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To: J Fieb who wrote (107)	12/19/1998 10:52:00 PM
From: pat mudge	Respond to of 2347

Thanks for update on DOCSIS certification. I've been told the same --- that vendors will sell pre-certified systems leading up to the final certification process. Monday's IBD has a chart listing cable modem stats. Try to get a copy if you can. The online version doesn't include the "Data Bus" column. (Computers and Technology, p. A12.) Estimates for worldwide cable modem shipments: 1997 --- under .25 million 1998 --- .5 million 1999 --- 1 million 2000 --- 1.5 million 2001 --- 2 million 2002 --- 2.5 million North America's percentage of shipments: 1997 --- 80% 1998 --- 80% 1999 --- 78% 2000 --- 70% 2001 --- 60% 2002 --- 55% 1997 Top Five Vendors: 1. Motorola 2. Nortel 3. General Instruments 4. Toshiba 5. Com21 First Half 1998 Top Five Vendors: 1. Motorola 2. Nortel 3. Com21 4. 3Com 5. General Instruments Source: DataQuest Since CMTO leads in Europe, it's impressive to see North American percentages decreasing year by year, i.e., the strongest growth where CMTO's the strongest. pat

To: J Fieb who wrote (107)	12/21/1998 1:32:00 PM
From: pat mudge	Respond to of 2347

December 21, 1998 13:22 Leading Internet TV Network Signs Broadband & Satellite Broadcast Agreements NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 21, 1998-- Pseudo Inks Deals With Intertainer and WavePhore Internet Television Expands Distribution and Viewership Reach In a flurry of business agreements, Pseudo Programs Inc. (www.pseudo.com), the world's largest Internet television network, recently increased its delivery options to include satellite,broadband cable and telephone distribution. New York City-based Pseudo.com produces 60 hours of live original content per week, much of which will be transmitted via Intertainer and WavePhore's WaveTop services as a result of the new agreements. The expanded distribution marks an important step in "convergence" as Internet TV will be carried on alternate distribution pipelines challenging traditional broadcast methods. Following are details about each of the agreements: Intertainer, the leading provider of home entertainment services on demand, will deliver Pseudo's Internet TV content to consumers via high speed cable modems, digital set-top boxes, or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) telephone connections directly to the PC or TV. Intertainer will carry all of Pseudo's popular computer gaming shows that appear on the All Games Network (AGN) located at www.allgames.com. AGN is Pseudo's leading channel and Netcasts more than 10 hours of original Net-Television each week with gaming news, interviews, reviews, hardware advice, competition, events and more. AGN programs include: "GameTime!," "All Games Hardware," "240 Seconds of Gaming," "Shooters," "Inside the PGL," "Combat Reporter," and "Fantasy Football." WaveTop's PC data broadcast service works by embedding data streams into the unseen portion of existing broadcasting television signals using the Vertical Blanking Interval (VBI). WaveTop has partnered with PBS National Datacast to broadcast data over the television signals of its 264 PBS member stations. Using a simple browser interface and a broadcast ready PC (a standard PC with a built-in TV tuner or equipped with an add-on tuner card), users will interact with automatically downloaded information, entertainment and software. Computers equipped with TV tuners and WaveTop software transparently receive, decode and cache content without the bottleneck of the Internet or tying up a phone line. WaveTop is compatible with Microsoft Windows 95 and is part of the Microsoft Windows 98 operating system. Selected shows from Pseudo's All Games Network will be featured on WaveTop including "GameTime!," "240 