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Technology Stocks : The New Qualcomm - a S&P500 company -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Art Bechhoefer who wrote (4764)	1/3/2000 10:27:00 AM
From: Cooters	Respond to of 13582

<<Like other regional Bell companies, Bell Atlantic wants to protect its revenue stream from wired phone service. >> Art, This is a good point for the Regional Bell who seems to at least understand the need for nationwide service and chose a digital air interface wisely. Imagine the future for BLS and SBC, who did neither. I would like to re-state SBC's net subscriber adds for Q3: 126,000 on a subscriber base of around 10M. This is just miserable in an environment of explosive growth. While they may eek out a subscriber gain in Q4, I would expect net subscriber losses for SBC in Q1. PCS clearly has the AOL-mindset in both the voice and data subscriber area. Cooters

To: Art Bechhoefer who wrote (4764)	1/3/2000 10:32:00 AM
From: cfoe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13582

More anecdotal evidence of things to come. I watched Dr. Jacobs on This Week yesterday. Since I did not expect any "news," I mostly put my attention on how he came across. To me he had the same "the cat that ate the bird" look I saw when he was interviewed on CNBC a few months ago - before the HDR show, etc. He especially had that twinkle in his eye when he repeated in his closing comments about the interesting future in front of QCOM. I am expecting this to be an understatement as usual!

To: Art Bechhoefer who wrote (4764)	1/3/2000 10:50:00 AM
From: quartersawyer	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 13582

Sprint PCS is in a position to offer service at costs that may be competitive with wired service, particularly for people who have two wired phone numbers and might prefer converting one of them From the SI Certicom board: To: Tom Drolet who wrote (2633) From: pat mudge Sunday, Jan 2, 2000 9:44 PM ET Reply # of 2640 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]

To: Art Bechhoefer who wrote (4764)	1/3/2000 9:11:00 PM
From: JGoren	Respond to of 13582

I noticed in yesterday's ads for wireless that PrimeCo has dropped its price to $50 for 500 minutes, advertising free long distance and if you have long distance you can buy extra non-peak minutes. This is the first time I have seen PrimeCo right at the price of Sprint; Sprint has usually been significantly lower. In addition, Sprint allows 500 off peak minutes for $4.95 per month, but not on the same plan as you get free long distance. Without looking at the details, I can't say for certain, but it looks as if PrimeCo may now be offering a better deal economically than Sprint, and PrimeCo has the reputation for having a better network. The price of the ThinPhone--$39 with a $30 mail in rebate; Sprint $99 with a $30 mail in rebate before year end last time I checked.