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.

Microcap & Penny Stocks : FRANKLIN TELECOM (FTEL) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mitch Aunger who wrote (24888)	1/12/1998 10:31:00 AM
From: topwright	Respond to of 41046

Mitch that's right, Bam Bam Peters and Pebbles West. ggggg RB

To: Mitch Aunger who wrote (24888)	1/12/1998 10:32:00 AM
From: Eric Maggard	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 41046

Interesting article on WorldCom this AM: Monday January 12 10:11 AM EST WorldCom to Launch Telecoms Services in Japan By Yuko Inoue TOKYO (Reuters) - Telecom giant WorldCom Inc. said Monday it was planning a major push into Japan's telecommunications market, in a move likely to heat up competition and spark mergers in an already unsettled sector. WorldCom's Japan unit said it would lay fiber optic cable networks in Tokyo and other big cities and would launch services after the telecom sector is deregulated, perhaps around early March. A source at WorldCom said the company's initial Japan investment was likely be nearly 10 billion yen ($75.7 million). "We will be able to offer more competitive tariffs (rates) than Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. and other Japanese phone operators because WorldCom has the know-how to build facilities at low cost," a spokesman at the Japanese unit said. WorldCom has been aggressive in its recent expansion and last year outbid British Telecommunications Plc to seal a $36.5 billion takeover of MCI Communications Corp. With estimated annual sales of $32 billion, the new "MCI WorldCom" is expected to become the second-biggest long-distance telephone operator in the United States after AT&T Corp. WorldCom will be the first foreign operator to make a full-fledged entry into the Japanese market using its own facilities, following Tokyo's decision last year to lift restrictions on foreign ownership in the industry. The deregulation was agreed upon at the World Trade Organization and despite delays, is expected to take effect around March. The spokesman said WorldCom aimed to offer cut-rate telephone and data transmission services for foreign financial institutions and other multinationals operating in Japan. Analysts say WorldCom's entry poses little threat to the giant NTT group, which claims more than 75 percent of Japan's telecom market, but will deal a blow to smaller firms counting on data and multimedia services as future sources of income. "Japan Telecom Co. Ltd., which is expanding in the corporate service market, may find it hard to compete against WorldCom, which is experienced in offering efficient international services," said one analyst, who asked not to be identified. He said more and more foreign operators would follow WorldCom into Japan, possibly acquiring a combined 10 percent market share in the next three to four years. Business customers are seen as the main target for foreign operators since they spend more and are easier to serve than residential customers, many of whom live in remote areas. In addition, Japanese banks and securities companies are hastening plans for increased use of computers and for building international networks ahead of deregulation in the financial that is scheduled to start on April 1. Japan decided last year to restructure industry leader NTT in mid-1999, allowing the group to offer local, long-distance, international and other services through several units. Consolidation in Japan's telecommunications industry has been intensifying since then, as smaller companies try to gear up to become one-stop providers of everything from telephone services to Internet access in order to compete against NTT. In October 1997, long-distance operator Japan Telecom merged with overseas carrier International Telecom Japan. Late last year, Japan's biggest international operator, Kokusai Denshin Denwa Co., and long-distance operator Teleway Japan Corp. signed a preliminary agreement to merge in October 1998.