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---------- Forwarded Message ----------
Date: Monday, November 06, 2000, 12:06 PM -0500
From: Faulkner Telecom Weekly <telweekly@faulknerinfo.com>
To: ???
Subject: Telecom Weekly Nov 3, 2000



Scroll down for complete coverage of the telecom week in review. 

Telecom Weekly 

October 30 - November 3, 2000 

Top Story of the Week

WorldCom to Create Tracking Stocks (11/02/2000) 
WorldCom is creating tracking stocks as part of a restructuring plan that
will separate its data and Internet businesses from its consumer and
wholesale long distance telephone operations. The separation comes on the
heels of a reduced growth outlook. The company will remain named WorldCom,
but it will have two separately traded tracking stocks. The core data and
Internet business will trade under the "WCOM" symbol, while the flagging
consumer, small-business, wholesale long-distance, and dial-up Internet
access operations will trade under the "MCIT" symbol, resurrecting the MCI
brand name. The restructuring plan comes just a week after AT&T split into
four companies in response to bleak projections for consumer long-distance
service. 




Acquisitions, Mergers, and Divestitures
Lockheed Exchanges Unit for Stake (11/02/2000) 
Lockheed Martin unit Lockheed Martin Canada is selling its wireless
technology business to Illinois Superconductor for 2.5 million shares of
common stock. The company is offering its Adaptive Notch Filter business
unit, which develops technology for analog spread spectrum wireless
systems, in exchange for the stake in Illinois Superconductor and for the
right to appoint a member to the board of directors. 

Citizens Communications Completes Purchase in ND (11/02/2000) 
Citizens Communications completed an acquisition of approximately 17,300
telephone access lines in North Dakota. The company purchased the lines
from Qwest Communications. 

Adelphia Completes Purchase of Cablevision Systems (11/02/2000) 
Adelphia Communications completed their acquisition of Cablevision's
Cleveland, OH area cable systems. The cable systems were purchased for
approximately $1.53 billion in cash and securities. The deal brings
Adelphia approximately 306,000 new subscribers. 

Telewest Buys DT's EuroBell (11/02/2000) 
Britain's Telewest said it would extend its UK cable network with the
purchase of Eurobell from Deutsche Telecom for 200 million pounds. After
the acquisition, Eurobell will have 20 million pounds in cash resources and
no external borrowings; DT agreed to provide Eurobell with an additional 30
million pounds cash. 

ALLTEL Selling Assets to Tritel (10/31/2000) 
ALLTEL agreed to sell its PCS wireless licenses in Birmingham and
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to Tritel. The 10-MHz, D-block licenses include 1.5
million possible customers for Tritel, which is affiliated with AT&T
Wireless Services and which provides services in the southeastern US. 

Cingular Swaps with VoiceStream (11/02/2000) 
Cingular Wireless is exchanging its spectrum with that of VoiceStream
Wireless in a deal that will expand the coverage of both companies. After
receiving spectrum from VoiceStream, Cingular will be able to offer
services in New York City and will add to its spectrum in St. Louis and
Detroit. In return, VoiceStream is adding to its spectrum in Los Angeles
and San Francisco and will gain spectrum in all of California and Nevada.
The transaction, which is expected to be closed by the middle of next year,
includes 10-MHz licenses from both companies covering 35 million people.
Cingular's entrance into the New York City market, which includes all of
the city, Long Island, and parts of upstate New York, northern New Jersey,
and northeast Pennsylvania, boosts VoiceStream's presence in the
northeastern part of the US. The company already covers Boston,
Philadelphia, Connecticut, and Washington DC. 

AT&T Wireless Swapping with Sprint PCS (11/03/2000) 
AT&T Wireless and Sprint PCS are exchanging wireless service areas that
cover populations of 18.5 million for each company. The boards of directors
for both companies must first approve the deal and so must federal
regulators. The deal calls for the exchange of 10MHz blocks of spectrum. 




Alliances and Joint Ventures
Viasource, DirecTV Continue Relationship (11/03/2000) 
Viasource signed a letter of agreement with DirecTV that extends their
current strategic relationship to five years. The alliance expands the
existing relationship and is built on the premise of delivering greater
customer care and lessening time-to-market. 

