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To: Elroy who wrote (6814)	7/27/1999 2:21:00 PM
From: Scrapps	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9236

Huh?

To: Elroy who wrote (6814)	7/27/1999 2:36:00 PM
From: Scrapps	Respond to of 9236

[Oh!] High-Speed Internet Access Unavailable to Millions of Americans, Report Says WASHINGTON, D.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 27, 1999--Millions of Americans are missing the benefits of the emerging digital economy because regulations have slowed deployment of the high-speed Internet backbone -- sometimes called the information superhighway -- according to a report released Tuesday. The report shows that not enough backbone hubs -- high-speed on-ramps where users connect to the Internet -- are being built to provide access to consumers and businesses outside major population and financial centers. The report, prepared for iAdvance and released at a news conference with U.S. Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Rick Boucher (D-Va.), also lists a ''Disconnected Dozen'' -- twelve states at the highest risk of being left behind. ''The vast majority of Americans in inner cities and rural areas simply do not have access to the high-speed Internet and are unable to reap the full benefits of the digital economy. While people and businesses in the 'Disconnected Dozen' states are at the most serious risk, without a significant increase in backbone deployment, this shortage is going to affect nearly every corner of the country,'' said co-author Erik Olbeter, formerly with the Economic Strategy Institute in Washington, D.C. Those who do not have access to backbone hubs must connect to the Internet through slower telecommunications networks that cannot support high-speed applications used in ecommerce, telemedicine, and distance learning, according to the report. Olbeter and co-author Matt Robison measured the effect of regulation on the deployment of Internet backbone hubs and found that government-imposed restrictions on the transmission of data are discouraging the installation of hubs. They reported that without such restrictions there would be more than twice as many hubs in the 46 states included in the study, 2,149 rather than the current 984. In the ''Disconnected Dozen'' states, the disparity between the number of actual hubs and the number of potential hubs is even larger. Arkansas for example, currently has two hubs; the report predicts that it would have 28 if data transmission was not regulated. New Hampshire, which has three hubs, would have 42 if there were no data restrictions. ''While people in Silicon Valley and New York City can access the Internet through advanced networks that deliver broadband applications at tremendous speeds, people in Arkansas, New Hampshire, and the other states in the 'Disconnected Dozen' must access the Internet through the digital equivalent of dirt roads,'' said Olbeter. ''American consumers and businesses are clamoring for high-speed Internet access that allows them to easily buy and sell over the net, reduce inventory expenses, and take educational courses anywhere in the world from their own communities. Unless we change the regulations that impede investment in Internet facilities, only those who live in our largest cities will enjoy those benefits,'' said Rep. Goodlatte. Reps. Goodlatte and Boucher are sponsoring legislation that would lift the restrictions on transmission of data traffic and increase consumer choice in accessing the Internet. ''This study underscores the need for Congress to pass legislation that strongly encourages investment in the Internet backbone and promotes the competitive market entry that will ensure broad access to advanced Internet capabilities for all Americans both urban and rural,'' said Boucher. In addition to Arkansas and New Hampshire, the states in the ''Disconnected Dozen'' are Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming. iAdvance is a coalition of public interest groups and telecommunications, computer, Internet and technology companies that supports affordable access to the high-speed Internet for all Americans. Its co-chairs are former White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry and former U.S. Rep. Susan Molinari. The full report is available on the iAdvance web site at www.iAdvance.org.

To: Elroy who wrote (6814)	7/27/1999 2:40:00 PM
From: Scrapps	Respond to of 9236

DSL and Broadband Access: New Report From NxGen Data Research Offers Model for Gauging Market Share, Customer Base Study by New Paradigm Resources Group Subsidiary Includes 'Bottom Up' Analysis of Potential Markets, Segmenting Potential Accounts by Employee Size and Household Income CHICAGO, July 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. DSL and broadband access markets may represent annual service revenues of $46 billion by 2005, but most service providers will have to segment their customers to reap the rewards. The keys to unlocking this broadband bonanza are provided in a new report -- DSL and Broadband Access Markets, 1999-2005 -- released today by NxGen Data Research, Inc., a subsidiary of New Paradigm Resources Group (NPRG), a leading business consulting and research organization. ''Our new report creates a model for estimating market share and the customer base for DSL and all the other major broadband access platforms in position to serve the residential and small/medium business market segments,'' said Terry Barnich, President, New Paradigm Resources Group. ''This approach provides hands-on tools for carriers to profit from the DSL gold rush, and is head-and-shoulders above other research that simply offers an overview of technology, surveys of software and hardware suppliers, or profiles of service providers supplying DSL.'' By 2005, more than 35 million small and medium businesses, residential consumers and small office/home office customers will be using some form of broadband access, according to the NxGen Data Research report. DSL will represent about 13 million of those lines in service, while cable modems, terrestrial microwave and satellite access methods will claim significant market share, as well. On top of that, revenue will grow from additional sources including transaction support services (payment), hosting services (merchant servers, catalogs, Web sites), design and advertising services, customer contact (voice, e-mail integration) and other services. The NxGen Research Data report provides a ''bottom up'' analysis of potential markets based on a model of households and businesses in operation. The report segments potential accounts by employee size (small/medium business) and household income (residence market). ''That's a vital exercise,'' said Gary Kim, President, NxGen Research Data. ''Optical fiber access will work for the largest customers and buildings, but copper or wireless access is the only affordable option for consumers and smaller- and medium-sized businesses.'' The report also addresses key variables such as PC and Internet use, as well as household income and business size. ''It may be intuitive that wealthier households and larger businesses can more easily justify a broadband connection,'' according to Kim. ''But customer appetite, financial and technical means and applications all must converge to create demand for broadband access.'' Overviews of the leading DSL providers, a review of access platform strengths and limitations, and the strategic importance of DSL are also covered in the report, which comes bundled with Microsoft Excel spreadsheets on disk that allow users to change key input parameters and conduct ''what if'' exercises to test their own assumptions about the market. The report is available from NPRG for $1,650. To order, call Rochelle Barnich at (312) 980-7823, visit the NPRG Web site (www.nprg.com) or write to NXGen Data Research/NPRG, 12 South Michigan Ave., 5th Floor, Chicago, IL 60603. New Paradigm Resources Group, Inc., based in Chicago, is the nation's leading research firm focused on the competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) industry