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Date: Tuesday, September 21, 1999, 9:54 AM -0400
From: Faulkner Information Services <flash@faulkner.com>
To: ???
Subject: Faulkner Comm Flash 09/21/99 - (Part 1 of

TOP OF THE NEWS

	 * Vodafone-AirTouch, Bell Atlantic Consider Alliance	
	 * CBS, Viacom Agree to $80 Billion Merger	 
	 * AT&T Freezes Hiring, May Layoff Thousands	
	 * Lockheed Martin May Buy 49 Percent of Comsat 	 

=============================================

Agreements/Joint Ventures 
	 Adtran embarked on an agreement with Infineon Technologies to further
enhance SDSL deployment. The jointly developed single device will be based
on ADTRAN's DSL technology and Infineon's experience in mixed-signal IC
technology.
	 America Online and Medscape formed a three-year, $33 million strategic
alliance through which Medscape's content will be brought to AOL's and
CompuServe's members.
	 AT&T agreed to sell 1942 microwave towers to American Tower for $260
million. Many of those towers, some of which are 400 feet tall, are unused,
because company now employs fiber optics to handle long distance traffic.
American Tower also agreed to construct 1000 wireless communications sites
for AT&T in the next five years.
	 In another deal, AT&T and British Telecommunications set up a wireless
phone alliance, which will be known as Advance, for the purpose of serving
business customers and world travelers. In addition to the $10 billion
Global Venture set up by the two companies, the alliance will help forward
the companies' wireless capabilities. The current wireless operations of the
respective companies will be unchanged, but the two will transmit calls over
each other's networks, jointly offer new products and services as well as
team up in purchasing and investment decisions.
	 Cable & Wireless HKT and Guangdong Posts and Telecommunications Authority
agreed to increase cross-border Internet traffic. As part of the deal, the
two will promote e-commerce and expand Web links between Hong Kong and
Guangdong. They also will develop dial-up services and an IP-based VPN
between the two areas. CWHKT also will become a registration authority for
Guangdong PTA.
	 Cabletron, Sharewave, Zoom, Wayport, and Alantro reportedly joined 3Com,
Aironet, Intersil~bd, Lucent, Nokia and Symbol in the WECA, an organization
dedicated to certifying interoperability for IEEE 802.11 High Rate Wireless
LAN products and promoting the High Rate standard for enterprise, small
business, and home markets.
	 Compaq and Novell formed a strategic agreement that makes Novell Directory
Services (NDS) an integral component of the Compaq NonStop initiative.
Novell will port its directory service, NDS, to Compaq Tru64 UNIX operating
system. Compaq will further optimize its ProLiant servers for NDS. In
addition, customers will now be able to enhance the performance of their NDS
security with Compaq's upcoming AXL200 Accelerator PCI card.
	 Data General and Proxim entered into an alliance that will allow Data
General to add Proxim wireless LAN technology to its current line of
point-of-care products for health care customers.
	 eTranslate and MSN LinkExchange signed an agreement in which eTranslate
will offer its translation services to small businesses through the
LinkExchange Web site. Translation Station, the co-marketed MSN LinkExchange
and eTranslate service, will initially launch in the United Kingdom,
Australia, Canada, and the United States and later will be expanded to
LinkExchange's sites in Japan, France and Germany.
	 German newspaper Die Welt reported that France Telecom is on the verge of
pulling out of Global One and that Deutsche Telekom and Sprint, the other
two partners, would do nothing to stop it. The two companies are rumored to
be ready to run Global One without replacing French Telecom. Deutsche
Telekom and France Telecom relations broke down resulting from a failed
merger between DT and Telecom Italia earlier in 1999. France Telecom denied
that they are seeking to back out of Global One and DT declined comment.
	 Hewlett-Packard entered into an alliance with SystiNet, an ASP, to deliver