Ericsson Teams with Asia.com (11/02/2000) 
Ericsson entered a partnership with Asia.com to launch Location-Based
Services throughout that continent. Ericsson is integrating its Mobile
Positioning System with Asia.com's Popm@p platform. The two solutions allow
carriers to use their existing infrastructures to provide mobile
positioning services.

Nextel in Wireless Partnerships (11/02/2000) 
Nextel Communications created partnerships with five companies providing
data applications to mobile business customers using Nextel Online. The
company will offer applications from ActSoft, Datatrac, Intermec, Penchant
Software, and ServiceHub. These applications will be available to customers
who subscribe to the Nextel Online Web Browsing service. Actsoft provides
package delivery and management software, and Datatrac offers messaging
between dispatchers and couriers. Intermec is delivering a work order
management application for field technicians; and Penchant's applications
creates automated operations for mobile office users. Finally, ServiceHub
provides a Web-based service that covers dispatching, remote customer
service and field service, and supply chain communications. These
partnerships were created through the Nextel Developers Program. 

Adelphia and Wink Partner to Produce Interactive TV (11/02/2000) 
Adelphia Communications and Wink Communications entered into a multi-year
agreement to develop and deploy interactive television content for
Adelphia's cable subscribers. Adelphia will deploy Wink Enhanced
Broadcasting and the Wink Response Network as a standard cable feature.
This new content will be made available beginning in Buffalo, NY and then
will expand to include most Adelphia subscribers by mid-2001. Wink services
will be available over Scientific-Atlanta and Motorola set-top boxes. 

TriVium and Artisoft Enter Partnership (11/02/2000) 
TriVium Systems and Artisoft formed a strategic marketing partnership to
deliver multi-channel communication and business application services to
SMB contact centers. Artisoft will combine TriVium's SimpleRM and
CallAnalyst with Artisoft's TeleVantage software-based phone system. 

SkyStream, Microsoft Enable Internet on Set-Top Boxes (10/31/2000) 
SkyStream Networks and Microsoft are collaborating to provide Internet
services over digital set-top boxes. The companies will integrate
SkyStream's zBand content distribution software with the Microsoft TV
platform, allowing broadcasts of high-quality streaming video and Internet
content for television set-top boxes. 




Broadband/Cable Networking
BellSouth Selects Cisco Internet Exchange (11/02/2000) 
BellSouth selected Cisco Systems for the creation of their first IP +
Optical Internet exchange. Capable of speeds from DS-3 and Gigabit Ethernet
to OC-192, the Internet exchange will link data traffic between the US,
Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Western Europe 

Equant Awarded Contracts (11/02/2000) 
Equant was awarded a multi-year, multi-million-dollar contract to build and
manage a global network for the New Zealand Dairy Board, connecting 107
sites in 40 countries with data delivery via frame relay, Web hosting,
Internet access, and global dial services. In related news, Equant won a
$47-million contract to build a 289-site global communications network
spanning 250 cities and 87 countries for Coca-Cola. 

AT&T Invests in Metro New York Network (11/02/2000) 
AT&T invested $28 million in its high speed local network service in the
Metro New York area. The network is aimed primarily at business customers.
The company hopes to increase its market share in the local services
marketplace by enhancing its suite of local voice and data services. 

Global Crossing Network in Chile (11/02/2000) 
Global Crossing introduced its global fiber optic network to Chile, the
first step in launching its network in the major South American cities. The
network is part of the 18,000-km South America Crossing (SAC). 

C&W to Build Japan Network (10/30/2000) 
Challenging the dominance of NTT, Cable &Wireless will spend $1.4 billion
to build a fiber optic network throughout Japan. The network represents the
largest single investment by a British company in the Japanese telecoms
industry and will be carried out over the next five years. 

Telcos Plan Asia-America Undersea Cable (10/30/2000) 
Seven telecom companies, including a unit of NTT, Korea Telecom, and China
Unicom agreed to construct an Asia-America fiber optic cable that will link
five countries and regions in Asia and America. Scheduled to begin
operation in 2002, the network could be extended to other countries. In
related news, a consortium of Asia's biggest telecom names, including
Telstra and Singapore Telecom, will build the Asia Pacific Cable Network 2,
which links eight Asian countries and is slated for completion in September
2001. 

