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Gold/Mining/Energy : Certicom Corporation (TSE:CIC, NASD:CERT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tom Drolet who wrote (2633)	1/2/2000 9:45:00 PM
From: pat mudge	Respond to of 4913

Tom -- It's not online yet, but Monday's IBD has a good article in the tech section on what's ahead in technology. Most you already know, but it's good to see it in print for a more general audience. In part: "The wireless telecom sector ranked among Investors Business Daily's top-performing industry groups in 1999. Most analysts expect no letup this year. 'We're going to see strong subscriber growth, further consolidation among companies to fill out their national coverage, and the start of wireless (services) meeting the Internet,' said Linda Mutschler, an analyst at Merrill Lynch and Co. Cell-phone use is rising as consumers get more choices for service providers. Four or five wireless carriers now compete in most major markets. Some are rolling out big-bucket monthly rate plans that eliminate roaming and long-distance charges. The U.S. wireless industry ended the year with about 84 million cell-phone subscribers --- or almost one out of every three people, analysts say. By the end of 2003, U.S. penetration will be 55% to 66%, pundits forecast. More people are disconnecting their wire-line phones and going all-wireless. 'We're going to see some real examples of landline displacement and growing momentum behind wireless data by the end of 2000,' said Mark Lowenstein, an analyst at the Yankee Group in Boston. The market researcher estimates that more then 500,000 people will use only wireless phones by late 2000, double the number today. Regulators think that trend could help break the stranglehold that regional Bell phone commpanies have in local phone markets. Telecom firms are scrambling to buy wireless assets. MCI WorldCom Inc. hopes to complete its $115 billion merger with Sprint Corp by late 2000. The purchase would add Sprint PCS to MCI WorldCom's arsenal. In Europe, Vodafone AirTouch PLC is trying to buy Germany's Mannesman AG to expand its global reach. Vodafone's $148 billion hostile bid has yet to succeed. But it might, analysts say. AT&T corp thinks the time is right to give its shareholders a wireless tracking stock. It plans to raise $8 billion to $10 billion in an initial public offering in the spring. It could be the biggest U.S. IPO ever. SBC Communications Inc. says it's considering such a move, too. Another wireless player to watch is Bell Atlantic Corp. It will own a formidable national wireless network if regulators approve its merger with GTE Corp. The combined firm would have 12 million cell-phone customers, the most in the U.S. Bell Atlantic and Vodafone AirTouch in September inked a new pact linking their U.S. wireless assets. AT&T, Bell Atlantic, Sprint PCS and Nextel Communications Inc. are well-positioned with coast-to-coast networks, analysts say. As they upgrade networks to new digital technology, wireless carriers are eyeing revenue from data services such as Net access. As prices for voice calls fall, data services will give wireless carriers a chance to boost profit, says Rob Norcross, an analyst at Mercer Management Consulting Inc. Wireless equipment makers are doing their part. Expect a new crop of Web-enabled phones this year from the likes of Nokia Corp, Motorola, and LM Ericsson AB." [Richard Krause]