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To: trenzich who wrote (619)	5/4/1999 11:27:00 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Respond to of 3891

Clearworks Agrees To Use Alcatel Products In 'Last Mile' Connection Dow Jones Online News, Tuesday, May 04, 1999 at 18:36 By Stephanie N. Mehta, Staff Reporter NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- ClearWorks.net, an information access provider, Tuesday said it has signed an agreement with Alcatel SA's Xylan unit, a high-tech equipment provider, to provide switching gear for a residential communications network which ClearWorks plans to build. Terms weren't disclosed. The agreement underscores ClearWorks' (CLWK) strategy of delivering business-quality Internet connections and other services to residential customers. Xylan's OmniSwitch will be used to deliver voice, video and data traffic using Internet technology, also known as Internet Protocol. ClearWorks' said its strategy is novel because it is laying fiber directly into each home. The company is building fiber-to-the-home networks in two Houston-area developments, said Michael T. McClere, chief executive officer of the Houston-based company, formerly Clearworks Technologies Inc. "What we've seen is that master-plan communities have thought of everything except a master technology plan," he said in an interview. Fiber is an ideal conduit for vast streams of traffic, such as the voice, cable-television services and high-speed Internet connections that ClearWorks plans to deliver over a single line. But whether ClearWorks will be able to make money on its strategy remains to be seen. The company, which trades on the over-the-counter bulletin board, reported a loss for the year ended Dec. 31, 1998. Others have tried to deliver so-called "broadband services" via fiber connections to homes. U S West Inc. few years ago built fiber-optic lines all the way to customers' homes to deliver video services in Omaha, Neb. Customers liked the service, but it was deemed too costly to replicate as a cable-television substitute alone. McClere, chief executive of Clearworks, said he believes there is demand for the kinds of robust services ClearWorks plans to sell. One of the first communities to be wired is located less than a mile from a Compaq Computer Corp. (CPQ) campus. ClearWorks plans to offer a "virtual private network" service that allows such high-tech homeowners "work transparently from home," he said. -Stephanie N. Mehta (201) 938-5144 Copyright (c) 1999 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.