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Technology Stocks : Scientific Atlanta -SFA- going up ??? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Larry Kagan who wrote (875)	8/2/2000 5:24:10 AM
From: Allegoria	Respond to of 1045

Hi Larry and all...thanks for the nice post and your welcome for the information. I participate on some great threads where an enormous amount of information relevant to that security is shared. Obviously SFA has been everyone's (ahhh…I guess only the longs!) favorite stock the past year, so I keep hoping this thread will spring to life and we can attract some investors willing to research and share the valuable information we need to know to make all our investments perform as well as good 'ol SFA! Part of the reason I investigate my stocks so much is that a lot of times other potential investments come to light in the course of my research. And as always, this is a lifetime experience and the learning in this field will never end. So in a sense I guess I feel it pays to stay curious. I was wondering: Close your eyes and imagine that the headlines blare: "Gemstar ruling receives 100 million dollar damage award against Scientific Atlantic". IT HASN'T HAPPENED. Doesn't everyone want to be aware of where SFA stands in this matter? These lawsuits can cripple a security, and I mean cripple. The NYSE & NASDAQ are littered (anyone remember LEXAR versus SanDisk?) with quadriplegics from the experience, and believe me SFA is not yet big enough that the result would be insignificant. My point is that IF you are long this stock, don't you want to know at what stage the ruling is…when an decision might be announced…basically how it is going for SFA? We are talking tens of millions, perhaps hundreds of millions. These damage awards are often huge! As I understand it, the GIC trial found that GIC knew that they were violating the patents, therefore the award could possible be trebled! My understanding is that the SFA & GIC suits do not differ much. There is some talk about it on the GMST thread, of which I am also long. But the information is spotty at best and honestly I do not know where to look for the information. That is why I am appealing for help. Thanks and good luck, Eric Ps. By the way… TheCoveredCall.com: SFA results bode well for broadband players… MONDAY, JULY 31, 2000 11:11 AM - M2 Communications Scientific-Atlanta (NYSE:SFA) products work together to help customers create the future of interactive telecommunications. Subscriber and Broadband Access products help cable operators deliver more channels, and exciting services such as the Internet, video-on-demand, e-commerce and more to consumers. SFA's Digital Video products help programmers, broadcasters and service providers deliver more video channels and IP applications over their satellite transponders to cable operators, businesses and consumers. SFA reported a blow-out Q4 which was driven by strong transmission business and better-than-expected shipments of set-top boxes. The clear upward and profitable trend for set-top boxes bodes well for CATB players Harmonic (NASDAQ:HLIT), Motorola (NYSE:MOT) and Antec (NASDAQ:ANTC). The increased sales of set-tops should also boost Broadcom (NASDAQ:BRCM) business while JDS Uniphase (NASDAQ:JDSU) and SDL (NASDAQ:SDLI) will moderately benefit from the strength in optical transmission equipment. SFA set-top box strength should also help interactive application developers OpenTV (NASDAQ:OPTV), WorldGate (NASDAQ:WGAT) and Wink Communications (NASDAQ:WINK). The accelerating rollout of digital set-top boxes will help cable operators Charter Communications (NASDAQ:CHTR), Adelphia (NASDAQ:ADLAC) and Time Warner (NYSE:TWX)

To: Larry Kagan who wrote (875)	8/7/2000 10:08:35 AM
From: Allegoria	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1045

"Motorola told analysts in May it expected shipments of digital set top boxes to grow by 50 percent in 2000 over 1999..." This statement by Motorola bodes extremely well for our SFA!!! And considering the fact that SFA has the services division and the PowerTv division, I can't see any flaws in her strategy. You're right about not loosing any sleep! Also mentioned in this article, one potential issue brought up (also pointed out by you?) was the thinking that component shortages (example: flash memory) would prevent expansion of the manufacturing of the set-tops. However from what I am hearing, this 'potential issue' is being resolved by the loosening of supplies. Anybody else hear anything? Larry, your last post mentioned that Time Warner took 52% of the digital boxes. With the AOL merger, it looks like AOL / TWX are going to push out their interactive TV in mass this year and next. Would you see TWX increasing their orders or have they got enough of the initial deliveries? Any concerns with such a large percentage concentrated in one customer? Good luck to the longs, Eric bigcharts.com THURSDAY, AUGUST 03, 2000 11:22 AM - Reuters 08-03 0684 UPDATE 1-Motorola expects cable set top box sales to surge By Lucas van Grinsven, European technology correspondent LONDON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Motorola, the U.S. mobile phone and semiconductor manufacturer, said on Thursday it expected to ship six million television set top boxes this year, adding that market demand in Europe was "crazy". "We are shipping this year six million set top boxes worldwide," Motorola's president for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Fred Kuznik, told Reuters in an interview. As cable assets were spun off from incumbent telecom providers, such as those of Deutsche Telekom, new owners of the cable networks were aggressively pushing set top boxes to consumers. The boxes will enable them to deliver higher value media services, such as Internet, telephony and video-on-demand. "It's a crazy market at this point in time in this region," Kuznik said. Motorola told analysts in May it expected shipments of digital set top boxes to grow by 50 percent in 2000 over 1999, without giving a specific number. The company expanded in the set top box business when early this year it finalised the 17 billion dollar acquisition of General Instrument, the U.S. second largest cable box company after Scientific-Atlanta (NYSE:SFA). MOTOROLA EXPECTS TO SIGN VDSL CONTRACTS IN EUROPE THIS YEAR Motorola was not just focusing on television set top boxes, Kuznik added. It was also testing delivery in Europe of multimedia services over ordinary copper telephone wires, using a new technology dubbed: very high-speed digital subscriber lines (VDSL). While he said that this new technology was already sold to 30,000 homes in the U.S., Kuznik expects Europe to catch up this year. Trials in France and Spain and discussions with Deutsche Telekom will lead to real contracts to roll out these services to consumers and small businesses, he said. "I imagine it could be this year (that we sign) some of the contracts. We're definitely driving that way," he said. VDSL-technology is a step up from ADSL which is being sold to consumers in the U.S. and several European countries since last year. ADSL gives consumers broadband access to the Internet, which enables them to surf the web and download graphics and video images. VDSL gives consumers even more bandwidth, that will allow them to receive different television channels alongside Internet access. "VDSL offers significantly higher bandwidth," said Susan Thompson of market research bureau Dataquest. But she did not expect that VDSL will make major inroads in the next twelve months, pointing at the lower than expected pick-up of ADSL which consumers regard as too expensive. "There are a lot of problems in positioning ADSL in terms of pricing," she said. VDSL will become even more expensive. Prices are high because telecom operators are afraid the new services will hurt traditional data services to companies which offer similar bandwidth but at much higher prices. While the telecom operators will decide how much they will charge consumers for the VDSL service, Motorola will provide home base stations to upgrade the phone network. SUPPLY PROBLEMS WILL BE SOLVED BY THIRD QUARTER Kuznik also said that Motorola had solved most of its components supply problems that had haunted his company last year and early next year. "It looks like the shortages have been resolved by the third quarter," Kuznik said. "Our suppliers are finally convinced there is that kind of growth (in the mobile phone market)," he said, adding: "They have finally started to invest." The worldwide market for mobile phones is expected to grow by around 50 percent to 420 million units this year, up from 283 million in 1999, according to market research. Competitors such as Ericsson (:) and Philips (NYSE:PHG) have not been able to meet market demand because of component shortages, while market leader Nokia (:) of Finland coped with delays in introducing new models. Rtr 11:22 08-03-00 Copyright 2000, Reuters News Service