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Technology Stocks : Qwest Communications (Q) (formerly QWST) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tony D. who wrote (2573)	12/23/1998 4:57:00 PM
From: MangoBoy	Respond to of 6846

[BCE Unit Eyes MCI, Qwest As Possible Partner To Expand Network Reach] TORONTO -(Dow Jones)- BCE Inc., which owns Bell Canada and other phone companies in Canada, Wednesday said it is eyeing possible partnerships with MCI WorldCom Inc. and Qwest Communications International Inc. to expand its presence in the U.S. and overseas. Qwest "would certainly be a good choice for us," said Terry Jarman, head of BCE's (BCE) high-speed network company, NatCo. But MCI WorldCom would be a better choice because of an existing deal between the companies. MCI WorldCom (WCOM) also is more established at servicing corporate customers, NatCo's target audience, Jarman explained. At the same time, Jarman hinted he is considering other potential partners, saying NatCo is studying "three choices." Jarman said the ultimate alliance will either involve one or two partners, and NatCo expects to reveal details of the alliance in the third or fourth week of January. The possiblity of NatCo forming an alliance with Denver-based Qwest (QWST) is based on their similarities, according to Scotia Capital Markets analyst John Henderson. In a recent report, Henderson noted that Jean Monty, president and CEO of Montreal-based BCE, considers NatCo as the Qwest of Canada. Jarman also sees similarities between the two companies. Each is building an extensive high-speed network. Also, NatCo and Qwest will complete their networks in the same time frame. And even more important, Qwest's strategy supports BCE's view that the world is moving towards broadband, Internet-based telecommunications services, Jarman said. Indeed, BCE expects NatCo to generate annual revenue growth of 10% to 15%. By contrast, BCE's traditional phone services sold to business customers is only growing at about 4% annually, Jarman said. In addition to closing in on a U.S./global partner, NatCo is close to finalizing partnerships to extend its high-speed network across Canada. Separately, BC Tel and Telus Communications Inc. announced that Bell Canada has issued a notice to terminate the connecting agreement among all of the phone companies comprising Canada's Stentor alliance, which consists of Canada's 10 biggest and longest-established telephone companies. Formed in 1992, Stentor was designed primarily as a way to compete with foreign competitors. BC TEL is an affiliate of U.S.-based GTE Corp. (GTE).