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To: zbyslaw owczarczyk who wrote (11583)	5/19/1999 11:02:00 PM
From: jeff greene	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 18016

networkmagazine.com <<<< ATM Is Staying Alive Our most recent Web survey posed the inflammatory question, “Is ATM dead?” We know it isn't of course, but this seemed a catchy way of asking readers about their plans to upgrade network performance. The first question asked readers how they planned to improve the performance of the network in the next 12 months. Of those responding, 53 percent say they are going to extend switching to the desktop; 60 percent say they will be upgrading desktops to Fast Ethernet; 11 percent say they will be upgrading desktops to Gigabit Ethernet; and 14 percent (more than for Gigabit!) say they will be taking ATM to the desktop. Backbone upgrades are planned by 60 percent of respondents. Of these, 35 percent are going to deploy ATM. Gigabit Ethernet (favored by 22 percent) didn't even come in second; Fast Ethernet gained that honor, at 24 percent. And just 15 percent picked IP over SONET. The backbone technology most often being replaced, by 25 percent of the respondents, is FDDI. Fast Ethernet is being replaced by 24 percent, but only 7 percent of the respondents plan to replace ATM. Our final questions asked respondents to sum up their company's position with regard to ATM, then state what they think the technology's pros and cons are. Just 11 percent say they are moving away from ATM, 44 percent say they never used it, while 40 percent say “we will continue to use [ATM].” (For additional statistics on readers feelings' about ATM in their networks, see Figures 1 and 2.) To participate in our next Web survey, point your browser to www.networkmagazine.com/online/surveys/. —Jonathan Angel >>>>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: zbyslaw owczarczyk who wrote (11583)	5/19/1999 11:36:00 PM
From: pat mudge	Respond to of 18016

Zybslaw --- Fixed wireless is getting more press all the time. At CMTO's annual meeting they talked about working with TUT in two trials --- cable to the curb and wireless to the building. Do you think NN's involved with AT&T on wireless? Pat

To: zbyslaw owczarczyk who wrote (11583)	5/20/1999 7:19:00 PM
From: pat mudge	Respond to of 18016

May 20, 1999 17:49 France Telecom says expansion plans not at risk PARIS, May 20 (Reuters) - France Telecom said on Thursday Deutsche Telekom's bid to merge with Telecom Italia had damaged ties between the French and German firms but did not imperil France Telecom's expansion plans. "Deutsche Telekom announced their project without the least consultation with us...It's disappointing but it does not imperil our expansion in Europe," Chairman Michel Bon told an annual shareholders' meeting. He said France Telecom planned to accelerate its growth based on projects undertaken in Europe over the last year. He said two key ventures in which France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom had stakes would not be significantly affected by the merger efforts of Deutsche Telekom, which also has a small stake in France Telekom as part of a cross-holding pact. "Global One (a three-way venture with U.S.-based Sprint ) has its own team, its own clients and its own network. Obviously it would like its shareholders to get along, but that will not stop it from working well," he said. He said Wind, a three-way fixed and mobile telecoms venture with Italian electricity utility ENEL [ENEI.CN], was doing well with 200,000 clients. France Telecom this week launched legal proceedings against Deutsche Telekom, accusing the German company of breach of contract. It is seeking "several billion euros" in damages. "Calmly and seriously we have set about claiming compensation," Bon said. ENEL has also announced its intention to sue Deutsche Telekom over its $81 billion merger plan with Telecom Italia, which would create a company that would compete against Wind. Earlier, on the sidelines of the AGM, Bon told reporters France Telecom's relationship with Deutsche Telekom was damaged even if the German company's merger plan should fail. "It's difficult to completely forget. Even if Deutsche Telekom fails in Italy, the damage is done," he said. Deutsche Telekom has said it does not believe it is in breach of contract regarding its Telecom Italia bid

To: zbyslaw owczarczyk who wrote (11583)	5/20/1999 9:09:00 PM
From: pat mudge	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 18016

