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Date: Tuesday, February 08, 2000, 8:24 AM -0500
From: Faulkner Mail Server <postmaster@[146.145.40.37]>
To: ???
Subject: Faulkner Com Flash 02/07/2000 - (Part 1 of 3) 

TOP OF THE NEWS
	 France Telecom agreed to takeover the Global One alliance by buying out
Deutsche Telekom and Sprint for $3.9 billion. France Telecom will buy
Deutsche Telekom's 29-percent stake for $2.76 billion in cash and $188.5
million in debt. Similarly, France Telecom will acquire Sprint's 42-percent
stake for $1.127 billion in cash and $276 million in debt. Customers of
Sprint and DT can continue to make international calling via Global One
through 2002. The acquisition leaves France Telecom as a powerful player in
the international calling arena, but it leaves Deutsche Telekom without an
international presence. DT plans to use the proceeds from its sale to fuel
international expansion. Rumors continue to circulate that the German telco
is considering a play for Cable & Wireless.

	 After months of name calling and scrambling strategic maneuvering amid a
hostile takeover attempt, Vodafone AirTouch and Mannesmann decided they can
play nice together after all. The two companies came to terms of a friendly
merger, the largest telecommunications merger in history. Mannesmann
shareholders will receive 58.96 shares in Vodafone for each one of their
own. This will give Mannesmann a 49.5 percent holding in the new company,
which will operate under the name Vodafone AirTouch except in Germany, will
it will continue to operate as Mannesmann. There are no plans to lay off
employees, and the new company will operate a joint headquarter in the UK
and Germany. While Mannesmann's shareholders still must approve the deal,
the company's supervisory board already gave their approval. The new company
will have a market value of $350 billion, making it the fourth largest
company in the world after Microsoft, and Cisco Systems. By comparison, the
$177.3-billion deal dwarfs the $135 billion deal inked by Time Warner and
AOL recently. The deal will come under heavy scrutiny from regulators in
Germany and the UK, as well as the European Union, which already gave it
tacit approval. Vodafone's CEO, Chris Gent, said the deal will involve some
of the most complex merger arrangements the industry has ever seen. Some of
those complex arrangements will involve Orange, the UK-based wireless
operator that was acquired by Mannesmann. UK telecom regulator Oftel will
not allow the new company to retain it. KPN Telecom, which has a joint
venture with Orange in Belgium, expressed interest over acquiring the
company, although it may be spun off to shareholders. The hostile takeover
bid that Vodafone had launched on Mannesmann was set to expire February 7th.
======================================================================

Agreements/Joint Ventures 
	 Asia Global Crossing Ltd and Japan's Internet Research Institute (IRI)
	 will set up a $60 million joint venture, Global Center Japan, to design,
develop and build data centers to provide Web hosting and e-commerce
support. Asia Global Crossing will own 89 percent and IRI will own the
remaining 11 percent of the venture, which will begin offering initial
services in April and expanded services by the end of the year.
	 CapRock Communications and AT&T will join forces to build a $120 million
regional fiber ring that will connect fourteen Southwest markets in portions
of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. The partnership will enable
CapRock to save an estimated $50-60 million in capital costs and speed up
network construction, resulting in quicker introduction of voice, data, and
Internet services.
	 NTT and AT&T came to a basic agreement to form a joint venture. Specific
terms of the venture, however, will not be released until March. In April
1999, the two companies announced that they were talking about forming a
joint venture to combine their global corporate networking businesses.
	 Vodafone AirTouch and Vivendi agreed to form an equally owned joint
	 venture that will establish a Web portal in Europe. The move increased
the chances that Vodafone's attempt to takeover Mannesmann would be
successful. Vivendi was talking with Mannesmann about a white knight bid to
save the German company from Vodafone's hostile takeover attempt. The
company's alliance with Vodafone put Mannesmann at a disadvantage and is
said to have a lot to do with Mannesmann's decision to give in to a
friendly merger agreement.

