Guest ValueCarl Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Earlier today, I had asked a "Seeking Alpha" author and self professed three digit compounding investor/speculator/machine whose heroes are Mr. Warren E. Buffett, and James Cramer in the same paragraph, what his assessed probability for success to occur between LVLT and Global Crossing was. You could follow that here if you choose since he has gone dark instead of carrying on with me. http://seekingalpha.com/article/277924-6-longs-and-3-shorts-that-cramer-may-have-missed?source=yahoo Now, investors here on The Corner of Berkshire & Fairfax are well aware that if Mr. Kaine were able to consistently compound with triple digits in the short time periods he expresses while laying accolades on himself as he does in the article he wrote this morning, even with the huge short term capital gain tax bill he would pay to his government partners, he would accelerate to a Buffett like "net worth" at the SPEED of LIGHT which is travelling on Level 3 fiber inside their internet pipes! ;D Besides that, while considering the DOJ, FTC, FCC and PUC's of every state in addition to any international regulatory bodies, has anyone formulated a percentage success rate on this board? My SWAG keeps coming up with 90:10 at the same time thinking about some "left field foul ball" which rears its ugly head and is enveloped inside (3)'s history because of counter parties with so much to lose when they win. :-X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericd1 Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Verizon kisses unlimited data plans goodbye! http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/verizon-kisses-unlimited-data-plans-goodbye/13538?tag=nl.e550 I apologize if this was previously posted...So much for for an open internet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txlaw Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Facebook Unveils Skype Video Calling and Group Chat http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/facebook_unveils_video_calling_with_skype_and_grou.php Google plans to open Hangouts for interoperability http://gigaom.com/video/google-plus-hangouts-interoperability/ The OTT video call space is just exploding right now. It will be interesting to see to what extent that traffic will fill up our pipes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Facebook Unveils Skype Video Calling and Group Chat http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/facebook_unveils_video_calling_with_skype_and_grou.php Google plans to open Hangouts for interoperability http://gigaom.com/video/google-plus-hangouts-interoperability/ The OTT video call space is just exploding right now. It will be interesting to see to what extent that traffic will fill up our pipes. Yep, it'll grow a lot. But I expect that Netflix, Hulu and Youtube (average video quality has been improving, and they do 1080p now, as well as live streaming) will still require more bandwidth than videocalls for a long time (bitrates are higher for both the sound and video with pro stuff, and even when video calls are available, people use them only a minority of the time, and most home connections are asymmetric, so that upload is much slower than download, limiting video quality). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brker_guy Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Oh, it gets better: Global Crossing secures spot on the UK's public sector MTCF contract http://www.fiercetelecom.com/story/global-crossing-secures-spot-uks-public-sector-mtcf-contract/2011-07-06 Guess who will inherit that contract when the merger is completed. ;D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txlaw Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 But I expect that Netflix, Hulu and Youtube (average video quality has been improving, and they do 1080p now, as well as live streaming) will still require more bandwidth than videocalls for a long time (bitrates are higher for both the sound and video with pro stuff, and even when video calls are available, people use them only a minority of the time, and most home connections are asymmetric, so that upload is much slower than download, limiting video quality). Absolutely. However, you can imagine how in a few years, we will fire up our Google TV box and have video conferences on our TV screen with friends, family, or coworkers in full HD. Or imagine this situation. You're away from home on travel and will be so for a while. One night, you decide to watch a movie on demand with your family back home. You fire up a service that allows you and your family to watch the full HD movie so that it is synced in your hotel room and back home. At the same time, a camera in your living room back home and a telepresence device in your hotel room allow you to feel as though you are actually watching the movie with your family. Can you imagine how much bandwidth that is going to take? We will need to solve the last mile problem to make this a reality, though, and who knows how long that will take. