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Technology Stocks : VocalTec (VOCL) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Don Walster who wrote (1395)	5/4/1998 11:22:00 AM
From: David Wiggins	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2349

Feedback from VocalTec re. RSL/Ericcson below: You wrote: Claudia, If you would be so kind, what role ,if any, does VocalTec play in today's RSL european announcement? Up until now, we have understood that VocalTec was RSL's supplier for gateways.ÿ Things have been kinda negative on the investor front lately.ÿ Is there any good news/ sales/etc. to report?ÿ Thanks in advance for any reply.ÿ Regards,ÿ Dave Wiggins -----Original Message----- As you are aware, Ericsson made an announcement in connection with the RSL european venture that they are working with Delta Three.ÿ Delta Three is still an active and valued customer of VocalTec and they have been involved with several vendors for some time.ÿ Ericsson has close ties to Delta's parent company, RSL, from switches for the traditional business.ÿ They are a logical choice as a "second source"ÿ supplier for Delta Three, particularly in an area where RSL is going head-to-head with Deutsche Telekom.ÿ Having more than one vendor for vital equipment, software and/or services is customary and, obviously, prudent.ÿÿ Any implications that Delta Three hasÿ totally replaced VocalTec with Ericsson is erroneous. Please keep in mind that, as the market matures, it is unrealistic to think that VocalTec would retain 100% of every customer's business and it likely that we will see more multiple vendor situations.ÿ These announcements should be interpreted as "good" for the industry as a whole and not inherently "bad" for VocalTec.ÿ VocalTec management does believe there is likely to be a shakeout soon with weaker vendors falling by the wayside, but they are determined to keep VocalTec in the group of top contenders. VocalTec has said that the service provider sector of the market is moving faster than the enterprise side and management is confident about its competitive situation with both "Next Generation" and traditional telcos. During the review of first quarter results, management noted that VocalTec is in the game in almost every selection process currently underway; the feedback is good and VocalTec is making the "short lists" alongside the big guys from both the telecom equipment and networking sides. I'm afraid life may become more frustrating for everyone in the "good news" department going forward because, when some of the major telcos involved in tenders make their vendor selection, there may not be any announcements made. Bear in mind, the players in this space are a mix of very large and very small companies.ÿ In a lot of cases, it is the very large companies who are in the position of deciding whether or not to do business with the very small companies, and they consider their plans (and in some cases even the very fact that they are involved in IP communications at all) top secret.ÿÿ I applaud you for doing your due diligence, and we will do our very best to be responsive to your requests for information, but please evaluate all the information you see from the variety of sources you have at your disposal in light of the basic fact that many of the key participants in this market currently have neither the need, the desire, nor the legal obligation to disclose "what's going on" and it is not up to VocalTec to do it for them.ÿ This creates a practical limitation on our ability to give you a "complete" picture at any given moment. I hope this helps clarify the situation. Sincerely, Claudia Gatlin