Applications Software 
	 AT&T introduced Advanced IP Professional Services and Networking Security
Consulting Professional Services to help companies manage and improve the
performance of enterprise applications, such as e-mail, and increase network
security capabilities.
	 AT&T unveiled "Ecosystems for ASPs," a network services platform that will
allow Application Services Providers to deliver high-performing and reliable
network-based applications, and includes a comprehensive co-marketing and
distribution program. AT&T also introduced an intelligent content
distribution service, along with enterprise information storage services.

Broadband/Cable Networking 
	 AT&T Media Services unveiled the website www.vehix.com as part of a
convergent cable television and online buying service being offered to
automotive dealer clients. Created by AutoMall USA LLC, vehix.com will allow
consumers to research, buy, find, finance, sell and maintain automobiles.
	 The Hong Kong government awarded HKT HK$9 billion in contracts to 13
companies to expand the country's telecommunications capacity by nearly ten
times. The companies will construct four land-based cables from China to
Hong Kong and seven submarine cables. Together, these projects will boost
the country's capacity from 44G bps to 428G bps. Currently, Cable & Wireless
HKT owns the only cable system in the country.
	 Level 3 Communications unveiled plans to spend $6 billion in 2000 and 2001
in the build-out of its fiber-optic network. Of the total investment, $3.5
billion is slated to be used this year, with the remaining $2.5 earmarked
for investment in 2001. The company is building a fiber network in Europe
and the US. Additionally, it is constructing facilities in Japan and Hong
Kong, and it plans to link those two countries via undersea cable.

Carriers and Carrier Services 
	 The Government Services Administration awarded Bell Atlantic a $1.4
billion, four-year contract to provide telecommunications services to US
federal government agencies in the Washington, DC area. Bell Atlantic is the
lead contractor, but will subcontract portions if the contract to partners,
including, Advanced Logic System, Lucent Technologies,
PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and Sprint.com/~ht~.
	 BellSouth and Predictive Systems entered into a strategic alliance to
expand BellSouth's services to business and technology companies in the
e-business marketplace. In addition, BellSouth purchased shares in
Predictive's IPO as an equity investment. 
	 EQUANT and Reuters are reportedly in negotiations about forming a
partnership that would merge EQUANT's data network with Reuters internal
telecommunications network. EQUANT would manage Reuters' internal tel
systems in exchange for access to its customers in the financial industry.
	 Lucent Technologies unveiled its Advanced Call Management bundle, a
portfolio of intelligent network (IN) services designed to address the needs
of the competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) market. The first bundle of
software solutions for CLEC's includes Lucent's Online Communications Center
with Internet Call Waiting, Talking Call Waiting, and Talking Caller ID. The
IN CLEC bundle, expected to be available by the end of February 2000, will
be priced according to network and service configurations.
	 MCI WorldCom will expand its Managed International Private Line service
(MIPL), known as International Business Link, to 25 new cities in Europe and
Asia. Customers will have access to seamless, end-to-end high-speed MIPL
service over network facilities to 44 international cities, with coverage
expanding to approximately 100 cities by the end of 2000.
	 Qwest was awarded a $10 million, three-year contract to provide Call
Sciences with carrier services, including domestic origination and
termination, international termination, frame relay and Internet service.
	 RSL Communications is offering a radical pricing scheme for local
telephony: a service that pays its customers instead of having the customers
pay the service provider. The pricing plan uses Britain's 0845 calling
prefix, which is used for non-geographic local calls like Internet access
and directory assistance. This prefix splits the call revenue between the
originating and destination carrier. While this is the reason many UK-based
ISPs are able to offer free Internet access, RSL Com is bringing the 0845
prefix to business customers. Companies will be able to route calls to their
switchboards via an 0845 number, which will generate 0.5 cents per minute in
revenues for calls made during business hours. Large companies with heavy
phone traffic could reap substantial benefits from this plan. However, it
remains to be seen how long RSL will be able to offer this seemingly
ludicrous "we pay you" pricing plan before UK telecoms regulator Oftel
steps in.

