Guest ValueCarl Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 If telecom blogger Rob Powell isn't fast becoming a relic on the internet for his lack of foresight, he is certainly looking more like a tool for some group of miscreants intent on holding (3)'s stock "value" back. In any event, I guess we all have those brain dead moments. Prepare for the Exaflood with "The Network Partner You Can Rely On!" <Driven by the proliferation of rich applications and video on smartphones, tablets, laptops and e-readers, Verizon Wireless will rely on Level 3’s nationwide fiber-optic network and responsive team to meet the growing demand for mobile data. Level 3 helps Verizon Wireless build the network headroom and redundancy needed to accommodate the projected network growth tied to its 4G LTE network rollout.> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Brker_guy, when I first heard about Lightsquared building their own "network" for their 4G spectrum, I became concerned at the same time wondering how they could possibly do that again unless they "outsourced" to (3)'s backbone like VZSAURUS is doing today. Initially, I did not see your same concern while you were rooting for them in the corner, possibly because of your personal work history in the satellite domain, I don't know. Recently, however, you have been expressing concern to the extent that their spectrum is a "hazard" to the nation's well being. Talk to me like a child, Brker_guy, and break it down to its simplest form as respects the way you see that debt levered Light squared fitting into the big picture or not! ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Brker_guy, (3)'s customer, Direct T.V., may have just solved the housing crisis in America! ;D I'm thinking that all these McMansion owners, many who never belonged in those "SUPER SIZE ME" homes to begin with, can now invite five of their closest couple friends over, including a few beautiful blondes besides the (3) network to watch newly released hot flicks, at $4.00 each during the comfort of one of those stellar in home entertainment systems. This 33 percent profit margin($10/$30) excluding electric bills, as well as hosted food and drinks if they were to feel so compelled, can offset their mortgage expense by at least $560 per month for just two showings per tonight! ;D There is nothing better than partnering with "The Network Partner you Can Rely On!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brker_guy Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Brker_guy, when I first heard about Lightsquared building their own "network" for their 4G spectrum, I became concerned at the same time wondering how they could possibly do that again unless they "outsourced" to (3)'s backbone like VZSAURUS is doing today. Initially, I did not see your same concern while you were rooting for them in the corner, possibly because of your personal work history in the satellite domain, I don't know. Great win today for us, Team (3)! We finally got a big wireless client who will need and rely on our true IP network. ;D Now, we need those morons at T-Rex to sign up. Carl, I was a witness to the rise and fall of Globalstar and Iridium, and when I saw Lightsquared's business model, I asked myself, "Are these guys nuts?" I think it was Buffett who reminded us to learn history if we don't want to repeat the same problems. I guess Mr. Falcone and the tech geeks at Lightsquared haven't learned their history lesson. Well, here is the good news. They just filed with the FCC on their latest interference test: http://www.gpsworld.com/gnss-system/gps-modernization/news/second-report-lightsquaredgps-twg-no-news-not-necessarily-good-ne?utm_source=GPS&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Navigate_04_19_2011&utm_content=second-report-lightsquaredgps-twg-no-news-not-necessarily-good-ne Here is the bad news. It's no news at ALL! It's a bunch of test setups that Lightsquared has set up which an engineering student can duplicate in their labs as homework assignment. Yet, Lightsquared let their lawyers file this report. I find that fascinating that they had their lawyers filed the "test setup" report. LMAO!!!! :D Regarding DirecTV, Carl, these morons just don't get it. Now I know why they are experiencing so much churns. Idiots! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bathtime Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Do wireless ISPs (WISPs) fit into the broadband-shortage thesis as an undiscovered investment opportunity? Phil Leigh, a technology analyst/consultant, has a few articles on the sector, mentioning a company called Towerstream (TWER). http://insidedigitalmedia.com/cellular-offloading/ "Presently, the status of the WISP industry is similar to that of the Cable TV and Mobile Telephone industries thirty years ago. The earlier examples were both dismissed as niche business by those failing to recognize the transformation induced by technological advances such as satellite distribution and cellular frequency reuse. Similarly, today’s successful investor must be able to recognize when what is new is more significant than what is familiar." "Uninitiated observers are just beginning to appreciate the attractive business characteristics of the WISP industry. 