Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Verio (VRIO) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GHowe who wrote (544)	7/9/1999 10:37:00 AM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 676

WBK, thanks. Your last comment demonstrated to me that ABOV's mission might be entirely misunderstood by many. Yes, a major part of ABOV's mission is to provide physical colocation and sheltering for NSP node facilities in the way of building real estate, but not only in the sense of real estate (buildings, hosting services, etc.) but in the areas of private peering of global IP backbones and network management services of same, as well. They effectively provide a form of relief to the growning Public Internet's ISPs, as the NAPs and the club of Tier One Backboners (no pun intended) have let the status quo deteriorate to the point where the need for their services has been greatly highlighted. Their distinction is that they don't compete with their customers (the NSPs) for their end users. "Bundling with enhanced services and connectivity (ala QWST, et.al.) could make life difficult for the real estate guys, particularly as they attempt to move into the enterprise space. They are avowedly noncompetitive with their own NSP users, who, by the way, could include a QWST and the others as well as any of the other 'net backbone and content providers, or whomever. The parallel in traditional telco markets could be viewed as a carriers' carrier, only they operate in the IP domain, and they never (up to this point, at least) compete with their customers's for their customers' customers. So, in that respect your last statement was correct. But your underlying assumptions that led to that conclusion, I'm afraid, were off the mark by some measure. They are not merely a colocation site manager in the building real estate rental business, in other words. Far from it. ABOV has dark fiber backbone in place, they lease IRUs and other forms of SONETized arrangements, and have broadband pipes both domestically and internationally. And as we speak, they are planning to broaden their network facilities ownership to meet growing demands. FWIW. Regards, Frank Coluccio