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Technology Stocks : Harmonic Lightwaves (HLIT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Eric Jacobson who wrote (2608)	1/14/1999 2:45:00 PM
From: Mark Oliver	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4134

Eric, it's over $19, is this the sign you've been looking for? I sold some share this morning at $18 to fuel the rise, as I've held this stinker a long time and my selling is sure to make it go up. Well, sold less than half. Is there new life returning to LMDS? Regards, Mark Thursday January 14 1:43 PM ET Nextlink To Acquire Wireless Licenses For $833 Mln By Martin Wolk SEATTLE (Reuters) - Nextlink Communications Inc. announced plans to expand its high-speed business communications network by acquiring licenses to operate new wireless technology in two deals worth about $833 million. Nextlink, founded and mostly owned by cellular phone industry pioneer Craig McCaw, is paying a total of $695 million cash and stock for the assets of WNP Communications Inc. and has agreed in principle to buy out Nextel Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:NXTL - news)'s 50 percent interest in their Nextband joint venture for $137.7 million. The two deals will greatly expand Nextlink's ability to operate a new type of high-bandwidth wireless technology for delivering voice, data and video to business customers, the company said. ''This is a very important strategic announcement for Nextlink and will allow us to rapidly extend our local networks to a much broader target audience and advance our goal of becoming a complete facilities-based, end-to-end provider of telecommunications services,'' Nextlink Chief Executive Wayne Perry said in a statement. Nextlink stock jumped $3.75 to $35 in Nasdaq trading after the announcement. Nextel, which will continue to focus on mobile wireless communications, was off 44 cents at $28.50. The new technology will allow Bellevue, Wash.-based Nextlink to greatly expand its ability to deliver high-bandwidth services beyond fiber-optic networks the company is laying down in densely populated areas of major cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, Atlanta and New York. By combining the two acquisitions with its current operations, Nextlink said it will become the largest owner of so-called local multipoint distribution services wireless coverage, or LMDS, with about 95 percent of the top 30 markets in the United States. The wireless technology can deliver the equivalent of nearly 700 high-capacity T-1 lines up to about three miles, while the fiber-optic solution generally is practical only for customers within a quarter-mile of a Nextlink hub. ''We can choose the best transmission solution for each customer, giving us cost and service quality advantages over both the wired-only and wireless-only local service providers,'' Nextlink President George Tronsrue said in a statement. Nextlink is paying roughly $542.1 million to WNP, a partnership that was the biggest winner in last year's federal auction of bandwidth for LMDS. That represents a $355 million profit for the partnership, which paid about $186.9 million for the properties in the March 1998 auction. Nextlink will pay an additional $152.9 million in charges to the Federal Communications Commission to complete the deal, which requires federal approval. The payment is required because WNP bought the bandwidth using a small-business discount for which Nextlink does not qualify. Nextlink will begin market tests of the wireless service in the first half of this year with commercial service available in some markets by the end of the year. The company also is building a 16,000 mile inter-city long-haul fiber network, planned to be completed in 2001, which will allow it to compete with the nation's biggest phone companies for business customers, a spokesman said.