|
Today's report from Web Editor
Susan Rush
• Verizon May Revise NorthPoint Deal
• Confidence Builds At Nortel
• Name That Jam
• Broadband Briefs
• Next Week In Broadband
Editor's Note: Broadband Week will not produce BroadbandWeek
Direct on Thursday, November 23 and Friday, November 24, in observance of
the Thanksgiving holiday. Daily news will return on Monday, November 27.
Verizon May Revise NorthPoint Deal NorthPoint
Communications Group Inc.'s stock dropped another 3 cents this morning
after news began to circulate that Verizon Communications Inc.
may look to renegotiate its deal to buy 55 percent of the DSL provider. The report comes on the heels of Monday's announcement that
NorthPoint will lower its previously reported third quarter results. A Verizon
representative declined to comment on the rumors. NorthPoint did not return BroadbandWeek Direct's calls for
comment before deadline.
In August, the two companies struck a deal to wed their DSL
businesses. The proposed marriage would give birth to a "new"
NorthPoint that will not only serve existing NorthPoint customers, but
Verizon's as well, creating a network of more than 600,000 DSL lines. The
recent NorthPoint announcement could add a wrinkle to the deal and trigger
the "material adverse change" clause in the merger agreement,
giving Verizon "the opportunity to at a minimum, renegotiate more
favorable terms," said The Wall Street Journal, citing Mark
Kastan, analyst at Credit Suisse First
Boston. Although Verizon could walk
away from the deal entirely, Kastan believes a rework of the deal is more
likely since the merger would enable Verizon to meet regulatory obligations
to foster competition outside of its home area, according to the
paper.
Related Stories:
NorthPoint's
Stock Drops, BroadbandWeek Direct, 11/20/00
NorthPoint
Reborn, BroadbandWeek Direct, 8/8/00
Confidence Builds At Nortel
Analysts seem to be responding to Nortel
Networks Corp.'s news that it will meet fourth quarter revenue targets.
SG Cowen and Dresdner Kleinwort Benson both reiterated the company as a
"Buy" following the news.
"We expect our revenue and earnings per
share from operations in the fourth quarter of 2000 will be in the range of
$8.5 billion to $8.8 billion and 26 cents per share on a fully diluted
basis," says John Roth president and CEO of Nortel. The optimistic
outlook is attributed to the company's continued growth in optical Internet,
wireless Internet and eBusiness solutions.
Looking beyond 2000, Nortel believes it will
reach targeted revenue of $8.1 billion to $8.3 billion and operating
earnings of16 cents a share during the first quarter of 2001.
Nortel shares were trading at $37.75 as of 10:48
EST.
Related Stories:
Nortel
Snags $1B Deal, Multichannel News, 10/18/00
Nortel
Inks $1.4B Deal, BroadbandWeek Direct, 10/2/00
Name That Jam
Universal
Music Group continues its broadband programming charge with the
introduction of "Name That Jam." The music trivia game show is the
fourth interactive music program the record company has developed
exclusively for high-speed connections at MusicUWant.com.
The new show integrates Flash animation, digital music clips and
interactivity software, enabling players to test their musical knowledge.
Players score points by correctly matching hundreds of music clips from
UMG's most popular artists to album art, album titles or artists, according
to the company.
UMG believes the program is also well suited for
other platforms such as wireless and set-top box applications and plans to
look into developing these formats next year.
UMG's commitment to broadband music programming
was first introduced in late August when it unveiled three original music
programs aimed at music lovers with high-speed connections. The trio of
programs include "The Viewing Lounge," a program enabling fans to
choose their favorite genre of music; "I-View," a behind the scene
look at various artists, including mini-documentaries and interviews; and
"Music Spoof-o-mercials," parodies of late night infomercials.
The broadband content currently reaches 8.5 million users -- 4.3 million
households and 4.2 million college end-users -- according to UMG and the
FCC's data.
Related Stories:
Whetting
The Broadband Appetite, BroadbandWeek Direct, 8/21/00
And
The Band Played Broadband, BroadbandWeek Direct, 8/30/00
Broadband Briefs:
-
VoIP software provider Netergy
Networks will spin off its semiconductor business. The yet-to-be named
subsidiary will focus on the development of video and voice over Internet
Protocol processors, as well as embedded software and system reference designs.
-
Inprimis Inc. introduces a
CD-ROM that contains design schematics and the licenses required to brand,
manufacture and sell its i2020 interactive set-top box. The ready-to-manufacture
package will be marketed to cable operators, ISPs, telecommunications companies
and consumer electronics companies.
-
VirtualSellers.com
Inc.'s subsidiary NorthStar
TeleSolutions will provide broadband management services to Premier
Home, a broadband service provider to real-estate developers. The deal
brings NorthStar's total number of subscribers to 37,000.
-
DirecTV Inc. launches its
first interactive television channel "Instant Weather" in conjunction
with The Weather Channel and Wink Communications. Subscribers that have a Wink-
capable dish from RCA are now able to customize content from The Weather Channel
at no additional charge.
-
DualStar Technologies Corp. secures
$12.5 million in financing from Blackacre Capital Management LLC. In other news,
its communications subsidiary DualStar Communications has changed its name to
OnTera and will now conduct business under the brand name OnTera Broadband.
-
Optibase rolls out its new
line of streaming media service solutions for the broadband Internet markets.
The MGW 2000 is a plug-and-play, multi-channel streaming server that is capable
of encoding and transmitting 16 live and pre-recorded streams simultaneously.
-
Wireless carrier M1 of
Singapore will spend nearly $285 million over the next five years to roll out a
high-speed, third generation-ready, GSM mobile network. M1 will shut down its
CDMA network and shift users
to the new one next year, according to reports.
-
Citrus College tabs eKnowledge
Group Inc. to develop streaming video solutions for its Online Distance
Learning Programs.
Next Week In Broadband
|
