SFA was presenting yesterday at the Goldman Sachs Communications Technology Retreat, Four Seasons Biltmore, Santa Barbara, Calif. Last of three days. What the hell did they say?
10:15 a.m.: Breakfast panel: Netro (NTRO:Nasdaq - news - boards), Advanced Fibre Communications (AFCI:Nasdaq - news - boards), Turnstone Systems (TSTN:Nasdaq - news - boards), Network Access Solutions (NASC:Nasdaq - news - boards).
11:30 a.m.: Visual Networks (VNWK:Nasdaq - news - boards), Concord Communications (CCRD:Nasdaq - news - boards), Netro, Carrier Access(CACS:Nasdaq - news - boards).
12:15 p.m.: Turnstone, Network Access, Aspect Communications (ASPT:Nasdaq - news - boards).
1:15 p.m.: Newbridge Networks (NN:NYSE - news - boards), Foundry Networks (FDRY:Nasdaq - news - boards), MMC Networks(MMCN:Nasdaq - news - boards).
2 p.m.: Advanced Fibre, Alteon Websystems (ALTN:Nasdaq - news - boards), Scientific-Atlanta (SFA:NYSE - news - boards).
2:45 p.m.: Harmonic (HLIT:Nasdaq - news - boards), Westell (WSTL:Nasdaq - news - boards), Comverse Technology (CMVT:Nasdaq - news - boards)
This is off Bloomberg from way back regarding HLIT:
One of the biggest races in technology is the "Broadband Derby," the race to provide consumers with the one wire that will support everything:
hyperspeed Internet connections, telephones, television, and interactive services like video on demand. It's too early to call this contest between phone
companies and cable operators, but no matter who wins, the derby is good for Harmonic (HLIT). The Sunnyvale, California, company designs, builds, and sells the guts of hybrid fiber-optic/coaxial delivery systems. For the past five years, Harmonic has integrated DWDM (dense wavelength division multiplexing) technology in its product lines. With advances and refinements, it's figuring out how to cram more and more data into the "pipe." How? By breaking white light into other colors and soaking them with signals. Wild, huh?
According to Blaine Carroll, an equity analyst at SG Cowen in Boston, "Harmonic has been well positioned to take advantage of the cable industry's need for more capacity. They were the first to market with a workable DWDM system. It has paid off, particularly with AT&T."
RCN, Cox, Charter, and Time Warner are all customers, spending wads of money to upgrade their systems. But AT&T, the industry's megaplayer, is client numero uno. Its orders could mean hundreds of millions in revenue, and last year Harmonic delivered the first multiplexing nodes AT&T has approved for its trial installations in Salt Lake City.
Harmonic's numbers reflect the headlong dynamics of the race to connect. Net sales shot to an estimated $161 million in 1999 from $74 million in 1997. The stock climbed steeply, from roughly $5.75 in November 1998, to its split-adjusted high of $79 before ending at $56.06. Still an eight-bagger!
The Competition: Everyone knows the cable industry is determined to bring broadband delivery of information--be it voice, video, or data--to American homes, and because the money being spent on infrastructure is awesome, the stakes are high. Harmonic has a 45 percent share of the digital-architecture market, according to CIBC World Markets research. It competes with ANTEC (ANTC), C-COR.net (CCBL), Scientific-Atlanta (SFA), and General Instrument (GIC), of television-set-top-box fame, which announced its merger with Motorola (MOT) just weeks before Harmonic, not to be outdone, acquired Divicom's video compression business from C-Cube Microsystems last fall. What's appening? Fiber-optics companies are looking beyond the upgrading of cable systems to wireless delivery. In September, Harmonic unveiled the Cyberstream IPG 8000, which delivers seamless integration of Internet data services with wireless systems.
Courtesy of the HLIT board.
Good luck,
Eric |
