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Technology Stocks : Qwest Communications (Q) (formerly QWST) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Roger Hess who wrote (1190)4/30/1998 8:40:00 AM
From: John S. Baker  Respond to of 6846
 
> The line comes to the home and into a 'black box'. From the box, one line goes to my TV, one to my phone, one to my PC. Each line is fiber. Why don't the telcos get in to the service of providing TV to the home? Why don't the cable companies provide telephone service to the home?


Is anyone out there working on this 'black box'? Also, it looks like a tremendous market for installing fiber optics to the home. I'm about 2000' from the closest fiber. Are there any companies other than the local telco working on providing fiber the last mile? I would see this as a tremendous market, too. <


This is currently being done in the southern California areas served by Cox cable.


We get multi-channel (128?) TV via the cable. We can get InterNet access via cable modem (Road-Runner?) through a joint venture between Cox and "@Home". Cox has a joint venture with SPrint to provide PCS phone service (CDMA, of course). Cox has a joint venture with Frontier? to provide long distance service. And in some areas we can get local phone service as well. I recently toured Cox's Customer Service Center in San Diego and the tour guide (a management person) told us that in the areas of Orange County (between San Diego and Los Angeles) where Cox's local phone service has been in place for 6 months or more, they had a penetration rate of more than 8%. I consider this phenomenal.


They are not yet at the point of providing a single bill for all of these services, but they interlink nice discounts if you maintain your Cox basic cable service. For instance, my wife's PCS phone was basically free, due to the various discounts, because we are Cox cable subscribers.




To: Roger Hess who wrote (1190)4/30/1998 2:52:00 PM
From: ArnieC  Read Replies (3) | Respond to of 6846
 
QWST does have great long distance rates. 10 cents/minute any time of day and NO per month charge. Their weak points are they bill separately from the local telephone supplier and their customer service is slow. With good publicity this company ought to grow.
Arnie



To: Roger Hess who wrote (1190)5/2/1998 9:30:00 PM
From: Doug (Htfd,CT)  Respond to of 6846
 
Roger, much of what you suggest is in the works, with telcos entering delivery of "cable TV" and cable companies entering 'local loop' telephony. Its happening today in a few select cities, and Bill Gates' recent investment in a a cable company indicates his intention to push the convergence.

QWest's situation is far more complicated, and controversial, although the current issue of Wired magazine has a feature article that addresses QWest's ongoing projects well.

For some more detailed technical and economic background on the industry that QWest is in (wholesale bandwidth), I suggest strongly that you take the time to read George Gilder's "Telecosm" series at Forbes ASAP ( forbes.com ) and those issues of the Gilder Technology Report archived at gildertech.com The March 1998 issue of GTR is the one which addresses QWest most directly, although it is not yet available except to subscribers ($295/year for 12 issues). Much of GTR's content is published in the Forbes ASAP issue released about 6 - 8 weeks after the GTR, so the coming (June) issue of ASAP scheduled for release May 18 may contain a lot about QWest.

The most recent ASAP Gilder installment available free online is a good start, found at: forbes.com

Another particularly useful article is his February 1997 GTR, available online at gildertech.com and entitled "The Dark Fiber Paradigm" which discusses his views of the impact of "The Law of the Telecosm," which is that the total bandwidth of communications systems will triple every year for the next 25 years, and "Metcalf's Law," which is that the cost effectiveness of networks grows in exponential proportion to the number and power of terminals compatably attached to them.

Gilder is not casual reading. He is both highly respected and controversial, but unknown to many, even in the field of technology. Many dismiss his opinions before gauging the extent to which "preposterous" things he was saying five years ago (still online today) have come true.

In the January 1998 GTR, entitled "The Dumb Network Paradigm" he said, "...the revolution is underway. Bet on abundance wherever you can find its purveyers. Bet QWest and WorldCom."

Doug (no position in QWest)



To: Roger Hess who wrote (1190)5/4/1998 10:40:00 AM
From: robert heisman  Respond to of 6846
 
Roger, Please look at the Interaxx Technologies thread (INAX) they are
all about what you are seeking. This company is a new start-up organization that has come out of the old Interaxx Television Network.
They basically control the patents for exactly what you want. Their box is capable of going both ways. You might like to do some due diligence on them and you will find if you Contact Jim Deegan the CEO/PRES. he will be more than happy to explain what we have done and are doing. Jim can be reached at 1-800-766-0237 Please tell him that I
asked you to call (Bob Heisman) as I sit on the SHAREHOLDER ADVISORY COMMITTEE which will help you to get to him.

Interaxx trades OTC-BB under symbol "INAX"