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Entertainment concept restaurant chain Dave & Buster's (NYSE: DAB) reported that fiscal fourth quarter net income fell 25% to $3.2 million as same-store sales declined 6.2%. More Foolishness
Xpedior President David Campbell speaks about the company's choice to remain independent despite PSINet... You can get rid of credit card debt, just like these successful Fools... JDS Uniphase has created a fiber optic dream team.
Under terms of the deal, a consortium led by Ma Bell will purchase a total of 18.9 million Net2Phone shares for $1.4 billion in cash. The consortium also has first right of refusal to buy IDT Corp.'s (Nasdaq: IDTC) remaining 10 million shares of Net2Phone.
The news here, of course, is the significance of the deal. If AT&T wants a stake in Net2Phone, maybe Internet telephony is a bona fide threat to traditional telecommunications. Maybe those commercials featuring customers burning their long distance phone bills aren't just Internet pipe dreams.
"Net2Phone has established itself as the Internet's very own phone company,'' said AT&T Chairman and CEO Michael Armstrong. "It handles two out of every five calls routed over the Internet.... Together with Net2Phone, we will develop a new generation of voice-enhanced web-based communications services. Our goal is to make telephones, web pages, and fax machines extensions of each other.''
Internet telephony, the clunky phrase used to describe phone calls made over the Web, has gotten plenty of hype but has been more smoke than fire. The advantage is that phone calls over the Internet are virtually free. The disadvantage is that the technology hasn't quite evolved to the point where the calls are as clear or reliable as they are over good old copper wires.
Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) and many other high-profile firms argue that it's just a matter of time. In fact, Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) is currently testing a Cisco Internet telephony system that could change the way the company makes phone calls forever.
It's the second time this week we've been bombarded with stories that make us think about receiving and delivering standard services in a whole new way.
News broke Sunday regarding Interactive television software company OpenTV's (Nasdaq: OPTV) agreement to buy Internet technology firm Spyglass (Nasdaq: SPYG) for $2.5 billion in stock. Through the deal, OpenTV gets a chance to expand into the wireless communications market. And Monday, Internet software company Liberate Technologies (Nasdaq: LBRT) signed an agreement to buy privately held MoreCom Inc., an interactive television infrastructure company for $561 million in stock. The acquisition gives Liberate expertise in the area of delivering interactive video services via satellite and digital terrestrial networks.
It's important for Fools to keep on top of new technologies, new deals, and pending deals that impact their investments. It's fun, too. Who would've thought five years ago that staid AT&T would buy a stake in an unprofitable start-up to defend its sacred turf? I'd argue that Internet telephony wasn't part of Armstrong's vision for the company when he imagined bundled services years ago, and that the Net2Phone deal is a late-in-the-game, defensive move.
Still, there's a difference between keeping on top of new technologies and making investment decisions based on them. Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) didn't sneak up on anyone in the PC industry. Investors had a few years to watch the company develop. Same with Cisco, IBM (NYSE: IBM), Motorola (NYSE: MOT), and scores of other companies that deliver long-term value to shareholders. Technology seems like a constant rush to the next best thing. Investing is nothing like that at all.
Online healthcare content company drkoop.com (Nasdaq: KOOP) fell into penny stock land in overnight trading when its auditor questioned the firm's ability to continue as a going concern.
Wireless carrier VoiceStream (Nasdaq: VSTR) received permission from the Federal Communications Commission for its takeover of Aerial Communications (Nasdaq: AERL).
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