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Technology Stocks : COM21 (CMTO) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lml who wrote (1798)	2/26/2000 4:32:00 PM
From: Hassell Anderson	Respond to of 2347

lml, Sorry for the delayed response. I just got back from vacation. are here just to stir arguments, or do you really have something substantive to add Apparently my assistance in stirring up an argument is not needed! If it is considered "substantive" to cook up anti-TERN conspiracy theories, then it is certainly substantive to point out factors that indicate the conspiracy is probably fiction. Do you consider the TERN bashing on this thread to be substantive? Maybe it is if you have a position in TERN, but it doesn't do CMTO investors any good to bash TERN. Don't kid yourself that Friday's move in CMTO would have happened without the run-up in TERN. TERN is setting the "standard" for valuations in this sector and CMTO is catching up. If you read her post closely, which IMHO you did not You are correct. I don't read her posts any more. Why should I waste my time with endless irrelevancies, spinning and attempted insults? Hassell, you raise, IMHO, the multi-billion dollar question that I have wrestled with since I begun to follow the cable modem market. Some MSOs value the first-to-market approach; others seemed to take the longer term view. The latter taken with the thought that if they are gonna deliver broadband to their customers, they're gonna do so in a manner consistent with a long term strategy, that will position them to continually improve upon their plant & build upon their initial investment as the demand for inter-connectivity over cable increases. I think the answer to your question -- the economics of the decision to go with a quick rollout vs. a slower, longer view approach -- is one that every MSO exec has wrestled with, & has arrived at his/her decision based upon particular corporate goals & objectives, and assessment of the threat of DSL competition. IMHO, these "economics" vary from MSO to MSO, from franchise to franchise, given (1) the physical state of the local infrastructure, (2) the demographics of the local market, & (3) the strides being made or planned by competing telecos, be they ILECs or CLECs, or perhaps a competing MSO willing to install its own state-of-the art plant.... IMHO, as you might assert, it might have been prudent for ADLAC to take advantage of deploying S-CDMA technology over its coaxial plant throughout the City of LA in an effort to capture this lucrative market. It hasn't, & as a result, it will lose penetration when cable-modem access it is eventually offered to LA residents.... Hopefully, I've shed some light on the decision to go with a quick S-CDMA deployment, vs. a slower, longer-viewed HFC architecture in light of competition not only from the telecos but also from another MSO competitor that is willing to make the investment in fiber. Bottom line, IMHO, is that the decision will vary from franchise to franchise based upon local factors. Whether S-CDMA or HFC is the right way to go will only be answered over time. JMO. I hope you don't mind that I pasted in most of the latter half of your post. It was so good that I thought it worth repeating. You precisely capture why I believe the best strategy is to own both CMTO and TERN. As for TERN, if you want another risk factor to consider, then focus on how they plan to integrate all their recent acquisitions. IMO, this rather mundane consideration poses greater risk than the nonsense that Pat is obsessing about. However, it doesn't offer the same opportunities to dazzle people with one's ability to cut and paste from SEC filings. Hassell