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

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (55)	6/3/1998 10:09:00 AM
From: Bill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 173

At least one analyst gets it: Analysts Sour On Sprint Network Plans (06/02/98; 8:24 p.m. ET) By Mo Krochmal, TechWeb Technology analysts are unsure whether Sprint can pull off the ambitious network plans it unveiled in New York Tuesday, and some went so far as to accuse the telecommunications company of promoting services it may not be able to offer. Sprint rolled out its Integrated On-Demand Network strategy, a plan implemented in partnership with Cisco and Bellcore to provide "virtually unlimited bandwidth" over single telephone lines. The strategy lets users sit down at a communications buffet and gobble up buckets of bits using data, voice, and video over existing copper lines. The plan depends on Sprint being able to buy capacity on the local data networks that many of the regional Bell operating companies (RBOCs) are planning to build. Calling it an "integrated on-demand network," Sprint plans to sell it as one-wire-does-it-all, using one network connection for multiple phone lines, access to the Internet, and advanced data services. The offering will be made to large businesses later this year, general business clients later next year, and residential consumers in late 1999. The announcement was made at a Broadway theater, with a cast of actors acting out scenarios in a multimedia presentation. "This is smoke and mirrors, covering up a bad earnings announcement," said David Goodtree, director of telecom strategies for Forrester Research, a Cambridge, Mass., research company. "They were not creditable. They threw in every networking buzzword in a grand concept of fuzziness. There is nothing there." Goodtree said he could not see what magic bullet Sprint had that other telcos like AT&T, MCI, Bell Atlantic, Quest, and Williams did not.

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (55)	6/4/1998 2:34:00 PM
From: Gemini	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 173

Frank, I came across the following in Yahoo's FON message center. Does this have any credibility??????? Here is why Sprint is the winner over the long term. All they need to do it try to start the service in about 7 major cities. One city in each local telco territory. Ask each local telco to provide a copper pair for a customer. Ask each telco to provide floor space for Sprint ION equipment. Ask for a blanket agreement from each local company to provide copper pairs to the customer and floor space in all their offices. If a company balks, Sprint can claim the local market is not open to competition and the local company will never get permission to enter the toll business. This all may already be in progress. Any refusal or stalling by the local company will be mentioned to the regulators. The local company almost must co-operate. However, if they do co-operate, Sprint will now have a high speed pipe into the residence or business. The local company may wind up with no more than the lease money from the local copper pair. With number portability technology, the existing local service can even be handled by Sprint. Sprint has so much capacity that they can haul the local calls out of the area and bring them back. Toll calls can be very cheap for Sprint to handle. They will be paying the local company nothing extra for help in the origination of the call. If the called customer is a Sprint ION customer, they can complete the call without paying any fees to a local company. Yes, this could be a win for Sprint and their stockholders. This sounds like Star Wars to me. Comments?????? Allan