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Today's report from Web Editor
Susan Rush
• Qwest Snags $600M Contract
• Alcatel Triples Profit
• It's Splitsville For Broadband Content
• Streaming A Slice Of Spice
• Broadband Briefs
Qwest Snags $600M Contract Qwest
Communications offers a competitor access to its broadband network in
hopes of winning favor among regulators to offer long distance services to
its customers. The multi-year, $600 million revenue-based contract will
enable McLeodUSA to offer DSL and
voice messaging services to its customers in the U.S. Midwest and Rocky
Mountain region.
The deal is being pegged as a win-win situation for both
companies. Qwest will benefit from a healthy stream of revenue, while
McLeodUSA will have to spend less on network expansion to increase its
service portfolio. As an added bonus, Qwest, which has been restricted from
selling long-distance to its customers until it proves its network is open
to competitors, believes the deal will bring it "one-step closer to
offering customers long distance service."
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Runner to Use Qwest Backbone, Multichannel News, 3/10/99
Alcatel Triples Profit
The news of tripled profit at Alcatel
sparked trading on Wall Street today, the telecommunications equipment
maker's stock price rose almost 6.5 percent to $60.81 during morning
trading. Third quarter profits reached $250 million, up from $70 million
during the same period a year ago. The shot in the arm came from higher than
expected revenues from its data and optical networking businesses.
The optical components unit reported third quarter sales of
$105 million, but suffered a net loss of $4 million thanks to a one-time
charge associated with its acquisition of Innovative Fibers Inc. The company
is optimistic that its optics business will lead the growth charge in 2001.
Broadband wireline and wireless access and core data networking are expected
to be among the unit's top performers next year.
Related Stories:
Oracle
Divests ITV Assets, BroadbandWeek Direct, 10/27/00
Alcatel,
Oracle Back ITV Venture, Multichannel News, 10/25/00
It's Splitsville For Broadband Content
By 2005, 191 million devices will be broadband connected, but
if broadband providers are looking for a content Mecca solely in the PC
market, they may not find one, according to new research from Forrester
Research.
The "Broadband Content Splits" report predicts that
broadband content will be sharply divided by device -- streaming media will
gravitate toward the PC market, while multimedia-focused entertainment will
flow to televisions and gaming consoles.
In 2003 PCs will control half the broadband content market,
but that number is expected to drop to only one-third by 2005. This will
open the door for televisions, gaming consoles and Internet-enabled stereos.
"Entertainment content will flow...toward the comfy couches in front of
the living room TV set, " explains Bruce Kasrel, a senior analyst at
Forrester. "PCs will be left for practical, task-oriented
activities."
Related Stories:
Programmers
Eye Broadband Future, Multichannel News, 10/30/00
AT&T
Tests Interactive TV, BroadbandWeek Direct, 9/21/00
Streaming A Slice Of Spice
The Spice
Girls will be streaming into the hearts of their fans next week when
their new enhanced CD "Forever" hits the music store shelves. Virgin
Records teams with RealNetworks to
deliver broadband-quality video on the group's latest musical installment of
Girl Power. Two streaming videos will be included on the enhanced CD.
"By incorporating RealVideo 8 onto a traditional audio
CD, we can whet the appetite of our fans for even more broadband
content," Ty Braswell, vice president of new media at Virgin Records,
said in a prepared statement.
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How
The Grinch Stole Christmas,
Broadband Style, BroadbandWeek Direct, 10/13/00
Blair
Witch - Screaming & Streaming, BroadbandWeek Direct, 10/4/00
Broadband Briefs:
- VideoTele.com
teams with OutReach Communications to
deliver an end-to-end solution to facilitate rapid ramp up of bundled
broadband services to CLECs and Independent Operating Companies.
- TiVo licenses Bitstream's
T2K font engine for general-purpose use with its TiVo personal television
service. Terms of the multi-year deal were not disclosed.
- Multacom
introduces a new method of point-to-point broadband distribution. Multanet
enables Multacom to connect its high-speed fiber optic network from Asia to
more than 400 cities in North America.
- The Network Connection
secures a contract to install its broadband interactive entertainment,
information and guest services system in the Fortune House Hotel in Miami. The
InnView system offers guests high-speed Internet connectivity as well as
pay-per-view on demand movies, news and stock monitoring, interactive games,
music, music videos and local activity.
- Everest
Broadband Networks installs its "always-on" Internet access
service in seven Doubletree Hotels around the United States. A total of 2,100
Doubletree rooms now have access to the FastRoom technology.
- HarvardNet
expands its BusinessSpeed DSL service to New Jersey. The service is currently
available in 23 New Jersey towns, but the company hopes to increase that
number to 120 towns in the near future.
- ProNox Corp. purchases
$400,000 worth of software, hardware, services and support from Apropos
Technology Inc. ProNox will incorporate the technology into its customer
interaction management solution enabling communication with customers via the
Web, e-mail and traditional voice connections.
- Nortel
Networks and Brocade Communications
Systems Inc. completed interoperability testing of Brocade's Storage Area
Network. The test extends the reach of SANs over high-speed fiber optic
networks.
- Polycom Inc. and
TollBridge Technologies sign a
licensing agreement to deliver voice over DSL technology to small and
medium-sized businesses.
- Motorola
secures a $2 billion supply contract with Telsim
to build a high-speed, third-generation wireless network in Turkey.
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