Seconds of Gaming," and "Fantasy Football." Pseudo already has Internet distribution agreements with hundreds of leading web sites including, Excite, Lycos, CNET, Bloomberg, BMG Entertainment, CMP, Loud Records, UBL and others. "We are excited to work with Intertainer and WaveTop, two of the most innovative companies in the industry. With the addition of broadband and satellite distribution to our existing worldwide Internet access, Pseudo is arguably the leading content provider for the convergence revolution," said Michael Teich, director of business development at Pseudo. "We are uniquely positioned to offer viewers an unparalleled interactive entertainment experience." About Pseudo Programs Inc. Pseudo Programs Inc. (pseudo.com) is the world's largest Internet TV network, netcasting more than 60 hours of original programming each week. Founded in 1994 by Josh Harris (founder of Jupiter Communications), Pseudo has become the Internet TV industry leader. Pseudo reaches more than two million viewers monthly with 45 original shows on ten channels. Archived shows are available on-demand 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Pseudo's channels include: 88HIPHOP.COM (Hip-Hop music and culture); All Games Network (computer and video gaming); Biztech TV (business and technology); Channel P.com (theatre and performing arts); Cyber-Fi (science fiction and the paranormal); Koolout (classic soul and rare vinyl); Minxmag (women's issues); PseudoSports (alternative and extreme sports); Static (music, B-movies and more); and Streetsound (electronic music and DJ culture). Pseudo-style netcasting is the future of broadcasting. About WavePhore WavePhore Inc. (NASDAQ:WAVO) is the leading new media content integrator and architect of digital delivery systems. It partners with the foremost providers of news, business data, Web-based content and multimedia programming to deliver selective intelligence and quality content to an information-dependent society. WavePhore (www.wavephore.com) enables people and enterprises to more efficiently receive, manage and productively use all types of urgent, insightful, or relevant information. The company's technologies and services aggregate, filter, customize and distribute digital content (text, graphics, music, and video) using a wide range of reliable, low-cost broadcast (FM sideband, TV-VBI), satellite and Web-based delivery systems. It has technology sourcing and strategic alliances with Microsoft, Intel, Compaq, Sony, Gateway, STB, ADS and PBS National Datacast, in addition to information service agreements with some two hundred Fortune 1,000 companies worldwide. Additional information on WavePhore is available via the Internet at wavephore.com. Information on its business units can be found at: wavetop.net, wavephore.net and newscast.com. ABOUT INTERTAINER Intertainer, Inc. (http://www.intertainer.com), a leading provider of home entertainment services on-demand, is defining the convergence of entertainment and technology. Intertainer, with its strategic partners -- Comcast, US WEST, Sony, Intel and NBC -- provides customers with a personal gateway to thousands of hours of diverse movies, music, TV, shopping and information programming to the PC or TV using high speed data lines over cable or telephone connections. The company's entertainment-on-demand, e-commerce applications and targeted advertising will be the first services enabled by the popular PersonalJava language on Scientific-Atlanta's Explorer(R) 2000 set-top box. Intertainer also has solid relationships with leading companies in the broadband space, including Veon, Concurrent Computer Corporation, Sun Microsystems, and Cisco Systems. Intertainer is a charter member of Cisco's "Built for Broadband" program. CONTACT: Pseudo Programs, Inc. Andy Morris Mark Hazlin 212/685-4300

