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Date: Monday, March 20, 2000, 3:41 PM -0500
From: Faulkner Mail Server <mailserver@faulknerinfo.com>
To: ???
Subject: Faulkner Comm Flash 03/20/2000 - (Part 1 of 2) 

TOP OF THE NEWS

	 * Deutsche Telekom Drops Bids for Qwest/US WEST	
	 * Nortel Networks to Buy Xros	 
	 * Telefonica Bids over $5 Billion for Endemol	
	 * Lucent to Spin Off Business Comm Systems Unit	 

======================================================================
Alliances/Joint Ventures 
	 RTS Wireless and America Online sealed a licensing agreement under which
RTS will provide AOL its Advantage suite of wireless data and text-to-voice
software and related consulting services. RTS Wireless software will be used
to provide wireless access to AOL e-mail and content over personal paging
devices and digital mobile phones.
	 At the Broadband Wireless World Forum, Ericsson, Nokia, Philips
Semiconductors, Samsung, Sony, Wi-LAN, and CalTrans created the OFDM forum.
The forum is designed to create a universal OFDM standard for wireless
devices and networks.
	 To ready the wireless Web for e-business and to help wireless providers
develop mobile solutions, IBM created new partnerships with Cisco, Ericsson,
Intel, Motorola, and Nokia to create new products and services.
	 NorthPoint Communications inked a joint venture that will allow the
	 company to bring its DSL services to Europe. Together with VersaTel,
NorthPoint will create VersaPoint, a new company that will offer broadband
services in Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, with plans
to expand into new markets as they are deregulated. The company eventually
plans to deploy a pan-European, broadband network. Michael Malaga abdicated
his position of CEO of NorthPoint and will assume that position with the
new company. Liz Fetter will assume the role of CEO for NorthPoint.
	 Prodigy and Covad Communications signed an agreement to provide Covad's
high-speed DSL service to Prodigy consumer Internet customers in areas where
Covad supplies DSL service.
	 Sprint PCS' Network Partner, Alamosa PCS, expanded its affiliation
management agreement with Sprint PCS. The expansions allow Alamosa to bring
Sprint PCS wireless service to 3.17 million customers in 23 Basic Trading
Areas in Arizona, California, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin.
	 Vivendi responded to BT's claims that may seek to block the French
company's pending partnership with Vodafone AirTouch, saying that the former
monopoly has no grounds to block the completion of the deal. It also said
that BT cannot block Vodafone's plan to sell Mannesmann's 15-percent stake
in Cegetel. BT owns 26 percent of Cegetel, while Vivendi owns 44 percent.

Broadband Networking 
	 A consortium of companies led by Adelphia Business Solutions was awarded a
contract to deploy network infrastructure and provide voice, data, Internet,
and video services to Pennsylvania. Among the specific initiatives to be
pursued by the consortium include the construction of a statewide fiber
network, increased competition in areas currently served by only one
facilities-based provider, and a Web platform to help automate supply orders
between government agencies. The group will also draw up a proposal to get
Pennsylvania hooked into the Internet 2 research project. The consortium,
called the PA Team, comprises Electronic Data Systems (EDS), Marconi
Communications (formerly FORE Systems), Qwest Communications, Lucent
Technologies, Verio, Telesoft, Diversified Data Systems, Allegheny Energy,
Exelon (a PECO Energy Company), Suburban Cable, Susquehanna Communications,
CitX, Development Dimensions International, Barbara Black Training, and
Innovative Business Concepts.
	 Agilent Technologies released its all-optical networking technology, which
enables data, video, and voice information to be switched as optical signals
without converting them from photons to electrons. The Agilent Photonic
Switching Platform line includes a 32 x 32-port photonic switch and a dual
16 x 32-port photonic switch.
	 CIENA introduced OC-192 (10G bps) capability for its MultiWave
	 CoreDirector intelligent optical core switch. With 10G interfaces on the
CoreDirector, CIENA extends its 10G capability beyond the company's
MultiWave CoreStream intelligent optical transport systems.
	 Tellium Optical Networks and Avici Systems reported the first public, open
interface demonstration of dynamic provisioning between IP routers and
optical switches. The demonstration features the Avici Terabit Switch Router
and the Tellium Aurora 32 Optical Switch working together in real-time,
highlighting IP-over-optical products that allow intelligent optical
switches to provide bandwidth-on-demand and also drop bandwidth when the
application calls for less traffic.
	 CIENA introduced Transparent Service Multiplexing (TSM) to its LightWorks
Toolkit for Optical Services. CIENA's TSM technology enables carriers to
sell transparent wavelength services without using an entire wavelength for
the lower speed traffic or introducing new, proprietary data rates for
services. In three Southeastern US cities, MCI WorldCom is beginning trials
	 of its broadband MMDS wireless Net access systems. The company says it
will increase its offerings to 100 cities by late 2001. MCI WorldCom will
trial its WarpOne business services and its Warp310 consumer services. As
	 part of a contract from BT, worth hundreds of millions of pounds,
Motorola will provide a TETRA standard, nationwide system infrastructure for
the UK's Public Safety Radio Communications Project, which will give police
and other public safety employees voice and data communications using
emergency systems.
	 Taiwan will have DSL and IP broadband services when Nokia delivers its
Nokia D50 DSL Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) to ChungHwa Telecom. ChungHwa wants
to create national ADSL service, but will begin by using Nokia's system to
provide high-speed Internet access and LAN interconnection.
	 Marconi Communications was selected by Sprint to provide communications
products and services for the company's broadband services network. The
agreement includes the deployment of Marconi's ASX-4000 into Sprint's
network, and it continues the long-standing relationship Sprint had with
Reltec and FORE Systems, both now part of Marconi.