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brker_guy Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 "One night, you decide to watch a movie on demand with your family back home. You fire up a service that allows you and your family to watch the full HD movie so that it is synced in your hotel room and back home." TxLaw, you can do part of that today. It's called SlingBox. ;D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txlaw Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 "One night, you decide to watch a movie on demand with your family back home. You fire up a service that allows you and your family to watch the full HD movie so that it is synced in your hotel room and back home." TxLaw, you can do part of that today. It's called SlingBox. ;D :D Are you allowed to sling a TV show where it's being watched at the same time in two places? If that's the case, that's pretty cool. Still, that whole last mile thing . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brker_guy Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 TxLaw, here is what SlingBox is all about: http://slingbox.com/ All you need is a data connection in your hotel with your SlingBox if you ever go on travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txlaw Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 TxLaw, here is what SlingBox is all about: http://slingbox.com/ All you need is a data connection in your hotel with your SlingBox if you ever go on travel. Yeah, I've heard of Slingbox. But I've always been under the impression that if you were slinging video from your home box to another location, you could not simultaneously have the same video playing at home. That might be wrong, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alekbaylee Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/level-3-signs-agreement-relating-to-the-conversion-of-127962000-of-15-convertible-senior-notes-due-2013-125136964.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 It is good to see that Sunit's financiers are more interested in the value of their equity moving forward, rather than weighing this enterprise down with expensive interest. Mr. Watsa just gave us $19.2MM per year with more than one year left in cash savings towards our operating line to be used more productively! ;) "This transaction is positive for our company as it helps us delever," said Sunit S. Patel, chief financial officer of Level 3. Since it may not be possible to rely on others' generosity in converting the balance of this tranche into shares, let's look towards Sunit and the rest of this management team to do smart things in order to "force" a FOUR DOLLAR conversion tied to indisputable "value" in their stock price sooner rather than later! Then again, if Mr. Watsa has seen the LVLT light, could Mr. Hawkins be that far away? ??? Correction: Although there may be some interest savings out to maturity depending upon the convert date to maturity date, Mr. Watsa wasn't easy on our cash register. :( One has to take Sunit's delever remark at its face value and anticipate others will follow while anticipating further that, Sunit is readying to go to the bank again with credit rating agencies happier, because of some other premeditated motive like, "Next acquisition, please!" ;D Level 3 will also pay an aggregate of $28,791,450 in cash, equivalent to $225 per $1,000 note, representing interest that would be due from conversion through maturity date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 One in three Americans with healthcare insurance will rely on (3)'s backbone for more expansive services. Without a doubt, "telemedicine" is the part of the internet's wave bringing the future here today. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/level-3-renews-and-expands-agreement-with-blue-cross-and-blue-shield-association-125144974.html With Level 3 serving as a BCBSA national provider for communications services, members' plans will now be able to provide services based on the pricing negotiated in the renewed contract, which include: Network connectivity to support data center networks, storage area networks and business continuity/disaster recovery networks as the adoption of electronic health records increases Wide area networking (WAN) services to support claims processing, websites and telemedicine Long-distance voice and advanced toll-free and local service to support contact centers Internet connectivity for remote workers, patients and customers to connect to Web portals SIP Trunking to accelerate unified communications for operational and cost efficiencies, enhanced internal and external communications Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Ben Graham, you are like The Citi that never sleeps working hard at supplying this board with valuable "golden nuggets" on a daily basis! ;) With respect to this NEWBY on the BLOCK, I am not sure if owners should consider him more of a threat than Dan Caruso for his own trail blazing adventures in laying down fiber connections. Then again, I have always wondered