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 : Net2Phone Inc-(NTOP) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Boplicity who wrote (647)	8/29/1999 1:27:00 PM
From: Kelvin Taylor	Respond to of 1556

Steve Harmon's comments on IDTC/NTOP: Message 11097702

To: Boplicity who wrote (647)	8/29/1999 1:35:00 PM
From: Hawaii60	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1556

<I have few questions. What is to barrier to entry to IP phone market? . What does NTOP have that others could would have a hard time doing? Why would T /ATHM let NTOP get all the money when T could handle it all? Does NTOP have patents on it's software? What's so unique about NTOP? > Many people like to say that the barrier to entry into the business is small. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many companies like IPVC are setting up and promising the moon and quickly faltering. Why? They have no network in place. IDT has a dedicated backbone they have spent years building. Click here for a detailed chart and analysis of their backbone: idt.net They also operate their own ISP which is a closed system and optimally tuned for telephony. When you route a call over net2phone it is automatically routed over IDT's proprietary system and the quality is improved immensely. VOCLF has struggled for years because even though they were at one time the industry leader. They lost that position because of no network. Now, in addition, IDT has favorable termination agreements with France, Germany, Japan, the middle East and some 50 other Countries that AT&T, Sprint, or WCOM cannot compete with. To explain this better. You must understand that to route a call over the Internet there is going to be an origination fee from the local carrier if you don't have a (POP) point of presence. IDT has 750 of them in the States. That by passes local carriers in most major areas. AT&T and Sprint and WCOM have these also. But, what they do not have is termination agreements competitive with IDTC' and NTOPS's. You see once the call get on the net it still must ring in another country. Even if we install our own gateways in these Countries there is still that last mile issue. For this the local monopolies charge as much as the cost of the entire call to that point sometimes. This is where IDT's network shines. IDT has favorable rates established with nearly all the important monopolies in the World. AT&T, cannot do this unless they are willing to give the same in return and as the USA is the primary destination Country for most calls. They will never do that. It might interest you to know that for the last year AT&T, Sprint WCOM and most of the regional bells have been routing their calls over IDT's network because it is cheaper than their own and would cost billions of dollars to duplicate and take years. In most cases there are confidentiality agreements in place. But it is an open secret in the industry. As for ATHM, same reasoning applies. Look for AT&T to try to make a deal with NTOP SOON, now that Sprint has shown an interest. Hope this answers your questions and happy investing.

To: Boplicity who wrote (647)	8/29/1999 2:39:00 PM
From: vinh pham	Respond to of 1556

i posted on the IDTC thread this morning and forgot about the NTOP thread. so, here it is for a light reading on Sunday afternoon. by the way, what you are about to read is very much in line with what Hawaii60 said in his post # 649 as a reply to you, especially the most favorable termination agreements with telco companies around the world. to all longs: finally, i listened to the vcall.com's archive of the interview with Mr. Balter last week. here are some worthy highlights. please feel free to add or correct if i misinterpret. 1. N2P is in discussions with other telcos besides Sprint for similar service offerings as the internet calls to the Far East. 2. N2P prides itself as a leader in VoIP with proven tracking records over the last 4 years and will keep its advantage ahead of competition by making EXCLUSIVE alliances to enhance strength in distribution channels around the world. 3. N2P is in regular discussions with all switch makers (Lucent, Alcatel, Nortel and Ericsson) to ensure interoperability with all the switches. N2P has been forging close relationships with them such that Acatel even pays N2P a fee to test its VoIP technology. N2P builds its system in a flexible way that additional protocols can be easily layered onto its network. N2P is in talk with telephone manufacturers such as Sonny and ATT to be a part of the process of making an IP phone device. In other words, N2P wants to be the underlying engine that empowers the IP phones which are to be made by Sonny and ATT. 4. N2P's milestones for the next 6 months are (1). to lock up more strategic EXCLUSIVE deals with Dell, Gateway, IBM, MSFT, portals, and other browsers and (2). to achieve multiple millions minutes per day (currently at 1 million minutes/day) and to increase customer base by hundreds of thousands. 5. N2P does not consider current audio quality under certain conditions a big issue. its product has been getting better and better over the last 2 years. the usage per call went from 2 minutes to 7-8 minutes currently. the customer base triples. as the technology for IP backbone becomes better as a result of video demand, the VoIP will also benefit and possibly achieve near toll-quality in the near future. 6. N2P has a great working relationship with IDT. in fact, N2P has been able to leverage off IDT's incredible buying power and its excellent relationships with phone companies, switch companies, and fiber companies around the world. 7. N2P sees itself widening the losses for the next year or two due to costs of infrastructure build-out and marketing/sales developments to ensure recurring revenues. vcall.com.