, among other things, that the city doesn't have such jurisdiction. AT&T, British Telecommunications to Unveil Managers of Joint Venture With Its Excite Merger, At Home Faces the Pressure (May 28) * * * Company Profile: AT&T Although AT&T said it would appeal, the ruling could spur other local governments to take similar action, generating headaches for AT&T and other cable TV companies. The decision also is expected to force the Federal Communications Commission to implement a uniform national policy to head off a hodgepodge of local regulations. With most FCC members leery of regulating the Internet, that policy most likely would consist of the agency pre-empting local governments and restating its intent not to require cable companies to open their pipes. AT&T downplayed the ruling and said it wouldn't affect its plans to roll out telephone and fast Internet services over cable lines. "I have zero expectations that the [court] decision will stand," said AT&T general counsel Jim Cicconi. "The impact will be limited and confined to Portland." Scott Broyles, a spokesman for the National Cable Television Association, agreed that "one shouldn't overread this." Internet companies hailed the ruling. "We're very pleased the court has ... endorsed the right of cities to protect consumer choice and competition in cable-delivered Internet service," said George Vrandenburg, a senior vice president for America Online Inc. AOL led a coalition to lobby for regulations requiring "open access" to cable lines. So far, AT&T has committed $120 billion to buying cable companies, including TCI and MediaOne Group Inc., in a bet that in the future cable lines will serve as the primary carrier of video, telephone and Internet services. These deals will leave AT&T with access to more than 60% of U.S. cable homes. But the company has said these investments won't be worthwhile if it must open its cable lines to competitors. Following the court ruling, that is just what some cities could require AT&T to do. Besides Portland, which has made its approval of the AT&T-TCI deal contingent on open cable access, several other cities are considering similar measures. Los Angeles and Seattle have included "me-too" provisions in their recent transfer agreements with AT&T, which would allow them to revisit transfer terms if another locality successfully pushed through such a requirement. More problems could arise for AT&T when it seeks approval from hundreds of municipalities for its MediaOne deal. Many large cities will need to approve it, and "we could see a real big fight," said Scott Cleland, managing director at Legg Mason Precursor Group in Washington. To some extent, that could hinge on the outcome of AT&T's appeal. Telecommunications lawyers said that while the ruling has merit, an appeals court could overturn it on several possible arguments, including that the case shouldn't have been considered under cable regulations because it mainly involves Internet services. The FCC is expected to step in before the appeals process concludes. Up to now, the agency has said it would take a wait-and-see attitude toward regulating cable because it remains unclear what medium will ultimately serve as the main transport for the Internet. But with AT&T likely to petition the FCC to get involved on the grounds that the Internet is an interstate issue over which the agency has jurisdiction, the FCC could take action. The short-term victim could be the share prices of companies involved. On Friday, Excite At Home Corp., which has access to AT&T's cable properties because of the latter's stake in Excite At Home, dropped 11% to $94.50 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading, while MediaOne closed down $2 to $71.625 in composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange. In contrast, AOL jumped $12.25 to $118 on the Big Board.

To: Kenneth E. De Paul who wrote (4068)	6/7/1999 5:02:00 AM
From: Darren DeNunzio	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12823

WEDNESDAY, DEBT TRADERS tell me, MCI WorldCom spent $100 million dollars to purchase what remained of Wireless One's bonds. That would make its holdings of this company's various debt securities almost complete at what I am told is about $280 million in accreted value. While the company is in bankruptcy, it has already filed a plan of reorganization that would return some value to equity holders. But its stock price is likely trading above the value implied under that plan on speculation that MCI WorldCom will, as it did with CAI Wireless, make an offer for the equity above current market prices, despite owning the debt. Wireless One CEO Henry M. Burkhalter told me he could not comment on what, if any, talks were taking place with MCI regarding a sale of Wireless One. An MCI WorldCom spokesperson declined comment. While MCI WorldCom could try a so-called “cram down” — since it owns roughly 85 percent of the company's debt — investors are hoping it takes the easier route of simply paying for the equity as well. Recent transactions in this area have varied, but have been climbing to as high as $50 per line-of-sight home. Wireless One can reach between 9 million and 11 million line-of-sight homes. At the midpoint of that estimate at $50 per home, it's total value would be $500 million. Subtract its debt and you are still left with a value for the equity above its current price. WILL MCI WORLDCOM PAY UP? But that depends on MCI WorldCom's willingness to pay up, something it has been willing to do in previous transactions and that investors in Wireless One clearly hope it will do again. The last wireless cable deal done by MCI WorldCom, the purchase of Prime Cable's wireless properties in Los Angeles, was clouded under secrecy since it was a private company. I'm now hearing, however, that the deal was done for about $57 per line-of-sight home — or more than $300 million. When MCI WorldCom is finished with this wireless cable foray, which I first reported was about to begin in late March, it will have spent more than $1 billion dollars on the debt and equity of wireless cable companies. All of it in order to grab control of the MMDS spectrum that these companies own in order to use that spectrum for voice and data applications in bypassing the local phone companies' lines. Complete article can be found at msnbc.com