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Technology Stocks : Advanced Fibre (AFCI) ** IPO -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Robert Einstein who wrote (1105)	10/15/1998 7:21:00 AM
From: KM	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3299

HG put those comments in a column today. Excerpt below. I've got some of this in the 7 area, buying another load today. What makes these bargains so compelling? According to Whitman, as public companies, they've never lost money and haven't yet forecast losing money ("yet" is the key word there). But just as important, they all have significant cash; the average has the equivalent of 60% of its market cap in cash. And they have no debt. What's more, their current stock prices are no more than a quarter of their recent 12-month highs. "And if you remove cash and interest income from the valuation, they sell on average this year and next year of under seven times earnings." His favorites include: •Security Dynamics (SDTI:Nasdaq), which has $6 per share in cash, earned 41 cents per share last year. It's expected to earn 70 cents next year. With the stock at 8, down from 42, the company is an active buyer of its own shares. "It's still the dominant force in the Internet security market," Whitman says. •DSP Communications (DSP:NYSE), which makes chipsets used in cell phones. Earnings are growing sequentially, and with the stock one-third of where it was at the beginning of the year, the company is aggressively buying it back. •Premisys Communications (PRMS:Nasdaq), which supplies products used by telephone companies to provide customers access to their networks. Earnings are rising sequentially, and the company has been buying back its stock, which has lost three-fourths of its value this year. •Finally, Advanced Fibre (AFCI:Nasdaq), which supplies transmission products for telephone companies and carriers. At less than 5, the stock "is amazingly cheap." In fact, they're all so cheap that Whitman thinks if they don't head north by sometime next year, "they could turn around and be acquired at substantially higher prices." He adds that in the 15-plus years he has been in the securities business, "You've never been able to buy these level quality companies at valuations this low." (By way of disclosure: Last time I checked in with Whitman for some picks, about a year ago, he mentioned three lesser-quality companies. Since then, one's done very well; the others are in need of some Ken-L Ration.)

To: Robert Einstein who wrote (1105)	10/15/1998 11:07:00 AM
From: Howard Herskowitz	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3299

All, have you considered that AFCI may not have the right solution to address the local loop requirements for the evolving convergence of voice and high speed IP applications? Maybe, someone is qualified to comment on the potential competitive significance of the following press release: Thursday October 15, 8:03 am Eastern Time Company Press Release Omnia Debuts AXR 500, First Next-Generation ADM for Carrier-Class Networks, at NetWorld+Interop, Atlanta in Booth #3435 Company's AXR 500 is the First Next-Generation ADM Access Platform For SONET Ring Networks Using ATM to Mix Voice and Data Traffic MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 15, 1998-- Omnia Communications, Inc., a new venture-backed start-up pioneering next generation access solutions for carrier networks, today unveiled in its first public display the AXR 500, the first next-generation Add/Drop Multiplexer (ADM) for carriers' Synchronous Optical Network (SONET)-based metropolitan area networks. The AXR 500 will be shown in the company's Booth #3435 in Start-Up City at this week's NetWorld+Interop Show here. The AXR 500 is the first access platform to allow carriers to simultaneously: mix voice and data traffic efficiently; offer new, advanced value-added services; and reduce their costs of deployment and management. Designed to improve the efficiency of SONET rings by using ATM as the underlying transport protocol for voice and data traffic, the AXR 500 also lowers management and deployment costs by integrating the following functionality into a single, scalable, cost-effective, modular, carrier-class platform: -- Add/Drop Multiplexer (ADM) -- Access Router -- Service Access Multiplexer (SAM) -- Digital Loop Carrier (DLC) -- Digital Cross Connect (DXC) The AXR 500 solves one of the biggest challenges facing the carriers today. The local loop is the last bastion of time division multiplexing technology, i.e. SONET-based fiber optic rings. These networks are not at all suited for packet- switched data traffic. By using ATM virtual paths and virtual circuits for flexible bandwidth provisioning in the local loop, the AXR 500 enables carriers to increase efficiency, lower costs and meet the demands for new data services as well as support existing voice services.'' ''The 'Holy Grail' of inexpensive bandwidth distribution cannot be achieved in the network service provider community by using existing technology,'' said Frank Dzubeck, Principal Analyst at Communications Network Architects. ''New aggressively priced digital/optical infrastructure intermediation products like the Omnia AXR 500 are the first implementation step towards that 'Holy Grail'.'' Since the 1980s, carriers have used SONET-based fiber optic rings as the network-of-choice for the 'local loop' of the public-switched telephone network (PSTN). Today, however, carriers are struggling with the explosive growth of the Internet and data networks. SONET's TDM hierarchy lacks the flexibility to carry both voice and data traffic in a bandwidth-efficient and economic manner. Attempts to retrofit these networks using devices like ATM service access multiplexers, routers and digital loop carriers have led to very complex networks with high management and deployment costs. AXR 500: Benefits of an Integrated Solution Omnia's AXR 500 brings the benefits of packet and cell technology to the local loop. The AXR 500 system is based on the industry standard Bellcore GR- 2837 ''ATM Virtual Path Ring Functionality in SONET.'' This standard defines how ATM cells can be mapped into SONET rings. ATM packet-cell technology enables flexible dynamic resource allocation and asynchronous transfer and delivery of data, overcoming SONET's inefficient TDM hierarchy. By employing ATM over the optic ring, wasted bandwidth is recovered and allocated to new customer services. The OMNIA AXR 500 integrated carrier access platform eliminates SONET's stranded bandwidth by providing flexible ATM provisioning. The AXR 500 allocates bandwidth efficiently to support high-speed voice/data transfer and enable value-added customer services. In order to allow carriers to gradually migrate to Virtual Path Ring technology, the AXR 500 supports optional 2-Channel Passive Wave Division Multiplexing. Using this option, an AXR 500 Virtual Path Ring can non-invasively overlay an existing SONET ring on the same fiber optic cable using a different wavelength. Omnia thus allows carriers to upgrade their bandwidth access while protecting their legacy investments. Pricing and Availability The AXR 500 will be generally available in the first quarter of 1999. The AXR 500 is priced starting at $29,000, depending on configuration. Omnia Communications, Inc. is a telecommunications company whose mission is developing pioneering next- generation access solutions for carrier-class optical networks. Based in Marlborough, Massachusetts, Omnia was founded in June of 1997 by founders from the telecommunications industry with a vision for advancing state-of-the-art metropolitan area networking to address the convergence of voice and data on today's carrier networks. Omnia's founders form the basis of its strong management team, and bring to the company a wealth of experience in successfully building and growing telecommunications companies. Among the companies from which the founders and management came are such leading telecommunications and networking firms as Cascade (Nasdaq:ASND - news), Telco Systems (Nasdaq:TELC - news), Fore Systems (Nasdaq:FORE - news), VideoServer (Nasdaq:VSVR - news), PictureTel (Nasdaq:PCTL - news) and Lucent (NYSE:LU - news). A privately held company, Omnia Communications is financed through private investment and venture capital. Investors include Charles River Ventures, Bessemer Ventures, STAR Ventures and Atlas Venture. Omnia can be reached at (508) 229-8444, via fax at (508) 229-7766 or on the Web at omnia.com. Omnia and AXR 500 are trademarks of Omnia Communications, Inc. All other trademarks, service marks and company names are the property of their respective owners.