Level 3 To Acquire WilTel Communications
Level 3 Communications, Inc. today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Leucadia National Corporation under which Level 3 will acquire WilTel Communications Group, LLC. Level 3 will pay 115 million shares of Level 3 common stock and $370 million cash. The agreement provides that Level 3 will not acquire certain assets and liabilities of WilTel. Closing is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2006, subject to customary closing conditions including receipt of state and federal regulatory approvals.
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Monday, October 31
Level 3 To Acquire WilTel Communications
by
Mike
on Mon 31 Oct 2005 06:48 AM PST
Friday, October 28
DOJ approves telecom megamergers
by
Mike
on Fri 28 Oct 2005 07:46 AM PDT
DOJ approves telecom megamergers After several months of reviewing the two cases, federal antitrust authorities approved the mergers with only minor stipulations. Verizon and MCI agreed to lease dark, or unused, fiber-optic connections to competitors in 356 buildings throughout Verizon's East Coast territory. SBC and AT&T also agreed to provide access to competitors in certain buildings within SBC's 13-state territory where AT&T has fiber and the two companies are the only providers with facilities serving those buildings. The Verizon-MCI deal is expected to close later this year or early next year, after the Federal Communications Commission gives its expected approval. The FCC says it will vote on the Verizon-MCI combination on Friday. The companies already have received approvals from international regulatory bodies, as well as most state-level commissions. The SBC-AT&T transaction will likely close by the end of this year. The companies have received approval from 33 of 36 states with clearance processes and from the District of Columbia. They are still awaiting approval from the FCC and regulatory officials in Arizona, California and Ohio. SBC, the second largest local phone company in the United States, announced it was acquiring AT&T, the largest U.S. long-distance carrier, for $16 billion back in January. The companies said Thursday that they plan to use the AT&T name after the merger closes later this year.
Thursday, October 27
VoIP, Inc. Announces Pac-West's Participation In VoiceOne's Carrier Direct Program
by
Mike
on Thu 27 Oct 2005 10:00 AM PDT
VoIP, Inc. Announces Pac-West's Participation In VoiceOne's Carrier Direct Program
VoIP, Inc.a leading provider of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) hosted communications solutions for service providers, resellers and consumers worldwide, announced today that Pac-West Telecomm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PACW), a provider of advanced communications services, that enables traditional and next-generation providers, carriers and services providers to deliver integrated communication solutions, will participate in VoIP, Inc's subsidiary VoiceOne Communications' Carrier Direct Program. Pac-West enables voice providers to bridge the gap between IP and TDM networks via their VoiceSource(SM) product suite. By joining VoiceOne's Carrier Direct Program, Pac-West has an additional solution to provide IP to TDM mediation service to their service provider customers. VoiceOne's Carrier Direct Program provides carriers such as Pac-West with media gateways and VoiceOne network-based softswitching functionality. Additionally, VoiceOne is purchasing Pac-West's VoiceSource(SM) services, including PSTN On Ramp and Network Database Services (NDS). VoiceSource(SM) provides VoiceOne with access to Pac-West's SuperPOP network as a bridge to interconnect VoiceOne's network with the Pac-West footprint. VoIP, Inc.'s CTO Shawn Lewis said, "Our Carrier Direct Program is a solution for carriers, such as Pac-West, that provides cost savings and an increase in functionality of IP-based services without having to invest in additional equipment. Since we own our technology, we have the ability to make changes to our softswitch quickly to support carriers' current and future product offerings." Lewis added, "The relationship in the Carrier Direct program - whereby we provide Pac-West an expansive IP to TDM mediation option with no CAPEX required, and at the same time gain access to their network is a win-win for both companies." Pac-West's President and CEO, Hank Carabelli said, "We are pleased to be working with VoIP, Inc. to continue enabling our customers to bridge the gap between their next-generation IP-based and traditional TDM-based networks. In addition, we are pleased that VoIP, Inc. has selected our VoiceSource(SM) product suite to quickly and cost-effectively expand their VoiceOne network to reach new markets throughout our Western U.S. footprint, including virtually 100 percent of California."
Everyone Wants a Piece of AOL's Dial-up Business
by
Mike
on Thu 27 Oct 2005 08:10 AM PDT
Did I miss something?
