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Technology Stocks : ADSL IS DEAD -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: elmatador who wrote (88)	5/8/2001 7:16:06 PM
From: zbyslaw owczarczyk	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 135

Qwest offers VDSL services in Denver area (UPDATE: adds details in paragraphs 7,9) DENVER, May 2 (Reuters) - Voice and data services company Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE:Q - news) began offering television services over ordinary telephone wires in Denver, expanding beyond its initial market in Phoenix. Qwest uses VDSL (very high-speed digital subscriber line) technology to turn traditional telephone lines into high-speed pipes with the ability to transmit television, data and voice services. Equipment maker Next Level Communications Inc. (NasdaqNM:NXTV - news) provides the VDSL technology. Qwest, the dominant local telephone service in 14 midwestern and western states, said it began offering its VDSL service, which is known as ``Choice TV,'' in the Highland Ranch section of Denver. Qwest's ``full choice'' package costs $34.95 a month for more than 250 television channels, as well as music and pay-per-view channels. Qwest will connect up to three televisions and VCRs. A $29.95 installation fee is currently being waived, Qwest customer service representatives said. VDSL technology allows telephone companies to offer packages of voice and entertainment services and to directly battle cable television companies. AT&T Corp. (NYSE:T - news), the nation's No. 1 cable TV and long-distance telephone company, already offers voice, video and data services over cable television wires. Qwest has been cautious in its approach to VDSL because of concerns over the cost of equipment and installation, and the time to install each customer's service. Qwest told shareholders at its annual meeting on Wednesday it was bullish about the VDSL technology, but it needed to ensure that the costs per subscriber were low enough to guarantee profitability, and to make it price-competitive with cable TV offerings. U S West Inc., the local telephone company Qwest bought last year, had been a big proponent of VDSL services, and had planned to expand the service to about 10 cities. During the merger, however, Qwest put those expansion plans on hold until Next Level could reduce costs. Qwest spokesman Tyler Gronbach said the company aimed to decide by the end of the summer whether it would roll out services in other neighborhoods beyond Highland Ranch and Phoenix. No definitive deadline has been set, however, so the timing of a decision could change. If Qwest moves ahead with an expansion, it would be a huge boost for Rohnert, California-based Next Level's revenues and a strong endorsement of its technology, analysts said. At the end of 2000, Next Level had 92 customers, including local telephone companies and cable TV companies in the United States and internationally. Still, the technology has not been adopted on a wide scale. Next Level, which is majority-owned by Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT - news), posted a first-quarter loss of $22.4 million, or 26 cents a share, compared with a loss of $18.4 million, or 23 cents a share, a year ago. Revenues fell slightly to $28.7 million, from $30.5 million a year ago. Shares of Next Level closed at $7.21, up 22 cents or 3.2 percent, on Nasdaq. Qwest closed at $39.44, down $1.37, or 3.4 percent on the New York Stock Exchange. At Qwest's annual meeting, shareholders re-elected board members, and approved an amendment to the employee stock purchase plan. Stockholders rejected a proposal seeking advanced shareowner approval of certain severance arrangements with executives and another seeking exclusion of so-called ``accounting rule income'' in determining performance-based compensation.