Lucent Turns Up Service on Optical Network (10/30/2000) 
Lucent reported that it turned up commercial service on a 10-gigabit
optical network for China's Beijing Telecommunications Administration. BTA
deployed Lucent's WaveStar enabling carriers to transmit information across
a single wavelength of light on a fiber at a speed of 10 gigabits per
second. The WaveStar TDM 10G also has a self-healing ring architecture that
instantly reroutes information in the event of a fiber cut. In addition to
the WaveStar TDM 10G, Lucent supplied a broad range of optical networking
systems for BTA's Year 2000 Expansion Project, including WaveStar ADM 16/1
optical multiplexers, WaveStar DACS 4/4/1 optical cross connect equipment,
and ITM-SC and SNMS network management systems. 

Telecom Italia, Embratel Join NAP Initiative (11/02/2000) 
Telecom Italia, Brazil's Embratel, CNM Network, and Florida Atlantic
University joined the NAP, or Network Access Point, of the Americas,
bringing the NAP's total membership to 66. The NAP will route Internet
traffic from the Americas, the Caribbean, and Europe. 




Financial News
BT Denies That Blu's for Sale (11/03/2000) 
British Telecom, which owns a 20 percent stake in Italy's Blu, denied a
report it had appointed an investment bank to sell the company. The future
of Blu, the smallest of four Italian GSM mobile phone operators, came under
scrutiny after it unexpectedly dropped out of the race for an Italian 3G
UMTS license amid disputes among shareholders. 

QUALCOMM Delaying IPO (11/02/2000) 
QUALCOMM announced that it is delaying its Spinco common stock IPO because
of unfavorable market conditions. The offering is now scheduled to take
place in January 2001. The company received word from the IRS that the spin
off should be a tax-free distribution among stockholders. 

QUALCOMM Earnings Hurt by Slow Sales (11/03/2000) 
QUALCOMM's revenues for the third quarter 2000 were $635 million, down from
$1.1 billion for the third quarter 1999. Revenues were hurt by slow sales
of the company's CDMA chip sets in South Korea. Net income for the quarter
was $139 million, or $0.17 per share, compared to $136 million, or $0.24
per share. 

Metrocall Revenues Dip (11/02/2000) 
For the third quarter 2000, Metrocall reported total revenues of $139.5
million, down from $151.7 million in the third quarter of 1999. During the
period, the company added over 30,000 new subscribers, most of which were
advanced messaging customers. Net loss was $57.8 million, or $0.69 per
share, compared to a loss of $43.8 million, or $1.15 per share. 

Cox Reports Bigger Revenues, Operating Loss (11/02/2000) 
Cox Communications posted a growth in revenues of 12 percent to $902.2
million in the third quarter 2000, up from revenues of $809 million in the
third quarter 1999. The company also posted a wider-than-expected loss due
to investments in new services. Cox' operating loss grew to $60 million, or
$0.10 per share, compared with a loss of $24 million, or $0.04 per share. 

Charter Posts Increase in Revenues and Customers (11/02/2000) 
Charter Communications reported continued growth in revenues, operating
cash flow, and customers for the third quarter 2000. Revenues increased
13.9 percent, to $842.9 million, from $740 million for the third quarter
1999. Net loss for the quarter was $210 million, or $0.93 per share. 

Austria's UMTS Bids Just Above Average (11/02/2000) 
Austria's auction of UMTS licenses began with initial bids totaling EUR 630
million after two rounds of bidding. Bidding could become aggressive if
Spain's Telefonica and Austria's Mobilkom stick to their intention to bid
for three licenses. If these companies succeed, others bidders would be
left empty-handed.

AT&T Canada Reports Third Quarter 2000 Financials (11/02/2000) 
AT&T Canada reported revenues of $380.1 million, up 14.7 percent from third
quarter 1999 and up 1.4 percent from the second quarter 2000. Revenues
totaled $1.1 million. for the nine months ended September 30, 2000. AT&T's
EBITDA was $9.3 million, down from $16.1 million in second quarter 2000.
EBITDA totaled $47.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2000. 

Verizon  Announces Third Quarter Financials (11/02/2000) 
Verizon reported net income of $3.5 billion, or $1.27 per diluted share,
which increased 39.6 percent on a per-share basis from $2.5 billion, or 91
cents per share, in third quarter 1999. Reported adjusted net income was
$2.0 billion, or 73 cents per diluted share (EPS), compared to $2.0
billion, or 72 cents per share, in third quarter 1999. New services demand
drove a 7.2 percent increase in third quarter revenues from current
operations, to $16.5 billion from $15.4 billion. 

