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Non-Tech : Amati investors -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MangoBoy who wrote (28329)	11/5/1997 10:32:00 AM
From: Chemsync	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 31386

[Hong Kong Telecom Wins Government License!] Our man in Hong Kong Triumphant! <<The potential market of 1.2 billion television viewers over the border played a clear role in the company's investment, Cheung said. "China is very interested in our interactive multimedia services," he said. "We hope to work with China in providing interactive multimedia in the future.">> ÿÿÿÿÿÿ HK Telecom Reborn as Entertainment Supplier with VOD Win By Ho Swee Lin and Sandy Hendry at Bloomberg News 05-NOV-97 Shrugging off the technology's patchy record, Hong Kong Telecommunications won an exclusive government license today to market video-on-demand services. Hong Kong's largest telco pledged to supply push-button movies, games shows and karaoke to nearly 88,000 households by the end of this year. Some 90% of the territory's 6.5 million citizens will have access in three years' time, said the company. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ But the company is betting heavily that couch potatoes will choose on-demand entertainment over a trip to the video store. It has already plowed HK$1 billion (US$129 million) into customizing the technology to Hong Kong and plans to spend another HK$10 billion and recoup its investment over the next three years. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ "We are no longer a telephone company," said Linus Cheung, the company's chief executive. ''We have redefined our business into broadcasting, entertainment, information technology and telecommunications. We are fully convinced that the way ahead is bright for us.'' ÿÿÿÿÿÿ However, while Microsoft Corp. and other corporate giants are investing heavily in interactive television technology, the costs of wiring whole communities have proved prohibitive. Time-Warner, Bell-Atlantic Corp., US West and telecom companies in Europe have all backed away from their initial trials. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ "That thing is a potential albatross," said David Lomis, an analyst at Vickers Ballas Securities (Hong Kong) Ltd. "Nothing that big has been done anywhere else in the world and it's a very big question mark." ÿÿÿÿÿÿ In winning the license, Hong Kong Telecom beat three competitors: Star Interactive TV, owned by paging company Star Telecom International Ltd.; Future TV (H.K.) Ltd. of Hong Kong; and UK-based Elmsdale Ltd. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ Failure would be a serious blow for Hong Kong Telecom, which is already facing an earnings erosion as it loses long-distance telephone customers to rivals offering cheaper rates. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ William Lo, managing director of Hongkong Telecom's interactive multimedia services, said by January 1998 video on demand will be available throughout the densely populated residential Shatin in New Territories, Lei King Wan and Heng Fa Chuen on Hong Kong Island. By the year 2000, 90% of Hong Kong will be wired. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ With high-speed phone lines and computers installed in Hong Kong's most affluent homes, the next step could be video phones, home offices and the other services, he said. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ Some observers of the industry believe it is a survival strategy for the company. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ "This service may seem a bit premature," said Andrew Hall, an analyst at Kleinwort Benson Securities Asia Ltd. ''But if HK Telecom wants to be a supplier of state of the art telecommunications, it needs to do it now. Or someone else will.'' ÿÿÿÿÿÿ The rollout of video-on-demand may not be entirely dazzling. Viewers will be able to select from only 100 video titles initially and on-line shopping will be limited. Virtual banking, high-speed Internet access and functions that allow people all over Hong Kong to play video games with each other, won't be launched until later next year. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ Subscribers to HK Telecom's service will pay HK$200, plus HK$25 for each movie they select. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ Honk Kong Telecom, controlled by UK-based Cable and Wireless Plc, is also banking on the former British colony's traditional position as a gateway to China. ÿÿÿÿÿÿ The potential market of 1.2 billion television viewers over the border played a clear role in the company's investment, Cheung said. "China is very interested in our interactive multimedia services," he said. "We hope to work with China in providing interactive multimedia in the future." ÿÿÿÿÿÿ

To: MangoBoy who wrote (28329)	11/5/1997 11:08:00 AM
From: NYBellBoy	Respond to of 31386

Amati Fans-- re: Line conditioning If a company was smart they would be using as many good pairs as possible to install ADSL. IMHO, they would not be using bad pairs needing reconditioning, squashed or split pairs. However, if you want ADSL to the Cabin-in-the-Woods, you will see a person in the Bucket driving back and forth for days. :) BellBoy

To: MangoBoy who wrote (28329)	11/5/1997 11:44:00 AM
From: SteveG	Respond to of 31386

<No telco-focused ADSL equipment manufacturer is optimizing their hardware for this class of line. Caveat Emptor. GTE has said repeatedly that for the ~1,000 lines they're using for ADSL trials across the U.S., only a handful have been unable to fully support ADSL to spec.> Whereas unbundled dry copper does pose greater line conditioning problems, I would be very hesitant to extend GTE's selected trial findings (let's say 99+% full spec) to all local copper. A guy researching this in BLS territory (as reported on the SI NOVL thread) was told an average of 19 bridge taps existed per line. We'll see how Birmingham responds. I've got GTE and my lines often have problems with 28.8. My gut is that a good percentage of US lines will not get ADSL spec, if anything at all. Of course, that's what the ongoing trials are about. Steve