CTI/Call Center 
	 Bell Atlantic introduced its VisuaLink Multimedia Call Center, which
integrates videoconferencing, automatic multimedia call distribution, call
center features, and a range of network transport technologies. The solution
allows smaller retail branches to provide the same services as larger
locations. Each agent station can be configured with a personal computer and
touch-screen, printer, video camera and codec, document and ID scanner,
magnetic card reader, signature capture device, and a cash dispenser and
deposit drawer.
	 Siemens Information and Communication Networks added its Xpressions 4780
unified messaging system and ProCenter MX E-mail application and Microsoft's
NetMeeting software to the company's ResumeRouting CRM platform to provide
e-service and multimedia call center support. This third release of the
ResumeRouting application is a complete suite of skills-based, multi-media
routing, agent productivity tools, and management solutions for single and
multi-site contact centers.

Financial News 
	 Alcatel reported that fourth-quarter revenues increased 8.6 percent over
results from the same quarter in 1998 to 7.06 billion euros. Net income was
338 million euros compared to 31 million euros. For the year, revenues grew
28 percent to 23.02 billion euros. Earnings for the year rose to 644 million
euros, compared to 2.34 million euros in 1998. The year-end earnings figure
reflects a one-time charge of 329 million euros.
	 ALLTEL reported $6.3 billion in annual revenues for the year ended
	 December 31, 1999, a 12 percent increase over figures from 1998. Net
income for the period was $783.6 million, or an earning per share of $2.47,
compared to 1998's $603 million net income, or a $1.95 earning per share.
The company's fourth quarter revenues were $1.6 billion, up 7.4 percent
from the same quarter in 1998. Net income for the quarter was $233 million,
or a $0.73 earning per share, compared to the fourth quarter 1998, which
showed a net income of $174 million, or an earning of $0.56 per share.
	 AT&T's fourth quarter revenues for 1999 increased 5.9 percent for the
acquisitions of TCI (now AT&T Broadband) and all closed portions of IBM
Global Network (now AT&T Global Network Services) to $16.3 billion, compared
to $15.4 billion the previous year. Operational earnings were $1.8 billion
or $0.57 per diluted share, down 16.2 percent from $0.68 per diluted share,
primarily as a result of the TCI acquisition. Business services revenues
increased 6 percent, up to $6.3 billion compared to $6 billion in 1998.
Consumer services revenues were $5.4 billion, a decline of 4.5 percent from
$5.6 billion. Wireless services revenues jumped 41.6 percent, to $7.6
billion. Annual revenue for 1999 was $64.1 billion, a 6.2 percent increase
over the $60.4 billion reported for 1998. Profits totaled $5.45 billion, or
$1.74 per share, down from $6.4 billion, or $2.37 per share. The bottom line
was hit hard by introducing new telephone and Web services on outdated cable
systems, as well as upgrading and increasing capacity on AT&T's wireless
network.
	 AT&T filed a statement with the SEC registering its planned tracking stock
IPO of its wireless business. The tracking stock will reflect the economic
performance of the company's wireless services businesses, including voice
and data mobility, fixed wireless, and ownership interests in domestic and
international wireless operations.
	 For the fourth quarter, Bell Atlantic's revenues rose 6.6 percent to $8.6
billion from $8.1 billion in 1998. Data and wireless services contributed to
the company's 12 percent increase in profits to $1.2 billion, or $0.77 per
share, compared to $1.1 billion, or $0.69 per share, excluding one-time
items. Including one-time charges, Bell Atlantic's profits fell to $719
million, or $0.45 per share, compared to $1 billion, or $0.65 per share.
Data services were up 26 percent to $800 million and consumer Caller ID
revenues increased 26.5 percent. The company's long distance revenues will
be reflected in next quarter's results.
	 Bell Atlantic released fourth quarter and year-end financials for the
company's wireless communications service provider unit, Bell Atlantic
Mobile, which showed revenues of $1.1 billion for the quarter, up 24 percent
from the same quarter in 1998 and yearly revenues of $4.1 billion for 1999,
up 18.9 percent from 1998.
	 For the fourth quarter, BellSouth reported revenues of $6.7 billion, a 8.3
percent increase over year-ago results. Digital and data services increased
30.1 percent to $760 million and BellSouth.net, the company's Internet
