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To: djane who wrote (50512)	7/29/1998 12:57:00 AM
From: djane	Respond to of 61433

Cisco sticking to acquisition guns news.com By Reuters Special to CNET NEWS.COM July 28, 1998, 4:45 p.m. PT Shrugging off recent telecommunications megamergers, Cisco Systems said today that it will stick to its smaller growth-by-acquisition program. The San Jose, California-based networking equipment maker then underscored that point by announcing that it has acquired Summa Four, a programmable switch provider, in a $116 million stock deal. "Our sweet spot still is bringing relatively smaller companies into the fold and leveraging these technologies that they have to help us achieve our cause," said Mike Volpi, Cisco's VP of business development. The company has said previously that it wants to broaden its product line so it can offer customers one-stop shopping for networking gear. While noting that Cisco remains open to all opportunities, Volpi said the Summa deal is in the spirit of Cisco's strategy. Cisco has acquired 26 companies since September 1993 and, this year alone, has purchased five at a combined cost of just over $600 million. "Acquisitions are very much almost like part of a product launch, where we can take this stream of great technology that's being developed and blend them in [with Cisco's technology], introduce them rapidly, and ramp up the revenue stream,'' Volpi said. The acquisition of Summa will enable Cisco to offer telephony applications to new and existing Internet Service Providers, as well as extend its services to a voice-over-IP (Internet protocol) infrastructure. Cisco customers expect to receive services on top of the voice-over-IP network that the company provides, Volpi said. Summa's products allow its customers, which include telephone carriers and ISPs, to offer enhanced voice services, like 800 numbers, caller ID, and pre-paid calling cards. "The combination of the two companies will allow us to give our customers a [product] where they can take a complete enhanced service offering and a voice-over-IP offering and sell that to their customers," Volpi said. Volpi described the new $10 billion alliance between AT&T and British Telecommunication, who together will build from scratch an IP-based global network, as "tremendously complementary to Cisco's operations. "Two of our largest customers are coming together and saying the technology that Cisco has been building for the Internet for ten years is the technology of the future that we are betting on," he said. "[The AT&T/BT deal] is absolute music to our ears." Cisco said voice-over-IP systems have been deployed in around 20 of Cisco's carrier and provider customers, all of whom currently are offering services. Summa Four president and chief executive Robert Degan, who will join Cisco's network-to-user business unit, said he expects the deal to close within 60 to 90 days. Story Copyright c 1998 Reuters Limited All rights reserved.

To: djane who wrote (50512)	7/29/1998 1:00:00 AM
From: djane	Respond to of 61433

New Galileo Chip Family Could Wipe Out Hubs ebnonline.com (4:50 p.m. EDT, 7/28/98) By Mark LaPedus After recently rolling out its new LAN-switch controller line, Galileo Technology Ltd. next month plans to turn the market upside again down by announcing entry-level parts that will allow switch OEMs to displace shared-media hubs. The new versions of Galileo's GalNet-II chip family will allow switch OEMs to build 10/100-Mbit/s products as low as $4 to $5 per port--roughly equal or below that of traditional shared-media hubs in the field, according to some analysts. ''This would be phenomenal,'' said Richard Faust, an analyst with Kaufman Brothers L.P., New York. ''The current GalNet-II products (rolled out earlier this month) are targeted for mid-range to high-end workgroups, but the company's new parts would get them in the lower-end of the market. I could see this as a product that (would enable OEMs to) replace hubs.'' Galileo, based in Karmiel, Israel, is expected to disclose more details about the new products next month. The company, whose current GalNet-II family of products brought new price/performance levels in the market for switch OEMs, hopes to move back on the fast track following a tough quarter. Last week, Galileo reported a net of $11.4 million for the second quarter of 1998, compared to $8.4 million in the like period a year ago. Sales, however, were down 25% from the first quarter of 1998. Meanwhile, net income for the quarter increased to $3.1 million, compared to a profit of $2.3 million for the corresponding quarter last year. Net sales for the first six months of 1998 were $26.5 million, as compared to $12.8 million for the first six months of 1997. Net income for the first six months of 1998 was $8.4 million, as compared to net income of $2.7 million for the first six months of 1997. ''Q2 was a difficult quarter for Galileo Technology, as we dealt with the declining demand in the 10-Mbps Ethernet market and began transitioning customers to our new products,'' stated Avigdor Willenz, Galileo's Chairman and CEO, in a prepared statement sent out last week. Analysts were bullish about the company's prospects, however. ''Next quarter we be flat for Galileo,'' Faust said. ''but I think they will have solid growth (in the fourth quarter of 1998).'' All material on this site Copyright c 1998 CMP Media Inc. All rights reserved.