why some long term "non compete" clause wasn't applied to Dan when he left (3) in pursuit of his own dreams. It seems so odd that a man with Kiewit admiration, one who has described the engineering prowess of Walter's firm as, "The Kiewit Mafia" and one who subscribes to the school of Warren E. Buffett like a disciple on a zealot's mission, would be a foe working against (3) since he left the company. After all, initially, he did sell ICG's assets to us, something he said he regretted later for letting it go so cheap. Don't let me get started on how cheap didn't work in (3)'s favor at least up until now since the integration mess where all prior purchased assets remained and continue to remain in the cellar including today. Whatever the case may be in this competitive world of "Trading with the Enemies," I hope you or your agents to be influenced are certain to ask Mr. Crowe about these potential SUPPLY SIDE threats asap. >:( I am NOT happy about hearing new SUPPLIES of dark fiber coming to market so easily, in excess of demand as is being indicated by Hunter Newby, etal. Thanks for adding to my world of worry again this weekend, which is something I had always thought excluding your "railroad SWAG" earlier. :-\ There just seems to be too many smart asses with too much money willing to commit it to hugely expensive propositions such as "state of the art" broadband networks, it seems. Back to Charles T. Munger's advice; "too hard to figure out" pile. :( TMCnet in May reported that with more than 85 members and counting, Allied Fiber’s Dark Fiber Community (DFC) is constantly growing as new companies join the online community, which can be found on TMCnet, and was formed in response to the rising demands for dark fiber products and services. Zayo Group (News - Alert), a provider of fiber-based bandwidth infrastructure and network-neutral collocation services, has announced that it has joined the Dark Fiber Community, an online resource for network operators that build efficient broadband networks and for the vendors that support them. http://dark-fiber.tmcnet.com/topics/dark-fiber/articles/191928-allied-fiber-signs-agreement-with-dupont-fabros-technology.htm Zayo Group (News - Alert), a provider of fiber-based bandwidth infrastructure and network-neutral collocation services, has announced that it has joined the Dark Fiber Community, an online resource for network operators that build efficient broadband networks and for the vendors that support them. “Joining the Dark Fiber Community is a natural move for Zayo, following the 2010 launch of Zayo Fiber Solutions, a business focused on dark fiber services,” states Matt Erickson, president of Zayo Fiber Solutions. “We look forward to working with Allied Fiber and leveraging the community to enable customers with the long-term and scalable bandwidth infrastructure afforded by dark fiber.” http://dark-fiber.tmcnet.com/topics/dark-fiber/articles/178319-zayo-group-becomes-newest-member-allied-fibers-dark.htm The telecom veteran's career started with traditional phone operators Illinois Bell and Ameritech. In the early 1990s, he joined Jim Crowe, now Level 3's chief executive, at upstart Internet backbone provider MFS Communications. "I decided I would rather be on the attacking side of the competition as opposed to the defending side," Caruso said. After WorldCom acquired MFS in 1996, Crowe formed Level 3 with the financial backing of construction giant Kiewit. Caruso, considered a founding member, initially headed Level 3's network operations. He left Level 3 in 2003. Read more: Fiber networks regain black-gold footing - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_17544885#ixzz1RjlG499k Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Hmm......two things come to mind on the surface: 1) Insider trading laws 2) NOL's being violated after the "amalgamation" is completed and SEAM's ownership stake changes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Ring around the rosy A pocketful of posies "Ashes, Ashes" We all fall down! http://www.telecomramblings.com/2011/07/level-3s-resurgence-does-have-teeth/#comment-6523 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 A partial answer to Newby's ring around the nation along with a Microsoft embedded Enhanced E911 solution as part of Microsoft Linc this morning? http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Level-3-Launches-New-prnews-272948939.html?x=0&.v=1 Level 3 has a proven track record when providing support for the financial services industry. The company currently supports nine of the top 10 investment banks in North America, as well as nine of the top 10 banks and four out of the five top financial exchanges in the world. "Having access to fast network speeds can be a significant competitive advantage for the financial services industry, but it's an even bigger advantage to have access to a fast network that keeps getting faster," said James Heard, president of European Markets at Level 3. "We consistently upgrade our routes to better serve our global customer base. This latest