service, grew more than 82 percent in 1999. Including one-time items,
profits were $1.1 billion, or $0.55 per share, compared to $1 billion, or
$0.51 per share a year ago.
	 BMC announced that their revenues increased 24 percent in the third
	 quarter from $344.1 million to $426.3 million. Net income went from
$110.8 million, or $0.45 per share, to $105.6 million, or $0.41 per share,
a drop of five percent in net income and nine percent in earnings per
share. A
year-over-year currency movement reduced earnings per share by $0.02.
	 In its first quarter since acquiring IXC Communications in November of
1999, Broadwing had fourth quarter 1999 revenues of $452 million, a 14
percent increase over the same period in 1998. Net loss was $47.4 million,
or a loss of $0.25 per diluted share, compared to a net gain of $36.2
million, or $0.16 per diluted share. Customer service figures greatly
improved, and the number of ADSL subscribers rose almost 50 percent from the
third quarter. Revenues for the 1999 fiscal year were up 28 percent to $1.1
billion, compared to $885.1 million in 1998. Net income was $31.8 million,
or $0.24 per diluted share, a drop from $149.9 million, or $0.59 per diluted
share.
	 British Telecommunications reported that revenues for the third quarter,
ended December 31, rose 19 percent over results from the same quarter a year
ago to 5.6 billion pounds. Net profit was 453 million pounds, a significant
decrease from 592 million pounds the previous year. BT blamed this slide in
profits on increasing competition, overseas investments, costs associated
with product development, decreasing profit margins in its wholesale
business, and lower prices for calls. To offset this slide, the company
plans to eliminate 3000 jobs, which amounts to 10 percent of its managerial
staff. Shareholders were not happy with either the financial results or the
plan to axe so many employees, and they reacted by causing BT's stock to
drop 20 percent in a single day. Poor profits for the quarter could leave BT
open for acquisition or a merger with another telco.
	 Covad Communications announced that revenues for the fourth quarter
increased 62 percent over results from the same quarter the previous year to
$30.9 million. Net loss was $70.5 million, compared to $54.1 million. The
company said it installed 26,000 subscriber lines in the quarter. For 1999,
revenues were $66.5 million, compared to $5.3 million in 1998. Net loss was
$195.4 million, compared to $48.1 million.
	 Deutsche Telekom will list T-Online, its Internet subsidiary, and T-Mobil,
its wireless subsidiary, through separate IPOs. The T-Online IPO is expected
to be initiated in April, while the T-Mobile offering is slated for autumn
or winter. DT recently consolidated all of its wireless assets, which
includes max.mobile and One2One, into T-Mobil--a move that will make a stock
offering more attractive to investors. The company said it will retain
majority stakes in both subsidiaries.
	 General DataComm Industries reported that revenues for the first fiscal
quarter of 2000 were $47.6 million, compared to the $42.4 million reported
in the first fiscal quarter of 1999. There was a net loss for the current
quarter of $5.9 million, or a loss of $0.29 per share, compared to a net
loss of $3.1 million, or a $0.16 loss per share, in the same period one year
ago.
	 General Motors plans to issue $15 billion in new shares of the tracking
stock for its Hughes Electronics unit and offer $8 billion worth of the
shares to shareholders in exchange for their regular GM shares. The
remaining $7 billion in Hughes shares will be put into a trust fund for
retiree benefits.
	 For the fourth quarter, GTE's consolidated revenues and sales were $6.7
billion, a 12.5 percent increase over results from the same quarter last
year. Net income jumped 12.4 percent to $961 million, or $0.98 diluted
earnings per common share, from $855 million, or $0.88 diluted earnings per
common share. The acquisition of Ameritech's wireless properties in the
fourth quarter increased revenue by $186 million. For the fiscal year ended
December 31, 1999, consolidated revenues and sales 8.7 percent to $25.3
billion from $23.3 billion in fiscal 1998. Net income rose 14.7 percent to
$3.4 billion, or $3.49 diluted earnings per common share, from $3 billion,
or $3.07 diluted earnings per common share. The company attributes the
increased revenues to a strong growth in CLEC bundled offerings, which grew
157 percent, and an increased demand for data services, including ISDN and
DSL. Lockheed Martin reported net sales for the fourth quarter 1999 at $6.98
