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Microcap & Penny Stocks : GTCI - get in before the news hits -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: blessed who wrote (668)	2/16/1999 11:52:00 PM
From: ztect	Respond to of 1541

State Phone Monopoly Makes Using the Internet Difficult A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW By ANTHONY KUHN, Special to The Times BEIJING--Both the Chinese government and its critics are touting the Internet as the latest tool for political discourse, with dissident Webzines and official ministry home pages vying for readers' attention in Chinese cyberspace. Yet for China's citizens, the overwhelming majority of whom live at a technological level that is decades behind the Information Age, the politics of the Net are of secondary importance. The economics are the real battlefield. The issue is whether China will allow citizens to enjoy technological progress or keep it unaffordable through the government's telephone monopoly. "I tend to think more about access," said Yuezhi Zhao, an associate professor of communications at UC San Diego. "And it is amazing that while so many people celebrate the democratic potential of the Internetin China, almost nobody cares about the infrastructure and the fact that the Internet service-provider industry in China is in great trouble." Even with the number of Internet users increasing at an annual rate of 300%, few--if any--of China's more than 200 service providers are able to turn a profit. Leasing telephone lines from China Telecom, the government's phone company, accounts for up to 80% of the costs facing service providers. By contrast, leasing phone lines accounts for about 6% of costs for Internet providers in the United States. The government has announced that, in the ext few years, it will split China Telecom into individual companies for land lines and mobile and paging services. Analysts are not sure whether the spinoff firms will relinquish their individual monopolies. Meanwhile, competition among Internet providers to offer a few value-added services to customers is fierce. The high cost of doing business is passed on to consumers. Monthly fees for online time can easily add up to $75, well above the average disposable income of $55 a month earned by urban Chinese. As a result, about 70% of young urbanites have no access to the Internet, according to a recent survey reported by the official New China News Agency. The survey found that only 3% surf the Net often and that 6% have never even heard of it. Web surfers also are discouraged by the low-quality content and graphics of most Chinese-language sites. Even worse, outdated modems and limited bandwidth make Web surfing here tortuously slow. For most of China's laboring masses, computers and the Internet provide poor returns on a big investment. "I wouldn't know what to do with a computer or how to use it," said Li Wu, a 38-year-old garment trader. "A phone and fax take care all my needs." Yet to the small minority of bureaucrats and affluent young adults working in private and foreign-backed enterprises, the Internet provides an indispensable window on the outside world. With their relatively high disposable incomes, credit cards and appetite for information, they are able to benefit from China's embryonic e-commerce. Now they can purchase airline tickets through Shanghai Online or order computers through Dell's China-based distributors. This elite group has become the prime target of China's fledgling Internet advertising sector. Motorola, Compaq, Nokia and other multinationals have become advertisers on Sohu at sohu.com a popular Chinese-language Internet portal and search engine. Sohu's creator, China Internet Technologies Chief Executive Charles Zhang, claims that his site commands 60% of the nation's $1.2-billion online advertising market. Although China's top firms spend billions of dollars for prime-time advertising seen by about 800 million television viewers, they are wary of paying for ads on the Internet, likely to be seen only by the nation's estimated 2.1 million Internet users. Yet Zhang predicted that "1999 will be the year in which Chinese firms experience what multinationals experienced in 1998." Sohu, which sounds like "search fox" in Chinese, recently changed its spelling from Sohoo to head off a potential lawsuit from the popular U.S. portal Yahoo. Copyright 1999 Los Angeles Times. All Rights eserved chris

To: blessed who wrote (668)	2/16/1999 11:59:00 PM
From: togrok	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1541

Interesting article which is counter pointed by some reports about China in the last issue of Business Week. Well worth reading to get a balanced & realistic understanding. Having been to China myself three times in the last year, I'm inclined to agree with the spirit of both articles from my Western observations and conversations with people involved in business and technology. It would be great if GTCI were to do well in China, but it is a very tough market. There exists some resistance to allowing a bunch of foreigners becoming too rich or powerful; remember this has happened before - Hong Kong, Macau, Shanghai - except GTCI doesn't have any opium. What is to stop GTCI from being edged out of this market, or being prevented from doing business by a slow bureaucratic dance ? What is the unique and patented talent that GTCI has that makes it so outstanding, and preventing it from being usurped ? It would be quite unfortunate if they do all the leg work, and then don't themselves reap the rewards. I would tread cautiously with this company. All the best in your Chinese investments - CHL may be a more secure opportunity. Good Luck !