Carriers and Carrier Services 
	 The Ontario government awarded AT&T Canada a contract to provide long
distance services through 2002. The government feels that contracting a
single service provider for all of its long distance needs would be more
cost effective than allowing individual agencies to select their carrier.
	 Bell Atlantic began offering long distance services to businesses in New
York. The new plan allows business customers to get a full suite of voice
offerings--local, toll, and long distance services. Services offered include
direct-dialed and toll-free long distance, calling card, and international
calling plans. Bell Atlantic anticipates rolling out its long distance data
services in the second and third quarters.
	 Global Crossing Telecommunications, a subsidiary of Global Crossing,
launched Zoned Frame, which offers companies with three or more locations in
the same LATA frame relay connections at up to 70 percent off the price for
existing frame relay services. The service is available in 23 major markets
nationwide.
	 Edward Whitacre, chairman and CEO of SBC Communications, announced at a
telecommunications conference that the company will reach its goal of
expanding into 30 new markets a year ahead of schedule. The expansion is
expected to be completed by October 2001. In addition, Whitacre added that
the company would easily beat its projection of one million DSL subscribers
of the end of the year.
	 New long distance rates unveiled by Sprint include two key plans that
	 offer customers 1000 minutes of calling times for $20. Under the Sprint
1000 Nights plans, customers can make 1000 minutes worth of state-to-state
calls from 7 pm to 7 am every night for $20 a night. This marks the first
marketing of blocks of minute for long distance and brings up the possible
of blocks of minutes for both wireless and wireline combined. Sprint will
also offer customers 1000 minutes of state-to-state calls from midnight
Friday to midnight Sunday for a price of $20.

