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Technology Stocks : 3Com Corporation (COMS) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ben luong who wrote (10907)	11/29/1997 11:27:00 PM
From: Daniel Liberty	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 45548

I think the Barrons article made sense as far as cable subscribers are concerned. If the additional cost for two way high speed connectivity turns out to be the $40 he suggested I think it would be a bargain. I pay 19.95 for connectivity and $20 for a phone line so it would be breakeven for a ten fold (?) increase in speed. Of course, this all depends on getting a solid connection that is unlimited. I have heard good things from folks in other parts of the country that have the cable modems. As far as who needs the extra speed, I would love it and most of the folks I know would to. Any other thoughts. Dan

To: ben luong who wrote (10907)	11/29/1997 11:35:00 PM
From: Beachbumm	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 45548

Ben, here are some of my thoughts. I agree that the article made COMS out to be too special with regard to cable modems. BAY is far ahead of COMS in cable modems and their deployment (through LANcity acquisition). If cable modems are going to be hitting retail shelves, then they will certainly quickly become commoditized. I disagree with you about cable TV service. The penetration of cable TV in American households is very high -- I don't have the exact percentage. Cable modem service is not inexpensive -- I know, I have one, and I wouldn't give it up now until I'm broke -- but there are plenty of households that will want it. I think cable modems will be a big deal, but no one has yet convinced me that profit margins on the modems themselves will be worth a damn. I think the promise is that widespread acceptance of cable modems will lead to increased purchases of higher priced networking gear. As far as congestion on the internet, well, we're still waiting for it to crash. The only problem with cable modems is that from each "access node" to the households on it there can be bandwith problems if everyone is on at once (like peak times). Just my thoughts. Beachbumm

To: ben luong who wrote (10907)	11/30/1997 8:17:00 AM
From: Thomas Haegin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 45548

Either way: Whether 56K dies and cable modems live or not - COMS will be there. A fellow that joins the "All about SUNW" board on SI says he recently got himself cable-wired. He paid $140 upfront, plus a monthly of $50. He says he had a dedicated telephone line before, costing about just as much, but at much reduced speed. He says "It rages!" Cable modem will be a huge success in Europe, I'm sure, as we are pretty much cable wired already. I can't wait to get it. I'm in Zurich Switzerland. The local cable company still is testing the stuff. But when it comes, it will be a big hit. Dial-up in general is a pain. Thomas

To: ben luong who wrote (10907)	12/1/1997 1:24:00 PM
From: Randy Ellingson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 45548

Ben wrote: "They are many competitors who make cable modem, why is 3COM so special? Almost every household has telephone line, but not too many households have cable service. In addition, the initial cost of subscribing to internet cable service is going to be high. Subscribers not only have to pay for the internet access, they have to get basic cable service first. In addition, how many people really need the speed of cable modem if all they do is to read emails and browse the net with predominantly text data? Will the cost of the cable modem and internet cable service be justified? Won't a low-cost telephone-based modem do the job? Moreover, as more people are using cable modem, won't the speed bottleneck be on the line between the service provider and the internet and not on the line between the user and the service provider?" If/when I get the opportunity to sign up for ~1Mbit/s internet service via cable for ~$35 or less, I will do so happily. I know I'm only one person, but I bet there are enough others who would make a significant market even today. The interest in internet access will grow, and I think it will grow at approximately the same rate as CD audio. Randy

To: ben luong who wrote (10907)	12/1/1997 4:15:00 PM
From: Craig Schilling	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 45548

BL, Just a note to let you know that I have switched over to a cable modem (Time Warner) vice using telephone line/netcom. The cost is the same as my extra phone line/netcom and now I can hook four computers into the cable modem. I pay $49 a month unlimited use vice $48 for telepone/netcom and I have made a quantum leap in bandwidth. I am on the internet all day and can't believe I was even using a phoneline before. This is the future and people will begin to use it as they demand more bandwidth, look out video and sound on the web I can here the train coming. Craig P.S. The company I work for just bought a palm pilot for everyone (239) and though I have not spent much time using it it is another factor to consider in upcoming earnings. I'm not sure why our IT staff selected it over other models but they did do a lot of research on the matter.