Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Alcatel (ALA) and France -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (2877)	1/12/2001 7:41:50 AM
From: zbyslaw owczarczyk	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3891

Cable & Wireless awarded Alcatel IP optical conract: Cable & Wireless and Alcatel to Build World's Most Advanced Transatlantic Cable Business and Technology Editors LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 12, 2001--Cable & Wireless (NYSE: CWP), the global telecommunications group, today announced it is building the world's most advanced Internet Protocol (IP) transatlantic cable, known as Apollo, together with Alcatel, world leader in intelligent optical networking, to meet growing IP and data demand. The new cable system is scheduled to begin service in the summer of 2002 and will make available to Cable & Wireless customers significant bandwidth at lower cost, well in advance of competing systems using similar technologies. It anticipates the huge demand for bandwidth that analysts forecast to grow on average at around 100 per cent per annum, as a result of the rapid adoption of business internet communications worldwide. Cable & Wireless' investment in the transatlantic system is (pound)300 million with additional project financing from Alcatel. A major US communications company has already signed a letter of intent to purchase one fiber pair, representing a quarter of the new cable system's capacity. In addition, Cable & Wireless' dedicated carrier and service provider channel, Partner Services, has non-disclosure agreements and ongoing commercial negotiations with other potential purchasers. "Cable & Wireless' role as the exclusive channel to market underlines the success of our division dedicated to the service of our carriers and service provider customers," said Mike McTighe, CEO Global Operations, Cable & Wireless. "The bandwidth that Apollo will provide reflects our phenomenal growth in IP and data traffic and our continued commitment to becoming the leading global supplier of IP services to business customers worldwide." Apollo comprises two fully diverse submarine legs, four fibre pairs in each, capable of at least 3.2 terabits per second of traffic transmission on each leg - one third more capacity than other existing transatlantic cable systems. The system will run for 13,000km under the Atlantic Ocean, linking Long Island and New Jersey in the United States with Cornwall in the UK, and Brittany in France. Marine operations are already underway. The transatlantic system links directly with Cable & Wireless' seamless high capacity infrastructure in the US and Europe, providing customers with onward connectivity to communications destinations far beyond the landing points. Advanced technologies As the world's most advanced IP transatlantic cable system, Apollo can claim: - Greater capacity: Apollo will be the first 80 wavelength transatlantic system - which means Cable & Wireless can offer customers lower unit cost. - Greater resilience: Apollo is the first transatlantic system to use Alcatel's enhanced cable protection design - which means it is less prone to damage from external aggression, such as trawler damage. The system echoes Gemini's dual leg architecture for extra resilience. - full flexibility: depending on the customers' voice, data or IP requirements, Apollo can be configured either as a standard ring protection architecture or fully meshed - which means the customer can determine for themselves the level of protection they require, up to the latest optical protection switching equipment. Chart Comparing Apollo with other existing transatlantic cable systems. -0- System Owner Terminal Technology Fiber Trans- T.Bit/s Points Wavelength x Pairs Atlantic Per Leg Line Speed Per Leg Legs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Apollo Cable & UK - USA 80x10 4 2 3.20 Wireless France - USA UK - France Interlink ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Flag Atlantic-1 Flag Telecom UK\France 40 x 10 6 2 2.40 - USA (Single US Landing) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 360Atlantic 360 Networks UK-Canada 48 x 10 4 2 1.92 (Worldwide (Link to USA) Fiber) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Yellow Level 3; Viatel; UK -USA 47 x 10 4 1 1.88 Global Crossing ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Alcatel is the only vendor to master all optical network elements, from optical components, optical fibers and DWDM systems to core routers and network intelligence, and from terrestrial to submarine solutions. Alcatel is also the only company to provide both terrestrial and marine services for the installation and maintenance of global, seamless optical networks. According to RHK's 2000 study, Alcatel holds the number two position in global optical transport market with 20% market share, distancing itself from all other competitors. RHK also reported that Alcatel reaffirms its number one position in submarine networks with 41% worldwide market share. Moreover, Alcatel claims to be the world leader in total terrestrial and submarine DWDM systems, in digital cross-connects, which contain the enabling technology for operators to offer high bandwidth services, and in SDH networks. Alcatel's optics business comprises terrestrial and submarine transmission systems, fiber optics and optical components. Alcatel has launched a new class of Alcatel stock, which is intended to track the performance of Alcatel Optronics, the Company's optical component business. Alcatel is the world leader in delivering full turnkey submarine network solutions and services. Alcatel leads this industry in terms of: - having the highest sold capacity up to 8.4 Tbit/s for the long-haul systems and 3.6 Tbit/s for the short-haul ones, using the latest DWDM technology; - having the largest manufacturing capacity at 85,000 km per year strategically located around the Globe; - managing 11 dedicated purposed-designed vessels for a tight control on the delivery schedule, including marine maintenance. Current contracts, worth US$ 5.8+ billion, include the most advanced undersea networks in the world today: 360americas and FLAG Atlantic-1 systems in the Atlantic, the 360pacific, FLAG Pacifc-1, Japan-US and Southern Cross transpacific systems, and the MAC and MAYA-1 systems in the Americas and the SAT-3 around Africa. About Cable & Wireless Cable & Wireless is a major global telecommunications business with revenue of over US$14 billion in the year to 31 March 2000 and customers in 70 countries. Its operations around the world offer a full range of telecommunications services. Cable & Wireless' focus for future growth is on IP (Internet Protocol) and data services and solutions for business customers. It is developing advanced IP networks and value-added services in the US, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region in support of this strategy. With the capability of its global IP infrastructure and its strength in key markets, Cable & Wireless holds a unique position in terms of global coverage and services to business customers. For more information about Cable & Wireless, go to www.cw.com. Cable & Wireless and the Globe Device are registered trademarks of Cable and Wireless plc. About Alcatel Alcatel builds next generation networks, delivering integrated end-to-end voice and data networking solutions to established and new carriers, as well as enterprises and consumers worldwide. With 120,000 employees and sales of EURO 23 billion in 1999, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit Alcatel on the Internet: alcatel.com Pioneer Annual Compound Rate (End 2000-End 2003) 118% Yankee Annual Compound Rate (End 2000-End 2003) 77%

