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---------- Forwarded Message ----------
Date: Monday, September 18, 2000, 9:45 AM -0400
From: Faulkner Telecom Weekly <telweekly@faulknerinfo.com>
To: ???
Subject: Faulkner Telecom Weekly - Sept 15, 2000




__________________________________________________

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

Telecom Weekly 

September 11, - September 15, 2000 

  

Top Story of the Week

FCC Gives Project Pronto Green Light (09/11/2000) 
The FCC agreed to modify conditions attached to SBC Communications' October
1999 acquisition of Ameritech in a move that will allow SBC to proceed with
its $6-billion Project Pronto initiative. As a condition of the 1999
merger, the FCC required that SBC and Ameritech set up a separate
subsidiary to provide advanced Internet services to avoid discriminating
against competing ISPs. In this latest ruling, the FCC amended the
condition, allowing SBC to own the equipment used to provide the high-speed
DSL services, conditional upon SBC's making additional space available in
its remote terminals for competitors; maintaining its copper plant which
will allow rivals to provide other types of DSL service; and working with
competitors and manufacturers to develop remote access solutions.
Deployment of Project Pronto will make DSL services available to about 80
percent of SBC's customers by the end of 2002 and will eliminate most
distance limitations. Currently, DSL technology is limited to homes and
businesses located less than 18,000 feet from a SBC central office facility
equipped with DSL. 




Acquisitions, Mergers, and Divestitures
Covad Announces First European Investment (09/15/2000) 
Covad Communications and its newly formed Covad Communications
International announced its first European investment. Covad will purchase
a majority share of Loop Telecom. Under the agreement, Covad will acquire
Loop Holdings Europe ASP, which holds shares representing a 70-percent
interest in Loop Telecom, for $15 million. An additional payment of $15
million is due six months after close with another $20 million to be paid
one year after close. 

AOL/Time Warner Concessions Not Enough (09/13/2000) 
Concessions made by America Online and Time Warner to the European
Commission failed to ease concerns over their proposed merger. The EU said
that the AOL-Time Warner merger and the joint venture between Warner Music
Group and EMI Group would create a monopoly in the markets for online music
and Internet access. In response, AOL offered to alter the shareholding
structure of its AOL Europe venture with Germany's Bertelsmann . AOL also
promised a three-year period during which content providers would not be
required to sign an exclusive carriage agreement for both AOL's US system
and AOL Europe. In addition, EMI promised not to provide preferential
access to ISPs associated with AOL-Time Warner. The commission will rule on
the Warner Music/EMI merger by October 18 and will give a verdict on the
AOL-Time Warner agreement by October 24. 

Charter Acquires Kalamazoo Cable System (09/13/2000) 
Charter Communications and Cablevision Systems announced the completed
acquisition by Charter of Cablevision's Kalamazoo, Michigan cable system.
Charter issued 11.2 million shares of common stock for a closing of $170.6
million. The acquisition brings Charter approximately 48,600 additional
customers. 

Motorola Invests in SecureOps (09/13/2000) 
Motorola's One Motorola Ventures made a minority equity investment in
SecureOps, which provides security solutions for corporate information and
operations. 

Vodafone in Talks with Wind (09/13/2000) 
Vodafone is in talks with Italy's Wind over the sale of Infostrada,
Vodafone's Italian business. Infostrada is wholly owned by Mannesmann AG,
and the sale to the Italian fixed and mobile operators would need the
approval of the Mannesmann board. 

BellSouth Buying-Out Carolina Partners (09/13/2000) 
BellSouth announced it is purchasing DukeNet Communications' 20-percent
stake and Caronet's 10-percent stake in BellSouth Carolina PCS, which
provides services to customers in the Carolinas and Northeast Georgia. The
acquisition of equity stakes is part of a larger plan to allow BellSouth
PCS to own 100 percent of the properties within the region. Presently,
BellSouth owns 55.7 percent. The merger agreements involve BellSouth's
payment of $20 million for each one percent ownership in BellSouth PCS,
totaling $885 million. The stakes are owned by DukeNet, Caronet, Cook Inlet
PCS, and 30 independent phone companies. After the merger of all the
Carolina properties into BellSouth PCS, the operation will be folded into
the BellSouth/SBC joint wireless venture. 

NTT Unit and Verio Complete Merger (09/13/2000) 
NTT Communications, a subsidiary of NTT, finalized its $5.5B purchase of
Verio. As a result of the merger, Verio is indirectly a wholly owned
subsidiary of NTT. 

Time Warner Telecom to Acquire GST Assets (09/13/2000) 
Time Warner Telecom announced the acquisition of substantially all the
assets of GST Telecommunications for a total of $690 million. Time Warner
Telecom will acquire GST's network of over 4200 miles of local and regional
fiber; a network operations center in Vancouver, WA; SS7 networks; voice
and data switches; and virtually all of GST's other assets excluding
customers and certain assets in Hawaii and certain non-core businesses. 