Internet-based, remote enterprise management capabilities to small and
medium-sized organizations. As part of the alliance, SystiNet is
standardizing on the HP OpenView a suite of enterprise management services
to manage its network operating center.
	 Separately, Hewlett-Packard and Network Associates plan to co-develop
Windows NT versions of Network Associates' WebShield family. HP intends to
sell the NT WebShield through its Covision channel partners. The alliance is
part of Network Associates' "e-ppliance" product line strategy, which
involves the use of integrated e-commerce appliances designed for remote
management over the Internet.
	 Lotus Development and Latitude Communications agreed to integrate the
	 voice conferencing capabilities of Latitude's MeetingPlace product with
the Lotus Sametime collaboration platform. The two companies will
participate in joint development, sales, and marketing activities to
provide a real-time offering that integrates Latitude's MeetingPlace
conferencing product and Lotus Sametime. Lucent Technologies and Phonetic
	 Systems agreed to deliver innovative, speech-enabled directory search
capabilities to Lucent customers in North America. They will integrate
Phonetic Systems' voice-driven auto attendant and directory services
products into Lucent's Definity PC Console, PhoneLine and Master Directory
Data Manager. Companies can speech-enable their enterprise directories,
auto attendant and call routing functions adding features to Lucent's
directory-based products and Definity switches. In another deal with
	 T-Mobile, Lucent Technologies signed a contract, valued at $250 million,
to expand and upgrade that company's T-D1 network in preparation for the
introduction of General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). The T-Mobile T-D1
network currently offers GSM services in Germany. GPRS will enhance the way
data is carried over the GSM networks and allow operators to introduce data
applications at higher speeds. T-Mobile expects GPRS to be available nation
wide by mid-2000.
	 Microsoft, Softbank and Global Crossing formed a joint venture to bring
increased broadband connectivity to the Asian region. The venture, called
Asia Global Crossing, is intended to create an advanced fiber-optic
communications network connecting business centers in the East Asian region
to Global Crossing's worldwide fiber optic network. Microsoft and Softbank
also committed to purchasing at least $200 million in Global Crossing
Network capacity over three years.
	 Motorola and Toshiba made plans for Motorola to purchase Toshiba's
	 interest in Tohoku Semiconductor Corporation (TSC), the companies' wafer
manufacturing joint venture in Sendai, Japan. Having achieved the objectives
of the joint venture, the companies agreed that the transfer of the facility
will enable them to focus more on their respective businesses.
	 Reportedly in another deal, Motorola and General Instrument initiated
	 talks regarding Motorola's interest in acquiring the consumer electronic
manufacturing company in an all-stock deal valued at $9.5 billion, according
to published reports. Though officials from both companies refused to
comment, sources are reporting a strong possibility that a deal will be
announced next week.
	 Also, as part of a team effort, Motorola, along with QNX, IBM, and
	 Embedded Planet developed MobileGT Architecture that allows automobile
manufacturers to develop advanced driver information systems that would
provide dynamic navigation, wireless connectivity and Internet access,
natural language speech processing, car audio, virtual dashboards, and
multimedia. Nokia won a three-year contract to supply a complete DSL
	 broadband network to bring integrated high-speed data and voice service
(VoDSL) to customers of Virginia-based Picus Communications. The first
phase of the contract alone is valued at $76 million and will focus on
implementing the network in the Mid-Atlantic region, including Northern
Virginia, Washington D.C., Richmond and Norfolk. The overall plan covers
deployment in 165 East Coast Cities.