1. Recurring revenues. 2. High profit margins. 3. Organic growth. 4. Threshold of urban expansion like cellular offload. 5. Low capital requirements (no cable). 6. Capital needs synchronized to subscriber growth. 7. Favorable price umbrella from wireline duopoly. 8. Avoidance of licensing or franchising delays. 9. First mover advantage to WISP incumbents. 10. Favorable regulatory environment such as TV Band White Spaces adoption." Also: http://insidedigitalmedia.com/twelve-reasons-to-buy-wireless-isps/ "Much like the CATV industry evolved from an unfamiliar niche into a massive business by moving into urban markets thirty years ago, WISP’s are at a similar threshold today. For example, for much of the past decade Towerstream has effectively competed for business customers in some of the largest urban markets. However, a second potential is to provide a metropolitan “bandwidth oasis” to relieve cellular congestion caused by smartphones and tablet computers. For example, in New York City Towerstream is building a Wi-Fi network with 1,000 access points enabling smartphone and tablet users to wirelessly access the Internet without using cellular services. It’s designed to have twenty times the capacity of fourth generation LTE cellular systems." And: http://insidedigitalmedia.com/tv-band-white-spaces-update/ "2011 may be a year to test investor interest in the Wireless Internet Service Provider industry. One company is launching a fund to acquire small private operators much like in the early days of cable TV. Equipment financing continues to be important and may accelerate with White Spaces adoption and heavier Internet use. Some WISPs also note they are able to increasingly compete with overpriced landline ISPs. Conventional investment banks and venture capital firms were not represented among the three hundred conference attendees." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brker_guy Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 bathtime, a few quarters ago, Jim Crowe gave a very good illustration of how having Fiber-to-the-Tower(FTTT) is a far more competitive advantage in the wireless offloading of traffic than any other approaches. You should go and listen to that discussion. It's worth listening to. So, the simple answer to your question is: yes, it would fit into the broadband-shortage thesis, but no, it would not be a compelling value or investment. The very fact that ONE of THE BIGGEST telecom vendors in the US which itself just burned $30BIL to build FTTH is using one of the biggest fiber backhualers in the world to offload some of its 4G traffic should give you some ideas on the economy of scale. Mind you, VZ has its own fiber backbone via MCI/WorldCon(m). So, why would VZ give business to a competitor in the very same space they are competing in? White Space and spectrum availability are only to accommodate using more wireless users using BW for high demanding BW applications like large file download and video; this is way different than using WISP to backhual wireless traffic. I think Mr. Leigh needs to take Communications Theory 101 and needs to understand Shannon's Information Theory a little better there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cardboard Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Brker_guy, "Mind you, VZ has its own fiber backbone via MCI/WorldCon(m)." That is the piece that I find most amazing in this union between Level 3 and Verizon Wireless. Verizon bought MCI in 2005 in large part to get their national IP network. Basically, this is a near admission that this MCI network is a write-off: too expensive to operate? too expensive to upgrade? at full capacity already? Who said the hell with the MCI network: Verizon or Vodafone or both? The news flow is definitely positive for Level 3 with all signs pointing to a big turnaround. Now we can only hope that with Netflix revenues finally showing up in Q1 or for the first time, that we will see a revenue and EBITDA improvement big enough to highlight how close they are to finally make money. Cardboard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brker_guy Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Cardboard, you hit the nail on the head there. Great obsevatio! That's what has been lost today from that VZ and LVLT PR. Notice the VZ Exec who gave that quote. Earlier today, Carl, referred to the Exaflood. Soon, we will find the true meaning of exatsunami. Those networks can't be running hot anymore. If they do, they will find out what T-Rex found out after moving all of that Cingular traffic onto that antiquated T-Rex network. T-Rex has become THE WORST NETWORK provider known to man today even though they had the hottest product (iPhone) monopoly for nearly 4 years. Go figure!!! So thank you very much, VZ and Ivan!! You guys are alright after all. ;D :D Let's focus our attention to May 3rd and see what the numbers mean to us. I'm cautiously optimistic with the NFLX numbers. I think NFLX will report next week? So we might get a preview if we tune in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Brker_guy, you remain "AMAZING!" ;D <Soon, we will find the true meaning of exatsunami.