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Technology Stocks : LAST MILE TECHNOLOGIES - Let's Discuss Them Here -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MikeM54321 who wrote (6942)	5/15/2000 5:14:00 PM
From: MikeM54321	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12823

"But when it comes to asking what's the best way to get broadband access, there's no single, simple answer." Thread- A nice little article for those new to Last Mile investing. The above is exactly why I have way too many companies to follow. So many technologies, so many companies specializing in each of them. Current access technologies are: Fixed Broadband Wireless(LMDS and MMDS) Coaxial Cable(HFC) Twisted Copper(xDSL) Mobile Wireless(?) Satellite Wireless Fiberless Optics Personally I'm focusing my investments on HFC, xDSL, xMDS. And attempting to start following mobile wireless a little more closely. It's the technology with the most confusing jumble of standards ever. -MikeM(From Florida) **************************** Service Providers Trade Barbs in Broadband Brawl By Phil Harvey and Paul Kapustka Redherring.com, May 10, 2000 LAS VEGAS -- Everybody wants it. And a lot of companies want to provide it. But when it comes to asking what's the best way to get broadband access, there's no single, simple answer.** That conclusion was the overwhelming revelation to emerge from one of the day's top panels here at the Networld+Interop trade show, a debate-style forum that pitted five major telecom service providers against each other and some professional question-askers. Called the "Broadband Access Showdown," the panel's distilled output can be summed up quickly: choosing between different broadband access options isn't going to get simpler anytime soon. With representatives from AT&T, MCI/Worldcom, Qwest Communications, Nextlink, and SBC Communications on the panel, the discussions (sponsored by the networking trade publication Network World) covered the full spectrum of available broadband service technologies, from fiber to wireless to digital subscriber line (DSL) to cable modems, all meant to provide the "last mile" of access between the consumer or business customer and the high-speed, Internet backbone. While each of the service providers aggressively promoted their own broadband access offerings, none was able to claim a fully operational package of products that could meet a wide range of customer needs, especially for customers with multiple geographical locations to worry about. According to the panelists, some of the bigger hurdles they face in providing access are not technology related, but instead have to do with government regulations and the sometimes-tough task of getting access to local copper loops, such as those owned by Baby Bells like SBC. Jason Few, a vice president of SBC's broadband division, was the panel's whipping boy, taking heat from several of the other participants for his company's slow-handed and not entirely open (according to them, anyway) access-providing practices. Audience members also flamed SBC, voicing complaints about poor service or a lack of service in an SBC region. Mike Jenner, vice president for Internet services at AT & T, was grilled about when the company might open up its cable networks to outside providers. The answer -- in 2002 -- wasn't a complete one, since Mr. Jenner said that the company hasn't yet fully discerned how many outside providers it would be able to offer access to. Judging from the balance of the rest of the answers -- which ranged from frank admissions of technology plans, to obviously evasive replies -- none of the bigger problems will be solved anytime soon, meaning that IT managers will still likely have to mix-and-match services from multiple providers to get the broadband access they need. Luckily, there was a trade show nearby where service vendors were more than happy to provide pricing information.

To: MikeM54321 who wrote (6942)	6/6/2000 1:10:00 PM
From: MikeM54321	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12823

Re: Fixed Broadband Wireless LMDS & xDSL Growth- Alcatel Info Thread- I tried to edit down the following PR so it wasn't so pro-Alcatel. I follow ALA closely because it mirrors the broadband access market quite nicely. They have no presence in HFC(coaxial cable). But they do have a heavy presence in xDSL and supposedly a heavy presence in the nascent fixed broadband wireless market, LMDS. So I thought this was worth a read for Last Mile investors. Note the upgraded forecast of 6,000,000 DSL lines out of ALA alone in 2000!? Also note the words, "depending upon market conditions." So what doesn't depend upon market conditions?<g> Anyway, it was quite a jump in estimates so I thought it was worth noting. -MikeM(From Florida) ************************* Alcatel Outlines Plans for Accelerated Growth in Global Telecom ATLANTA(SuperComm) June 6, 2000-- At the SUPERCOMM 2000 trade show today, Alcatel (NYSE: ALA) outlined plans for accelerated growth in the US market, following the completion of its acquisition of Newbridge Networks on May 25th. Alcatel's worldwide lead in broadband networking will be key to its US growth strategy. Alcatel commands the No.1 global market position in ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) technology with a 56% share. The DSL market is growing explosively, and Alcatel now estimates that it will ship 6 million DSL lines this calendar year, depending on market conditions, up from initial estimates of 3 million. Industry analysts concur that as a result of the Newbridge acquisition, Alcatel also holds the No.1 global market share in Fixed Wireless Broadband access, or LMDS (Local Multipoint Distribution System), with an estimated market share of about 40%. The acquisition of Newbridge also puts Alcatel at either No.1 or No.2 in multi-protocol broadband switching on a country by country basis. "Our first priority is to further grow Alcatel's market share in broadband access - where we already have at least twice the share of our nearest rivals," says Krish Prabhu, COO of Alcatel worldwide and CEO of Alcatel Americas." And, we intend to recapture the worldwide No.1 market share in multi-protocol switching based on ATM/MPLS technologies." Prabhu added that "Alcatel will also aggressively target a top three position within the next major battleground of optical Terabit routing." "I'm predicting that everyone will quickly come to regard broadband internet as a birthright. In the US it will be right up there with air-conditioning and apple pie," said Pearse Flynn, newly appointed President of Alcatel's Carrier Networking Group. "I have only one goal, and that is to ensure that Alcatel equipment captures, aggregates and switches the lion's share of the world's broadband traffic." Revenue contributions at Alcatel from US markets have skyrocketed from $350 Million in 1995 to approximately $4.5 Billion in 1999**, which represents more than 20% of Alcatel's total revenue. Newbridge Networks, in turn, derived 38% of sales from US markets in fiscal 2000 and, more importantly, measured sequential revenue growth in its last two fiscal quarters at more than 50%.