Smoke signals. . . <<< May 20, 1999 20:11 MCI WorldCom CEO says he'll take his time on wireless CLINTON, Miss., May 20 (Reuters) - MCI WorldCom Inc.'s chief executive told shareholders Thursday the No. 2 U.S. long distance phone company is planning to get into the wireless phone business, even though it is not taking immediate steps in that direction. "I guess we do not feel that we need to be in wireless at this point in time strongly enough that we need to go out and do something that affects dilution," CEO Bernie Ebbers told 350 shareholders at the annual meeting. But he added, "That does not mean we intend to stay out of wireless." Hosting the meeting at the company's new headquarters building Mississippi, Ebbers pointed out that the company recently bought some spectrum in the MMDS (multichannel multipoint distribution service) arena and is looking at other acquisitions. "I think WorldCom will definitely be in the wireless business at some point in time. But it's a judgement call on when you need to make that jump and this is not the right time," Ebbers said. MCI WorldCom ended talks to acquire wireless phone company Nextel Communications Inc. and earlier this year backed away from bidding for AirTouch Communications Inc. . MCI WorldCom lacks a wireless phone business at a time when more calls are being made on wireless phones, and wireless customers in the United States surged 25 percent to 69.2 million last year, according to the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association. MCI WorldCom's main rivals, AT&T Corp. and Sprint Corp. have aggressively built their wireless operations. In an interview before the annual meeting, Ebbers said that MCI WorldCom has looked at some wireless companies with national networks. He said that piecing together a network with regional wireless companies would take a "tremendous amount of time," and likely be prohibitively expensive. Though it is still cool to wireless phone service, MCI WorldCom has been competing with Sprint to buy wireless cable companies with MMDS spectrum. The spectrum would allow the long distance companies to transmit voice and data services directly to customers' homes and businesses and allow them to bypass the Baby Bells' networks. MCI WorldCom recently agreed to acquire MMDS companies CAI Wireless Corp. and Prime Cable. The company may pursue other similar acquisitions to expand its reach to about 70 percent of the United States, Ebbers said. "Our goal initially was to get to 70 percent (coverage of the U.S.) and right now we're a little bit above 50," Ebbers said. Competition for the properties has sent the prices of the companies soaring, Ebbers said. MCI WorldCom will use the spectrum to connect directly to small and medium-sized businesses. The spectrum has limited data transmission capability so it would not be used to serve large companies, Ebbers said. "We build it out and we'll use it as an access vehicle to small and mid-sized businesses...in areas where we don't have our local facilites reaching out as far as we'd like," Ebbers said. Ebbers said the company's consumer Internet operations were growing "slowly." Tim Price, president of MCI WorldCom Communications, said the operations were profitable and customer retention has been very strong. Ebbers does not see the company going into cable television, even though rival AT&T has made aggressive cable acquisitions and is set to become the nation's largest phone and cable company. MCI WorldCom recently considered helping some allies in bidding for MediaOne Group Inc. , which AT&T agreed to buy for $58 billion. Ebbers joked, "We did try to indicate an interest in MediaOne just to see if we could get AT&T to pay more." Even though MCI WorldCom has no interest in entering the cable television business, he said he backed efforts by America Online Inc. and other Internet companies to make cable companies' networks open to competitors. AOL's Chairman Steve Case sits on MCI WorldCom's board. At the meeting, shareholders approved an increase in the company's outstanding stock to 5 billion shares from 2.5 billion, approved the 1999 stock option plan and approved the election of the company's 17-member board of directors. Ebbers said Thursday the company's board would likely discuss the possibility of a stock split following the company's annual shareholder meeting, but he said he did not favor such a move at this time. The company said its capital spending for 1999 is expected to be about $6.5 billion to $7.0 billion. At its June 2 analyst meeting in New York, MCI WorldCom said it would outline details of plans to spend about $1 billion in proceeds from recent asset sales in high-growth areas of its business. >>>>>