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Technology Stocks : ANTEC Corp. (ANTC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MikeM54321 who wrote (707)	10/18/2000 2:45:18 PM
From: Kenneth E. Phillipps	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 847

OCTOBER 18, 2000 12:44 Nortel spins off part of Georgia-based joint venture Arris Interactive BOSTON (CP) - Nortel Networks Corp. is selling part of its stake in Arris Interactive, which connects cable systems to the Internet, but will still own a significant ownership in the five-year-old joint venture. Nortel will continue to work with Arris to develop and sell products for cable companies that want to offer phone services, Internet access, and interactive services over their networks, the companies said Wednesday. Nortel currently holds 81.25 per cent of Arris Interactive, formed in 1995 with Antec Corp,. which owns the rest of Arris. As part of the deal, Nortel will transfer its current holding to the new company, to be called Arris Inc, in exchange for $325 million US in cash along with 33 million shares of the new entity. Antec specializes in products for networks using both the fibre optics used on the Internet and phone systems and coaxial cable used by TV cable companies. Antec will become a subsidiary of Arris Inc. and take on its corporate identity. Arris, based near Atlanta, has 395 employees working on cable telephony, Internet-by-cable and other technology. Arris had revenue of $329 million last year and $254 million in the first half of this year - about half on sales to Antec. The new company will help connect television cable networks to the fast fibre-optic Internet networks, or backbone, being built by Nortel. Right now those connections are the "bottlenecks" on the Internet, the companies said. In essence, a cable company that wants to offer high-speed Internet services such as interactive television, cable Internet access and video streaming over its cable network will be able to approach Arris and Nortel to make this happen. "Nortel builds the high-performance Internet. Our new company will build the on and off ramps," said Bob Stanzione, president and chief executive officer of Antec, which together with Arris Interactive claims a 70 per cent share of the global cable telephony market. Nortel and Arris will have joint marketing agreements and for a time Nortel will continue to provide research and development expertise so that certain projects can be completed. "It takes our cable strategy to the next level," Steve Pusey, a Nortel vice-president who is chairman of Arris Interactive, said in a conference call. "It is a key part of our local Internet vision." This deal will help Nortel expand what it offers to cable companies that want to offer Internet services. This is becoming more important as cable companies compete with telecom companies who already offer Internet services over their phone lines. "Today the marketplace is moving rapidly towards broadband connections," Pusey said, adding that forecasts expect that by 2004 over nine million subscribers will have access to the Internet over cable. © The Canadian Press, 2000 quicken.ca