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Technology Stocks : Ascend Communications (ASND) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Stimpson J. Cat who wrote (52449)	8/21/1998 2:31:00 AM
From: djane	Respond to of 61433

Mr. Cat, excellent points. I'll try to dissect it this weekend. I'm sure someone else will also do it before me.

To: Stimpson J. Cat who wrote (52449)	8/21/1998 2:34:00 AM
From: djane	Respond to of 61433

Ericsson Signs Breakthrough ATM Contract in China STOCKHOLM, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 19, 1998--Ericsson has signed a datacom contract with Shandong Sanlian Electronic Information Co. Ltd. of Sanlian Group, a back-bone enterprise association in Shandong Province supported by the provincial government. The contract covers a complete ATM Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) for Jinan, the provincial capital, and when fully installed, will be one of China's largest data networks. The order is valued at $10 million. Ericsson's new ATM switching platform, AXD 301, will be installed in the core of the network, that will serve more than 50,000 users. Sanlian Group is a trans-regional and inter-trade commercial group with its business covering nearly 80 trades. "The order has been won in heavy competition from other datacom suppliers and proves Ericsson's capabilities in this area. We are also very excited that Ericsson has been selected to build up one of China's largest data networks. This is clearly a breakthrough for our new ATM switching platform," says Michael Thurk, Executive Vice President and head of business unit Datacom Networks & IP Services. "The network is going to be China's most powerful MAN," says Mr.Zhang Jisheng, President of Sanlian Group. "Ericsson has a very good technical solution and we are very impressed by the performance of the AXD 301. In choosing Ericsson, their global and local presence in Shandong was also an important factor." "Sanlian Group has once again chosen Ericsson, building on the successful bilateral cooperation that began last year," said Mr. Zhang Xingsheng, Executive Vice President of Ericsson China. "However, without doubt it is the excellent performance of Ericsson ATM equipment in Sanlian's trial system and the relationship built on trust that have played the decisive role in this contract." The network consists of 13 AXD 301s in a core ATM backbone, connecting some 2,000 access nodes over high-speed (622 Mbits/s) fiber. Ericsson is using LAN-technology supplied from Bay Networks. The network will have a large number of services, such LAN-interconnect, video-on-demand, IP-telephony, Internet Access, E-mail and video broadcast. Installation, scheduled to begin in November of this year, will be phased. The first phase will be completed and providing full services in December and the entire network is expected to be in place by the first half of 1999. China is Ericsson's largest market globally. Ericsson China has more than 3,500 employees, 23 offices in different parts of the country and 8 joint ventures that provide a full range of communications solutions and services.

To: Stimpson J. Cat who wrote (52449)	8/21/1998 2:36:00 AM
From: djane	Respond to of 61433

