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Strategies & Market Trends : Rande Is . . . HOME -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rande Is who wrote (9575)	7/14/1999 10:56:00 AM
From: Kevin Shea	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 57584

Lots of power plants are changing hands .. some being decommissioned, some being replaced... many replacement units ( at least I think) are planned to be gas turbines (this is what I need to know)... they are clean, easy to site, are flexible (yet the power costs more)... the recent energy crunch during the heat wave highlighted the need for more power.. . it is hard and time consuming to site central plants... and new power generators are saying that they will be able to respond in "a few years".. no scrubbers, no massive construction, etc.... These power generators are also talking about "Personal power plants" yet this has been wagged about for years....entrepreneurship might drive it> If gas turbines are the "wave of the future", then it will likely affect natural gas as well as coal supply and demand, not to discount GE selling lots of units.. I need to know what the new plants are planned to be.... Might have limited effect on engineering firms too. I also like the look of the CPN chart.... maybe investors are beginning to see value in these "new" generators

To: Rande Is who wrote (9575)	7/14/1999 11:04:00 AM
From: Modano	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 57584

How do you think this ruling will play on the broadband race. bloomberg.com Do you think this is significant to the long term decision for open access. I realize that the ruling in San Francisco on July 26th will be much more significant but I am wondering how much the decision in Florida will play on the decision in California. Your thoughts will be appreciated as I am heavily invested in AOL. Modano : ) AOL Long BROWARD COUNTY VOTES FOR COMPETITION IN High-speed Cable Internet Access Business Editors/High Tech Writers WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 13, 1999-- Broward County/Ft. Lauderdale Becomes Second City to Stand Up to AT&T and Require Competition that Benefits Consumers Broward County today became the second city in the nation to vote for a competitive high-speed cable Internet network despite massive lobbying by AT&T as part of its effort to build a cable broadband monopoly and dominate fast cable access to the Net. By a vote of 4-3, Broward County Commissioners voted to require AT&T to open its cable network to competing Internet Service Providers and sell them access. The ordinance read: "An ordinance creating a section in the code of ordinances of Broward County, Florida, relating to access to broadband internet access transport services; requiring cable television franchisees to provide such access on rates, terms, and conditions at least as favorable as those on which it provides such access to itself; creating a private cause of action and enforcement by county; providing a most favored nations clause; providing severability, inclusion in code, and effective date. "The people of Broward County will be the long-term beneficiaries of this historic vote," said Greg Simon, co-director of the openNET Coalition, a group of technology companies and ISPs nationwide battling for competition in high-speed cable Internet access. "These commissioners understood that competition is good for small business, good for consumers and good for the local economy." AT&T had engaged in a massive lobbying effort over the last few weeks to convince local officials that a monopoly would benefit Broward County. But the well-orchestrated AT&T effort was balanced by an outpouring of public concern over how a lack of competition would impact fees and services. Cable companies providing television service to the Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade County area have instituted enormous rate increases over the last few months, including a 7 percent increase just last month. Nationwide cable rates have increased 22 percent over the last four years. "The lack of competition is a primary factor in their ability to continually raise rates," Paul Wattles, assistant city manager of Pembroke Pines in South Florida, told the Ft. Lauderdale Sun Sentinel in June. Against this backdrop, more than two dozen citizens and small business owners turned out to testify at Tuesday's meeting, including local openNET members Robert Palucci of Worldwide Internet Services, Harvey Gordon of CyberAgency Corp. and Deborah Hirshberg of CyberBold Internet Solutions. Pat Kemp of the Florida Consumer Action Network told Commissioners about the potential price consumers would have to pay if AT&T was given a stranglehold over high-speed Internet cable access. Last spring, Portland, Oregon/County of Multnomah became the first city to deny AT&T a monopoly. AT&T sued the city but a U.S. District Judge ruled in the city's favor last month, saying that local communities have the right to decide what is best for the citizens. AT&T has appealed the decision to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, but experts believe the opinion will be upheld. The AT&T executive testifying before the Broward Commissioners on Tuesday also threatened to sue the city, and officials spent some of the meeting discussing how the city would deal with the legal bullying. "AT&T can bully and lobby and spend vast sums on ads, but history has shown and the public knows that an open, competitive marketplace is what has created the vibrant, innovative Internet that we enjoy today," Simon said. As part of its recent acquisition of Tele-Communications, Inc. and MediaOne - two of the four largest cable companies in the country - AT&T must ask local officials to transfer the local cable franchise. In the process, cities and counties can require AT&T to open its network to competitors. Other cities currently considering the issue include Los Angeles, Miami and San Francisco. Dozens of cities will be facing similar decisions as AT&T applies for MediaOne franchise transfers in the coming months. For more information on openNET and the fight for competition, visit www.opennetcoalition.org.