To: djane who wrote (50512)	7/29/1998 1:04:00 AM
From: djane	Respond to of 61433

8/17/98 Fortune. 10 Stocks to Get You There. Nice quote from CSCO section -- "The networking game is only in the second or third nning." pathfinder.com Part 4: Technology Nelson D. Schwartz Technology Projected 3- to 5-year earnings growth Microsoft Not even the U.S. government will stop Microsoft's growth. 25% Cisco Systems As Internet usage grows, so will Cisco's profits. 30%-35% S&P 500 8% Just about every investor today agrees that you need to have tech stocks in your portfolio. No other sector has the potential to grow as fast. Unfortunately, Wall Street is littered with tech wrecks once confidently touted as the next Microsoft. That's why the original Microsoft should be a core holding for any long-term investor. Yes, the company's stunning profit increases will slow somewhat. And yes, the Department of Justice's attack could distract Bill Gates and the software giant's other top managers, though recent court decisions suggest the government has little chance of loosening Microsoft's grip on software. But no other big company--not even Coke or Intel--enjoys Microsoft's combination of market dominance and growth potential. There's much more to this story, though. Lehman Brothers analyst Michael Stanek notes that "Microsoft is entering the most lucrative new-product cycle in its history." The release of Windows 98 in late June has already far surpassed initial estimates. But the next big thing is Windows NT 5.0, whose promise is gigantic. This industrial-strength program is aimed at corporate networks and has the potential to take a big chunk out of the $60 billion to $80 billion market for enterprise software. That's roughly five times Microsoft's current revenue base. So even 20% of that niche could double Microsoft's revenues. This bevy of new products also creates a high degree of what analysts call "earnings visibility," so Microsoft is much less likely to deliver an ugly, wealth-destroying surprise than other tech stocks. And like Merck, Microsoft's sheer size should help its performance. The software giant now equals 3.1% of the value of the S&P 500, so index funds have to buy plenty of shares. Cisco Systems, our second tech choice, has much in common with Microsoft. This networking-gear giant is fast becoming the dominant player on nearly every level of its market. And like Microsoft, Cisco is a fearsome competitor with a long history of either buying or beating any company that threatens its dominance. In addition, as Internet usage grows, so will demand for Cisco's routers, switches, and other Internet backbone equipment. And recent deals like AT&T's purchase of TCI could mean hundreds of millions in new business for Cisco as Ma Bell upgrades and expands TCI's outdated cable infrastructure. Cisco's profit growth will probably slow--but merely from white-hot to red. Conrad Herrmann, manager of the Franklin California Growth fund, estimates that Cisco's earnings will grow over 30% annually during the next three to five years, more than three times as fast as the typical S&P 500 company's. Says Herrmann: "Cisco today is like Intel at the dawn of the microprocessor revolution. The networking game is only in the second or third inning." \| Introduction \| Global Brands \| Pharmaceuticals \| Technology \| Banking \| Euro Stocks \| Issue date: August 17, 1998

To: djane who wrote (50512)	7/29/1998 1:08:00 AM
From: djane	Respond to of 61433

Frontier Builds First Coast-to-Coast OC-48c IP Network Frontier's Advanced Optronics Network Demonstrates Commitment To Business Needs of the Future SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Frontier GlobalCenter, the data and Internet arm of Frontier Corporation (NYSE:FRO), announced today plans to deploy Internet Protocol (IP) over a nationwide OC-48c network. Built as a segment within the Frontier Optronics network, the OC-48c IP network layer is expected to be the fastest and most efficient coast-to-coast IP network in the communications industry, moving data at 2.56 gigabits per second (Gbps) on a single strand of fiber. The OC-48c IP segment will be completed in the fourth quarter this year. Until now, carriers have not been able to deploy a coast-to-coast OC-48c IP network due to technology limitations caused by dependency upon legacy networks. Frontier is succeeding because of its commitment to deploy Internet Protocol, its expertise in managing an industry-leading data architecture -- digital distribution -- and its "future proofing" approach to building the highly scaleable and flexible Optronics network. Connecting 120 markets in the United States, the Frontier Optronics network uses the most advanced fiber optics with dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) creating "liquid bandwidth," a scaleable design that gives the network virtually unlimited capacity. Upon completion, the entire Optronics network will exceed a capacity of 460 Gigabits per second (Gbps). Such capacity can service any applications customers can deploy to support their business goals, now and well into the future. "This landmark OC-48c buildout of our IP infrastructure will dramatically improve the performance of data applications for our customers," said Doug Hickey, president of Frontier GlobalCenter. "By deploying IP over OC-48c, the fastest IP network technology possible today, Frontier is helping our customers take the quantum leap into a next era of data communications. Our customers will be light years ahead of their competition." Frontier's revolutionary OC-48c IP network layer will operate directly over the Optronics DWDM platform, bypassing network management layers that slow traffic on conventional networks. By running IP, the most robust communications protocol, directly over DWDM, Frontier takes full advantage of OC-48c capacity providing customers a faster and more effective network to support their current and future wide-area applications. Immediately upon deployment, the OC-48c IP network layer will become part of the Frontier GlobalCenter digital distribution architecture. This industry-leading data distribution backbone is used by thousands of Web sites, including more than 200 of the most popular World Wide Web destinations. The Frontier GlobalCenter digital distribution architecture currently handles over 500 million Internet hits a day and delivers more than 4.5 billion page views per month. Frontier GlobalCenter is complimenting its Optronics IP network with a comprehensive IP strategy that includes construction of "MegaCenters" or large scale state-of-the-art media distribution centers (MDCs), metropolitan OC-48c rings, and high-speed OC-12 connectivity to new public peering ATM switches at the MAEs. Frontier GlobalCenter is already integrating its eight domestic MDCs and digital distribution architecture with the Optronics network to provide customers the most efficient, reliable and cost effective platform to deliver Internet-based content and applications. "Forget all the acronyms and industry jargon," said Jonathan Heiliger, Frontier GlobalCenter's chief technology officer. "Basically we are future-proofing our network for customers, ensuring ultimate scalability."