Financial News 
	 AT&T's shareholders approved a tracking stock for the company's mobile
division and wireless businesses. AT&T will begin its IPO for the Wireless
Group in the spring, when as much as $10 billion in stock will be offered.
	 Bell Atlantic invested $1.7 billion in Metromedia Fiber Network,
	 completing the investment portion of their previously announced strategic
partnership. The investment will enable Metromedia to accelerate it
build-out of broadband local loop infrastructure in 67 metropolitan areas
in the US and internationally. In addition, it will allow Bell Atlantic to
provide seamless end-to-end broadband services to domestic and
international locations. Inmarsat reported its operational revenues and
	 profits for the fiscal year 1999 for the first time as a private company.
Operational revenues were $406.2 million, and profits were $119.4 million.
Both totals include the period from January 1 to April 14, 1999, when the
company was still a government organization.
	 Lenders gave $3 million to Iridium, giving the bankrupt company 11 more
days until its satellite operations shut down. Iridium had until March 17 to
find a new buyer but was unable to find any organization willing to put up
more cash. The company decided to shut down and burn its 66 satellites,
worth about $5 billion, in the atmosphere.
	 OpenTV issued 2.252 million class A ordinary shares to EchoStar
Communications, retroactive to February 22, 2000, in exchange for a share of
revenues from hard-drive applications developed for the venture.
	 Teligent reported that revenue for the fourth quarter was $15.5 million,
compared to $476,000 in the fourth quarter of 1998. Net loss was $153.7
million, or $2.89 loss per share, compared to $105.2 million, or $2.00.
Total revenue for the year was $31.3 million, compared to $960,000. Net loss
for the year was $528.9 million, or $9.95 loss per share, compared to $281.5
million, or $5.35 per share.
	 Despite an increase in both revenues and net income for the six months
ended December 31, 1999, Telstra will cut 10,000 employees and 220 senior
managers by 2002. Revenues increased 5.3 percent to A$9.3 billion, with
non-traditional services--data, mobile telephony, Internet, and text
services--accounting for more than 50 percent. Net income was A$1.27
billion. The company said its proposed staff reductions will save A$650
million annually, and allow Telstra to better compete against AAPT and C&W
Optus in an increasingly fierce market.
	 Vodafone Airtouch Plc bid 541.4 million pounds on March 15 for mobile
license B. The company offered the highest number out of the 12 companies
bidding for five UK mobile phone licenses.
	 For the fourth quarter 1999, VoiceStream Wireless reported revenue of
$124.7 million, a 191.6 percent increase over the fourth quarter of 1998.
Net loss was $151.7 million, or $1.58 per share, up from a net loss of $71.7
million, or $0.75 per share. Revenue for the fiscal year 1999 was $376.1
million, compared to $127.5 million in 1998. Net loss for the year reached
$454.7 million, or $4.75 per share, an increase from a net loss of $254.3
million, or $2.75 per share. VoiceStream attributes the revenue growth to
increased numbers of subscribers and the creation of a nationwide wireless
company with its merger with Omnipoint.

Internet 
	 BT will cut Internet-access rates to levels below what consumers in the US
pay. It will roll out a service that will charge 19.99 pounds per month--it
originally planned to offer a 34.99-pounds-per-month plan--or low per-minute
rates in June. These rates do not include fees charged by the customers'
ISP, but BT is in negotiations with a number of service providers about
offering free access.
	 IBM introduced a line of PCs for the Internet called NetVista. The
	 NetVista is smaller than a normal PC and is designed to bring the
Internet to the network user. The Netvista PC comes with wireless LAN
options for the SOHO market.
	 In addition, IBM unveiled the WebSphere Everyplace Suite, a service that
allows businesses to easily develop, manage, and deliver Web and enterprise
applications to a variety of devices, including wireless handsets, PDAs and
other Internet appliances. The IBM WebSphere Everyplace Suite combines into
one product the necessary tools that businesses, application developers, and
Web integrators need to accommodate the special needs of new devices.
	 Lucent Technologies introduced PhoneBrowser, which enables users to access
the Internet via both wireline or wireless phone. It provides input to Web
sites through verbal commands. Users receiving content via recorded audio or
synthesized text-to-speech. PhoneBrowser can access current Web sites that
use HTML. Future versions will work with sites that use the W3C VXML.
	 Madge.web, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Madge Networks, and Engage
Technologies joined forces to offer Internet broadcasters and advertisers
banner ads and media advertising over the Madge Broadcast Network (MBN). The
service will combine online advertising management services from Engage,
with the streaming media network from Madge.web.
	 Nokia and Cernet are developing IPv6 Internet technologies in China. The
two companies set up a Joint Internet Laboratory in Tsinghua University in
Beijing as part of the Internet 6 cooperation program. Using Nokia IP
routers and software, the companies are creating a university network
throughout all of China.
	 PSINet Limited, a wholly owned Canadian subsidiary of PSINet, purchased an
indefeasible right of use (IRU) for fiber-optic cable from Worldwide Fiber.
The purchase enhances PSINet's dedicated-IP network along multiple routes
across Canada, providing a large portion of the business community with
direct access to the US.
	 SBC Communications and Bell Atlantic signed deals with IBM to test the
company's new line of Web access devices with their high-speed Internet
connection services. IBM also signed deals with LaserLink.net and Planet
Computer to offer the devices to customers.
	 Sprint PCS phone users will be able to access the Internet through
EarthLink's Wireless Web Portal with the expansion of the companies'
existing alliance.

Legal News 
	 Nortel Networks is suing Optical Networks, claiming Optical Networks
engaged in unlawful business practices, stole Nortel's trading secrets, and
infringed on Nortel's patents. In one example, Nortel states that Optical
Networks' DTS is a copy of its OPTera.
	 QUALCOMM settled a class-action lawsuit with 1000 former employees for
	 $8.9 million. The suit was filed after QUALCOMM sold its infrastructure
division to Ericsson.

