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Date: Friday, October 06, 2000, 3:59 PM -0400
From: Faulkner Information Services <mailserver@faulknerinfo.com>
To: ???
Subject: Faulkner Com Flash 10/06/00 - (Part 1 of 3)




Com-Flash

Copyright 2000, Faulkner Information Services. All Rights Reserved. 


Publication Date: 10/06/2000


Preview
Com-Flash is a biweekly news summary for Faulkner subscribers covering
computer systems and software, and vendors. This flash covers the period
09/20/2000 to 10/06/2000. 



Top of the News
AOL and Time Warner submitted formal concessions to the European Commission
in an effort to win approval of their proposed merger. The companies
conceded that Germany's Bertelsmann AG would be bought out of AOL Europe,
which is currently a joint venture. This move would dissolve a potential
music monopoly including EMI, Warner Music, and Bertelsmann's BMG. Similar
efforts will be made to change the shareholding structure of AOL France,
which is jointly controlled by Vivendi. Vivendi is currently the subject of
a separate European Commission probe into its planned merger with Seagram,
owner of Universal Music. Time Warner pledged not to discriminate against
non-AOL affiliated ISPs for the sale of online music for five years, and
will make its music compatible with at least three software music players
not controlled by the merged companies. Finally, AOL pledged that it will
not force content providers to commit to both AOL and AOL Europe. The
Commission confirmed that it received the concessions, and will rule on
them by October 24. 

Citing abuse of power, violation of competition rules, and a practice
contrary to norms in commercial matters, three competitors filed suit
against Belgacom. British Telecom, WorldCom, and Versatel, said Belgacom's
drastic price cuts for both international and national calls had not been
accompanied by a cut in charges levied at other telecom providers using
Belgacom's grid. The companies filed a formal complaint with the Commercial
Court in Brussels.



Mergers/Acquisitions
ADC completed an acquisition of Broadband Access Systems announced
September 20, 2000 for stock valued at $2.25 billion. ADC issued
approximately 6 million shares to close the transaction. Broadband's Cuda
network solutions platform will combine with ADC's network, software, and
integration services to provide high-speed Internet access and VoIP
services. ADC also completed the acquisition of Computer Telecom
Installations, a British company offering installation, commissioning,
integration and maintenance of telecommunications networks and equipment.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, and the transaction will have no
material effect on ADC's consolidated financial statements. 

Filling in gaps in its national network, AT&T Wireless completed the
acquisition of wireless systems in San Diego and Indianapolis. The system
in San Diego was owned by GTE before its merger with Bell Atlantic, and the
system in Los Angeles was owned by SBC and divested as a condition for
approval for its joint venture with BellSouth. The populations of both
systems include nearly six million people. 

BCE Emergis successfully completed its acquisition of InvoiceLink. Through
this acquisition, BCE Emergis now provides a B2B EIPP solution which they
will integrate with their other solutions, including electronic procurement
and security. 

The European Commission and the Federal Trade Commission cleared Boeing's
$3.75 billion acquisition of the satellite and components business of
Hughes Electronics. However, the FTC issued a consent decree keeping Boeing
from accessing private information regarding competitors through its
satellite division. Both commissions want to keep Hughes and Boeing away
from sensitive information concerning companies such as Lockheed Martin,
Alcatel, and Bae Systems. 

Cabletron Systems acquired, on behalf of its subsidiary Enterasys Networks,
Baltimore-based Network Security Wizards (NSW). This acquisition gives
Enterasys access to IDS technology that will be integrated into its
switching, routing, and VPN platforms and high-speed enterprise security
products. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Cisco completed the acquisition of NuSpeed of Maple Grove, Minnesota, a
provider of Internet systems technology that connects SANs and IP networks.
Cisco Systems also completed the acquisition of HyNEX of Shefayim, Israel
that began with a definitive agreement on June 5, 2000. HyNEX develops
intelligent access devices for ATM network providers. Both acquisitions are
being accounted for using purchase accounting. 

Covad Communications completed the acquisition of BlueStar Communications
Group, a provider of broadband and Internet services for small to
medium-sized businesses throughout the southeastern US. BlueStar will
continue to do business under the name BlueStar.net. 

DDI announced its acquisition of Texas-based Golden Manufacturing. Golden
Manufacturing is a privately held manufacturer of commercial precision
sheet metal and machine parts serving the networking and telecommunications
industries. 

Exodus Communications acquired Global Crossing's GlobalCenter unit for
$6.525 billion in stock, a move that will transform Exodus into the largest
company in the quickly expanding Web-hosting market. The companies signed a
10-year network services agreement under which Exodus will use Global
Crossing's network of fiber-optic cables. In addition, Exodus and Asia
Global Crossing agreed to form a joint venture to provide Web hosting and
managed services in Asia. Exodus will hold a 77-percent stake in that
venture, and Asia Global Crossing will own 23 percent. 

