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Technology Stocks : Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: crdesign who wrote (62260)	1/14/2000 9:54:00 AM
From: John Hauser	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 152472

Hi everyone. How's it going? Have you all realized yet people still do not want to surf the web on their phones? (I really do not have an agenda except to let you know how I think it will work.) This is how it's going to work.... Internet firm seeks cities' help to offer faster service By Doug Moore Special To The Post-Dispatch An Internet service provider wants to use city light poles to install shoebox-sized radio transmitters throughout Lakeshire and other area communities so it can offer faster service than phone lines can. A spokesman for the company, Metricom, asked the Lakeshire Board of Aldermen on Monday to approve a right of way agreement that would allow Metricom to install the boxes on light poles so the service could be sold throughout the area. Metricom provides wireless Internet service. For about $35 per month, computer users can use a special modem to send and receive signals that are normally sent through telephone lines, said Dennis Schermerhorn, an attorney representing Metricom. The service makes Internet access easier and about five times faster than a phone line, Schermerhorn said. The exact number of boxes that would be placed in the city is not known, but Metricom averages about seven per square mile, or one every two blocks, Schermerhorn said. The city would receive a map identifying where each box is located, Schermerhorn said. Metricom, which began operations in 1985, already provides its Internet service in metropolitan areas around the country including San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago and Washington, D.C. The company is now moving into the St. Louis area and hopes to have contracts with as many municipalities in the area as possible, Schermerhorn said. Metricom is currently negotiating an agreement with AmerenUE to tap into electricity from light poles, he said. The boxes use about as much electricity as a 100-watt light bulb. Lakeshire and all other communities who sign agreements with Metricom will be paid $60 per year per pole from the Internet provider as well as 1 percent of revenue from service provided to Lakeshire customers. The city also will receive 10 free Metricom subscriptions. Alderwoman Jessie Blackmon, 1st Ward, asked Schermerhorn if other companies would follow suit and want to use the same poles as Metricom. She was concerned that there would be several boxes on each light pole. Schermerhorn said the agreement with Lakeshire and other communities would be non-exclusive, meaning that other companies could use the poles, but only if city leaders also approved their right of way agreements. Mayor Robert Bilzing said the board supports Metricom's proposal but wants the right of way agreement reviewed by City Attorney Kenneth Miller before it is approved. p.s. as far as QCOM stock it's like cattle out west....range bound.