To: djane who wrote (50512)	7/29/1998 1:17:00 AM
From: djane	Respond to of 61433

News.com and WSJ on PSINet VoIP announcement news.com By Erich Luening Staff Writer, CNET NEWS.COM July 28, 1998, 7:30 a.m. PT In an effort to mine a new niche beyond its usual data-networking market, Internet service provider PSINet today rolled out a new suite of voice-over-Internet protocol services for large corporate customers. PSIVoice, a set of voice-over-IP services for making phone calls using the Internet, challenges traditional phone line services by offering cheaper calls over the Web, the company claims. The company said the services are targeted at large companies looking to shave their long-distance telephone costs. The suite is made up of three separate services. Due to ship today, the iPEnterprise component is a service that provides companies with private branch exchanges, or internal corporate phone networks, that supply voice services for a flat-rate price, the company said. "iPEnterprise is designed for companies with branch offices, especially those that are growing rapidly or operate widely dispersed geographic locations. These customers need to lower their internal communications costs in order to compete globally," Pete Wills, PSINet's executive vice president and chief operating officer, said in a statement. iPEnterprise Plus will add voice communication to corporate extranets. PSINet's business customers will be able to share dialing codes and other features such as faxing, conference calling, and unified, or universal, messaging services, the company said. The final service of the suite is iPGlobal which will offer voice-over-IP services to the consumer market next year, once the company establishes the new product in the enterprise markets. PSINet plans to deploy gateways throughout its network to implement the iPGlobal service and interconnect with the public switched network. Using IP--the dominant transmission method for the Net--for voice calls has several benefits, most notably cost reductions gained by using residential settings. But the biggest stumbling block for voice-over-IP services so far has been sound quality, which currently lags traditional telephony services. ISPs and telephony providers are developing IP-based techology to help improve the clarity of calls made over the Internet. Various market researchers have pegged the market for hardware, software, and services that take advantage of cheaper IP-based voice transmissions for huge growth. International Data Corporation predicts a $20.5 billion opportunity for carriers in the IP telephony space by the year 2002. _________________________________________________________________ PSINet to Offer Phone Services Through Its Internet Arteries interactive.wsj.com By a WALL STREET JOURNAL Staff Reporter, July 28, 1998 HERNDON, Va. -- PSINet Inc., looking to expand beyond its data-network services, plans to offer telephone calls using its Internet arteries. PSINet shares have rocketed in recent days as investors have grown enamored of Internet-service provider stocks. In Nasdaq Stock Market trading Monday, PSINet fell 75 cents a share to $19.0625. That figure represents a climb of about 35% from a week ago. The company's latest move, expected to be announced Tuesday, underscores the competition to traditional phone service posed by players using Internet technology. "This is a lower-cost alternative," said Harold "Pete" Wills, PSINet's chief operating officer. "We can carry more traffic more efficiently." Corporate customers could see savings of 50%, he said. Traditional phone technology opens a dedicated connection from one caller to another over a switched network. Internet-based voice service breaks a call into tiny digital packets that find the most efficient route over a data network. Mr. Wills said calls on the PSINet services will be routed through the company's high-speed network, assuring "toll-quality" calls. PSINet plans to offer service between corporate customers' major locations immediately. Next year, service will expand to allow calls to any phone number. Return to top of page \| Format for printing Copyright c 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.