To: Steve Fancy who wrote (2877)	1/14/2001 11:32:25 AM
From: zbyslaw owczarczyk	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3891

Capex on the rise?: from Bloomberg " The Federal Reserve's decision to cut the benchmark U.S. lending rate by half a percentage point to 6 percent will help cut the costs of servicing this debt, he said. He estimated that further interest rate cuts could slice interest costs for European phone companies by as much as 50 percent. ``The benefits on cash flows are enormous (from) a fall in interest rates,'' Joshi told Bloomberg Television. Paying interest ``is a big part of their cash outflow at the moment.'' Another benefit is that rate cuts help spur economic growth and consumers' willingness to buy phone services, Joshi said. ------------------------------------------------------- 01/14 04:41 Europe's Debt-Laden Phone, Cable Companies Rally on Rate Relief By Christine Harper London, Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Shares of European phone and cable companies, whose rising debts led investors to shun them late last year, have returned to favor with investors after the U.S. Federal Reserve's surprise interest rate cut Jan. 3 spurred hopes their financial prospects will brighten. The Bloomberg European Telecommunications Services Index has risen 8 percent since the rate cut, making it the best performing group in the Bloomberg Europe 500 Index this year. Some of the most indebted companies posted the biggest gains. ``Risks in the sector appear to be going down,'' said Patrick Nielsen, who oversees 1.5 billion euros in stocks as head of international equity at Mapfre Inversion. ``People are reshuffling their portfolios and turning to telcos.'' Shares of UPC NA, an unprofitable cable TV company with debt of about $6 billion, rose 39 percent last week. Deutsche Telekom AG, whose debt has swelled to half its market value, rose 6.7 percent to its highest in a month. Last year, European phone companies spent more than $90 billion on licenses to offer fast wireless Internet services and are expected to have to spend as much as $200 billion more on technology to offer the services. Multi-billion dollar takeovers also added to the debts of companies such as Deutsche Telekom AG, France Telecom SA and British Telecommunications Plc. Competition At the same time, competition was forcing companies to cut prices, undermining profitability. Slower economic growth raised questions about future spending on telecom services. And falling share prices made it more difficult for companies to raise money to pay down debt. Debt-to-equity ratios of Europe's phone companies rose to 73 percent at the end of September from 50 percent at the start of last year, according to Dhaval Joshi, a global strategist at SG Securities in London. The Federal Reserve's decision to cut the benchmark U.S. lending rate by half a percentage point to 6 percent will help cut the costs of servicing this debt, he said. He estimated that further interest rate cuts could slice interest costs for European phone companies by as much as 50 percent. ``The benefits on cash flows are enormous (from) a fall in interest rates,'' Joshi told Bloomberg Television. Paying interest ``is a big part of their cash outflow at the moment.'' Another benefit is that rate cuts help spur economic growth and consumers' willingness to buy phone services, Joshi said. Market Rally ``Spending on telecom services is sensitive to the economic cycle,'' he said. ``We would be buying telecom operators at the moment and selling more defensive sectors like pharmaceuticals.'' Shares in European cable-television companies such as NTL Inc., the U.K.'s biggest, and United Pan-Europe Communications NV, No. 2 in Europe, have also shot higher since Jan. 4. NTL shares are up 63 percent and UPC shares are up 47 percent so far this year. Analysts said that the companies, which are unprofitable and had net debt exceeding their market value at the end of next year, are benefiting from better conditions for issuing bonds. ``The whole sector is rallying,'' said Leila Ghachem, an analyst at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. ``The guys who need the money most desperately are up the most.'' U.S. dollar-denominated bonds issued by European phone companies have performed well since the rate cut. The spread on British Telecom's 7 5/8 bonds due in 2005 has narrowed to 208 basis points above government bonds from 237 points at the end of last year. Deutsche Telekom's 7 3/4 bonds due in 2005 are trading at 206 basis points more than U.S. Treasuries, down from 226 basis points last year. Some companies are already taking advantage of the lower interest rates to borrow money. British Telecommunications Plc, which last month sold $10 billion of debt, said Jan. 5 that it plans to sell Eurobonds in several parts in the next few weeks to help refinance its borrowings. The company said last year that it expected its debt to swell to 30 billion pounds ($45 billion) by March. KPNQwest NV, Europe's No. 2 provider of Internet access to businesses, plans to sell 500 million euros ($476 million) of high- yield bonds, people familiar with the matter said.