	 In a collaborative effort, Nokia and OpenService will work to provide
enhanced manageability to Nokia's IP Security Solutions. The enhancements
will allow large enterprises and ISPs to license OpenService's IntruderWatch
and TrendWatch with the purchase of Nokia's plug-and-play IP330, IP450, and
IP650 integrated router/firewall products. This new functionality will allow
organizations to easily manage multiple firewall systems running on
different platforms.
	 Novell formed a Master License Agreement (MLA) with the US Army. GE
Capital, a Novell channel partner, will be fulfilling the contract, which
reportedly allows the army to simplify their ordering process and provides a
broad range of Army activities with the lowest available prices for
purchasing, upgrading, and maintaining Novell's family of directory-based
software products.
	 Deutsche Telekom is considering joining SingTel in a venture to jointly
manage wireless operations in the Asia-Pacific region. This is SingTel's
third move in six months to strengthen its share of the telecommunications
market in the region.
	 In other news, SingTel and Lycos formed a joint venture valued at $50
million to bring service to the Asian market. Lycos Asia will offer
localized content and will contain the normal Lycos features, such as
Internet navigation, search, and community features, as well as services
offered through SingTel, such as e-commerce. Sites in Singapore, China, Hong
Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, and India are expected to begin operation later this
year.
	 Switchboard, the Internet subsidiary of Banyan Worldwide, and SmartAge
reported plans to integrate SmartAge's SmartClicks into the service
offerings of Switchboard's Local Merchant Program. Switchboard's Local
Merchant Program helps small and medium-size businesses establish a presence
on the Internet and consumer visibility, enabling them to compete with
larger on-line retailers.
	 Symantec reported that Scan and Deliver, a component of Norton AntiVirus,
now includes automated macro virus analysis and repair technology jointly
developed by Symantec and IBM.
	 Trend Micro and US WEST agreed to work together to offer US WEST customers
Internet e-mail virus scanning. This will be a value-added service for
customers of US WEST.net Internet Access. The deal allows US WEST to use
Trend Micro's InterScan VirusWall software to automatically scan incoming
and outgoing Internet e-mail attachments for viruses.
	 Unisys and Microsoft formed a marketing and technology alliance. The
companies are working together to accelerate the adoption of the Speech
Application Programming Interface (SAPI) for speech applications, providing
software developers with a set of tools and support programs designed to
make speech-based technology easier to deploy.
	 United Utilities and Nortel ended their joint venture, Nor.Web, which was
developing technology capable of transmitting phone service and the Internet
over electricity lines. The two companies said the technology was developed,
but the commercial interest did not materialize. The folding of the venture,
scheduled to occur September 30, will cost 50 people their jobs.
	 US Dataworks, Thomson Financial Publishing, and CheckFree formed a
strategic business alliance to enhance Returnworks, a system for processing
return check items within the automated clearing house (ACH) payment
network. Developed by US Dataworks, the module uses Thomson's EPICWare
Filter to verify and modify the ABA Routing and Transit numbers and account
structures of checks.
	 Vodafone AirTouch and Bell Atlantic are considering an alliance that will
link Vodafone's wireless network in Western US with Bell Atlantic's wireless
network along the East coast.
	 Yahoo! entered into a bill payment agreement with CheckFree, through which
the companies started Yahoo! Bill Pay, a service that lets Yahoo! users in
the United States pay bills from any computer connected to the Internet.
Yahoo! users can sign up for a free three-month trial. Users who want to
continue online bill payment after the trial can choose from two payment
plans.

