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Technology Stocks : Lucent Technologies (LU) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: puborectalis who wrote (8266)	6/24/1999 8:37:00 PM
From: William Hunt	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 21876

Thread ---sounds like McGinn should be keeping his eye on the ball ---this is supposed to be a LU customer + this is a much bigger deal than the the Level Three contract ---perhaps he should stop patting himself on the back and start working :Thursday June 24, 5:25 pm Eastern Time FOCUS-BellSouth, Nortel sign long-term supply deal (Updates throughout, adds analyst's comments. All figures in U.S. dollars unless noted.) By Lydia Zajc TORONTO, June 24 (Reuters) - BellSouth Corp. (NYSE:BLS - news) and Nortel Networks Corp. (NYSE:NT - news) (Toronto:NT.TO - news) said on Thursday they have signed a long-term supply agreement expected to boost Nortel sales by at least $5 billion over the next decade. Nortel President of Carrier Solutions Ian Craig told Reuters that the company expects to sell communications equipment, software and services worth at least $5 billion in a deal lasting at least 10 years. Canada's Nortel, based in Brampton, Ontario, is one of the world's biggest networking firms dealing with the transfer of data, voice and video over the same lines. Last year it posted revenues of $17.6 billion. Atlanta-based BellSouth, the dominant local telephone service provider in nine southeastern states, said the purchase agreement, which includes its affiliates in the United States and abroad, should be in place by July 31. Since Nortel's purchase last year of California-based data transfer company Bay Networks, it has been positioning itself to provide end-to-end products to deal with the burgeoning use of the Internet. The deal is ''a reinforcement of the portfolio that we have built, that we have amassed, over the past 18 months,'' Craig said. BellSouth, a $23-billion company, said in a press release that the deal allows it to continue investing in new technologies, including wireless, data and Internet services, at a discount in U.S. and overseas markets. Analyst Jim Kedersha at SG Cowen & Co. said the upcoming contract seems to be an extension of the companies' current relationship, with volume discounts for BellSouth and guaranteed revenue for Nortel. ''It's obviously good for them (Nortel),'' he said. ''The game out there is competitive and you like to lock up some big customers (to add) some visibility into the future.'' Nortel rivals such as Lucent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:LU - news) are also solidifying relationships. But the arrangements are usually not exclusive, Kedersha added. On Thursday, Nortel shares traded slightly lower in early afternoon dealings following small gains earlier in the day, as overall stock markets dipped. They dipped 25 cents to $83.25 on the New York Stock Exchange and fell 65 Canadian cents to C$122.50 in Toronto. BEST WISHES BILL