route upgrade further underlines our commitment to anticipating our financial services customers' evolving needs, especially for rapid transactions, and demonstrates our network's unrivalled scale and continuously increasing quality of service." Level 3 has worked closely with its customers in the financial services industry to develop a diverse portfolio of solutions, including ultra-low-latency routes into Milan, Zurich, as well as the main financial sectors of New York, Chicago, London and Frankfurt. Level 3 provides traders on these routes with a broad range of high-speed connectivity options, allowing for a variety of design options for low latency solutions. The London-to-Frankfurt route is offered with a stringent latency service level agreement as well as end-to-end management, giving customers increased peace of mind and security. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Level-3-Delivers-SIP-Trunking-prnews-1189295793.html?x=0&.v=1 Nomadic users in the enterprise space are those who migrate workspace locations, taking advantage of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) services that allow phone calls to be made anywhere Internet access is available. Due to the nature of VoIP, it has traditionally been very difficult to offer E-911 solutions, which identify the physical location of the caller to the appropriate emergency response centers. "Enterprises expect their 911 voice services to connect them with the appropriate emergency contacts," said Warren Barkley, general manager, Microsoft Lync. "Microsoft Lync is able to offer enterprises the benefits of a unified communications deployment with an easy-to-manage, dynamic and reliable 911 routing solution through Level 3, even as workers change locations." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Why do I always smell the sewer rats racing around our pipes in an attempt to take over by eating Donna's white mice before they are flushed out and overwhelmed by "bandwidth bits" which run our cup over? According to BlaineFred over at IV, and before he must remove his post for his own fear of copyright infringement later today, Icahn's crew at xoHO is readying to oppose the merger because "AT&T and VZ are the good guys here....." regarding transparent "peering templates." You can't make this stuff up including a mobbed up guy with hip pocket judges from NY wielding his power in usurping assets including (3)'s own fiber on lease agreement to xoHO! >:( In the meantime, the Cramer KISS OF DEATH has begun on CNBC with "favorable comments" this morning! http://www.investorvillage.com/smbd.asp?mb=444&mn=105210&pt=msg&mid=10698755 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Ben Graham, here comes the RISK you had placed an almost zero possibility on. It remains my understanding that the criminal operator, Carl Icahn, who was stealing from his minority owners including his offer at two times today's market price after a long wait but still dirt cheap compared to fair value, has triggered this inquiry. That's right, Carl Icahn has JUICE with the regulators and legal system after wresting control of LVLT's original fiber from BK court, and then establishing "use terms" with court victories later that were contrary to (3)'s contract, which were embedded in xoHO Communications. Rob Powell describes Icahn as "NOISE" today. Knowing the history of that scoundrel, there will be a lot less noise from his mouth when they find the courage to incarcerate him! >:( http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Level-3-Receives-Department-prnews-973410848.html?x=0&.v=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Could an inquiry such as this turn out with better terms while vetting an archaic system in desperate need of "change" in order to "sustain" the internet's promise into perpetuity, i.e., pricing of IP transit and peering? It will depend upon the moral conviction of government officials seeking to work on behalf of their citizens in concert with "expert advisers" educating them properly according to the important issues at hand. Certainly, this merger is a good thing for U.S. national security, at a minimum as well! Right Graham! ;D http://www.telecomramblings.com/2011/07/doj-asks-level-3-for-more-information-about-global-crossing-deal/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Netflix attempts to price "snail mail" so that it becomes a vestigial organ of the past much like copper networks have become vs. glass while heading into an all internet protocol world where eyes travel around the globe at the speed of light. Netflix Separates Streaming, Mail-Order DVD Subscription Plans 07/12 10:35 AM DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Netflix Inc. (NFLX:$293.73,00$2.99,001.03%) disclosed plans to separate its streaming and mail-order DVD subscription plans in the U.S., a move it said better reflects the cost of each plan. Customers who want both both unlimited streaming and to receive one DVD at a time by mail must subscribe to two plans, each for $7.99. Previously, subscribers paid $9.99 under a single plan for the same services. The move continues the Internet movie service's efforts to promote higher- margin online videos as it faces off against Coinstar Inc.'s (CSTR:$57.01,00$1.61,002.91%) Redbox DVD- rental kiosks. The company has also said its members are now watching more content streamed over the Internet than on discs delivered by mail. Netflix (NFLX:$293.73,00$2.99,001.03%) began offering its first streaming-only subscription plan in the U.S. last November for $7.99, while raising prices for all plans combining streaming service and mailed DVD deliveries. The new pricing will start for charges on or after Sept. 1 for existing members and immediately for new subscribers. Shares were recently up 1.2% to $294.10. The stock has more than doubled over the past 52 weeks. -By Drew FitzGerald, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2909; Andrew.FitzGerald@ dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires 07-12-111335ET Copyright © 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cirrus 22 Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Netflix believes the future is streaming. http://gigaom.com/video/netflix-the-future-is-streaming/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I am thinking that the DOJ is going to demand that SEAM and FAIRFAX transfer at today's market price 1/2 each of their combined aggregate stakes in (3) and Global Crossing to The United States Government! Only then will the US Govt. be assured of its "national security" and there is no cheaper financier than the US Govt. in what must become a quasi private/public entity in order for the internet's long term sustainability. After those usury rates these raiders tacked on to our enterprise, I think I am going to recommend it for protecting the best interests of my fellow Americans! After all, before this is over, massive amounts of telecom union workers inside of other govt. business partners like T and VZ will be walking the streets with the homeless, out of work with no place to go! >:( The agency, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the concurrence of the Department of Homeland Security, also has asked the Federal Communications Commission to defer action on the merger. “DOJ, DHS, and FBI … are currently reviewing this matter for any national security, law enforcement, and public safety issues but have not yet completed that effort," the Justice Department noted in a filing on Monday. “We therefore request that the Commission defer action until such time as the Agencies notify the Commission of the completion of their review and, based on the results of such review, request appropriate action by the Commission." http://www.channelpartnersonline.com/news/2011/07/xo-level-3-global-crossing-merger-to-create-globa.aspx http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304584404576442272637486618.html?mod=googlenews_wsj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 Mr. Kaine is often so kind, and definitely a friend of mine along with (3), but I keep wondering who else are his friends? This worked nicely in the A.M. on options X date to pummel us to the pretty lines chartists like to use, specifically, the 50 day ema. The headline chatter tying the drop to yesterday's "refinancing" remained nothing more than idle chatter to distract from the fact of manipulation on The Street's part. http://seekingalpha.com/article/279617-level-3-cisco-and-sirius-xm-issues-that-will-impact-the-stock?source=yahoo <Well, as you can expect, these things are complicated and nor should it have been expected that companies are given “carte blanche” to do as they wish without some governance. Disclosure: I am long SIRI, CSCO.> I smell a war by Icahn and Cohen vs. Watsa here. Icahn and Cohen are working for the stalking horses at Telephone and Verizon. Cohen is a SIRI owner as well as CSTR, a Netflix competitor, and we all know his personal disdain for Watsa. Although there is some math showing Fairfax may have unleashed some 900K shares net of a receiving the approx. new 55M convert shares, let's hope with all those common shares on his books and part of his war chest, "This Buffett of the North," knows how to put it to these SOB's! >:( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ValueCarl Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 I don't know, but if there is a war going on against "The Buffett of the North," one which is costing owners more than necessary because of "attacks" on their stock without respect for his reputation, then maybe he should visit "The Buffett of the South" and offer him some of that "valuable stock" in a privately arranged transaction from which public mind share is garnered? There is no doubt when "The Buffett of the South" is said to own "valuable stock," miscreants and vagabonds are forced to flee with their heads up their asses, and the assets they must leave behind appreciate wildly, as prosperity returns to owners. ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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