RCN Reports Strong Third Quarter (10/31/2000) 
RCN reported a continued growth in revenues and connections in its third
quarter financial report. RCN revenues totaled $107.6 million, a 12-percent
increase from $96.2 million in the previous quarter. In addition, total
on-net connections grew by 15 percent, as RCN added 52,672 connections,
compared with 49,210 connections the previous quarter. RCN posted a net
loss of $85.8 million, or $2.70 per share, compared with $75.8 million, or
$2.45 per share for the previous quarter. 

Globalstar's Shares Down, Loral Ends Funding (10/31/2000) 
After posting third quarter losses of $219 million, Globalstar's stock
dropped 60 percent, purportedly causing Loral Space &

Communications to halt future investments in the satellite phone company.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Globalstar's new strategy, which
includes shifting focus from consumers to government, military, and large
corporate customers, did little to soften the blow to the company's
shareholders. Bernard Schwarz, Globalstar and Loral chairman, believes that
the new strategy will make the company's service viable, but current
struggles could be a signal of an Iridium-like disaster. 

DDI Announces Results for Third Quarter (10/30/2000) 
For the third quarter of 2000, DDI's net sales increased 80 percent to
$149.6 million from $82.9 million in 1999. Adjusted net income increased
426 percent to $14.0 million compared to $2.7 million; on a diluted per
share basis, adjusted net income was $0.33 compared to $0.11 for the third
quarter of 1999. 




Internet/Intranet
BT to Tackle Delays in Web Launch (11/03/2000) 
British Telecom promised ISPs it would resolve problems that have delayed
installation of high-speed Web connections in Britain. While ISPs such as
BT Openworld and Freeserve connected 14,000 people to broadband ADSL since
BT began wholesaling the technology in August, BT admitted it had
difficulties in meeting demand and promised steps that would allow it to
triple its installation rate to 15,000 a month by March 2001. 

Vitaminic Supplies Content to FT's Wanadoo (11/03/2000) 
Vitaminic Europe, a distributor of digital music over the Internet,
announced an agreement with France Telecom's Internet service, Wanadoo, to
supply content and technology to its new music channel. The new service,
Guide MP3, enables Wanadoo and Voila users to search for, listen to,
legally download, and buy music tracks from Vitaminic Europe's online
catalogue of digital music. 

Ericsson Delivers IP Backbone to Korea (10/31/2000) 
Ericsson announced that it is delivering an IP Packet Backbone Network to
Korea Telecom Freetel. The backbone will support KTF's 2.5G mobile data
network, which will allow the company to provide mobile IP services to its
five million subscribers. KTF's services will include SMS, VPN, and
high-speed mobile IP services. 

PanAmSat in Agreement with AT&T Latin America (10/31/2000) 
AT&T Latin American is subscribing to PanAmSat's SPOTbytes DVB service.
AT&T Latin American will use the IP backbone to carry increased traffic,
such as Internet queries, e-mail, and Web sites, between Peru and the
world. PanAmSat is creating a two-way broadband pipeline with spacecraft
from its Atlantic Ocean fleet. The satellites will connect the POPs in Peru
to PanAmSat's operations center in the US, which is connected to the
Internet backbone and the rest of the world. 

Lycos Approves Terra Deal (10/30/2000) 
In a deal now worth less than half what it had been when announced five
months ago, Lycos approved a merger with Terra, the Internet arm of Spanish
telecom company Telefonica. Terra will combine its Internet assets in Spain
and Latin America with Lycos' presence in the US and will operate in 40
countries. The deal, valued at more than $160 billion in January, is now
valued at about $105 billion because of plummeting stock values. 




IXCs
Qwest in Contract with McLeodUSA (11/02/2000) 
Qwest will provide $600 million worth of voice and data communications
services to McLeodUSA over the next three years. It is the largest
wholesale contract in Qwest's history. Services offered will include DSL
and messaging. 

  




Legal News
BellSouth Settles FCC Charges (11/03/2000) 
BellSouth will pay $750,000 in fines to settle FCC charges. The FCC charges
that BellSouth refused to provide competitor Covad Communications with cost
data for unbundled copper loops. 