Three Japanese Telecoms merged to become KDDI, the second-largest
competitor in an industry dominated by Nippon Telegraph &Telephone, the
former government monopoly. The merger is one of several deals that have
been spurred by recent measures to deregulate Japan's long-protected
telecom industry. 

Marconi plans to acquire Mariposa Technology, a provider of Level 3 IADs,
for $268 million in shares. The transaction is expected to be completed in
October 2000. Marconi will assume Mariposa's presence in the IAD market.
This deal allows Marconi to strengthen its presence where ATM services are
offered. Mariposa will be integrated with Marconi's Broadband Switching and
Routing division. 

Metrocall and its partners raised equity to acquire PageNet. Metrocall
requested that the US Bankruptcy Court allow it to submit a proposal plan
for acquisition that would compete with Arch Communications' proposal.
Partners Aether Systems and PSINet helped Metrocall increase its total bid
for PageNet to $337.5 million. The figure includes the sale of SMR licenses
to Nextel Communications, an equity investor in Metrocall. The proposed
plan states that PageNet's bondholders would receive $100 million in cash,
106.8 million common shares, and 81 percent equity in Vast Solutions.

News Corp. became GemStar-TV Guide International's top shareholder in a
$6.4 billion deal with Liberty Media. Under the agreement, News Corp. will
purchase Liberty's 21 percent stake in GemStar, providing it with a total
interest of 43 percent in the electronic program guide provider. In
exchange, Liberty will receive 486 million limited-voting News Corp.
shares, increasing its stake in News to 18 percent. Liberty will also
invest $500 million for a 4.76 percent stake in News' Sky Global Networks
satellite unit, which will soon go public. By combining GemStar's
technology with its Sky Global satellite unit, News Corp. is anticipating a
bid for Hughes Electronics, the parent of satellite television service
provider DirecTV. 

SBC Communications is rumored to be negotiating the sale of most of its
European assets to Telia of Sweden for more than $6 billion. According to
reports, SBC would sell its 42-percent stake in Tele Danmark to Telia for
stock and cash. Other possible divestitures include its 15-percent share of
Cegetel SA of France and it 40-percent stake in Diax Holding of
Switzerland. Earlier this year SBC shed its 30-percent stake in MATV and
its share in NetCom to Telia. 

Time Warner Telecom received approval from the US Bankruptcy Court for the
acquisition of all GST assets for $690 million. The transaction is expected
to close before the end of the year. 

The US Department of Justice cleared Verizon Communications' acquisition of
OnePoint Communications. OnePoint provides telephone, television, and
high-speed Internet services to apartment buildings in Atlanta, Chicago,
Washington, Denver, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Phoenix, Charlotte, and
Raleigh-Durham. The deal is still under review by the FCC and state
regulators. 

Williams Communications sold Williams TeleServices to Sunergos
Technologies. According to Williams, the company sold its TeleServices unit
because it was not a good fit with the company's major business strategy.
The acquisition was finalized on Aug. 31, 2000. 



Alliances/Joint Ventures
@Link Networks and BullsEye Telecom teamed up to provide small- to
medium-sized business customers with DSL-based Internet services. This
partnership enables @Link to reach smaller businesses. 

Artisoft formed a strategic alliance with Hewlett-Packard to deliver an
open software-based phone system for SMBs and corporate branch offices.
Under the terms of the agreement, Artisoft's TeleVantage software-based
phone system will be integrated with the HP NetServer platform. HP will
distribute this offering via direct and indirect worldwide sales channels.

AT&T Broadband announced it will use Liberate Technologies' interactive
television software in pilot tests of its set-top boxes. The software
provides Internet properties to television via a set-top box provided by
Motorola. Liberate was chosen after delays in the Microsoft software
prompted AT&T to search for alternate vendors. Tests on the software will
begin later this year.  

AT&T Broadband also joined Panasonic in an initiative to provide one
million advanced digital set-top boxes over the next three years. Under the
agreement, Panasonic will supply AT&T Broadband with OpenCable compliant,
DOCSIS modems as well as IP phones, faxes, and video specifically intended
to enhance AT&T Broadband services. 

BCE Emergis and HP created a strategic alliance to deliver a turnkey
version of the Emergis Buyer e-procurement solution to US and Canadian
companies. Mid-market corporate buying organizations will be able to
connect over the Internet with a multitude of suppliers, realizing
significant costs savings for purchased goods and reducing costs related to
time and processing cycles. 

