Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Chris Stovin who wrote (5416)	7/2/1998 9:39:00 PM
From: pat mudge	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 18016

From tomorrow's Financial Times [note Energis mentioned at end]: <<< FRIDAY JULY 3 1998ÿÿTelecomsÿ UK operator's shares jump Figures for growth exceed analysts most optimistic expectations and lift share prices in the sector, reports Alan Cane Shares in the UK's principal telecommunications operators rose to record levels yesterday on expectations that growth in mobile phones and data communications will exceed the most optimistic predictions. Figures from mobile operators indicated that half the population will have a mobile phone by 2002, two years earlier than expected. At present, 16 per cent of people in the UK have a mobile phone. Shares in Orange, the youngest of the UK's four mobile operators, broke œ7 for the first time before settling back at 680p, a rise of 5 per cent on the day, after it announced a net increase of 132,000 subscribers in the past quarter. The market had expected 125,000 net additions. Orange has 1.45m subscribers. Vodafone, the largest UK cellular operator, closed at 819p, 23p ahead after touching 849p at one point. It reinforced its market leading position, adding a net increase of 206,000 subscribers in the past three months. It has 3.64m customers in the UK, almost 500,000 more than Cellnet, the second largest operator, which added 79,000 subscribers in the period for a total of 3.16m. Cellnet has been struggling with management and systems problems in the past few months, including the lack of a pre-pay tariff. Analysts believe that under new management the worst is over and that subscriber numbers will grow. British Telecommunications has a 60 per cent stake in Cellnet. Its shares closed 20p up at 765p, but analysts believe this is as much because of its potential in the booming data communications market as its cellular interests. One-2-One moved into operating profit in April and seems to be on track to move into profit by the end of 1999. The company has recovered sharply from slow growth caused by management errors. It added a net 160,000 customers last quarter to reach a total of 1.36m subscribers. One-2-One and Orange, operate systems designed for residential customers while Vodafone and Cellnet were established primarily for business customers. Analysts yesterday agreed that the market was accelerating. John Tysoe, mobile phone specialist at Soci‚t‚ Gen‚rale Strauss Turnbull, said that evidence from Scandinavia showed that once penetration reached 15 per cent to 16 per cent, it accelerated to the 50 per cent point, which is roughly the degree of penetration achieved by fixed wire telephones. James Ross, telecoms analyst with ABN Amro, said mobile share prices were justified by the potential of convergence between mobile and fixed wire telephony. The price of fixed wire companies such as Energis and BT were justified by the growing demand for data communicatio>>>>