To: blessed who wrote (668)	2/17/1999 7:08:00 AM
From: blessed	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1541

Joint Venture Partner for Internet Service in China SAN DIEGO, Calif., April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Telephone Communication Inc. (Nasdaq: GTCI; OTC) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement for the acquisition of a majority joint venture interest in China Global Information Internet Co. Ltd. from Regent Luck Holdings Limited. China Global is a joint venture with Shenzhen Newsnet Co. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of China Telecom, China's largest telecommunications company. China Global is operating under a license granted to Shenzhen Newsnet Co. by China Telecom as an Internet Service Provider to provide basic and advanced Internet services, Global said. This includes data and voice traffic over the Internet using Internet protocol technologies, Global noted. "China Global will initially operate in the city of Shenzhen, China with a population of approximately 5,000,000 residents. The present fiber optic network in Shenzhen is the most technologically advanced transmission system available in the world today. It is important to note that the license allows China Global to sell Internet related products and services as both reseller and agent," said Terry Wong, Global Telephone President. Pursuant to a Share Exchange Agreement, the company will exchange 5,000,000 new shares of common stock for a majority interest in China Global. The transaction is subject to satisfactory completion of due diligence and shareholder approval by both companies.

To: blessed who wrote (668)	2/17/1999 7:13:00 AM
From: blessed	Respond to of 1541

GLOBAL TELEPHONE COMMUNICATIONS ANNOUNCES JOINT VENTURE APPROVAL San Diego, California - (August 12, 1998) - Global Telephone Communication Inc. today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Regent Luck Holdings, has received Joint Venture approval from the State Administration of Industry and Commerce of the People's Republic of China . Regent Luck Holdings is a majority Joint Venture partner in Shenzhen Global Net Computer Information Co., Ltd. (SCNCIC), formerly China Global. SGNCIC anticipates launching its initial ISP operation in Shenzhen within the next 45 days and expects to generate revenues at the outset from contracts and subscribers already in place. On July 28th, 1998 China's central government agency approved the Joint Venture and subsequently issued a business license SGNCIC. The Joint Venture approval is valid to the year 2013. SGNCIC operates under an exclusive agency/licensing agreement with Newsnet (a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Telecom.) to provide basic and advance Internet services in China. The business scope also includes IT systems integration, development and the reselling of IT products. Shenzhen, a city of 5,000,000 residents, is located in southern China. After establishing its operation in Shenzhen, the Joint Venture company, SGNCIC, will be rolling out its ISP operation to include six major urban areas of China with a total population of approximately 300 million residents.

To: blessed who wrote (668)	2/17/1999 7:27:00 AM
From: blessed	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1541

Global Telephone Communication Inc. Announce Exclusive Licensing/Marketing Agreement for Year 2000 Bugfix Solution SAN DIEGO, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Telephone Communication Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: GTCI - news) today announced it >has entered into an exclusive licensing/marketing agreement to provide its Year 2000 (Y2K) Bugfix solution to Asia through its subsidiary company, Shenzen Global Net. The company has engaged Viacor Industries to develop its Y2K Bugfix solution specifically tailored to the PC market. Our Y2K solution is one of the most user friendly on the market today and has a multitude of software versions and features including a clean and simple interface real mode device driver and an uninstall feature,'' said Global President Terry Wong. GTCI enjoys relationships with and is negotiating relationships with several Chinese government agencies to supply its Y2K solution. Besides China, the company's exclusive marketing rights also cover Japan, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Malaysia, The Philippines and Indonesia. The Chinese State Council, or cabinet, has mandated that all government agencies and government-owned enterprises have all systems revised and all millennium bug tests completed by September, 1999. The State Council has ordered 18 government departments and ministries to send monthly reports on their progress toward upgrading systems. China's metal industry illustrates the extent of potential Y2K problems. The China Metallurgical Industry Bureau reports that 20,000 of the 28,000 computers used in the industry, or 71 percent, are threatened by Y2K problems. The PC market in China alone totals 10 million computers, all of which must address the millennium bug. We should address the problem exactly like this summer's floods, said Austin Hu, deputy chief of China's mission to the World Bank. We should put in the effort now and not wait for disaster to happen. Global Telephone Communication Inc., is working with China Telecom to bring wide access of the Internet to the Peoples Republic of China. Through its wholly owned subsidiary Regent Luck Holdings, Global Telephone operates under an exclusive agency/licensing agreement with China Telecom's wholly owned subsidiary, Newsnet, to provide basic and advanced Internet services. Also within the agreement is Global Telephone's ability to provide Internet Telephony systems and products. According to statistics recently released by the China National Network Information Center, registered Internet users reached 1.175 million by the end of June, 1998, doubling the number of users over the previous six month period