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

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (2384)	1/19/1999 3:48:00 PM
From: Will Lyons	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3178

Does today's announcement by IDTC mean they are in the voice on the net race?

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (2384)	1/19/1999 3:58:00 PM
From: Roger Bass	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3178

Stephen, thanks for your response. I don't think we're basically disagreeing, but we are talking about different 'layers'. For example, you say: '"rich, data-enhanced voice" is the Internet Protocol, nothing less, nothing more'. I totally agree - but that's the transport, not the application layer, which is what I'm talking about. You also said: 'Basically, its all the PSTN standards that will integrate over to IP, i.e. messaging,fax,voice, etc, that will be the "compelling applications that integrate data and voice"'. Here, I kind-of half agree: yes they will migrate, but those are not new applications - and by definition none of those PSTN offerings integrates data and voice. The new applications will look quite different. To make an analogy: when TV was first introduced, the first programs were people talking to a microphone on the screen - in other words doing exactly what they did on the radio. It took a while for the really compelling ways of using the TV to be discovered - and they were quite different from anything that radio could do. I didn't quite understand your last point. Anyway, I realize this post isn't moving things along too much - when I have time, I will post again with the more specific points and questions I have on my mind. Thanks again, Roger.

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (2384)	2/2/1999 8:05:00 PM
From: Stephen B. Temple	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 3178

AT&T to offer phone service over Time Warner TV wires February 2, 1999 NEW YORK (Reuters) - Reuters: AT&T Corp. , the nation's largest telecommunications company, and media group Time Warner Inc. said Monday they formed a joint venture to offer local phone service over Time Warner's cable television wires in 33 states, giving AT&T greater reach to compete against the Baby Bell local phone companies. Separately, AT&T said it will sell its prepaid telephone calling cards in Wal-Mart and Sam's Clubs stores, tripling the number of retail outlets carrying the cards since this time last year. AT&T expects to distribute more than $100 million worth of cards through these stores over the next 12 months. The AT&T-Time Warner partnership, widely anticipated since last July, will be 77.5 percent owned by AT&T and 22.5 percent owned by Time Warner. The pact follows AT&T's proposed $48 billion agreement to buy Tele-Communications Inc. , the nation's second-largest cable company behind Time Warner. AT&T aims to provide local phone service over the cable companies' networks instead of using traditional copper phone lines. Since the break-up of AT&T and the creation of the Baby Bell local phone companies in 1984, AT&T lost control of the local telephone lines that connect directly into customers homes and businesses. Using cable TV wires to provide phone service, AT&T can bypass the Baby Bell's phone lines, and the costly access charges, to reach customers. The Time Warner and TCI deals will allow AT&T to reach more than 40 percent of U.S. households. AT&T said it aims to complete by mid- to late-Spring additional deals with other cable companies to help it reach two-thirds of the nation. AT&T declined to discuss the other potential cable partnerships or acquisitions, but analysts speculated that likely candidates included MediaOne Group Inc. , Comcast Corp. and Cablevision Systems Corp. and Cox Communications Inc . The AT&T-Time Warner joint venture will offer multiple phone lines per household, along with features such as conference calling, call waiting, call forwarding and individual message centers for family members. In many markets, the joint venture's local phone service will save customers up to 25 percent compared with the cost of service from the incumbent Baby Bells, AT&T Chairman C. Michael Armstrong said at a news conference. The two companies expect to offer the service in one or two cities by the end of 1999 and to begin broader commercial operations in the year 2000. AT&T will fund the joint venture's negative cash flow, but after three full years of operation the partnership should have positive cash flow and be making a profit with annual revenues of $4 billion, the companies said. AT&T said the joint venture will minimally hurt its earnings, if at all. The venture will have exclusive rights to offer residential and small-business telephony services over Time Warner's cable systems for 20 years, something that may spark intense regulatory scrutiny, analysts said. ''The exclusivity of this deal is a question. Will regulators allow it to happen? Should other companies be allowed to use those connections into the home?...It will probably get a close look,'' said Brian Adamik, a telecommunications analyst with the Yankee Group. Under terms of the deal, AT&T will pay $15 to Time Warner for each home its network reaches, or about $300 million. The venture also will pay a monthly fee of $1.50 per telephone subscriber, rising to $6 per month over a six-year period. AT&T said this fee, even at the highest level, is far below the best rate offered by the incumbent local telephone companies for leasing the wires to people's homes. Time Warner, meanwhile, will be responsible for upgrading its cable systems to support phone service. It expects the upgrade to be 85 percent completed by the end of the year and finished by the end of 2000. AT&T will be responsible for the joint venture's capital expenditures and the cost of adding the communications equipment to people's homes. AT&T's move into local phone service is part of its plan to offer all types of communication services, including local, long distance, international and wireless phone service. AT&T last year agreed to forge an international joint venture with British Telecommunications Plc. BT on Monday confirmed it was considering linking its mobile telephone unit, Cellnet, with AT&T's wireless phone operations. Shares of AT&T closed up $2.8125 at $93.5621 a share. Time Warner lost 12.5 cents to end at $62.375. Both trade on the New York Stock Exchange. REUTERS@ [Copyright 1999, Reuters]