Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: GO*QCOM who wrote (65598)	2/1/2000 1:04:00 AM
From: Ruffian	Respond to of 152472

Bell Atlantic-Vodafone Venture, Alltel Discuss a System Swap By NIKHIL DEOGUN and NICOLE HARRIS Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL The wireless-phone joint venture of Bell Atlantic Corp. and Vodafone AirTouch PLC is in talks with Alltel Corp. to swap wireless systems valued at more than $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The two sides were still negotiating Monday night and were said to be close to a deal, according to people familiar with the talks. The proposed transaction, which could include a cash component, is also said to include a significant "roaming" agreement that would allow customers to travel between the companies' networks, said one person close to the talks. Bell Atlantic, New York, and Alltel, Little Rock, Ark., declined to comment. Exact terms couldn't be learned, but Alltel is expected to acquire wireless licenses in markets such as Phoenix and Albuquerque, N.M., that are contiguous with its core wireless properties. The Bell Atlantic-Vodafone venture would attain a license in the exploding Las Vegas market. Investors have been speculating on such a deal in recent weeks, ever since Bell Atlantic, which is in the midst of acquiring GTE Corp., said it would shed overlapping wireless assets in order to win regulatory approval for its alliance with London-based Vodafone. The combination of Vodafone, GTE and Bell Atlantic licenses would create the nation's largest wireless network, overshadowing competing networks operated by AT&T Corp. and Sprint Corp. But wireless operators are prohibited from holding multiple licenses in a given market. The new Bell Atlantic-Vodafone will have to shed licenses in 96 markets -- including such important ones as San Francisco and Chicago, as well as Greenville, S.C. -- valued by analysts at a total $15 billion to $20 billion. While the swap with Alltel is expected to be sizable, Bell Atlantic-Vodafone likely will have to forge other agreements in order to dispose of its entire portfolio of overlapping licenses. Wireless properties are valued based on the number of potential subscribers the operator can win in the territory. The value of potential customers varies from market to market. But overall, the value of potential customers has been steadily climbing. For Alltel, the proposed swap would cement its position as one of the nation's fastest-growing regional cellular providers. Alltel has grown into the U.S.'s fifth-largest wireless provider through acquisitions. The company recently completed its $1.8 billion acquisition of Aliant Communications Inc., a Lincoln, Neb., telecommunications provider. It also snapped up Liberty Cellular Inc. for $600 million and Durango Cellular Telecom in Durango, Colo. These deals come on top of Alltel's 1998 purchase of 360 Communications Co. in a stock swap valued at more than $6 billion. All told, the company has about five million wireless customers. A proposed swap between Bell Atlantic-Vodafone and Alltel should prove relatively easy from a technical perspective. The companies largely share the same wireless technology, known as CDMA. At 4 p.m. Monday on the New York Stock Exchange, shares of Alltel rose $2.75 to $66.75, while Bell Atlantic shares rose $4.3125 to $61.9375. Write to Nikhil Deogun at nikhil.deogun@wsj.com and Nicole Harris at nicole.harris@wsj.com

To: GO*QCOM who wrote (65598)	2/1/2000 4:24:00 AM
From: JGoren	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 152472

From the 40-city rollout of wireless internet service announced as part of the bankruptcy plan, it is not clear that NextWave will be HDR, since it may be stationary wireless rather than mobile. My recollection is that we checked if the vendor mentioned was licensed and it appeared it was not. Nevertheless, Qcom still owns an equity interest in NextWave.