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Technology Stocks : Westell WSTL -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Michael Iams who wrote (10131)	4/11/1998 2:12:00 AM
From: P1edPiper	Respond to of 21342

>>>WSTL vs Netspeed Excellent question and from a discrete technical sense I cannot give you a definitive answer and in my infinite engineering wisdom must pursue the answer. Too often I focus on the company's involved for stock profit/loss reasons and forget to delve deeply into the obvious, like who built a better processor -- Intel x86 or Mot 68K and why. Interesting question to those computer hacks out there, what makes one of those CPUs better than the other, fundamentally? >>>Westell has an advantage on the CO side because of its close ties with the RBOCs, WSTL's advantage exists because of their early entry and its previous experience with RBOCs but I would not call them close ties. Not too long ago the company wrestled with their best RBOC customers to win them back inthe NIU business. So if the RBOC can almost kiss them bye for that, they certainly can do it in ADSL, a market they have not won or has not developed itself. The other advantage is those obvious contracts, but witness GTE they can go away with nothing to show for. However, I will agree with Trey M and others here that GTE is not all that serious with deployment for the next 9 months at a minimum. So if the Telechoice news is for GTE, be happy for the GTE/ORCTF folks and go ahead and BUY WSTL if you get weakness. BA and BT will far exceed GTE over the next twelve months and that other carrier will easily compete with the GTE numbers in '98/99. Now, don't let me paint some YAHOO of a picture because that is criminally insane, WSTL still has to deliver for this to pan out. The news though will push the stock well as it develops this spring. >>Cisco's acquisition of Netspeed, they are a major player Is CSCO not a major player any wherein the networking sector ? NO Is CSCO a major player in the loop of Telcos? NO Is CSCO a major player in the consumer modem market? NO So where does ADSL fit in these questions and where does WSTL? I think ADSL first plays in the CO( and later in the networking sector) for profit and in the home for recognition. So let AWRE(if they can), COMS, ROK,INTC,whoever get the recognition and let WSTL get the profit in the CO. CSCO can still have some since they provide all the ISPs with equipment. You have a telephone, right? Maybe some cheapo no-name from Walmart --- not Tellabs, ok? Tellabs makes CO equipment (not phone switches, in particular) and hefty profits. The cheapo no-name makes a commodity product with no margin -- kinda like your Easter Ham. Enjoy it for what it is worth, but when you want the dough in your pocket -- go for the equipment supplier of choice, TLAB for telco eq. (LU,ADC also do well here) and WSTL for DSLAMs (ADSL). All I know now is that WSTL is that supplier for Bell Atlantic, the single largest provider of telephone service in the US. And they are one of two choices for the BT people. What do the others have today? Orckit has GTE (i don't get my service from them), Bell South and JPC are ALA (and they have announced what size of deployment and have their trials gone well?), CSCO has landed in US west for now and their deployment is based on high prices at this point. Now I think we must wait to see what blockbuster deployment is announced, but I like WSTL's position right now.