> As for Ivan, "Watch out for that tree!," he seems to have learned from his earlier days of pole climbing and touch football games during lunch time breaks at BELL ATLANTIC, that's it's better to HUG a TREE than try to knock one down! ;D As a matter of fact, I think Al Gore, that other man who invented the internet, might consider Ivan having gone "GREEN" with his affection for our beloved (3) Tree today! I remain mind boggled that the stock was down today on this news, at the same time I think our 3 BOYZ have other favorable news that Mr. Market should enjoy hearing assuming I am reading all the tea leaves correctly. Without a doubt, although I didn't do it because my one of my trusted adviser's always tells me that I have enough, it was a day to "BUY THE NEWS!" ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brker_guy Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 That LVLT PR is cranking up with offering to help REAL WIRELESS USERS from losing their connectivity. You hear that T-Rex? Get yourself out of the cellar of being THE WIRELESS CARRIER on the planet: http://www.level3.com/en/About-Us/Newsroom/Press-Release-Archive/2011/2011-04-21-wireless-backup.aspx Thank you, Carl! That word came to me when I was watching your Youtube link. Must have been an epiphany moment. ;D ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brker_guy Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 VZ is growing subscribers, Cal... Imagine the possibility when iPad with 4G and iPhone 5 with 4G arrive. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Verizon-rakes-in-subscribers-apf-212619508.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=4&asset=&ccode= Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txlaw Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 More LightSquared press: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-20055922-266.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brker_guy Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Carl, looks like Mr. Bezos should start thinking about relying on that dependable network: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Amazon-failure-takes-down-apf-2858263645.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode= "Many other companies that use Amazon Web Services, like Netflix Inc. and Zynga Inc., which runs Facebook games, appeared to be unscathed." "Lydia Leong, an analyst for the tech research firm Gartner, said that judging by details posted on Amazon's AWS status page, a network connection failed Thursday morning, triggering an automatic recovery mechanism that then also failed." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Ben Graham, as The Father of Value Investing and Warren E. Buffett's personal Messiah, I am hopeful that Mr. Buffett moves to #1 on your list while displacing Mr. Slim to #3 before either man exits planet earth stage left. The Boy Wonder should stay right where he is. Maybe it's true already if one valued "personal holdings" and/or if one valued their public shares more correctly, I don't know. Mr. Buffett is said to have traded his personal account in excess of $500MM last check. Here's something interesting that nobody has spoken about since its release yesterday in bloody England, while a Global Crossing subsidiary's "POUND" has strengthened considerably($1.65) since this latent year end report. I am not happy about the manner in which they attained free cash flow in the Quarter, but competition with (3) and others had been fierce up until then, and the combined synergies of both of them being joined at the hip, should bode well in the future inclusive of multiplying dollars from "foreign currency exchange" rates. http://www.itnews.it/news/2011/0421163002222/global-crossing-reports-gcuk-s-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2010-results.html For the fourth quarter of 2010, GCUK generated revenue of 83 million pounds and Operating Income Before Depreciation and Amortization (OIBDA) of 18 million pounds. (OIBDA is a non-GAAP measure defined and reconciled below.) The company also reported net cash provided by operations of 10 million pounds. Fourth Quarter Results GCUK generated revenue of 83 million pounds in the fourth quarter, a sequential increase of 10 percent and a year-over-year increase of 6 percent. The sequential and year-over-year increases were primarily due to a non-recurring benefit of 4 million pounds from the completion of a customer contract and 5 million pounds from the sale of equipment in connection with a new contract for managed services. Conference Call On April 11, 2011, Global Crossing announced it has entered into a definitive agreement with Level 3 Communications, Inc. ("Level 3") under which Level 3 will acquire Global Crossing. Pending completion of the acquisition, Global Crossing will continue to issue quarterly releases of GCUK financial results and make periodic filings with the SEC as may be required by law or under the applicable indenture for the notes