Deja Vu MCI to Qwest International Inc: Can this Corporate Marriage Survive?

Current Situation:

As of this writing, the MCI Board of Governors has given Verizon Communications Inc. one week to sweeten their $7.5 billion offer, otherwise they have no choice but to accept Qwest Communications?$9.74 billion offer to purchase MCI Inc. If the Board does not receive a counter offer from Verizon Communications by May 3, 2005, then it will recommend its shareholders vote for Qwests offer. From all accounts (Noguchi Washington Post, 4/24/2005), Verizon is a stronger and more stable company with $71.3 billion versus $13.8 in 2004 revenue, 210,000 employees versus 42,000. Qwest carries more than $17 billion in debt and it plans to reduce its costs by $15 billion by cutting 15,000 employees after the merger while Verizon plans to cut about 7,000 jobs.

The Problem:

The question is: Can Qwest Communications break all rules of successful mergers and still survive? The driving force behind Qwests acquisition is the 60-70 percent of MCI shareholders, which consists of hedge fund investors (a group of super rich investors) with a strong interest in quick return on their investments. Since MCI just came out of bankruptcy, the bank creditors are not going to benefit with Qwests plan to cut 17,000 jobs and it is going to be very difficult to keep key employees. When key employees depart for other companies it is highly likely that customer service will suffer leading many of them to change their service providers. It is also feasible that Verizon could use its financial resources to build new networks to attract MCIs corporate customers located in the Northeast region where it does business.

Dj Vu:

MCI has been here before. The year was 1997 and British Telecom (BT) was ready to acquire MCI for $21 billion. Then BT discovered a discrepancy in MCIs accounting and reduced its offer to $17 billion. Bernard Ebbers, at the time the Chief Executive of WorldCom stepped in and offered about $31 billion all in stocks. At the time, BT was in the same position that Verizon is currentlyvery stable and debt light. It appears that history is repeating itself. During the late 1990s and early 2000, several dotcom businesses failed because they did not follow proven business models. They thumbed their noses at well-established and functioning business practices.

Merger strategy and post merger integration:

Those contemplating the merger of Qwest and MCI must know something that the experts of mergers and acquisition do not know. Qwest needs MCI to expand its long distance business and to grow. They see a synergy between the two organizations. However, they fail to admit that the major investors are in it for the quick return on their investments. It has been widely reported that 60-80 percent of mergers and acquisitions fail. This is due in part to inattention to post merger integration of two corporate cultures, loss of key employees, and inability to meet customer needs. In addition, by the time the merger is approved by the regulatory bodies, the competition can develop their own strategies to negate any possible impacts of the merger to their business.

The result is the buyer ends up losing. No other organization has been able to survive without adherence to most of the basic principles of organizational change management. Who knows, the leaders of Qwest Communications may have some creative ways to make this corporate marriage work. I wish them all the best. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it?George Santayana (1863-1952) Reason in Common Sense.

Dr. Odubiyi is the author of Blueprint for a Crooked Housea book that reflects on the factors that caused the collapse of a $10 billion joint venture between AT&T and British Telecom. He is an associate professor of computer science at Bowie State University in Maryland. He was a Principal AI Researcher and R&D Manager at British Telecom North America/Concert Global Communications (USA). http://www.blueprintforacrookedhouse.com

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Is Wireless Internet Technology Bad For Your Health?

What is WiFi?
It is possible to form a somewhat informed opinion on the safety or potential risks of this new technology without actually being a physicist yourself.

Quite simply, Wi-Fi is the wireless technology most commonly used to connect people to the Internet in schools, coffee shops, hotels and other network locations, or to connect cell phone users to one another. Wi-Fi is certainly convenient for travelers and students, but is it dangerous? Many believe that the low-level electromagnetic waves that radiate from the wireless Internet source to each individual user can be harmful to your health, even causing cellular changes and possibly cancer in some cases.

The area covered by a WiFi Internet connection is known as a "hotspot"; this is the area in which the waves radiate to give users access to the world wide web. It can span several kilometers, although the waves cannot pass through treed areas. While in the hotspot, a laptop user can simply connect to the network, access the Internet, and check their Email or do their other business on the run.

A wireless network uses radio waves to send communications across a two-way network. A computer's wireless adapter translates the Internet connection data into a radio wave and sends it to the wireless router - the one in your laptop. This process works in reverse as well, sending a radio signal back to the host computer.

Hotspots Useful Stations or Environmental Hazards?
Some report an unusual sensitivity to the waves emitted in these hotspots. Officially, the levels of WiFi electromagnetic radiation emitted into the environment in a hotspot are well below recommended levels and there is no evidence of any risk to humans. Yet some people blame WiFi exposure for everything from sleep disturbances, headaches and blurred vision, to heart and breathing problems.

Because no study has ever shown a conclusive risk to human health from exposure to these low-frequency radio transmissions, many simply shrug off the complaints of these people, choosing to believe their symptoms are coincidental or caused by another source.

