Posted: 05/2001

Trading Desk

News Briefs

Williams Communications (www.williamscommunications.com)
has posted a version of a master trading agreement on the Competitive
Telecommunications Association’s (CompTel, www.comptel.org)
website, giving bandwidth traders two choices. One posted in December is being
called the "energy traders" contract, largely because it is patterned
after the agreement that Enron Corp. (www.enron.com)
uses in its energy commodities trading. The Williams version, apparently
spearheaded by Williams, Universal Access Inc. (www.universalaccess.net)
and other carriers, is being called the "carrier" contract.

The contracts are similar. The major point of disagreement comes in examples
of force majurere.

Neutral trader RateXchange Corp. (www.ratexchange.com)
and TeleCity plc Internet Exchange (www.telecity.co.uk)
have launched jointly "IP Access," an Internet-access service. Through
the agreement, RateXchange has broadened the score of its relationship with
TeleCity, which is building and will run the physical exchange facilities upon
which the RateXchange Trading System will operate. TeleCity also will be
responsible for measuring key QoS metrics on providers’ networks–enabling
buyers to make procurement decisions on the basis of cost and QoS information.
The services will be rolled out progressively to other TeleCity locations by the
end of the year.

European Telco Exchange AG (Eutex, www.eutex.com)
used the mid-March CeBIT 2001 Trade Fair in Germany to launch its bandwidth
exchange.

Eutex will link telecom operators to a "giganode" in Frankfurt, and
then companies will buy and sell network capacity, bandwidth and minutes.

Exchange users will pay an annual fee of $2,715, and Eutex will receive a 4
percent commission on each transaction.

Tradingcom Europe (www.tradingcomeurope.com)
has opened a trading floor in London. The platform, which will be linked to the
existing Paris operations, allows for trading in minutes, capacity and IP
transit.

Macquarie Bank Ltd.’s (www.macquarie.com.au)
eDivision has launched the world’s first online exchange for radio frequency
spectrum rights. Operating initially in the Australian market, Spectrum Desk (www.spectrumdesk.com)
has the potential to facilitate millions of dollars in trades globally.

Spectrum Desk creates a secondary market for radio spectrum rights that could
revolutionize how telecommunications companies and other users of radio spectrum
value and trade radio spectrum rights.

The Spectrum Desk website is designed to accommodate buyer and seller
auctions among anonymous participants. The exchange is based on robust market
rules and the transparent flow of information. Spectrum Desk will charge
brokerage based on the value of completed transactions.