issued by Global Crossing (UK) Finance Plc. However, management has decided to discontinue conducting separate quarterly conference calls to discuss GCUK's standalone financial results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 Mr. Jobs will not fail at exercising "wisdom" in the end. Part of that wisdom moved VZ to our network last week. There will be more WISDOM to come before Mr. Jobs leaves us. If we're really lucky, one of his old girlfriend's with great wisdom of her own, will visit him while singing sweet melodic music into his ears. imo http://www.pcworld.com/article/225853/steve_jobs_wants_to_be_back_as_soon_as_he_can.html Steve Jobs wants to return to his full-time role at Apple 'as soon as he can', according to Tim Cook, chief operating officer and the man who has taken over Jobs' day-to-day responsibilities. Cook made the comments on Wednesday as the company announced record profits. Jobs took an indefinite period of leave in January for medical reasons, though what precisely these reasons were has not been specified. Jobs underwent a liver transplant in April 2009. "He is still on medical leave but we do see him on a regular basis. He continues to be involved in major strategic decisions. I know he wants to be back full time as soon as he can," said Cook. Something more appropriate for the day of celebration at hand, except in her beautiful French. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-zlWxLmMqw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Good God, anybody got bandwidth? It has been Jim Crowe opining for more than one year now, a man can't be too rich, too thin or have too much bandwidth. This is not true entirely; however, since a man needs the right amount of bandwidth at the right location at the right time in order to always meet his customer needs and not necessarily overpay, i.e., bandwidth by intelligent design, like the design behind the human species and the Level 3 network which don't seem to have come into existence by "accident." No Big Bang theories here, I promise you, especially when God said, "Let there be LIGHT." imo http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Sony-rebuilding-PlayStation-apf-2929851679.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=1&asset=&ccode= On Saturday, the company said in a blog post that it was "working around the clock" to bring the services back online. "We thank you for your patience to date and ask for a little more while we move towards completion of this project," the company said in the post. The outage came just after Tuesday's release of the game "Mortal Kombat," which is available on the PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360. It also comes as Amazon.com restores computers used by other major websites as an outage stretched into a fourth day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brker_guy Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Carl, nice find! I hope that when you say, "Let there be LIGHT", you don't refer to those patents infringer at LimeLIGHT Network. ;D ;D Thanks to those patents infringer at LimeLIGHT Network, Sony PlayStation now has to go find a network provider that it can rely on for the delivery of their games content: http://investors.limelightnetworks.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=550021 Limelight is the content delivery network of choice for over 1,000 companies, including many of the world's top Internet, media and entertainment companies, including Microsoft Xbox LIVE, Sony Playstation 3, Akimbo, Amazon Unbox™, ... Yikes! Who would trust these bozos with contents is beyond me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 I remember the losses in court too well, Brker_guy, while thinking, it must have had something to do with having "GOLD MEN" on their side! >:( I had forgotten about their dominance in the gaming space, however. If their walls came tumbling down, it won't be soon enough. imo http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-05-06/limelight-networks-isda-ferrari-franklin-mint-intellectual-property.html Limelight had won a trial last year that determined the Tempe, Arizona-based company didn’t infringe a patent owned by Level 3. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, without issuing an opinion, upheld that finding yesterday, according to a notice posted on the court’s website. The dispute centered on a content-delivery network, or CDN, that distributes movies, music and software to computers on behalf of other services. Level 3, based in Broomfield, Colorado, claimed that Limelight “appropriated the results of years of research” in making the networks work better. The appeals court’s decision “clears the decks of this particular piece of litigation and we’re very pleased to have one down so we can focus on being successful in the remaining litigation” with Akamai Technologies Corp., Philip Maynard, Limelight’s chief legal officer, said in an interview. The Level 3 lawsuit was filed in December 2007, about six months after Limelight first sold shares to the public. The CDN market is estimated to be about $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion