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Gold/Mining/Energy : Cybersurf (CY.A) - Bridge between 20th & 21st Centuries -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: CocoBob who wrote (2251)	9/18/1999 10:13:00 AM
From: LABMAN	Respond to of 3243

This should have a positive effect on CYBERSURF Cable shares tumble on CRTC ruling Rogers, Vidéotron, Shaw hit by decree forcing sale of Net services to ISPs CAROLYN LEITCH Investment Reporter Thursday, September 16, 1999 Investors sent shares in Canada's big cable companies tumbling yesterday after the federal regulator ruled that cable carriers must make their high-speed networks available to Internet service providers within 90 days. Analyst Louis Kerner of Goldman Sachs in New York reacted to the ruling by downgrading Rogers Communications Inc. and Groupe Vidéotron Ltée -- the two Canadian cable companies on his shares "recommend list" -- to "market perform." "Investors would rather have a poke in the eye with a sharp stick than more regulation," Mr. Kerner said. Rogers class B shares dropped $1 to close at $24.90 in heavy trading of 2.1 million shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Vidéotron declined 85 cents to $22.40, while Shaw Communications Inc. class B shares fell $1.60 to $44.35. Mr. Kerner said the "rash" decision by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission rattled investors, who now fear that more surprise rulings could be handed down. "The ruling yesterday by the CRTC puts an overhang on the shares," he said. He added, however, that the interim ruling is unlikely to have a significant impact on the bottom line of the cable companies. "Our call was more a call on sentiment," Mr. Kerner said. Under the decision announced Tuesday, the CRTC said that Canada's Internet service providers will be allowed to use the high-speed networks owned by cable television companies. The CRTC said cable carriers must sell their high-speed Internet services to other ISPs at a rate 25 per cent below their lowest retail prices, and make these services available within 90 days. The CRTC said the 25-per-cent discount will be effective until the ISPs can connect their facilities and networks with those of the cable carriers. This is expected by the middle of next year. Mr. Kerner said he likes the fundamentals at Rogers and Vidéotron, and he expects the companies will make good progress when the rules are written. Analyst Glen Campbell of Merrill Lynch Global Securities in Toronto agreed that the market was reacting more to the perception of regulatory heavy-handedness than to fears for cable companies' revenues and profit. "Investors generally react negatively to increased regulation," Mr. Campbell said. Mr. Campbell said he is not pessimistic about the outlook for the cable companies because under the interim decision, cable companies still provide the backbone, modems and customer service. The analyst reiterated his "buy" rating on Rogers shares, noting that they are trading at a lower valuation than competitors such as Shaw. "It's a cheap stock," he said. Mr. Campbell added that large companies such as Rogers and Shaw were hit harder by this week's news because they are more liquid and more widely held in the United States, where investors have a more "knee-jerk" reaction to regulatory decisions. COMMENT ON THIS STORY Write a Letter to the Editor SEARCH FOR RELATED BOOKS MORE ARTICLES BY Carolyn Leitch RELATED SUBJECTS cable television industry Internet regulation stocks HIGHLIGHTED Rogers Communications Inc Shaw Communications Inc This site features: <Ziff-Davis Articles> Webmail Scare: A Tempest In A Teapot Microsoft warns about e-mail Trojan Horse MS, Dell, Lycos challenge eBay RECENT ARTICLES She-geeks confess love for Linux Gore calls for cyber-stalking laws <eBusiness Articles> Black-market brand dilution an unfortunate Internet by-product - PAST ISSUES - The great debate Rethinking the role of smart applications Maybe it's time to start trapping those silly Net hamsters Mail Men Patent music to Internet firm's ears Hey, don't 'dis' Net advertising Home \| News \| Tech Careers \| Tech Investor \| Search \| Forums \| Help Help & Contact Us Back to the top of this page Copyright © 1999 Globe Information Services

To: CocoBob who wrote (2251)	9/18/1999 10:37:00 AM
From: LABMAN	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3243

Free Internet Fever Thursday, September 16, 1999 6:54 PM by Mike Ogburn When Lucent's (LU) chief executive predicted this week that a web firm will offer free Internet stock trades within the year, he poured more fuel on the free Net fire. The Internet already offers free e-mail, free web site hosting, numerous free giveaways.com and even sites that pay you to surf the web. Netizens can snag free music downloads, online games and coupons, as well as free job searches and career assistance. In addition, content-providing sites continue their shift from subscription-based services to for-free (note TheStreet.com's (TSCM) never-ending free trial period). And all of the software you ever needed to enjoy the Net – from Internet Explorer 5.0 to Macromedia Shockwave to the RealPlayer G2 – is free. In the past year, this free phenomena has spread like an e-epidemic. Several Internet Service Providers now offer a free computer to any user who signs up with their service. FreePCs.com, a spin-off of VC company idealab!, has given away more than one million computers in exchange for the right to track users' online habits. UK company Totalise PLC offers free shares of the company's stock for individuals signing up for Internet service. Leading the free Net-access market are future IPOs Netzero (another idealab! company) and Alta Vista (CMGI), two of a growing list of companies that provide free Internet service with one string attached – usually permanent on-screen advertising. In its first month on the market, Alta Vista's service attracted more than 250,000 users, and the CMGI-company aims to sign up over 1 million users by the end of year one. Netzero already counts over 1 million registered users. Contrary to some opinions, this free movement is gaining momentum, not losing it. And the need to bring more customers to the web and to better identify them will likely drive additional free initiatives. The free scenario is playing out in a unique parallel to the Net business model, in which a company spends exorbitant amounts of money to gain the necessary market share to enable it to ultimately make money. With the free model, companies give something away with the hopes of generating enough traffic to justify enough advertising spending that will in turn support the free service. This model seemed to work for radio and television, although neither group of broadcasters gave away free radios or TVs to accelerate user growth. Wouldn't that have been cool? The key here is advertising, the engine that drives both old media and new. It's already a $3 billion business on the Internet, and is expected to grow to $22 billion over the next five years, according to Forrester Research. Online ad spending has surpassed spending on outdoor ads, and Jupiter Communications estimates that by 2003 it will surpass cable ads and amount to three-quarters of ad spending on radio. If Net advertising can evolve past mundane banners (it will), if its targeting can become even more effective (it will), and if its click-through rates hold their ground (who knows), the industry is poised to explode. That's good news for consumers, and good news for surfers who like free stuff. Of course, when broadband goes mainstream, the balance of power may shift back to the pay-to-play model. You would think that the deep pocket advertisers will be more likely to run slick, streaming video ads for @Home's (ATHM) paying, cable-Net users in lieu of targeting ad dollars toward the cheapies getting wired through a NetZero or Alta Vista. That possibility could make some sites less attractive to advertisers. The only sure winner in either scenario will likely be the consumers – and some well-positioned online advertising companies. Meanwhile, don't forget to click on a banner or two at Internetstocknews.com, so we can keep it free. Article Archive © 1999 Internet Stock News All rights reserved