Alliances and Joint Ventures
CableLabs Selects Three to Write Middleware (09/15/2000) 
CableLabs announced that three companies were selected to author the
OpenCable Application Platform (OCAP) specification. Sun Microsystems,
Liberate Technologies and Microsoft will work on a middleware platform with
digital video, data, and interactive capabilities. OCAP is expected to be
completed by year-end. 

Level 3, SAVVIS Sign Network Services Agreement (09/15/2000) 
Level 3 Communications signed a 20-year network services agreement with
SAVVIS Communications worth $135 million. Under terms of the agreement,
Level 3 agreed to provide SAVVIS with long-term transport, operation and
maintenance services, co-location space, and network capacity. 

Level 3 Enters Strategic Agreement with New T&T of HK (09/15/2000) 
Level 3 Communications announced a strategic agreement with New T&T, a
Fixed Telecommunications Network Services (FTNS) operator in Hong Kong, to
provide Hong Kong businesses and residents with New T&T's network services
and access to Level 3's high-capacity undersea cable. The collaboration
will solidify both companies' positions in the Hong Kong market. 

Williams Invests $27 Million in Epoch Internet (09/15/2000) 
Williams Communications placed a $27-million investment in Epoch Internet,
a privately held Internet solutions provider. As part of the agreement,
Epoch will purchase $128-million worth of long-haul network capacity from
Williams over the next 20 years. 

Networking Start-Up Strikes $350M Deal (09/15/2000) 
Optical networking start-up Tellium struck a $350-million deal to supply
equipment to Cable &Wireless. The contract calls for Cable &Wireless to
purchase a minimum of $350-million worth of equipment during the next five
years. Cable &Wireless plans to use Tellium's technology starting the first
quarter of next year. 

KPN Partners with BMC Software (09/15/2000) 
BMC Software and KPN announced their partnership for the co-location,
selling, and reselling of the SiteAngel 2000 service. SiteAngel 2000 is an
online Web site performance monitoring service that allows for real-time
monitoring from the customer interface (Web site) to the enterprise's back
office. 

Enron Signs Broadband Deal with BT Unit (09/15/2000) 
Enron announced a three-year agreement with British Telecom to enable
subscribers of BTopenworld, a unit of BT, to access the fiber-optic Enron
Intelligent Network. Under the deal Enron will deliver content and services
(such as streaming video) that requires high bandwidth to BTopenworld's
network. 

BCE, Thomson Join Forces to Create Media Giant (09/15/2000) 
BCE and Thomson announced they are joining forces to create a media
conglomerate estimated to be worth at least $2.7 billion. The new entity
will include national television network CTV, the Globe and Mail national
newspaper, Globe Interactive, an Internet content provider, and Sympatico,
an Internet portal. 

VTEL and CUseeME Enter Pact (09/13/2000) 
VTEL and CUseeME announced an agreement that provides VTEL distribution and
service rights for CUseeME Network's Meeting Point conference server.
CUseeME will be an original equipment manufacturer to VTEL for the server
and will engage in joint sales and marketing efforts. The agreement also
provides for the co-development of VTEL's SmartVideoNet Manager's network
management system protocol into the MeetingPoint conference server. 

Adelphia Orders from AM Communications (09/13/2000) 
AM Communications received an initial order from Adelphia Communications to
supply network monitoring and management equipment. Adelphia will use AM's
OmniStat Management System and Omni2000 Monitoring Software to monitor its
hardware, software, and telephone system. 

Ericsson Working with AT&T and BT (09/13/2000) 
AT&T Wireless and BT Wireless are deploying the Ericsson Mobility Gateway
as part of their WorldConnect services offered through Advance, the joint
venture between the two companies. The Mobility Gateway operates on the
open JAMBALA platform, which will allow WorldConnect to bring wireless
coverage to subscribers on TDMA and GSM networks. 

Ericsson Joins SIP Initiative (09/13/2000) 
Along with Cisco and Alcatel, Ericsson joined the SIP Center Initiative,
which already includes companies such as Sun Microsystems and Telecom
Technologies. The initiative allows companies to cover the development of
SIP and to sponsor the SIP initiative. SIP, or Session Internet Protocol,
is modeled after SMTP and HTTP and is part of the IETF standards process.
It establishes and ends connections between users on IP networks. 

Nextel in Agreement with Network Commerce (09/13/2000) 
Nextel Communications and Network Commerce are joining to bring Network
Commerce's networks to Nextel Online customers. The agreement will allow
shoppers to access different businesses and merchants through their phones,
to comparison shop, and to make purchases. Network Commerce's e-commerce
networks provides for product searches through keyword, category, UPC, or
ISBN; and Nextel Communications wireless Internet service provides access
to Internet sites such as ShopNow.com and BottomDollar.com. In May, Network
Commerce announced its plan to integrate with wireless carriers. This
agreement with Nextel is a partial realization of that plan. 

COMSAT Working with Tenzing (09/13/2000) 
Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications' business unit, COMSAT Mobile
Communications, entered a three-year agreement with Tenzing Communications.
Under the agreement, Tenzing will offer its OnBoard services through
COMSAT's air-to-ground network. OnBoard allows airline passengers to use
laptops and to send and receive e-mail while in flight. 