Mergers/Acquisitions/Divestitures 
	 Because of Department of Justice guidelines governing wireless overlap,
ALLTELL agreed to sell its PCS operations in Mobile, AL, and Pensacola, FL,
to Telapex, which operates its wireless business under the name Cellular
South. Apex and Cybex Computer Products signed a definitive agreement to
	 combine in a merger valued at approximately $2 billion. The new
organization will design, manufacture, and market progressive solutions for
network management. Cable & Wireless HKT's board of directors appointed an
	 independent committee to consider the terms of the acquisition deal
offered by Pacific Century CyberWorks. The committee will examine the two
deals on the table from PCCW and then report to the board and the company's
shareholders. Another C&W unit, Cable & Wireless Optus announced that it is
	 selling 700 mobile communications towers sites to Crown Castle Australia
for A$200 million. Optus will own and operate the equipment on the towers,
but Crown Castle will maintain and secure the real estate they are located
on. Crown Castle also has the option to manage any tower sites Optus
develops or acquires through 2006.
	 To expand its wireless and Internet services, Cisco will buy InfoGear
Technologies and JetCell for a combined $501 million in company stock. With
these acquisitions, Cisco gains access to InfoGear's wireless Internet
product, iPhone, and to JetCell's wireless network communications systems.
The purchase of InfoGear is worth $301 million and the purchase of JetCell
is worth $200 million.
	 Covad Communications agreed to acquire LaserLink.net for $387 million in
stock and debt. Covad will issue 4.3 million shares of common stock in
exchange for all of LaserLink.net's outstanding stock. The deal already has
the blessing from both companies' boards of directors.
	 It was reported that Deutsche Telekom launched separate bids worth a total
of $100 billion for US WEST and Qwest Communications. DT denied the bids,
and ended its acquisition negotiations with the two carriers due to
squabbling among the players. The company may now turn its sights to Global
Crossing.
	 Emerson Electric's plans to buy an Ericsson Swedish unit, Ericsson Energy
Systems, were cleared by the European Commission. According to the
commission, the $725 million purchase will not hurt European competition.
	 According to reports in the Wall Street Journal, France Telecom and
	 Telecom Italia are expected to be announced as finalists in Poland's
auction of a 25- to 35-percent stake in state-owned telco TPSA. This is
Poland's second attempt to auction off a chunk of the company.
	 Lockheed Martin is selling its 13.5 stake in Loral Space and
Communications. The $600 million stake will not be sold until May 2000.
Divesting the Loral stake is in line with what regulators ordered Lockheed
to do in order to complete its acquisition of Comsat.
	 Lucent Technologies will acquire the remaining 44 percent stake in Ignitus
Communications. Lucent currently owns a 56 percent stake in the company.
Ignitus will become part of Lucent's Optical Networking Group, and will
remain in Acton, Massachusetts.
	 Nokia completed its acquisition of Network Alchemy for 1.5 million shares.
	 In an attempt to strengthen its optical business, Nortel Networks is
	 buying Xros for $3.25 billion US in stock. The company is a specialist in
fibre-optic switching that eliminates electronic entanglements.  In
	 addition, Nortel completed the acquisition of Clarify.
	 NTL acquired a 25-percent stake in Bredbandsbolaget (B2). Terms of the
	 deal were not released, but analysts estimate the stake to be worth about
$150 million. B2 said the funds it receives from NTL's purchase will fuel
European expansion.
	 PSINet acquired three ISPs in Latin America--GlobalNet in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, and SSD and Interserver in Buenos Aires, Argentina. All are
privately held companies that focus primarily on the business marketplace.
	 Qwest Communications is divesting its long distance services in US WEST's
14-state region to Touch America for $200 million. The deal is slated to be
complete when Qwest closes it $48.5 billion merger with US WEST. Both deals
are still subject to regulatory approval.
	 Sprint PCS agreed to acquire Mexican wireless company PEGASO. Both
companies will use their digital CDMA networks to provide wireless services
across the border. Sprint will invest $200 million in PEGASO as part of the
agreement.
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Missy Harvey
Computer Science Librarian
Engineering & Science Library
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA  15213

http://www.library.cmu.edu/usr/missy/

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