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Technology Stocks : Aware, Inc. - Hot or cold IPO? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill who wrote (5678)	3/12/1999 10:32:00 AM
From: Scrapps	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9236

SBC ADSL in 7 states... This article identifies some of the motivation the TELCOs have to move quickly to inexpensive ADSL offerings. Bold highlights added by yours truly. ------------------------------------------------------------------- SBC, AOL To Roll Out High-Speed Service By Simon Hirschfeld Friday March 12 2:59 AM ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - Regional telephone company SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC - news) will offer high-speed Internet access to America Online Inc. (NYSE:AOL - news) subscribers in seven states by the end of this year, the companies said Thursday. The deal complements a similar deal that AOL made with Bell Atlantic Corp. (NYSE:BEL - news) in January, as the No. 1 online service provider positions itself to offer high-speed service throughout the nation. The higher-speed service, expected to cost current AOL users an extra $20 a month, allows for much faster Web surfing, constant and reliable connections, and use of the Internet simultaneously with a telephone or fax on a single line. It will be offered in California, Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas beginning in the fall, and Nevada later in the year. Together with the Bell Atlantic deal, which covers the Eastern Seaboard from Maine to Virginia, AOL will offer high-speed service in 21 states. The AOL online service currently has about 15 million members. Dulles, Va.-based AOL expects to announce other deals like the one with SBC, as well as agreements with providers of other high-speed services, such as cable modem and satellite. San Antonio-based SBC is awaiting regulatory approvals for its $61 billion acquisition of Ameritech Corp. (NYSE:AIT - news), the Chicago-based Baby Bell. SBC currently makes high-speed Internet asymmetrical digital subscriber line (ADSL) access available in 2 million homes, and plans to increase that to 8.4 million homes by the end of the year. The company has not yet begun marketing its service, preferring to concentrate on rolling out access. SBC has set up deals with personal computer makers Dell Computer Corp. (Nasdaq:DELL - news) and Compaq Computer Corp. (NYSE:CPQ - news) to offer their customers ADSL service, which requires a compatible digital modem. The company expects to begin marketing efforts later this year, spokesman Brian Posnanski said. As for the AOL deal, ''I think it's great,'' said Paula Reinman, consulting director at Telechoice and a former head of marketing for SBC's high-speed service. ''I think it's the level of commitment people expect from them,'' referring to SBS. Reinman said new subscribers to the service have surpassed SBC's expectations, and that the AOL deal would give customers an added reason to join. Although high-speed Internet service will have little immediate impact on SBC's earnings, Reinman said, it may stem the flow of customers tempted to migrate to alternate services. AT&T Corp. (NYSE:T - news), for instance, plans to offer local phone service to customers now that it has completed its acquisition of cable company Tele-Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:TCOMP - news) ADSL, a way of making existing phone lines more powerful, represents the main competition to cable modem connections for high-speed Internet service. Amid a broad market surge, AOL shares rose $3.31 at $96.06 by early afternoon Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange, while SBC shares gained $1.19 to $52.88 on the NYSE. ------------------------------------------------------------------- I anxiously await your snide negative comment Bill. <ggg> Competition does in fact...exist!