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Technology Stocks : George Gilder - Forbes ASAP -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Angela B. who wrote (1221)	4/11/1999 7:50:00 PM
From: MangoBoy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5853

<< The way George explains it ..Gblx/Fro..can hook up the household at a reasonable price and QWST cannot.. >> How? Can you paraphrase GG's argument? And is the household really the key market for fiber barons? As far as I know, FRO doesn't own its physical plant at the local level. most of FRO's local lines are resold ILEC copper. FRO's national backbone is just a sliver of QWST's and I've never heard it claimed that FRO was doing anything technologically unique vs. QWST. FRO is fifth (maybe sixth) in U.S. long distance, QWST is fourth. QWST on the other hand has local fiber loops in 10 U.S. cities (19 by end of year), recently announced it will significantly accelerate its local plans (probably via acquisition: ESPI, ARTT, ELIX, GSTX, MCLD, WCII, TGNT, and HYPT are the usual suspects) this quarter and next, and has equity stakes in both COVD and RTHM.

To: Angela B. who wrote (1221)	4/11/1999 9:55:00 PM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 5853

>>The Edge is the last mile..Isn't it..??? << Angela, not quite, or should I say, not usually. Let me attempt to clarify the last mile versus the edge, where Telco wireline services are concerned. I'm sure Mark will jump in if I am off base. user--> residential network--> last mile--> access--> edge--> core--> [and reverse] The "last mile" is comprised of: -- feeder plant - the large cables emanating directly from the central office; -- distribution plant - smaller cables that branch out from the feeder, to discrete neighborhood poles or green service pedestals; and, -- drop cables - the last couple hundred feet of cable that extends from the pole or pedestal into your window, or to the side of the house. [Note: Feeder and distribution definitions are reversed for cable TV outside plant.] Then there are the access platforms, which reside between the last mile and the edge. These access devices could be central office based DSL access multiplexers, switches, dialup concentrators, etc. Access platforms feed the edge network. In the case of IP, these are routers or frame relay devices, which, in turn, feed the core network. The core could be made up of hierarchically more-significant routers, or frame relay nodes, or ATM switches. On the other side of the core, the entire process reverses. The above is a plain vanilla depiction of a standard network architectural scheme. Note that excessive distances from the central office often warrant loop extension techniques, such as subscriber line carrier systems and field concentration units. And sometimes the access components and the edge components can be extended, as well, sometimes through virtual means, to suit both the user's needs and the criteria of the network architecture. HTH, and Regards, Frank Coluccio