NORTEL: Enhancement to remote services portfolio offers survivability, lower costs, simpler management Presswire - August 19, 1998 13:18 M2 PRESSWIRE-19 August 1998-NORTEL: Enhancement to Nortel remote services portfolio offers survivability, lower costs, simpler management (C)1994-98 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Nortel* (Northern Telecom) [NYSE: NT/TSE: NTL] today announced a significant enhancement to its remote services portfolio that helps enterprises improve efficiency and reduce costs by extending vital voice and data networking services from their main facilities to remote locations. Meridian* Mini-Carrier Remote is ideal for enterprises such as banks with branch offices, school districts and other organizations with distributed locations. With Mini-Carrier Remote, an organization can provide voice, data and multimedia solutions over T1 lines to remote sites by distributing a single Meridian 1* communication system, thereby simplifying management and lowering support costs. Larry Mueller, director of information services for the 32,000-student Montebello (Calif.) Unified School District, said, "A major advantage of Mini-Carrier Remote is that it will save a lot of money in the areas of long-term software maintenance and system administration, compared to the costs we would incur in supporting full switches at each site. Also, the survivability Mini-Carrier Remote offers is a big advantage." If the T1 link fails, 16 digital telephones per Mini-Carrier Remote at the remote site will continue to work until the link is restored. "We also have an issue because our district spreads across two phone company service areas, three area codes and six central-office service areas," Mueller added. "This makes Centrex services very expensive. But we avoid that with Mini-Carrier Remote because one Meridian 1 system is doing all the work from one spot." Meridian Mini-Carrier Remote consists of a local mini-carrier interface card on the Meridian 1 system's Intelligent Peripheral Equipment (IPE) shelf at the primary facility and a cabinet with remote interface card(s) at the remote site or sites. It supports as many as 128 users per card, and there can be as many as two Mini-Carrier Remote cards per IPE shelf. The product can extend Meridian 1 system features to remote offices located as far as 4,000 miles from the main site. It also supports fractional T1, so voice and data traffic can share the same T1 span, thereby cutting leased-line costs by reducing the number of required links. Meridian Mini-Carrier Remote is available now through standard Meridian sales channels. Information about Nortel products and distributors is available by calling 1-800-466-7835 or by accessing the Web at www.nortel.com. Nortel Power Networks* apply high-capacity, digital communications technology to meet customer needs through the integration of products and services including: Meridian 1 and Norstar* digital switching; Companion* wireless solutions; the Nortel Symposium* multimedia communications portfolio; Internet and intranet access and security products; Passport* and Micom* wide-area networking systems; and a portfolio of consumer products. Enterprise Networks is a business unit of Nortel, a diversified provider of market-leading communications equipment, services and network solutions for business, commerce and entertainment. Nortel had 1997 revenue of $US 15.5 billion and has approximately 73,000 employees worldwide. CONTACT: Carter Cromwell, Nortel Tel: +1 408 565-2835 e-mail: carterc@nt.com M2 COMMUNICATIONS DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR INFORMATION PROVIDED WITHIN M2 PRESSWIRE. DATA SUPPLIED BY NAMED PARTY/PARTIES. NT V%M2 P%M2PR

To: Stimpson J. Cat who wrote (52449)	8/21/1998 4:54:00 AM
From: bucky89	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 61433

Face it, LU already has ASND's product set. They just can't match ASND's quality and that is something they cannot buy. Stimpson, I disagree with you. LU has a core ATM switch but it is not multiservice. They do not have a multiservice ATM/FR/IP/VoIP/VoATM switch in the same class as the CBX500 and BSTX9000. They do not have a stable and proven IP switch like the GRF which has been in production for 2-3 years. They do not have any telecom customers for their data products (Yurie & Livingston products). Most importantly of all, they do not have expertise in IP nor a credible portfolio of IP data products. Trying to compete against Cisco without IP expertise is like going on an elephant hunt with a butterfly net. Lucent must be equipped for the coming war, and as of now they are not equipped. Sure, they could try to grow their own expertise and products. But if they know what's good for them, then they'll realize they don't have the time to do that. IMO, the future of the networking market will be determined in two years. If they don't have credible data products within that time frame that can respectably stand up against Cisco, then they will lose. Cisco owns the enterprise market today, and they will keep it for a LONG time. I work for a large corporation, and it's inconceivable that we could ever break away from Cisco. Now comes round two--the next battleground is the telecom market, and whoever wins it will keep it for a LONG time, until the next paradigm shift. Lucent/AT&T owned it for the past 40 years, but now comes the new data era. The winner receives the market share and profits, and the losers inherit the niche product segments. I believe Lucent realizes that too much is at stake, and they can't afford to gamble with their future. Ascend is the only company still standing which has successfully stood against the Cisco onslaught, and even beaten them in a few key markets. They need the experience, knowledge, and talent that Ascend (Cascade) has successfully put together. Now, does that mean they will dismantle Yurie and Livingston after buying Ascend? No, I don't think so. Rather, I believe Lucent will foster a competition among its divisons, and then slowly retire the weaker products while integrating the best features of the stronger products. This is not unheard of--it happens all the time at larger corporations like IBM and HWP. Now as far as Ascend, can they stand alone? Well yes, probably, but as a standalone company they will constantly be in a defensive posture, always focused on guarding and maintaining their lead in the ATM/Telecom market. To expand and attack Cisco would be to risk losing that focus. If Ascend wants to compete head-on with Cisco, they would need not two, but ten or so acquisitions, and with every acquisition comes the risk that they will lose focus and become distracted. Remember Bay Networks. Just a few thoughts I had... bucky89