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Technology Stocks : Optical Networks and Components, DWDM and Tunable Lasers -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: songw who wrote (200)	3/15/2000 12:36:00 AM
From: Douglas Nordgren	Respond to of 275

Nortel Paying Too Much for Too Little? $36 million per person. lightreading.com Nortel Buys A Monster Cross-Connect Nortel Networks nortelnetworks.com announced today that it had agreed to pay $3.25 billion in stock for Xros Inc. xros.com, a startup which recently unveiled the first all-optical cross-connect to break the 1,000 port barrier. On the face of it, the deal gives Nortel a head start in dealing with the problem of interconnecting the explosion of wavelengths in carrier backbones resulting from the widespread deployment of dense wave division multiplexing . It also fits well with previous acquisitions - notably Qtera Corp with long distance transmission offerings and Cambrian with metro DWDM developments. However, it's unclear whether Xros's X-1000 cross connect will deliver everything Nortel expects, particularly when it comes to setting up and tearing down wavelengths automatically, in response to signaling. "It's a fat, dumb switch" according to Nicholas De Vito, vice president of product management and business development at Tellium, Inc. tellium.com, a startup with a competing optical cross-connect. De Vito says Xros's management system is an after-thought. It requires carriers to install a separate, out-of-band signaling network and that, he says, is a non-starter. Signaling needs to be in-band, and that needs to be built into switches from the outset. Nortel was unavailable to address this specific point (watch for an update tomorrow) but said earlier that it would be easy to integrate Xros's X-1000 into Nortel's existing net management system. It's unclear whether this would include automatic protection - setting up alternative wavelengths to reroute traffic around failures. Last week, Xros president and CEO Greg Reznick told Light Reading that this was something that the X-1000 couldn't do at present (see Xros Launches First 1000-Port All Optical Cross Connect ). The price that Nortel is paying for Xros also ought to raise some eyebrows. The startup only has 90 staff, so the bill comes to around $36 million a person. That's significantly higher than the price per person that Cisco paid for Cerent, which at the time seemed quite shocking. Still, it's not real money - it's Nortel shares -- so nobody seems to care. "We've paid a very, very fair price for this," says Clarence Chandran, President of Nortel's service provider and carrier group. by Peter Heywood, international editor, Light Reading lightreading.com About the Xros 1000 port Optical Cross Connect: lightreading.com

To: songw who wrote (200)	3/15/2000 12:36:00 AM
From: Joanne Fishman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 275

Re. MFNX: It was only one of 2 green arrows in my portfolio today, as per the following. Looks like more green arrows ahead. Metromedia Fiber Revenue Doubled in 1999; Shares Rise White Plains, New York, March 14 (Bloomberg) -- Metromedia Fiber Network Inc. said annual revenue more than doubled while the value of contracts quadrupled, helping to send shares of the fiber-optic cable company up 16 percent. The shares of Metromedia rose 12 3/8 to an all-time high of 91 7/8 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading of 6.3 million, more than double the three-month daily average. The White Plains, New York-based company said 1999 revenue rose to $75.2 million from $36.4 million in 1998. Metromedia increased the value of its contracts to $2 billion at the end of last year from $400 million at the end of the previous year. The increased contracts show the company's business plan is ``on track,' boosting investor optimism, one analyst said. ``People see business is going well for an Internet, optical networking company and people buy the stock,' said Vik Grover, an analyst at Kaufman Brothers, who rates Metromedia a ``buy.' Expectations about the company's future entry into Latin America and the Pacific Rim are also pushing the shares higher, Grover said. He said he expects Metromedia to enter Japan within the next several months. Metromedia is building a network in 67 metropolitan areas in the U.S. and abroad that can carry video, Internet and data traffic for businesses. The company, which first sold shares to the public in October 1997, has seen its share price more than triple in the past year. Metromedia's investors include Bell Atlantic Corp., the No. 2 U.S. local-phone company, which owns 19 percent. Being in the early stages of development, the company is investing heavily in its business. Its loss for the year widened to $114.9 million, or 28 cents a share, compared with net income of $986,000, or zero per-share, due in part to increased investment in the company's fiber-optic network. Mar/14/2000 16:27 For more stories from Bloomberg News, click here. (C) Copyright 2000 Bloomberg L.P. Any redistribution of Bloomberg content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Bloomberg L.P. Any reference to the material must be properly attributed to Bloomberg News. The information herein was obtained from sources which Bloomberg L.P. and its suppliers believe reliable, but they do not guarantee its accuracy. Neither the information, nor any opinion expressed, constitutes a solicitation of the purchase or sale of any securities or commodities.(C) Copyright 2000 Bloomberg L.P. BLOOMBERG, Bloomberg News, Bloomberg Financial Markets, Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg News Radio are trademarks, tradenames and service marks of Bloomberg L.P.