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Technology Stocks : COMS & the Ghost of USRX w/ other STUFF -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Scrapps who wrote (14942)	4/22/1998 7:51:00 AM
From: Xpiderman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22053

3Com Looks To Take Lead In New Voice-Data Market Date: 4/22/98 Author: Michele Hostetler Investors Business Daily 3Com Corp. will take a big step this summer in its quest to become the top player in the emerging voice-data network market. It will release its first products from a key partnership forged last year with Siemens AG . Hopes are high for 3Com, the second- largest seller of networking gear. Cisco Systems Inc. is No. 1. ''Our fundamental strategy is leadership in converged networks,'' said 3Com Chief Executive Officer Eric Benhamou. ''The whole company is aimed at that goal.'' Networks that transmit both data and voice might soon be ready for center stage. Analysts aren't convinced customers need these products yet, but networking companies are positioning for when they do. Aside from Cisco, 3Com's major rivals in this arena include two leaders in the voice field: Northern Telecom Ltd. and Lucent Technologies Inc. In April, another rival emerged. Ascend Communications Inc., a maker of networking gear, said it's making voice-data products. The market is so new that 3Com can quickly dominate, Benhamou says. ''We're very excited about this (converged network) trend because we think it will be the major driving trend for the next couple of years, perhaps longer,'' Benhamou said. ''It's driven by fundamental economical cost benefits.'' For customers, convergence cuts networking costs and increases features. Instead of separate voice and data lines connecting their networked computers, a single line does both. The converged network gives users such features as the ability to check voice mail through their PCs. But 3Com's plans put it on a collision course with an old adversary. Cisco, too, wants to lead in voice-data. And CEO John Chambers says Cisco is ahead of the game. Benhamou disagrees. ''I think the rhetoric is ahead of the reality,'' he said. Analysts don't necessarily give the edge to either networking company. Lucent could be the one to beat, says George Kelly, an analyst with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. in New York. The maker of telecom products has been moving fast into the data field. One example: Last year it bought modem maker Livingston Enterprises Inc. ''I think what they're doing is cooking up a strategy to make the industry take notice,'' Kelly said. Meanwhile, the other leading networking company, Bay Networks Inc., isn't moving quickly into voice-data convergence. ''I don't think there's a very real change near term,'' said David House, Bay's CEO. House says the trend toward voice-data convergence could hurt Bay in the long term if it doesn't have such products, ''but it certainly won't impact our business as it exists today.'' 3Com's products made with Siemens include a gateway - an entrance to and from a network - that lets voice and video flow between Internet Protocol networks and telephone networks. IP is the Internet language also used on internal corporate networks, or intranets, which are based on the Internet. In addition, 3Com is developing a new networking switch to help traffic move faster on voice-data networks. It prioritizes information and reserves needed bandwidth for intensive video and graphics. Large corporate customers are the first market for voice-data networks. 3Com partnered with Canada's Newbridge Networks Corp. in January to boost 3Com's sales to large corporate customers, Newbridge's stronghold. The alliance with Siemens is strategic, while the Newbridge partnership is tactical, says John Armstrong, an analyst with market researcher Dataquest Inc. But Newbridge customers could decide to evaluate all networking firms, rather than automatically go with 3Com, says Lee Doyle, an analyst with International Data Corp. Alliances may not send a strong enough message to the large accounts, Doyle says. ''I think 3Com is in a better position if they can own their own products in that area rather than (rely on) partnerships,'' he said. 3Com disagrees. The Newbridge relationship ''is very important for us,'' Benhamou said. ''It gives us a great market share expansion opportunity.''

To: Scrapps who wrote (14942)	4/29/1998 9:06:00 AM
From: DMaA	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 22053

Just back from your beautiful state and I didn't mark even one tree (though I took a leak in the ocean Monday). I can report there really are bowers of flowers blooming this spring. As a flat lander I am always impressed with how 3 dimensional CA is. I can never get enough of palm trees. Can't imagine how you all deal with the traffic and still stay so nice. What's this about SI merging with someone? Didn't see a lot of comments about it scanning through the 100 some posts last week.