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Friday, July 19, 2002 |
AN OPEN LETTER TO INVESTORS
BROOMFIELD, Colo., July 19, 2002 - The following statement can be attributed to James Q. Crowe, chief executive officer of Level 3 Communications, Inc.(Nasdaq:LVLT):
Read the statement. It clarifies this.
4:50:13 PM 
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A DECENT SUMMARY OF AN EARNINGS CONFERENCE CALL
Although "backed by Warren Buffett" seems a bit of overstatement
Level 3 Posts Smaller Second - Quarter Loss. PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Level 3 Communications Inc. (LVLT.O), the high-speed communications company backed by investor Warren Buffett, on Thursday posted a smaller-than-expected second-quarter loss but warned it saw mixed signals for a rebound in sales. By Reuters. [New York Times: Technology]
9:34:23 AM
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Thursday, July 18, 2002 |
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Wednesday, July 17, 2002 |
COULD A STORY BE MORE WRONG?
This story is so wrong. First, the headline makes one think Level 3 is either considering the adoption of or re-evaluating its existing stock option plan. The second sentence is correct. Level 3 has had (from its beginnings) an "outperform" stock option plan in which options have been expensed at the time of the award.
The latest press release simply clarifies the proxy. The bottom line involves connecting a few dots. Level 3 recently sold $500 million worth of convertible bonds to three institutions. The cash was earmarked for general corporate purposes including the acquisitions of assets while the telecom industry is going through consolidation. What better time to make sure you are able to retain the talent and know-how that is needed to ramp up the network with new customers and increased traffic!
The best way to use the mainstream press is with the Internet. Let a story headline direct you to a company's press release or announcement. Facts from the horses mouth are better than Associated Press news feeds.
Level 3 Looks at Stock - Option Plan. BROOMFIELD, Colo. (AP) -- Level 3 Communications Inc. wants to amend its stock-option plan to provide incentives for employees and owners. By The Associated Press. [New York Times: Technology]
8:48:15 AM
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Tuesday, July 16, 2002 |
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Monday, July 15, 2002 |
HERE'S ANOTHER REASON THAT TELECOM COLLAPSE AND REBIRTH IS INEVITABLE
Few people debate the fact that all of us use the phone at home, in business and on-the-go more than we did even ten years ago. Few people argue with the notion that we will be using one or more of these to an even greater degree in the future. We probably won't stop at Blockbuster, but we may 'order' a movie feed from Blockbuster. Those same phone calls may become video calls. Demand for bandwidth is a given!
The industry is facing the death throws of a 100-year old legacy, copper-based network. This centrally-planned, government subsidized relic is currently operated by a relative handful of monopolists or executives from the monopolists' ranks. Their rule is coming to an end. Some of them don't even know it.
Replacing that old network and its kings and lords will be a modern, continuously upgradable fiber optic network that passes IP packets end-to-end. Running that network will be a group of people who understand Moore's Law, rapid time-to-market and the concept of price-elasticity-of-demand. They're anything but monopolists!
I had an experience similar to the one mentioned below when one of our daughters phoned home from Boston while dancing with the Boston Ballet for a month or two. Little did we know we were facing a $700+ bill until after it arrived. We had done our homework in advance, fortunately, had documentation for the rates we had been quoted and got adjustments made to the bill. The relief was not easy to get nor was it immediate, but in an age of $0.045 per minute long distance rates, $700+ was not going to be paid!
Other than the airline industry, where you can be arrested for inquiring about the sobriety of the pilots, no industry treats its customers the way the telecom industry has. Better times are on their way, though!
SprintPCS Nightmare. I'm broke. I barely have enough money to get by through the next month. And my "royalty" check I received this weekend was only 36.00 - I was expecting 1000.00. Still, I can manage. I can manage...until today. Don't worry... [Burningbird]
5:36:49 PM
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Sunday, July 14, 2002 |
THE BANKS DIDN'T FREEZE THE CASH
on Friday, but they meet again on Tuesday with the court. This company's stockholders won't see a dime. Worldcom will be faced with deciding what business(es) it wants to emerge from bankruptcy with. Otherwise, the creditors and the court are likely to break the business into pieces and sell them in an attempt to recover some of the money. The company's sales in 2001 totaled $21.3 billion. That's a fair amount of telecom market share to throw up for grabs.
Court Won't Freeze WorldCom Assets [Wall Street Journal]
5:45:26 PM
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Friday, July 12, 2002 |
HERE'S A HOME RUN
1:36:12 PM
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© Copyright 2002 Steve Pilgrim.
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