Dutch Authorities Probe UMTS Auction Talks (11/02/2000) 
Dutch authorities investigated talks during July's UMTS license auction
between VersaTel and rival Telfort, owned by British Telecom. News of their
meeting came to light during a hearing held by the Dutch Transport Ministry
into a separate complaint from VersaTel that Telfort bullied it into
pulling out of the auction. 




Personnel and Organizational Changes
Qwest Japan Appoints President (11/03/2000) 
Qwest Communications appointed Kimiaki Ueno president of Qwest Japan. Ueno
will oversee expansion and report to Ross Lau, Qwest's president of
international business. 

Covad's CEO Resigns (11/02/2000) 
Covad Communications' chairman and CEO Robert Knowling resigned, agreeing
with the board that new leadership would be in the company's best
interests. Robert Knowling stepped down from his position two weeks after
Covad reported a wider-than-expected third quarter loss. Covad named
director Frank Marshall as its interim CEO and said founder and former CEO
Charles McMinn would assume the role of chairman. 

Sprint's Lauer Heads Consumer and Business Units (11/02/2000) 
Sprint announced that Len J. Lauer will assume an expanded role as head of
Sprint's combined consumer and business operating units. The National
Consumer Organization and the Global Business Markets Group combined and
will be called the Global Markets Group. Lauer is currently the president
of Sprint's Global Business Markets Group. 

KPN to Cut 8,000 Jobs (10/30/2000) 
As part of a previously announced reorganization, designed to save EUR 700
million, KPN will cut 8,000 jobs in 2001 and 2002. The company said the
planned cuts would be achieved by eliminating a minimum of 2,000 functions
carried out by temporary employees and by focusing on staff turnover. KPN
employed about 38,000 at the end of 1999. 




Regulatory News
Ericsson a Step Closer to Acquiring MPD (11/03/2000) 
The waiting period under the amended Hart-Scott-Rodino Act of 1976 for
Ericsson  to acquire Microwave Power Devices expired at 11:59 pm on
November 1. The offer to acquire all of MPD's outstanding shares will
expire at midnight on November 17 unless the offer is extended. 

Japanese Telecoms Able to Tap TV (10/30/2000) 
Japan's MPT plans to allow telecoms firms to launch cable and satellite
broadcasting services. As a result, NTT could use its fiber optics network
to air programs without a license, as long as it notifies the ministry.
Under current law, NTT is banned from broadcasting. 

FT to Cut Rates (10/30/2000) 
French telecoms regulator ART asked France Telecom to cut the cost of
incoming calls from fixed lines to its mobile network, Itineris, by 20
percent from November 1. The decision came after a unit of WorldCom and a
competing long distance operator in France complained about FT's mobile
rates earlier this year. 




Satellite Communications
INTELSAT Relocates Satellite (11/03/2000) 
In response to increased customer demand in its Pacific Ocean Region,
INTELSAT repositioned its INTELSAT 702 satellite to 176 degrees E. The move
is part of a plan to create room for the INTELSAT 602, which will operate
at an inclined orbit at 178 degrees E until it is replaced by the INTELSAT
705. 

Inmarsat Unveils Broadband Service (10/31/2000) 
Inmarsat entered into contracts worth $220 million with Hughes Network
Systems and Thuraya for the launch of a broadband 144k bps mobile service
in 2002. The service uses the Thuraya satellite system and will provide
Inmarsat's customers with high-speed access to the Internet and Intranets,
e-mail, and remote LANs in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and India.
Inmarsat's services will support such industries as construction, mining,
media, manufacturing, and finance. 

EchoStar's DISH to Add Fox Sports (11/03/2000) 
On November 8, EchoStar's satellite TV system, DISH Network, will add Fox
Sports World to its programming package at no additional cost to customers.
Fox Sports World is the first and only 24-hour, English-language
international sports network in the US. 




Security
TeleRelay and Trend Micro Provide Virus Protection (10/30/2000) 
Trend Micro and TeleRelay are teaming to provide secure electronic
messaging environments. TeleRelay will provide remote virus scanning to
large corporations, ASPs, ISPs, Portals, and telecom operators using a
service based on Trend Micro's InterScan VirusWall technology. This virus
protection fits within the service provider partners' network operating
center, providing a service that scans subscribers' email messages and
attachments for viruses and malicious code. 