So just how high are the levels of radiation in a hotspot? According to Dr. Michael Clark of the HPA, the published research on mobile phones and wireless networks does not indicate a risk to human health. "All the expert reviews done here and abroad indicate that there is unlikely to be a health risk from wireless networks" he says. "The few studies on cellular phone masts that have appeared in peer-reviewed journals claiming to observe health effects are not at all conclusive. The real problem is deciding what level of precaution is appropriate.

"When we have conducted measurements in schools, typical exposures from wifi are around 20 millionths of the international guideline levels of exposure to radiation. As a comparison, a child on a mobile phone receives up to 50% of guideline levels. So a year sitting in a classroom near a wireless network is roughly equivalent to 20 minutes on a mobile. If wi-fi should be taken out of schools, then the mobile phone network should be shut down, too - and FM Radio and TV, as the strength of their signals is similar to that from wi-fi in classrooms."

Bob Shobi researches and writes for RadiationTalk.com.
Learn More
Find more information go to wifi radiation and hazards, radiation protection.
To learn about the dangers of mobile phones visit: cell phone radiation.

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Cranking the Volume on Your iPod or MP3 Player Can Damage Hearing

Kids have always loved listening to their favorite music, and the louder the better ?much to their parents?dismay. In the 1980s, the portable tape recorder with headphones ?which came to be known as the Walkman??enabled teenagers to listen to their music as loud as they wanted, anywhere they wanted, without disturbing anyone around them.

But the more modern rendition of the Walkman ?portable MP3 Players and iPods ?pose a major threat to our childrens hearing health, and to ours.

The problem is a combination of the technology of portable digital devices that creates a non-buffered crystal clear sound, and the type of headphones typically used with them, which do not have a buffer either. In December 2005, Dean Garstecki, an audiologist and professor at Northwestern University reported that more and more young people were being diagnosed with the types of hearing loss typically found in older adults. He attributed this trend to the earbud?type headphones that usually accompany iPod and MP3 Players. With the earbud headphones, the sound frequencies are not buffered as they are with the more traditional, ear cup-style headsets.

Newsweek Magazine recently reported that researchers at the House Ear Institute found that listeners can unfortunately increase the volume of todays portable digital devices without the signal distortion that occurs with traditional analog audio.?The older-model headphones that were popular just 15 to 20 years ago ?that have ear cups outside of the ears ?had that distortion when the volume was turned up, which functioned as a much-needed buffer to protect our hearing. Todays technology does not provide that buffer ?the earpiece is placed in the ear, not outside of it, and the digital devices do not create that distortion, no matter how high the volume.

In addition, people often listen to these devices while they are on the go, and have a tendency to crank the volume in an attempt to drown outside noise, further posing a risk to our hearing. Using the earbud style headphones during activities such as exercise, for example, puts the user at a greater risk. During exercise, blood, which can act as a buffer, is diverted from the ears to other parts of the body ?so our already vulnerable hearing is in even more jeopardy.

Headwize reports that a study conducted on music listeners using headphones revealed that while indoors with no background noise, the participants were comfortable with their music at 69 decibels. Outdoors, where the background noise was recorded at 65 decibels, participants using their headphones turned the volume up to 82 decibels and as high as 95 decibels to drown out the surrounding noise. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines limit exposure to noise at this level to no more than four hours each day. The study concluded that the participants were at risk for hearing damage and recommended avoiding continuous use of [portable stereos] in noisy conditions.?/p>

Northwestern Universitys Dean Garstecki offers more specific guidelines: His 60 percent/60 minute rule ?listen to MP3 Players and iPods for about an hour a day and at levels below 60 percent of maximum volume.?The problem is, most of the population using headphones ?young music fans ?listen to their music for much longer than one hour per day. But, you can help minimize hearing loss, damage and problems while listening to your favorite music as long as you want to ?the secret is in the headphones.

Headphones such as the EX29 Extreme Isolation Noise Reduction Headphones help block out external noise allowing you to hear the fine details of your music without blowing out your ear drums. The ear cup fits over the ear, and not in it, and the headphones are lightweight, dont require batteries and can be used with your MP3 Player or iPod. With 29 decibels of isolation from outside sound, the quiet headphones block outside noise and there is no need to crank the volume of your music.

Aging rock stars like the Whos Pete Townsend, who has some permanent hearing loss from years of exposure to loud music, and Mick Fleetwood, who has teamed up with Energizer batteries to promote hearing loss prevention, have brought public attention to the fact that many of us take our hearing for granted. But theres no need to turn off your music ?just be smarter about how you listen to it. If you are using your MP3 Player or iPod when youre exercising, in a noisy environment or you just want to hear the fine details of your music, ditch the earbud headphones and reach for a set of noise reduction ones instead. And youll be enjoying your favorite music for a long time to come.

Lee Blue is a musician, composer, and home studio recording artist. He uses Extreme Isolation headphones in his recording studio and his office to block out noise and distractions. Learn more at http://www.quietheadphones.com/

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