Broadband Week Direct

Today's report from Web Editor Susan Rush

• PMC-Sierra Sees Net Loss, But Revenues Rise
• FCC Grants Spectrum For Wireless
• How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Broadband Style
• Microsoft Squashes Bug
• Juniper Reports Q3 Financials
• Broadband Briefs
• Next Week in Broadband

PMC-Sierra Sees Net Loss, But Revenues Rise

Networking chipmaker PMC-Sierra suffered a net loss of $29.7 million, or 18 cents a share for the third quarter of fiscal 2000, compared to a profit of $15.8 million, or 10 cents a share during the same period in 1999. Despite the loss, revenues soared to $198.1 million, a 140 percent increase over the $82.5 million in revenue reported in Q3 1999.

Revenues are up because PMC and its rivals in the semiconductor industry are benefiting from sales to big clients such as Lucent Technologies and Cisco Systems. Lucent and Cisco each accounted for 10 percent of PMC's revenue during the quarter.

Today's financial report from PMC and yesterday's report from Applied Micro Circuit support the findings of Semiconductor Industry Association that chip sales jumped 53 percent during the month of August. Regions experiencing the most growth were areas where wireless and Internet infrastructure build out is exploding, including Asia, the United States and Europe.

FCC Grants Spectrum For Wireless

The Federal Communications Commission turns over 50 megahertz of government used spectrum to the wireless industry. The allocation is good news for the broadband industry since the airwaves will be used, at least in part, to support the growth of high-speed wireless services. "The explosive growth in wireless communications has created a tremendous demand for spectrum," said FCC Chairman William Kennard in a statement.

The spectrum, which is located in the 3650-3700 MHz band, will be used for fixed and mobile terrestrial services on a primary basis. Eventually, the spectrum is likely to be auctioned.

How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Broadband Style

What better way to build excitement about an upcoming movie release than to put the preview at moviegoers' fingertips? Marcus Theatres teams with Universal Pictures and eKiosk to do just that, with the help of a few broadband connected kiosks in its theatre lobbies.

Previews for Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas will be the first preview featured on the Internet-fueled kiosks. "These are fully capable machines that will enable users 10 minutes of free Internet browsing and email services," says Dave Luck, vice president of marketing at eKiosk. "Moviegoers can also email videos of themselves to family and friends right from the theater." The benefit from Marcus' point of view is that the high-speed connections will also enable the company to survey moviegoers and obtain real time data about their in-theater experience and preferences.

Microsoft Squashes Bug

Microsoft's interactive television software has been under attack, but the software giant says it has fixed the problem. A bug in the WebTV software enabled hackers to crash some Windows 98 computers by sending a certain type of information over the Internet. Bug hunter Andrew Griffiths first reported the problem to Microsoft in August, but the company did not publicly acknowledge its existence until this week, after it had corrected the problem.

WebTV for Windows brings broadcast and cable television to a user's computer desktop. The software also gives viewers access to interactive TV content.

Juniper Reports Q3 Financials

Cisco Systems rival Juniper Networks Inc. definitely has something to smile about these days. The next-generation IP infrastructure provider reported earnings that were 8 cents a share higher than financial analysts were predicting.

Juniper announced Q3 2000 profits, excluding costs for deferred compensation and goodwill, of $58.1 million, or 17 cents a share, compared with a loss of $1.6 million, or 1 cent a share during the same period a year ago. Net revenues for the quarter totaled $201.2 million, compared to $113.0 million during the previous quarter.

Wall Street responded to the news today: Juniper's stock experienced a growth spurt, rising $13.53 to $213.13 as of 12:14 EST.

Broadband Briefs:

The FCC extends the comment and reply comment deadlines on its high-speed access Internet Notice of Inquiry. Parties may file comments on the NOI until December 1, 2000, and reply comments can be submitted until January 10, 2001.
SonicWALL, Inc. inks a deal with Com21 to embed its Internet security technology into Com21's consumer high-speed cable modems.
Level 3 Communications signs a service agreement with France Telecom to provide transport services, collocation space and operation and maintenance services to support France Telecom's IP traffic between Europe and the United States.
TiVo Inc. teams with Madison Avenue powerhouse Omnicon Group to explore what TiVo calls "the next-generation of television advertising." The duo will test alternative methods of advertising TiVo's digital video recorders.
MobileCom AG of Germany reportedly signed a $1.4 billion deal to build a mobile phone network with either Ericsson or Nokia, but officials declined to comment which company secured the deal. The official supplier announcement is expected next week.
Comcast Cable launches its Comcast "High-Speed Education Connection" service at Crofton Middle School in Anne Arundel County in Maryland. The program is a multi-million dollar commitment to give a free high-speed connection in at least one site in every school throughout the county.

Next Week in Broadband

Conferences:

Oct. 15-19: National Communications Forum 2000, Hyatt Regency O'Hare, Chicago, Illinois; www.iec.org

Oct. 16-17: Interactive TV, Beverly Hills Hilton, Beverly Hills, Calif.; www.icmsf.com

Oct. 16-18: ASPCON, Sands Expo & Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV; www.aspcon.com

Oct. 17-18: PowerSummit 2000, The Crowne Plaza, Palo Alto, Calif.; www.powertv.com/powersummit2000

Oct. 18-19: CTAM Broadband Opportunity Conference, Santa Clara Marriott, Santa Clara, Calif.; www.ctambroadband.com
IPOs:

Oct. 17: IXIA (XXIA). IPO managed by Merrill Lynch & Co., 5.5 million shares being offered at $10-$12 a share.

Week of Oct. 16: Endwave Corp. (ENWV). IPO managed by Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown, 6 million shares being offered at $13-15 a share.
Upcoming Broadband Events:

Oct. 30-Nov. 1: Wireless Data and Internet ComForum 2000, Omni Hotel, Richardson, Texas; www.iec.org

Nov. 13-17: COMDEX Fall 2000, Las Vegas Convention Center, Sands Expo & Convention Center and Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas, Nevada; www.key3media.com/comdex/