Compaq and Siemens agreed to provide network management solutions for
worldwide wireless customers. A combination of Compaq's TeMIP and Siemen's
SPOTS product will create Siemen's Mobile Integrator, which the companies
will develop, sell, and deploy to mobile operators. 

COMSAT Mobile Communications signed a three-year agreement to provide
satellite services for inflightonline.com, which will use COMSAT's
air-to-ground communications network to bring Internet and Intranet access
and e-mail to in-flight passengers with laptops and handheld computers. 

Covad Communications and Convergent Communications entered a strategic
alliance, which allows Convergent to offer Covad's DSL services to its
customers. In addition, Convergent and Covad will be working together to
develop DSL applications. 

Commerce One and Hewlett-Packard formed a partnership that will combine
their respective technology and services offerings for e-business customers
worldwide. Commerce One's e-marketplace services are expected to be
certified for the HP NetServer line and will be made available by October.
In addition, HP will provide engineering, technical support, and marketing
resources for the initiative. 

Micromuse entered an expanded agreement with AOL whereby Micromuse will
provide AOL with enhanced operations support infrastructure through its
Netcool/Impact v.2.0 This expanded agreement with AOL is part of an ongoing
project within the company's NOC. 

NTT has joined forces with America Online. NTT will take a 42.3-percent
stake in AOL's Japan unit through a $120-million cash investment. AOL will
pour an additional $100 million into its unit; and, over the next two
years, both companies will invest up to an additional $200 million in AOL
Japan. 

Novell entered a strategic and financial partnership with Digital Cement to
grow and develop online marketing portals to help companies establish
relationships with small business customers. As part of the alliance,
Novell VP Monty became a distinguished Digital Cement board member.  

In other news, Novell inked an agreement with Vocalis to add telephone
access to Novell GroupWise e-mail through Vocalis SpeechMail, adding easy
voice access to the Novell GroupWise business communication backbone.  

Novell also signed an enterprise-wide agreement with British
Telecommunications that establishes Novell as a strategic supplier of
directory-enabled technology for BT worldwide. The first phase of this
multi-million dollar agreement will include an upgrade of BT's network to
the latest version of Novell's NetWare 5.1 OS and connecting Novell's NDS
eDirectory across BT's enterprise. 

NTT DATA announced it intends to enter into a strategic alliance with
NaviSite to co-develop and provide co-branded, managed services in Japan.
As part of this relationship, NaviSite would utilize dedicated space in NTT
DATA's Class A Tokyo data center in order to provide managed hosting
services in Japan and to make space and managed hosting services available
in NaviSite's US facilities for NTT DATA's global customers. 

Serious haggling is expected to save a multi-billion dollar partnership
between Pacific Century Cyberworks and Telstra. Telstra is seeking more
favorable terms for the joint venture, worth $3 billion, and could end up
with a bigger chunk of assets at a lower price, as PCCW shares have plunged
since they announced the deal in April. 

Qualcomm and Agilent Technologies forged a pact that will allow Agilent to
use several of Qualcomm's patents as well as its software. In addition,
Agilent will supply equipment for the testing of Qualcomm's CDMA systems. 

Reinforcing its US strategy, Sonera zed, a subsidiary of Sonera, entered
into several key strategic alliances enabling the company to provide mobile
specific applications for its users. The four content partners added
include Fodors.com, Vicinity, zagat.com, and 1-800-TAXICAB. 

Verizon Communications and Aquis Communications inked an agreement
providing for compensation arrangements to Aquis for terminating Verizon
originated calls and for transport and termination of traffic on each
others' networks. The agreements cover the territory of the District of
Columbia, MD, NJ, NY, and W VA. 

Williams Communications and Dominion Telecom entered an agreement giving
Dominion Telecom the right to use more than 6,000 fiber miles throughout
the northeast US for the next 20 years. Williams will be turning over the
fiber in stages over the coming months. Williams will become a preferred
provider of off-network services that Dominion may need to expand it
high-capacity wholesale telecom services. 



Convergence
BEA Systems reported that London start-up Kizoom will launch a personalized
travel information service WAP device built on the BEA WebLogic Server.
Kizoom's offering delivers information to mobile phones in response to
timetable and journey planning inquiries for UK mainline trains. 



Electronic Business
Verizon Communications achieved Internet Protocol (IP) Telephony
Specialization from Cisco Systems. With this specialized training
consultants from Verizon's Enterprise Solutions division can help business
customers take full advantage of the emerging Voice-over-IP technology. 