To: J Fieb who wrote (107)	12/29/1998 8:54:00 PM
From: pat mudge	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2347

I just discovered Cable World. mediacentral.com <<< AT&T Wheels More IP Deals By Joshua Cho AT&T Corp. last week continued to chip away at its long-term strategy for the Internet and local telephony, with an announcement that it would pony up $5 billion for IBM's global data-networking business. At the same time, more MSOs last week hinted that they were in talks with the telco to create ventures and partnerships that would allow cable operators to offer local telephony as part of a bundled package of services. Indeed, AT&T's stock jumped 6% to $71 Dec. 9 on reports that it was nearing completion of a joint venture deal with Time Warner Inc. The deal reportedly would give AT&T 75% of the venture and Time Warner 25%. Both companies declined comment. "We don't usually permit our temperature to be taken on a daily basis," a Time Warner Cable spokesman said, after reconfirming that the MSO was in telephony talks with AT&T, as first stated by Time Warner chairman Gerald Levin in October at a quarterly earnings luncheon with analysts. "It's really inappropriate for us to be giving daily or weekly updates." And an AT&T spokesman said, "Normally as a matter of policy we don't comment on rumor." Meanwhile at last week's PaineWebber media conference in New York, Cox Communications, Inc.'s SVP-finance and CFO Jimmy Hayes said, "We would entertain discussions with AT&T. We would listen to what they have to say." At the same conference, Century Communications Corp. said that it was in discussions with AT&T regarding bundling of products in the Los Angeles market, in which Century plans to offer digital cable and high-speed data service, the latter of which will be launched in late February. "Bringing that name (AT&T) into the business brings a quick upside for getting into the (telephone) business," said Scott Schneider Century's SVP, CFO and treasurer. As part of a joint venture that Century entered into with Tele-Communications Inc., the two MSOs will be combining their operations in Southern California. Century will own 75% of that partnership, according to Schneider. And with the impending merger of TCI with AT&T, the deal "introduces AT&T as a partner in the cable operations," Schneider said. "This market (Los Angeles) will be consolidated. And it cannot be consolidated without Century as a participant." Comcast Corp. vice chairman Julian Brodsky, who also spoke at the PaineWebber conference, did not say his company was speaking with AT&T. However, he said, "It's no secret in the press that AT&T has been in almost continuous discussions, as have others, with all the major players in the cable industry." Alchin alluded to renting out Comcast's pipes as a wholesaler as an option. Comcast currently does not have any significant telephony strategy other than a telephone system it will inherit when it completes the acquisition of Jones Intercable early next year. However, Brodsky said that when the company does get into telephony it will be through IP technology. "Folks such as AT&T have come to the same conclusion," Brodsky said, regarding the choice of IP. AT&T said that it plans to initially roll out circuit switched telephony over TCI's cable systems in the San Francisco Bay area and possibly other markets and then migrate over to an IP-based delivery system in any new markets it enters. It will then go back and determine whether it makes sense to convert those early markets from circuit switched to IP or just continue to use the older technology, according to Marty Davidson, AT&T technical business development engineering and lab manager. A consumer launch date of telephony over cable systems has not yet been released. However, industry analysts expect limited roll outs of circuit switched telephony to begin throughout next year. IP telephony, on the other hand, is not expected to become a fully viable until two years from now, industry experts believe. (December 14, 1998) >>>>

To: J Fieb who wrote (107)	12/30/1998 7:05:00 PM
From: pat mudge	Respond to of 2347

Another hurdle crossed: <<< December 30, 1998 17:34 AT&T, TCI granted conditional approval for merger (adds company comments, background, stock prices; pvs WASHINGTON) NEW YORK, Dec 30 (Reuters) - AT&T Corp. on Wednesday won approval from the U.S. Department of Justice for its proposed $48 billion acquisition of cable television giant Tele-Communications Inc. after agreeing to divest TCI's interest in Sprint PCS, a wireless telephone business. The approval removes a key regulatory hurdle for the planned deal, which is expected to close in the first half of 1999. The deal, announced in June, still faces scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission. The combined company would offer one-stop shopping for long distance, cellular phone service, cable television and high-speed Internet access. AT&T also plans to provide local telephone service over TCI's cable television wires. AT&T is No. 1 U.S. long-distance company and the largest provider of mobile wireless telephone services, with about nine million customers, while TCI is the second-largest operator of cable television systems nationally. Under the agreement with DOJ, the companies must transfer TCI's 23.5 percent stake in Sprint PCS to an independent trustee before closing their merger. The trustee will then divest the stake over five years. Sprint PCS is controlled by Sprint Corp. , the No. 3 U.S. long-distance company. The agreement also includes provisions designed to preserve AT&T's incentives to compete aggressively against Sprint, pending the completion of the divestiture, the DOJ said. "The settlement today will ensure that the merger will not blunt the move towards a more competitive market in wireless services and that customers continue to reap the benefits of that competition," said Joel Klein, assistant attorney general in charge of the antitrust division. The divestiture of the Sprint PCS stock will take place over five years to ensure that the stake would not be dumped at one time, flooding the market with Sprint PCS shares and potentially hurting Sprint's ability to issue new stock or raise capital, the DOJ said. "AT&T and TCI made clear from the start that this (Sprint PCS) interest would be placed in a trust arrangement as part of the approval process, and that is exactly what this decree accomplishes," AT&T said in a statement. Sprint said it was pleased with the divestiture agreement. The DOJ did not impose other conditions sought by rivals of AT&T and TCI. Companies such as MCI WorldCom Inc. and SBC Communications Inc. want the companies to share access to its cable infrastructure the same way local telephone companies are required to share access to their networks. Rivals also want regulators to impose conditions on the companies' planned Internet service, but AT&T said the deal may collapse if those concessions were required. Shares of AT&T fell $1.94 to $76.81 on the New York Stock Exchange. TCI slipped 19 cents to $55 on the Nasdaq.