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Strategies & Market Trends : Market Gems:Stocks w/Strong Earnings and High Tech. Rank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jenna who wrote (13375)	8/25/1998 8:31:00 AM
From: Jenna	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 120523

Data Feed is up a little early today.. already there are some upgrades/downgrades, stories, etc. early morning trading: LIZ, TLAB, CIEN,ERICY, WCOM,MCIC trading higher

To: Jenna who wrote (13375)	8/25/1998 8:32:00 AM
From: Jeff Jordan	Respond to of 120523

Jenna, Infoseek looks good here...as a new online provider and with the Disney deal going forward. biz.yahoo.com infoseek.com SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1998 AUG 24 (NB) -- By Bob Woods, Newsbytes. Putting a twist on the phrase "better late than never" when it comes to the Internet access/online portal service arena, Infoseek Corp. [NASDAQ:SEEK] appears to be capitalizing on its last place entry into the growing market by undercutting its competitors' introductory pricing. The new "Infoseek Online powered by AT&T WorldNet" service is priced at $9.95 a month for the first three months, for 150 hours of service. After the first three months, the service will be $19.95 a month for 150 hours of Internet access. Additional hours cost $0.99 each under either plan. With Infoseek Online, customers can get nationwide access through AT&T's WorldNet service as well as a co-branded version of Infoseek's home page, officials said. Infoseek also launched its "Communications Center," giving users one- click access to AT&T's advanced Web tools that, among other things, will let surfers transform an online keyboard chat into a live conversation, or set up and control a conference call without having to call an operator. Discounted AT&T long distance service is also available in the new Communications Center. Infoseek's move is by no means unique: Lycos, Excite and Yahoo -- all of which compete for pairs of eyeballs in the hot portal market -- have dial-up online services that use their respective portal Web sites as starting points for their respective customer bases. What's more, Lycos and Excite also use AT&T WorldNet as their dial-up provider. An AT&T spokesperson said that Lycos' and Excite's services are already up and running. Lycos is charging $12.95 a month for the first three months for 150 hours of online access, an AT&T official said. After the three month introductory period, Lycos will raise the tariff to the standard AT&T WorldNet rate of $19.95 per month for the first 150 hours. Excite's pricing schedule is a bit more complicated. "Excite Online Powered by AT&T WorldNet Service" is priced at the "teaser" rate $14.95 per month for 150 hours. How long that $14.95 per month rate lasts depends on which telecommunications company a customer selects to provide their long distance services. AT&T residential long distance customers will pay the rate for 12 months, while Net surfers who have other long distance companies will shell out $14.95 a month for six months. After those time frames, customers are expected to pay $19.95 per 150 hour month -- the same rate paid by AT&T WorldNet Service and Lycos customers. Each additional hour above the 150 threshold costs $0.99 with either the Lycos or Excite offerings, officials said. In addition, Lycos and Excite offer the "enhanced" AT&T services also introduced by Infoseek. And Yahoo is testing a voice-enabled version of Yahoo's chat site, and is offering various AT&T long distance services. A noted telecommunications analyst has said that AT&T is the "most leading edge that (it) has ever been," with its portal online deals. Telecom industry analyst and noted author Jeffrey A. Kagan said that AT&T is "preparing for the future" with its various marketing agreements, which are non-exclusive on all sides, he noted. "This is the most creative I've seen (AT&T), ever," Kagan said. "AT&T finally realized that the Internet is where the future lies." Telecom providers' marketing involvement with the Internet is just on the ground floor, Kagan said, and there's a long way to go before critical mass is reached. "They're (telecom providers) still at the crawling stage," he said. "They're still feeling their way around. We're nowhere near the photo finish." "Companies like AT&T used to have five to ten-year (marketing) plans," Kagan said. "But the Internet has changed all of that. Internet opportunities are very short lived. A telephone company could come up with a great service and then live off of it for several years. But in 'Internet time,' you're looking at opportunities that are months old, and then they have to be reinvented." Relationships among companies would not have to be reworked, he said, but they will continue to evolve "to where what they're offering today may not be what they'd offer in six months to a year from now." In addition, telecom companies should look at these agreements with more of a long term goal instead of short term: While the Internet is in a niche phase now, it will become a significant part of peoples' lives in the next few years, he said. "You can either prepare now, or react later and play catch-up," Kagan added. Reported By Newsbytes News Network: newsbytes.com . Jeff