One day, America Online is this Internet anachronism, stuck in a bygone dial-up era when the world has gone broadband. Now suddenly it's this tech stud muffin being pursued by Google, Comcast, Microsoft and Yahoo. They're all reportedly vying for a minority stake in AOL that could go for $5 billion. So, what gives? Here's what we tech elitists, who have long disdained AOL as the Internet for idiots, have overlooked. There's no question that AOL's traditional Internet dial-up business is shriveling. But it's still wildly profitable, raking in more than a billion dollars in profit last year, even as it loses subscribers at a rate of 2 million a year. There's more to AOL than Internet access. It operates a network of free sites -- including AOL.com, Mapquest, Moviefone and Netscape -- that attracted 111.8 million visitors in September, according to comScore Media Metrix. In fact, it boasts the second-largest audience on the Net (behind only Yahoo). That many eyeballs, needless to say, attract the attention of advertisers. AOL's network ranks third in online ad revenue and is on pace to collect $1.2 billion this year. It's clearly a grabber for Google and Yahoo, whose bottom line is dependent on advertising. AOL's charms are more than ad-revenue deep. It has proven itself adept in creating compelling online programming. Media watchers consider AOL Music's Live 8 coverage in July from London, Philadelphia, Paris, Berlin, Rome and Toronto a watershed event. It embarrassed "old" media, MTV and VH1, with its simultaneous live broadcasts from all six principal stages at the worldwide series of concerts to raise aid for Africa. If you happened to miss a performance in Paris while you were watching something in Toronto, you could search for it and watch it later for free. Feeling punked, MTV? AOL also has a sizable and searchable vault of 15,000 music, movie, television, sports and news videos. Before long, sources say, you also will be able to find and watch MTV video clips and other television shows that attract a loyal following but will never make it to DVD. The only company that comes close to this kind of archive is Yahoo. To paraphrase the credit card commercial, membership (in a giant media conglomerate such as Time Warner) has its privileges. None of these developments has escaped the notice of the Internet's other major players -- Google, Yahoo and Microsoft. Microsoft would like nothing better than to take AOL's search business away from Google. So it started talks about a possible joint venture earlier this year. Then Google and Comcast reportedly teamed up and approached parent Time Warner last week about taking a stake in AOL. It's partly a defensive move by Google, which provides both search and paid listings for AOL's sprawling network. That deal gives Google 11 percent of its revenue. It would hate to lose out to its Redmond, Wash., nemesis. But a deal also would improve the Mountain View search titan's connections with Hollywood, helping it broaden the reach of its video search. Comcast, meanwhile, is doubtless enticed by AOL's 20.8 million dial-up customers -- although there are conflicting accounts of whether this part of the business is up for grabs. Who better to convert to high-speed Internet access than a group of folks who refer to the Web as the world-wide-wait? AOL could only persuade about a quarter of its dial-up customers to go broadband. Yahoo, headed by former Warner Bros. studio chief Terry Semel, is also reportedly interested in AOL -- to augment its extensive online entertainment offerings and ad revenue, and, not coincidentally, keep it out of the hands of Google. Time Warner has its own shareholders to appease -- most notably activist investor Carl Icahn, who has been agitating for the conglomerate to boost its stagnant share price. Who knew that a dial-up company could be so sexy?
EarthLink wins second muni Wi-Fi contract
by
Mike
on Thu 27 Oct 2005 08:03 AM PDT
EarthLink wins second muni Wi-Fi contract Less than a month after winning the contract for Philadelphia’s citywide Wi-Fi network, EarthLink announced it has won a similar contract for the municipal wireless network in Anaheim.
Like the Philadelphia contract EarthLink will both build the 50-square-mile Wi-Fi mesh footprint and act as the primary ISP. EarthLink will first build a two-square-mile proof-of-concept network in the city for testing and analysis. The remainder of the network will be completed by the end of 2006. Using Anaheim’s public light poles as installation points, EarthLink will deploy Tropos Networks’ MetroMesh Wi-Fi routers, which will act both as hotspot access points and backhaul radios to link the mesh back to an EarthLink point of presence. EarthLink provided no specifics on plans for pricing the network, saying only it would be inexpensive. In Philadelphia, however, it has promised to deliver broadband speeds for under $20 a month to residents and even lower prices to underprivileged residents. EarthLink is running an open-access model in both markets allowing other ISPs to use the infrastructure. |
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