Foresee Joins Sprint
Sprint Corp. finally was able to appoint Gary Forsee as CEO after an arbitrator ruled the BellSouth Corp. vice chairman could accept employment at a rival -- but with some conditions. Merrill Lynch reports Foresee will be under government-imposed restrictions for a year. During that time, he is barred from participating in discussions of potential mergers, acquisitions, asset sales or other combinations; from making sales calls to certain BellSouth clients; and from participating in any plans to compete exclusively with BellSouth or its wireless venture, Cingular. Forsee may not engage in lobbying activities with state regulators in BellSouth's nine-state territory; hire or recruit BellSouth or Cingular employees nor participate in bundled marketing strategies within BellSouth's region for the same period.
Meyer Joins Lucent
Former EDS executive John Meyer last month took the helm of Lucent Worldwide Services, the professional services/integration group of the vendor. Meyer succeeds John Heindel and reports to Robert Holder, Lucent's COO.
Qwest Needs More Time
Qwest Communications on April 1 announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Qwest Corp., would not file its 2002 Forms 10-K on time. The company says it has made good progress in working with auditor KPMG LLP on audits of the company's consolidated financial statements for 2002, 2001 and 2000. But Qwest Chairman and CEO Dick Notebaert says that going through the financial statements for multiple years is a long and tedious process.
Switch & Data Buys PAIX
Switch and Data Inc. plans to acquire PAIX.net for $40 million. PAIX, a part of Metromedia Fiber Network Inc., represents a new business venture for Switch and Data, which traditionally has played the role of a telecom landlord across the country. PAIX operates hubs for swapping Internet traffic and monitoring associated network quality metrics. Through the deal Switch and Data expands its customer base to nearly 420 companies.
Larscom, VINA to Merge
Larscom Inc. and VINA Technologies Inc. are merging in a stock transaction. The deal aims to create an organization with the scale to invest in R&D and the ability to eliminate duplication and improve cash flow, says Daniel L. Scharre, CEO of Larscom. Both companies ended the year in the red. "There are just too many small players of our size with limited niche product lines and to be successful we have to build some bulk," says Scharre.
Verizon Builds on DSL
Verizon Communications Inc. plans to add 10 million DSL lines in the mass market this year, making high-speed Internet access available to four of five customers. The New York-based phone giant, which has 36 million lines equipped with broadband capability, disclosed plans to install the broadband equipment primarily in suburban and rural areas. No specific states were mentioned. Verizon says it could expand broadband capabilities through fixed wireless. Two field trials in Maryland and Virginia are producing "encouraging results," the company says. Verizon says an FCC ruling last month to deregulate the broadband market, lifting Bell requirements to share their networks with rivals, is encouraging. Verizon also says it is exploring ways to build fiber into neighborhoods next year.
U.S. No. 1 in DSL
The DSL Forum says, worldwide, there were nearly 36 million DSL subscribers at the end of 2002. In North America, the number of broadband DSL subscribers grew by 48 percent in 2002, according to figures prepared by London-based analyst firm Point Topic for the international DSL Forum. North America represents 22.7 percent of the world's total DSL subscribers at the end of 2002. The United States still has more subscribers than any other country in the world. Its lead position, with a total of 6.45 million DSL connections, is closely followed by South Korea with 6.43 million. "The 48 percent growth in DSL subscribers in North America -- 2.5 million additional users in 2002 alone -- makes it one of the fastest growing market sectors. With Canada at 8.5 percent DSL penetration of main phone lines and the U.S. at 3.4 percent respectively, both countries are on the way to mass market status," comments Tom Starr, president of the DSL Forum.
Zhone Flies Raptor
Zhone Technologies has a new, low-cost family of DSL products that can run traffic over ATM or IP, with just a software load. The products can also be upgraded to handle voice with just a software addition. David Markowitz, vice president of marketing, says the new Raptor products, which are available now, create "a new threshold for price and density." The hardened products, which come in 24-port, 256-port and 640-port versions, are priced at $150 per port list. Markowitz adds the company's sales representatives say this will allow the company to compete with vendors in Korea and Taiwan. The Raptor family comes with a built-in IP-based subscriber management system. In addition, the company's new management system is based on Windows so it can run on a PC.
