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 : C-Cube -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Don Dorsey who wrote (35779)	9/9/1998 2:41:00 PM
From: BillyG	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Yahoo posters sued by company........ news.com

To: Don Dorsey who wrote (35779)	9/9/1998 4:29:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Divicom customer, Look TV.............................. Look TV wireless alternative to cable, satellite Andy Riga The Gazette -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Everybody hates a monopoly. Just ask Videotron, the victim of much bashing by customers frustrated by the company's stranglehold on the Montreal cable market and by its channel-packaging and pricing policies. But if an affordable alternative suddenly appeared, would those grumbling consumers switch? That's the question on Gilles Bourque's mind these days as he prepares to launch Look TV, a new wireless alternative to traditional cable-TV and direct-to-home satellite broadcasting that's coming to Quebec and Ottawa "within the next few months." Look TV, a product of Look Communications, a consortium led by Mont-real-based Teleglobe, has been up and running in Toronto since last month, offering up to 90 video and audio channels for up to $40 per month. "We're much more flexible than cable, and unlike satellite you don't have to buy anything," said Bourque, a vice-president of Look Communications. The company's 25 Montreal-based employees are busy installing four transmission antennas around the region and working on programming packages and marketing material. The preparations come as the two other digital alternatives to cable - ExpressVu and Star Choice, satellite services known as DTH - are cutting prices and beefing up offerings. Look uses Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service, a technology also known as wireless cable. It distributes video and audio signals from tall communication towers and buildings to subscribers using over-the-air microwave frequencies. Customers need special antennas and set-top boxes. An analog variation is already in use in parts of Western Canada. In recent months, digital services similar to Look's have been launched in Atlanta, Los Angeles and New Orleans. Because it uses a line-of-site technology, Look TV's signal can be blocked by buildings or tall trees. But Bourque figures at least 80 per cent of the Montreal region will be within the sights of one of Look's transmission towers. Like the DTH services, Look TV says it is tapping into widespread dissatisfaction with stiff cable grids. Why pay for channels you don't watch, they ask. Unlike cable-TV companies, which typically force you to pick from tiered programming packages, the new kids on the block let you to choose individual channels. Hate sports but love films? Take the movie channels and leave out TSN and ESPN. Look is positioning itself between cable's you'll-take-what-we-give-you offers and DTH's plenty-of-choices-but-a-high-up-front-cost offers. With ExpressVu (an arm of BCE, also the parent of Bell Canada) and Star Choice (of which Shaw Communications is the major shareholder), you have to buy a satellite dish, which can cost $600, plus $200 for the installation. Look TV factors the cost of the antenna and set-top box into its monthly fees, though consumers can choose to buy the equipment. There's also a $130 installation fee. Look says it also offers more local stations than the DTH operators, who require customers to add an antenna to get all local stations. Look TV is investing $70 million to build its network between Quebec City and Windsor, a corridor that eventually will cover 6.2 million households. Look, which might offer high-speed Internet access to customers using the wireless technology, expects to have an 8-per-cent market share by the time its license expires in 2003. more....................... montrealgazette.com