billion, down 2.9 percent from figures for the same quarter a year earlier.
Net income for the quarter was $293 million in 1999 and $125 million in
1998. Fourth quarter 1999 net earnings per share were $0.76 on a diluted
basis, compared to fourth quarter 1998 diluted earnings per share of $0.33.
For the year 1999, the company reported net sales of $25.5 billion, down
2.88 percent from 1998 figures. Net income for 1999 was $382 million,
compared to more than $1 billion in 1998. Diluted earnings per share were
$0.99 in 1999 and $2.63 in 1998.
	 Reuters reported the Lucent Technologies may create tracking stocks from
its optical networking or microelectronics units. The news source also
indicates that the company is considering divesting some slow-going
operations. A tracking stock would allow Lucent to cash in on the recent
interest in optical networking stocks. Analyst predict that the tracking
stock could be valued as high as $70 billion. After reporting a 23 percent
decrease in first quarter profits last week, Lucent is under pressure to
regain investor confidence and restore growth.
	 Motorola fourth quarter sales were $8.5 billion, up 2 percent from the
	 same period a year earlier. Factoring in the sales of certain businesses
since 1998, sales from ongoing businesses were up 7 percent over 1998
figures. Quarterly earnings were up 223 percent to $514 million, or $0.82
per share, compared to earnings of $159 million, or $0.26 per share in the
fourth quarter 1998. Annual sales were up 5 percent to $30.9 billion,
compared to figures for 1998. Earnings for the year were 1.2 billion, or
$1.94 per share, compared to earnings of $317 million, or $0.53 per share
in 1998. NetSpeak fourth quarter 1999 net revenues were $3.1 million, up 94
	 percent from the same quarter a year earlier. Net loss for the quarter
was $2.5 million, or a $0.19 loss per share, compared to a 1998 fourth
quarter net loss of $3.3 million, or a loss of $0.26 per share. For the
year, the company saw net revenues of $7.6 million, down a little more than
1 percent from figures reported a year earlier. Net loss for 1999 was $12.2
million, or a loss of $0.95 per share, compared to 1998's net loss of $12
million, or a $0.98 loss per share.
	 Nextel filed a registration statement with the SEC for an IPO of 23.5
million shares of its Class A common stock. The offering price is expected
to be between $15 and $19 per share.
	 Nokia reported a net profit for the fourth quarter 1999 of 853 million
euros, up 45.8 percent from the same quarter in 1998. Sales rose 46 percent
to 6.37 billion euros. For the year, the company's profits were 2.58
billion, up 47 percent from 1998. Annual sales were up 2 percent to 19.7
billion.
	 Nortel Networks' revenues increased 21 percent for the fourth quarter of
1999 to $6.99 billion from $5.77 billion for the same quarter in 1998. Net
earnings before acquisition costs were $755 million, or $0.55 per share,
compared to $477 million, or $0.36 per share. For the fiscal year 1999,
revenues increased 26 percent to $22.22 billion from $17.58 billion in
fiscal 1998. Net earnings from operations applicable to common shares before
acquisitions costs were $1.73 billion, or $1.28 per share, compared to $1.07
billion, or $0.93 per share in 1998.
	 The board of directors of Nortel Networks approved a proposed two-for-one
stock split that would increase the number of outstanding Nortel common
share from approximately 1.38 billion to 2.76 billion. The stock split is
still subject to common shareholder and regulatory approval.
	 NorthPoint Communications announced plans to sell $400 million in 12 7/8
percent Senior Notes due 2010.
	 After experiencing poor financial results, PageNet will be unable to pay
the $33.6 million in debt interest payments by the due date of February 1,
2000. As a result, the company's deal to merge with Arch Communications will
be adjusted to reflect the missed payments on accrued and unpaid interest.
	 QUALCOMM reported first quarter 2000 revenues of $1.1 billion, up 19
percent over figures for the same quarter in 1999, despite the year ago
quarter's profit from the sale of the company's terrestrial CDMA wireless
infrastructure business. Net income was $192 million, or a $0.25 earning per
share, compared to 1999's net income of $49 million, or earnings of $0.08
per share.
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Missy Harvey
Computer Science Librarian
Engineering & Science Library
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA  15213

http://www.library.cmu.edu/usr/missy/

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