Symantec Brings Norton Security and Norton Firewall (11/01/2000) 
Symantec unveiled Norton Internet Security and Norton Personal Firewall for
Macintosh. Norton Internet Security is an Internet security suite for the
Mac OS, which offers a comprehensive service with protection against
Internet threats such as hackers, illegal access and viruses. Norton
Internet Security provides an Internet security suite for the Macintosh
platform combining Norton Personal Firewall for Macintosh 1.0, Norton
Antivirus for Macintosh 7.0 and iClean 3.5 by Aladdin Systems. 

RSA Security and Intel Accelerate e-Commerce (10/30/2000) 
RSA Security is worked with Intel to create cryptographic and security
software designed to work with Intel's Itanium and Pentium) 4 processors.
The software, which is currently available in the new versions of RSA BSAFE
Crypto-C and RSA BSAFE SSL-C software, is designed to increase the speed of
e-commerce transactions by breaking the bottleneck caused by heavily loaded
servers.

Trend Micro Unveils Antivirus Solution (10/30/2000) 
Trend Micro introduced ScanMail 5.0 for Exchange 2000, an antivirus
product. ScanMail 5.0 provides single instance scanning. This package can
scan both inbound and outbound email attachments and features tight
integration with the Microsoft Windows 2000 Cluster API. Scheduled to ship
in Q4, 2000, ScanMail 5.0 for Exchange 2000 is designed to safeguard
corporate networks from rapidly proliferating email-borne viruses at the
Exchange server before they have a chance to reach the user's desktop and
infect, spread, or shut down the mail server. 

myCIO Firewall Makes Computers Invisible to Hackers (10/30/2000) 
myCIO introduced its PC FireWall ASaP service. PC FireWall ASaP protects
users on a corporate network by making end-user desktops invisible outside
the firewall, regardless of location. The complete personal firewall
service is deployed, installed, and automatically updated through myCIO's
Internet architecture. The Internet service offers round-the-clock
management and reporting to ensure protection. 




Wireless Communications
FT Tests Wireless LAN Applications (11/03/2000) 
France Telecom R&D is testing a high-speed, wireless LAN, which allows
cordless connection of laptop computers. By inserting a wireless interface
card in a laptop, a user can access the usual services, including e-mail,
Internet, and databases, without having to connect to the wireline network. 

DirecTV, TiVo Make New Product Available (11/03/2000) 
DirecTV and TiVo, a digital video recorder maker, released a television
receiver nationwide that integrates DirecTV programming with TiVo
technology. This new service allows viewers to find scheduled television
shows automatically and to record and store up to 35 hours of digital video
content without the use of videotape. 

Sprint PCS Expands Network (11/03/2000) 
Sprint PCS expanded its network coverage to include Gulfport and Biloxi on
the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Both cities are popular areas for visitors.
Gulf Coast Wireless, a Sprint PCS Network Partner, is operating the network
in the area and services both residents and approximately 12 million
visitors per year. In related news, UbiquiTel, another Network Partner,
launched Sprint PCS services in four cities in Nevada. The company is now
serves 350,000 residents in Reno, Sparks, Carson City, and East Tahoe. 

Verizon Wireless in Trial with Nortel (11/03/2000) 
Verizon Wireless and Nortel Networks completed a trial of cdma2000-based
high-speed data and voice. After testing the technology, Verizon Wireless
plans to offer access to the wireless Internet while increasing network
capacity. With cdma2000, users are able to access high-bandwidth
applications such as telemetry, corporate Intranets, videoconferencing, and
gaming. 

AT&T on the Dock of the Bay (11/02/2000) 
AT&T Wireless began offering services in the Bay Area in California,
increasing its coverage in the state to 90 percent. The Bay Area wireless
system was purchased from Cellular One, and AT&T re-branded the service and
is offering it through its 22 retail outlets in the area. 

Motorola Releases Voice Gateway (11/02/2000) 
Motorola released its VoiceXML Voice Developer Gateway, part of the
company's Mobile Internet Exchange (MIX) product family. With the gateway,
which is VoiceXML 1.0-compliant and which includes a Voice Browser,
Automatic Speech Recognition, and Text-to-Speech, developers can create
voice-enabled services for the mobile Internet. Among its features,
VoiceXML supports applications for voice recognition input and
text-to-speech output. 

