VERIZON BROADENS
ITS HORIZONS

When you're the child of accomplished parents, good things tend to come your way. Just ask the two yo-yos currently running for President.

Wireless, long distance and data enterprise Verizon Communications, the offspring of the Bell Atlantic-GTE merger, was feeling flush enough to kill scores of trees today to celebrate the marriage of its DSL business with that of fellow broadband pipe-layer NorthPoint, the second-quarter fruits of its multi-faceted communications offerings and its revised overall financial outlook.

The broadband nuptials will retain the NorthPoint moniker, though Verizon's consumer penetration will augment NP's hitherto B2B-intensive reach. At least that's what had better happen if NorthPoint is to make good on this online claim: "By the end of 2000, NorthPoint plans to make DSL available to half of all homes and businesses in the U.S."

The agreement follows yesterday's announcement that Verizon will assimilate OnePoint Communications for $250 million, further expanding its high-speed wiring reach.

Under the terms of the deal, Verizon pumps some $800 million into the venture; $450 million of this will subsidize NorthPoint's operational costs, while $350 large is slated to go to NP shareholders as either cash or stock. In return, Verizon will own 55% of the new company.

Speaking of outrageous sums of money, Verizon is feeling A-OK about Q2, thanks to combined adjusted net income of $2.0 billion. We're not sure how this is different from the "reported net income" for the same period, which is a whopping $4.9 billion. Then again, we don't even know how to count to ten without fingers.

The third and most riveting document of Verizon's press-release hat trick assays its "financial targets," which were laid out in a Webcast press conference. "Our merger, our wireless joint venture and our new broadband combinations have given us the best set of assets in the industry," declared Chairman/CEO Charles R. Lee, who underlined the company's goal of post-merger revenue growth of 8-10% per year and his own aim ofbeing able to play 275 rounds of golf a year.

If Verizon's NorthPoint connection gives it the kind of broadband access it's hoping for-- even as its wireless venture (in league with cell giant Vodafone) continues to grow--the company could well emerge as a titan of the burgeoning broadband era.

Gosh, remember when we just had to cover stuff like the new Morning Zoo team in Wilkes Barre?