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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Les H who wrote (67722)	9/15/1999 11:24:00 AM
From: Les H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

Lucent CEO Says Expect Free Internet Stock Trades By Tony Heffernan ATLANTA (Reuters) - The chief executive of Lucent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:LU - news) predicted Tuesday that free stock trades on the Internet will be announced within a year. ``There is no doubt in my mind that within the next 12 months someone of substantial repute will announce they're going to provide trades free online, with the value of you coming to their (Web) site for other services,' Rich McGinn, chief executive of the New Jersey-based telecommunications equipment supplier, said. McGinn, who spoke at NetWorld+Interop 99, a trade show for companies that provide products designed to enhance telecommunications networks, said that raises questions about what happens in the future to traditional stock raders and brokers. McGinn did not identify who would be offering the free trades and he did not show for a press conference scheduled for immediately after his address. In his speech McGinn said that the rapid upgrading of telecommunications equipment at some point will affect many retailers. He said that consumers will be able to shop for goods on the Internet and download them into their homes. ``The communications revolution is causing a shift in the value (of goods and services) that requires a creative response from you,' he added. McGinn said that in the past 12 months electronic commerce has generated $40 billion in sales, and he noted that ``some forecasts predict that revenues can rise to $1.3 trillion over the next five years.' He added that online advertising has reached $3 billion annually and is ``expected to grow over the next five years to $22 billion.' McGinn said that the convergence toward transmission of voice, data and video on a single system continues. ``We're headed toward the convergence of every network,' McGinn said. This will lead to ``a network of networks and that is something that is moving at increasing speed.' Before that happens, however, he conceded that communications equipment must provide higher reliability, better quality of service and the ability of customers to be able to connect to the network almost immediately. ``The major business challenge facing network providers and suppliers is to build networks that provide levels of quality and reliability that meet or exceed those of the voice networks of today,' McGinn said.