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Technology Stocks : InfoSpace (INSP): Where GNET went! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (7910)	6/21/1999 10:36:00 PM
From: RTev	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 28311

Just from memory, Allen has been in metricom for quite a while. I checked their FAQ and find this (info is prior to today's investment): What is Paul Allen's involvement with Metricom? On January 30, 1998, Allen completed a $55.8 million stock acquisition that increased his stake in Metricom to 49.5%. With the stock acquisition, he obtains the right to four seats on Metricom's board of directors. As of February 2, 1998, he has seated William Savoy and Ralph Derrickson, of Vulcan Ventures (the investment organization for Paul G. Allen) and David Liddle, CEO of Interval Research Corporation (a Paul Allen research organization). Its ok, a fee-based service for wireless data connections. The problem is the cell-phone world is now providing internet access whereas in the past they did not. I've never invested in wireless companies, just because the possibilities of winning or losing seem so varied, and I wouldn't invest in this one for that reason. Despite that, though, it seems like a fine part of Allen's stable. Their service is different than most other wireless offerings. It doesn't attempt to compete with them for phone service, and offers a more complete internet service than any of the PCS companies offer (right now). They are, as I understand it (partly from reading their FAQ at metricom.com, both a network and a dedicated ISP. As we know, Allen's group of companies now includes an outfit (yup, GNET) that could provide very useful services to that or any other ISP. Right now, they serve only San Francisco, Seattle, and D.C. areas with a few airports and college campuses in between. It's also a slow network, giving users access at about 28.8 kbps. But their FAQ says they are planning rollout of a new fast network this year and that they also plan to add service in other metro areas. I seriously considered getting it last year when I was spending a lot of time commuting on a bus to and from work. I finally decided against it for various reasons, but I'd look at the service again if I were in the same situation.