Samsung and Sprint PCS Create Phone (11/02/2000) 
Sprint PCS and Samsung Telecommunications America introduced the Samsung
Uproar, which includes downloadable music capabilities. Users can download
MP3 files from a PC to the handset, which also serves as an Internet portal
and organizer. 

Verizon Wireless Enhances Messaging Service (11/02/2000) 
Under an agreement with Critical Path, Verizon Wireless Messaging Services
is offering new and enhanced wireless messaging to its customers. Verizon
is using Critical Path InScribe Wireless Messaging solution and is now able
to offer message filtering through any of its messaging devices. Also,
users can combine three POP3 e-mail accounts with their Verizon account to
create one new account and one in-box. 

Ericsson Introduces Internet Phone (10/31/2000) 
Ericsson introduced its T20 mobile Internet phone, which includes
electronic messaging capabilities. The phone was developed to attract new
customers, especially young people, and to boost the company's low mobile
phone profits. The T20 is a dual band phone, operating on both GSM 900 and
GSM 1800. The T20 allows user to access Web chat rooms and  to listen to
music via an MP-3 player device. 

Motorola in Deal with Turkish Company (10/31/2000) 
Motorola forged a deal with Telsim, a Turkish cellular operator, in which
Motorola will supply a third-generation network for multimedia services.
Telsim is using the equipment to offer 3G services in Ankara and Istanbul.
The agreement also names Motorola as the company's exclusive supplier of
GSM 900 equipment for the next three years. Motorola could bring in at
least $1.5 billion through the deal. 

Sprint Conducting Java Trials. (10/31/2000) 
After launching its Application Developers Program, Sprint PCS is beginning
the trials of applications for the Wireless Web in conjunction with Sun
Microsystems' trials of wireless Java-based applications. With the trials
of Java technology, Sprint PCS may be able to pinpoint new applications
that could be developed for its customers. Java technology allows wireless
users to take advantage of graphics-enhanced, interactive services. 

Qwest Launches Voice Portal for Wireless Phones (10/31/2000) 
Qwest Wireless is launching its Qwest Voice Browsing for customers
accessing the wireless Internet. Beginning November 1, 2000, Qwest's
customers in eight mid-western and western states will be able to access
information services and Internet content through a wireless phone. Qwest
used BeVocal's equipment to develop Voice Browsing. With this "talking
Internet" service, customers simply ask the Internet for information.
Verbal responses include news, sports, stock quotes, weather reports, and
flight and traffic information.

IBM Launches Wireless Internet Solutions (10/31/2000) 
Responding to businesses that need to provide e-business applications to
wireless devices, IBM launched its WebSphere Everyplace Suite Service
Provider Edition and IBM server p640. Both solutions are part of the IBM
wireless e-business strategy to connect applications with wireless networks
and the wireless Internet. These applications are being introduced by
companies such as BT Cellnet and Telecom Italia. The WebSphere Everyplace
Suite provides the functionality to link wireless devices to Web content,
and the IBM server includes POWER3-II copper chip microprocessors for
e-commerce infrastructures. In addition, all of the company's hosting
centers in the US, Europe, and Asia will include wireless equipment that
IBM customers can use to conduct e-business via the wireless Internet.

Nokia Announces New Software Family (11/02/2000) 
Nokia announced the availability of its Activ Software Suite, designed for
mobile business users. The product family includes next-generation WAP
servers and customizable software. In addition, Activ includes a WAP Push
engine, which allows for companies to offer personalized services to its
mobile employees. Nokia's suite is compatible with all of the cellular
technologies in use by service providers, including GPRS, GSM, CSD, CDMA,
TDMA, and CDPD. Aside from the WAP server and the Push engine, the Activ
Software Suite provides optional software such as call identification,
mobile office applications, and security. 

DT in Talks to Acquire Swiss diAx (10/30/2000) 
Deutsche Telekom is reported to be in advanced talks to acquire a majority
stake in Swiss telecoms group diAx. DiAx, which offers fixed network and
mobile services is Switzerland's second largest mobile phone operator. 

Comments or suggestions about Telecom Weekly may be sent to Mark Beamen. 
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