To: Edward Murphy who wrote (9733 ) 12/18/1998 10:29:00 PM From: Mazman Read Replies (2) | Respond to
Ed,WINSTAR (WCII) and WILLIAMS COS. (WMB) ... Local phone company startup Winstar gets a piece of long distance action and Williams Communications, a division of Williams Cos., gets some local phone capacity in today's surprise announcement. Winstar stock has been moving up over the past few days, largely based on anticipation of an acquisition by MCI-WorldCom (WCOM). However, today's announcement amounts to a swap between two of the smaller players, and it is a win-win for both. Each company now gets a full service network to offer to business customers. This is just the type of competition that the Telecom Act was supposed to create. According to Unterberg analyst Seth Spalding, "This brings Winstar into the world of full service ... and puts Winstar squarely in the sights of WorldCom. They have definitely got their eyes on this (combination)." Winstar is much, much smaller than MCI-WorldCOM, but MCI-WorldCom itself is a study in how a company can get big quickly. Winstar had been leasing long distance space from Sprint (FON), MCI-WorldCom, and Williams, but this deal will allow them to provide long-distance service at a much lower rate. Williams gets access to 2% of Winstar's local carrying capacity not just now, but into the future. As Winstar grows, so does Williams' local access capacity, without further payment. For Williams, which has been primarily a utility company (natural gas), the entry into telecom was a way to leverage their existing nationwide infrastructure of natural gas distribution systems into a growth industry, just by paying fiber cable into the system. As a study in traditional market history, the telecom arena is about as interesting as it gets. Small companies like Winstar are "racing as fast as they can to build footprints," according to Mr. Spalding. Consolidation and new competitor creation is happening just as quickly. This step increases Winstar's, and William's, footprint considerably. When asked who the next Winstar might be, Mr. Spalding suggested Teligent (TGNT) as one to watch.