in size, and Limelight is the second-biggest seller, behind Akamai, said Limelight Chief Financial Officer Doug Lindroth. A federal judge in Boston last year threw out a verdict Limelight lost to Akamai in a case that could have resulted in an order shuttering Limelight’s service. The Federal Circuit in Washington, which handles all patent appeals, is scheduled to hear arguments in that case next month. Vince Hancock a spokesman for Level 3, didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Almost at the speed of light, we get this. Who has the kind of power to "persuade courts" to delve further while looking into what "GOLD MEN" have already declared victory over? :-\ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-25/akamai-yankees-time-warner-toshiba-intellectual-property-1-.html?cmpid=yhoo Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) persuaded a U.S. appeals court to reconsider whether Limelight Networks Inc. infringed a patent over software that speeds delivery of Web videos. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said in December Limelight didn’t infringe the patent. In an order posted on the court’s website April 21, the Federal Circuit said the dispute will be considered by all of the court’s active judges. Akamai’s lawsuit in 2006 accused Tempe, Arizona-based Limelight of building its business on technology developed by Akamai’s founders at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prunes Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 ValueCarl, what is your price target with LVLT? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brker_guy Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Carl, don't know if you saw this at Dan Rayburn's blog last Thursday, but this is very interesting. "The numbers are climbing from 24% to 30% of all traffic at peak. Almost 1 in 3 bits during peak are feeding the OTT service as more videos become available and more subscribers join the service, this trend is only getting worse." http://blog.streamingmedia.com/the_business_of_online_vi/2011/04/netflix-viewers-consumer-almost-10-hrs-of-video-a-month-do-operators-have-a-strategy.html NFLX is reporting earnings today after the close, I believe. So, you might get a glimpse by looking at their numbers. The last table here is very telling: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/march-2011-top-online-video-brands-in-u-s/ BTW: Carl, I sent you a message to your inbox here. Check it out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Prunes, you're making me constipated at this hour. If I should give all of my secrets away as I have overtime to certain privileged cronies, I am told that it's not impossible for someone like me to be left homeless, hungry and desolate on the roadside while giving early settlers opportunities to take large CHUNK size bites of my apples leaving me with less in return. :( Let's just say that in the case of (3), this beautiful blonde who acts like a slut sometimes, has a very long price run in front of her as has aleady been discussed on this thread by going backwards! ;D Rewind the tape, prunes! ;D In the mean time, others are coming to their SILVER SENSES well after me, and I see COINSTAR has been a fine "play" on Netflix since I mentioned it on this board not long ago as well. Hi Ho, SILVER, and AWAY with (3) for now! 8) http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Silver-expected-to-reach-50-cnnm-1786948514.html;_ylt=AptcoyiCU3MSdpHwb_7Swmy7YWsA;_ylu=X3oDMTE1bHJwZDM4BHBvcwM1BHNlYwN0b3BTdG9yaWVzBHNsawNzaWx2ZXJleHBlY3Q-?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=2&asset=&ccode= Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brker_guy Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Carl, NFLX reported earnings. This is a good guiding light for us as we steer toward May 3rd: http://ir.netflix.com/common/download/download.cfm?companyid=NFLX&fileid=461760&filekey=11046ba9-7ea4-4b77-b1bd-a3035fc913d5&filename=Q1 11 Letter to shareholders.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 I have been scanning it like a dog on the hunt, Brker_guy! Interesting stat I have gleaned thus far is for "paid subscribers" at the end of the quarter, along with its quarter over quarter sequential growth rate. Paid subs as where (3)'s teeth will sink into. 21.405MM paid subscribers existed at the end of the Q, and had grown sequentially at 19.3 percent! At this rate, they will DOUBLE to greater than 42MM "paid subs" in less than one year! With the avg. monthly rev. per sub at $11.97 each, and more than their "online subscription" offering at $8.00 flat, one must assume there are still plenty of paid subs using "SNAIL MAIL" that will "convert" to the online delivery system for watching their movies going forward. imo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Can you feel the international paid subscriber growth rate readying to SOAR ON NET via Level Crossing, in order to steal back from that CHUMP, Cramer's slip of the sloppy tongue, Brker_Guy? ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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