Broadband Networking 
	 IMPSAT will invest $2 billion to create the largest fiber-optic network in
Latin America over the next five years. IMPSAT will invest $250 million in
the first phase of the network, however, no specific plans were released.
IMPSAT plans to focus on data transmissions, but it will offer long distance
voice services in November 2000 when the Argentine government allows new
competitors into the market. Partial deregulation of the market will begin
in October 1999. Additionally, an initial public offering (IPO) in the US is
also in the plans for IMPSAT.

Carriers and Carrier Services 
	 AT&T Canada plans to expand its fiber-optic network into five additional
cities: Vaughan, Richmond Hill, and Brampton, Ontario; North Vancouver,
British Colombia; and Halifax, Nova Scotia.
	 Equant plans to enter the application services provider (ASP) market by
bringing Microsoft technologies to international businesses. The company
will use its data network to deliver Microsoft business software to
business. Equant is constructing an ASP data infrastructure via business
solution data centers in Atlanta, USA; London, UK; and Sydney, Australia.
	 Qwest Communications completed its 18,500-mile, high-speed communications
network on time, trimming five percent of its $2 billion budget for the
project. The network now links 150 cities across the country as well as
connects Europe and the Asia Pacific region.

Financial News 
	 AT&T will close a three-year, $450 million bond offering on Sept. 14. The
issue will be offered at 99.531 percent with an expected yield of 6.675
percent to maturity.
	 Pac-West Telecomm filed a registration statement with the Securities and
Exchange Commission for its IPO. The IPO will begin once the statement
becomes effective.
	 PRIMUS Telecommunications Group filed a registration with the Securities
and Exchange Commission for a public offering of shares of common stock. Net
proceeds of the offering are expected to be $141.25 million. The
registration is not yet effective, therefore, these securities may not be
sold nor bought at this time.

Internetworking 
	 Cabletron reported that SAP America, a provider of inter-enterprise
software products, selected Cabletron as the strategic networking supplier
for its Sapphire'99 Information Technology Customer Conference. Cabletron
products include the SmartSwitch Router 8000s, SmartSwitch Router 8600s and
SmartSwitch 2000s, utilizing switched Gigabit Ethernet and switched Fast
Ethernet technologies.

Internet/Intranet 
	 AT&T plans to build about 26 Internet Data Centers, which will be
collocated on the company's OC-48 IP backbone. The centers, which create
more than 1 million square feet for AT&T's Web hosting customers, are
expected to be ready for operations by the end of 2000.
	 @Motion, developer of the Internet Voice Portal Server for wireless and
Internet service providers, reported that its server will fully support the
WAP standards, pioneered by Phone.com. @Motion's compliance with WAP
standards will ensure its compatibility with all WAP-based wireless Internet
services and wireless devices.
	 Vodafone AirTouch introduced Vodaphone Interactive, a range of interactive
services, including current news, share prices, weather and entertainment
information, a virtual personal assistant for reminders, text messaging and
e-mail. The service, which features the ISP Vodafone.net, is free for all of
Vodaphone's mobile customers, as calls will be charged the standard rate for
both voice and data services.

Legal News 
	 A settlement was reached after almost a year of litigation over ALLTEL's
claimed right to license Converys' Cellware system and prematurely terminate
its multi-year contract with Converys in favor of transferring customers
served by Converys to ALLTEL's Virtuoso system. The agreement held that
ALLTEL will migrate about 3 million wireless customers in 15 states to
ALLTEL's Virtuoso suite of customer care and billing systems. In the
meantime, ALLTEL will continue to pay Converys for processing customer
accounts until they are switched to the ALLTEL system which are now served
by Converys' Cellware. Additionally, the agreement requires ALLTEL to pay
Converys $55 million. The migration, which is expected to take about two
years, will begin in early 2000.

Mergers/Acquisitions 
	 Vodafone-AirTouch and Bell Atlantic are discussing the possibility of
setting up a venture that would give the British company a US market
presence, Bell Atlantic officials confirmed. The venture would be a wireless
company valued somewhere between $70 billion and $80 billion.
	 Cisco Systems agreed to purchase privately held Cocom of Copenhagen,
Denmark. Cocom produces high-speed Internet access services over cable,
satellite, and wireless networks based on international standards. This buy
is part of Cisco's strategy to deliver broadband access products by adding
Digital Video Broadcasting to its cable offerings.
	 France Telecom and Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux will combine their cable
networks. The deal is expected to close near the end of the year when the
two companies find a third partner, which will help manage the operations of
the new venture. France Telecom will take on the roll of financial investor
in the new company, but will divest itself of its stake within three years.
	 Global Crossing will purchase a stake in SB Submarine Systems from Great
Eastern Telecommunications. The deal will make Global Crossing China
Telecom's primary partner in the submarine-cable company.
	 GTE agreed to sell about 400,000 customer access lines in Texas and Mexico
to dba Communications. The sale establishes the largest Hispanic-owned
telecommunications company in the US.
Faulkner Information Service
Flash Account
flash@faulkner.com
114 Cooper Center
Pennsauken, N.J. 08109
(609) 662 2070
http://www.faulkner.com



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