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 : Voice-on-the-net (VON), VoIP, Internet (IP) Telephony -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (1645)	10/21/1998 11:16:00 PM
From: Stephen B. Temple	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3178

OT< bell atlantic in war with cable companies October 21, 1998 ISDN News via NewsEdge Corporation -- With cable television providers such as MediaOne Group [UMG] of Englewood, Colo., offering residential high-speed data competition in Bell Atlantic's territory, Bell executives understand the threat they face from cable service. To combat the threat, the Philadelphia-based carrier is launching an attack on cable modem providers by offering rebates to their customers who switch to ADSL service. Bell Atlantic [BEL] is enticing cable customers in Washington and Pittsburgh by offering DSL modems for half the $325 retail price to any customer who switches services. Bruce Gordon, Bell group president of retail, compares cable- based high-speed data service to an old-fashioned party line, where one line serves many customers. Cable service will degrade as more people sign up, he says. This contrasts with ADSL, which provides an "always on" dedicated access link. "In a matter of four to five weeks we will expand that availability to Philadelphia, into northern New Jersey in the Hudson river front area," he says. "By the end of this year, Infospeed will pass close to 2 million lines and it will expand to New York, Boston, and other markets in the East Coast going into 1999," he continues. "Our plan is to move very quickly to cover our major markets across the Bell Atlantic footprint." ...Threats From Cable Companies Bell Atlantic's entry-level package of ADSL service bundled with its Internet service called Bell Atlantic.net is $60 a month for unlimited use. An entry level offering targeted at residential users provides a maximum download speed of 640 Kbps. The offering includes two higher levels of service aimed at telecommuters and so-called "power users." Prices top out at $110 a month for a download speed of 7.1 Mbps. One-time charges include $325 for a DSL modem, a $99 service connection charge and $99 for equipment installation. Bell is offering discounts toward up-front costs. By contrast, MediaOne offers high-speed data service for $40 a month to customers who spend at least $30 per month on cable television. The company charges $199 for cable modems. With price pressures in mind, the entry-level Personal Infospeed already is offered at $10 less than the price announced in June. "This is indicative of the nature of the market," Gordon says. ...Still Plodding Along Industry insiders wonder what took the carrier so long. Other regional Bell operating companies whose regions are less densely populated - including U S West [USW] of Englewood Colo., GTE Corp. [GTE] of Stamford, Conn. and Atlanta-based BellSouth Corp. [BLS] - already have ADSL services. "Folks have said it has taken Bell Atlantic just a little too long to get this product to market," Gordon says. "Our sense was we will take the time we think we must to get it right. "The pace is sort of slow to deliberate," says Vern Mackell, senior analyst of data communications at New York-based International Data Corp. (IDC). "I don't think we are going to see much change in that for the next couple of months. [Bell Atlantic] is still just getting their processes in place. I think they are trying to oil the machinery to keep this in the face of the public that this stuff is coming." Any delay in launching DSL in Bell Atlantic's biggest markets will give cable television providers more time to gain public acceptance for their alternative high-speed data service. Some analysts predict cable will become the primary conduit for high-speed data in the residential market, with DSL consigned to the business sector. One market research firm, Forward Concepts, projects cable modems will outpace DSL modems by 5-to-1 by 2003. "Even the most vocal of these guys, U S West, still has a pretty small number of [ADSL] lines," Mackell says. He estimates that by the end of August only 25,000 ADSL lines were in service throughout the United States. "With more than 170 million telephone lines, we are still well under 100,000 ADSL lines. We are just at the very beginning of [ADSL deployments], " he says. To further compete, Bell Atlantic is pushing its ISP Partnership Program, which compensates participating Internet service providers for Infospeed sales they stimulate. ISPs can package their own Internet access offerings with three levels of high-speed Bell connections. Each level has a flat monthly fee. Infospeed DSL 640 Kbps costs $40; Infospeed DSL 1.6 Mbps $60; and Infospeed DSL 7.1 Mbps $110. (Larry Plumb, Bell Atlantic, 703/295-4360; Vern Mackell, International Data Corp., 212/726-0900.)

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (1645)	10/28/1998 7:59:00 AM
From: Stephen B. Temple	Respond to of 3178

Clarent Corporation Announces Opening of Korean Office; Clarent Ready to Support Explosive IP Telephony Growth in South Korean Market October 28, 1998 REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE) via NewsEdge Corporation -- Clarent(tm) Corporation, the leading provider of carrier-grade, phone-to-phone IP telephony solutions worldwide, today announced the opening of its office in Seoul, South Korea. This new operation demonstrates Clarent's commitment to provide local support to Korea Telecom and other service operators, as well as to enterprise customers using Clarent's IP telephony technology. Korean telecommunications authorities are forecasting that four percent of the country's international voice calls will go over IP by the end of 1998, growing to as high as fourteen percent during 1999. Part of this dramatic growth will be driven by the Jan. 1, 1998, deregulation of the South Korean telecommunications industry and the broad rollout of IP telephony services by Korea Telecom. On September 14th, Korea Telecom became the first company in the world to offer single stage dialing for routing international calls over IP. To offer this service, Korea Telecom is using Clarent's IP telephony technology with C7 signaling integration in Korea Telecom's traditional phone network. In addition to Korea Telecom, Clarent has received major endorsements from both the carrier and enterprise segments in the Korean market. Clarent's Korean-based carrier and enterprise customers are already or will soon be using Clarent's latest software architecture, which combines voice, fax and data over universal ports. The general manager of Clarent Korea is Pil Ho Jo. Prior to joining Clarent, Jo was general manager for Kokuryo Multimedia Communications, Inc. and prior to that was the manager of Dacom's Internet Telephony business. He also spent five and one half years in corporate planning for SK Global. Clarent Korea's office is located at 1108 Samsung Jeil Building; 702-2 Yeoksam-Dong, Kangnam-ku, Seoul, Korea. The phone number is +822-527-2224 and the fax number is +822-527-2227. About Clarent Clarent Corporation is a privately held company and a premier provider of Internet telephony solutions offering clear voice, real-time fax, SS7/C7 integration, universal voice/fax/data ports and a host of other business-ready capabilities. Clarent Command Center provides billing and management for a very large network of Clarent Gateways. All Clarent products are backed by a complete, robust, scalable network infrastructure, enabling network and enterprise customers to easily run their business communications on IP telephony. Founded in July 1996, Clarent is headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., and also has offices in Chicago, Taipei, Tokyo, Seoul and Europe. Additional information about Clarent is available at clarent.com. Note to Editors: Clarent is a registered trademark of Clarent Corporation in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other company or product names mentioned may be trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. Clarent is a registered trademark of Clarent Corporation or its subsidiaries. All other company or product names mentioned may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated