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Technology Stocks : Winstar Comm. (WCII) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: silicon warrior who wrote (8133)	9/3/1998 3:53:00 PM
From: MangoBoy	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12468

i didn't receive the text, only the headline. it was SteveG who posted the second half of the text.

To: silicon warrior who wrote (8133)	9/3/1998 4:25:00 PM
From: zebraspot	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 12468

Here's the full DJ story: >>Winstar CEO Says Poised To Deploy New Wireless System In 4Q By CRAIG KARMIN Dow Jones Newswires NEW YORK -- Winstar Communications Inc. (WCII) is on track to roll out a new wireless technology that will drastically reduce the cost of reaching new customers while increasing the company's capacity to transmit data, according to chairman and chief executive William J. Rouhana. The company recently concluded a five-month test run of its new point-to-multipoint system, which delivers telecommunication and data services over satellite dishes. Rouhana said that Winstar is now poised to offer this system in one or two markets by the fourth quarter of 1998, then rapidly expand into 40 markets by the end of 1999. "There are no hurdles to overcome," Rouhana told Dow Jones. "Everything we need to deploy the system is there." Winstar estimates this new technology will save it around $7,000 per building in installation costs, and allow it to offer customers such services as video on demand and high-speed data at lower prices. Rival telecommunications provider Teligent Inc. (TGNT) is also on the verge of deploying the new point-to-multipoint technology. The Vienna, Va.-based company anticipates a commercial launch in Los Angeles by the end of the month and a roll-out in some 15 markets by the end of the year, according to a company spokesman. More broadly, deployment of this new wireless technology represents a potential challenge to the fiber-optic delivery system that is the standard for most telecommunication companies. "The environment is extremely conducive right now to a company like Winstar," Rouhana said. "We can install the network at fraction of what its costs to put in a fiber-optic connection. And what takes fiber carriers months to do, we can connect in a matter hours or days." Not everyone, of course, is convinced of the virtues of the point-to-multipoint system. As with any new technology, analysts point out, there is an element of risk: In particular, some have wondered whether Winstar's antenna-based system could be adversely affected by weather in a way that underground fiber optics would not. Others say that Winstar may be overestimating the cost savings this technology will deliver. "The problem with point-to-multipoint has been the cost of access to individual buildings themselves - not the technology - and those costs can be extremely prohibitive," said Craig Ellis, a portfolio manager with Orbitex Management Inc. But Winstar officials maintain that the point-to-multipoint system has 99.999% reliability, on par with that of fiber optic systems. As for costs, officials said that the new system will allow Winstar to service 50 buildings for around $250,000 - $350,000 less than it would spend to hook up that number of sites under the existing point-to-point system, which Winstar employs in 27 markets. Both systems offer telecommunications and data services through wireless technology. But while point-to-point requires a set of antennas for each building, point-to-multipoint allows Winstar to serve multiple buildings from a single hub. Winstar, which has borrowed more than $1 billion in the junk bond market, also said it is fully financed to complete the roll-out of the point-to-multipoint network. -Craig Karmin; 201-938-2020;<<