BellSouth entered a strategic partnership with AllConnect, a company that
assists consumers in selecting and ordering brand name utility and
communications services. AllConnect will market BellSouth's consumer
services throughout the telco's nine-state coverage area. This
comprehensive marketing strategy will include BellSouth's Internet service,
paging, and home security. Its DSL and wireless services will be added in
the near future. 

Novell introduced Novell Portal Services, an e-business technology that
provides businesses with a personalized and productive experience on the
Net. Novell Portal Services implements Net services software and that of
industry partners to give users a single login, single point of access to
personalized information and services gathered from the Internet,
intranets, and other networks.  

Novell also launched the DirXML 1.0, Novell NDS eDirectory 8.5, and Novell
Account Management 2.1 e-business infrastructure technologies for
accelerating B2B and B2C commerce for enterprises, ISPs, and ASPs. These
updated e-business offerings provide the fundamental infrastructure
building blocks needed to transform traditional businesses to e-businesses. 



Internet
Cable &Wireless plans to embark on a project to route telecommunications
traffic using Internet technologies instead of conventional switches. In an
agreement estimated to be worth $1.4 billion over 10 years, C&W selected
Nortel Networks to plan, design, implement and operate the VoIP backbone
network, which will extend throughout Europe and North America. 

KPN unit KPN Mobile and its partner, NTT, announced they planned to form an
Internet portal joint venture, offering Internet services on mobile phones
across Europe. The agreement comes after NTT, which owns a 15-percent stake
in the unit, said it was considering taking its wireless Web joint venture
it has with America Online to Europe. 

Level 3 Communications will be offering businesses faster Internet access
services utilizing advanced Ethernet technology, which cuts the cost to
about half compared to similar services. The service will be available to
businesses in non-Level 3 data centers, carrier hotels, and other buildings
in the US, Europe, and eventually Asia. 

Versatel's German subsidiary, Sonne, will suspend its "Flat Fee" online
service offering. Under the current regulatory regime in Germany, Deutsche
Telekom is not required to provide a wholesale connection rate to ISPs. As
a result, the flat fee service offered by Sonne is unprofitable. Sonne will
continue to evaluate the viability of a flat fee service offering in
conjunction with German regulator's recent announcement of an investigation
into DT's wholesale connection rates for ISPs. 



Web Authoring, Web Development Software
Cable &Wireless partnered with Microsoft and Compaq to launch an ASP
business, a-Services, which will target businesses with 10 to 1,000
employees. It will offer hosted versions of a wide range of applications,
such as Microsoft Office, security and training services, sales force
automation, e-commerce, storefronts and mass file storage. 

ePresence launched its Microsoft Strategic Directions Workshop and
QuickStart Services for Exchange 2000. ePresence developed these programs
for companies investing in the Windows 2000 platform. ePresence consultants
will review initial business requirements, and then make assessments and
begin the Exchange 2000 design process, which will utilize XML support and
Digital Dashboard as some of the key functioning technologies. 

Lotus and Sun Microsystems launched Lotus QuickPlace 2.0 and the Lotus ASP
Solution Pack for the Sun Solaris Operating Environment. Lotus Domino
Everyplace is also now available on the Solaris Operating Environment for
enterprise customers. 

Novell released the Novell Internet Caching System (ICS) 1.3, allowing Web
managers to accelerate their Web sites, secure site access, improve
management of high-volume sites, filter Web content, and guarantee site
up-time. The features will help companies seamlessly integrate into
e-business. 



Messaging and Groupware
Active Voice unveiled its Unity Enterprise, a unified messaging
communications server for Lotus Notes and Domino. The 15N02 Unity
Enterprise for Notes/Domino showcases software that includes native IP
telephony integration with Cisco's CallManager IP telephone system. Unity
Enterprise for Domino offers Lotus customers a lower total cost of
ownership for this converged infrastructure. 

Excite@Home introduced a new Excite Messenger with voice and
interoperability features. The messenger offers text and voice messaging
and is tightly integrated into Excite@Home's Inbox and Address Book. Excite
Messenger follows standards for interoperable instant messaging as agreed
upon by the coalition of instant messaging services IMUnified. 

Lotus reported the availability of Lotus Sametime 2.0, the latest version
of its real-time collaboration platform. Sametime 2.0 features new
multimedia capabilities, including interactive audio/video conferencing
over IP and capabilities of broadcasting audio/video/data presentations
over corporate networks and the Internet. 



Network Switching
Foundry Networks announced the availability of ServerIronXL/TCS, a cache
switch implemented to build intelligent content networks that route traffic
based on content rather than IP addresses. 

Should you have any questions, concerns or problems with your flash, please
contact us at: mailto:flash@faulkner.com 

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