BT, BSkyB to Sign Broadband Deal (09/13/2000) 
British Telecommunications and BSkyB are negotiating a deal that could see
Sky programming delivered via BT's next generation of telephone lines. An
agreement is expected next month. 

Cable &Wireless UK Selects Ectel's Quali.Net (09/13/2000) 
Cable &Wireless selected Ectel's Quali.Net to provide a global solution for
testing operations on its national and for international networks and
measuring end-to-end Quality of Service and Network Performance. 

Broadwing Provides IP VPN Solution to Center 7 (09/13/2000) 
Broadwing Communications signed a three-year, $8.7-million contract with
Center 7, an ASP. Broadwing is providing Center 7 with dedicated, secure IP
VPN services, co-located Web hosting capabilities, and 155M bps private
lines access. 

SBC Taking Stake in Covad (09/12/2000) 
SBC Communications signed an agreement with Covad Communications under
which SBC will invest $150 million for a six-percent stake in Covad and
will resell Covad DSL connections. Effective October 1, SBC will offer
Covad DSL connections in its 14-state region and in new markets that it
plans to enter for a minimum of six years. Covad will receive a guaranteed
$600 million in revenue over the life of the contract. As part of the
agreement, SBC and Covad settled several legal disputes, including an
antitrust lawsuit filed by Covad against SBC and its subsidiary Pacific
Bell. In addition, the companies agreed upon pricing for line sharing. 

Microsoft and Ericsson Launch E-mail Venture (09/11/2000) 
Microsoft formed an e-mail services joint venture with Ericsson called
Ericsson Microsoft Mobile Venture. The new company, which is 70-percent
owned by Ericsson and 30-percent owned by Microsoft, will provide products
supporting mobile e-mail and personal information management tools for the
growing mobile Internet market. Since e-mail is one of the most common
Internet applications, an increasing number of mobile Internet users will
translate into increased e-mail access. 

Microsoft in Alliance with Lockheed (09/11/2000) 
In an attempt to create products and services based on commercial software
for mail processing and information technologies, Microsoft and Lockheed
Martin's Distribution Technologies unit created a development partnership.
With the two companies cooperating, they will be able to develop and
improve on Web-enabled mail and messaging services between businesses and
government agencies. 

Brightpoint in Agreement with Nextel (09/11/2000) 
Nextel Communications entered into an agreement with one of Brightpoint's
North American subsidiaries to promote Nextel's service. Under the
agreement, the Brightpoint subsidiary will support Nextel's subscriber
loyalty program and will assist in product promotion. 

QUALCOMM and Tellus Sign CDMA Agreement (09/11/2000) 
QUALCOMM and Tellus entered into a CDMA modem-card license agreement in
which Tellus was granted a worldwide license to utilize  QUALCOMM's
patents, thus allowing the company to develop modem card products for CDMA
and HDR applications. 




Broadband/Cable Networking
Qwest Improves DSL Service (09/15/2000) 
Qwest Communications is taking its DSL Internet service up a couple
notches; it is ramping up the downstream speed of the service from 256K-bps
to 640K-bps. The faster speeds will allow business and residential
customers to have better access to broadband Internet applications. Qwest
DSL costs $29.95 per month. The company plans to offer DSL technology in 72
markets within the 14-state region where Qwest provides local phone
service. 

RCN Continues Expansion into Northern California (09/15/2000) 
RCN received local regulatory approval to construct its high-capacity,
Megaband Network in Millbrae, Redwood City, and San Carlos, CA. After the
completion of the network in the northern California cities, RCN will be
able to offer residents its ResiLink service, which includes RCN's bundled
phone, cable, and high-speed Internet services. 

Infonet Announces Availability of Broadband Services (09/15/2000) 
Infonet announced the general availability of ATM broadband services to its
global enterprise clients in more than 100 cities worldwide. In addition,
Infonet announced the formation of Broadband Solutions, a business unit
that focuses on services this business area brings to Infonet. 

WorldGate Introduces Interactive TV for Digital Cable (09/14/2000) 
WorldGate introduced CableWare 2000 middleware, which displays enhanced and
interactive TV applications over digital cable. CableWare 2000 combines
compatibility with new interactive content and the current generation of
digital set-top boxes. It is compatible with WorldGate's
Application-Launcher software (WALI), which is licensed by four of the top
six cable providers in the US. 

DIRECTV Offers Local Broadcast Channels (09/14/2000) 
DIRECTV announced that it will offer local broadcast network channels in
its Kansas City and Nashville markets. Customers in these market areas will
receive a free preview of the local package, which will cost $5.99 per
month. 

PCCW Granted 'Super-Cable' License (09/13/2000) 
Pacific Century CyberWorks was granted a license to transmit high-speed
information along the worlds first super-cable linking Asia and Europe. The
hook-up to the undersea cable, called SMW3, will pipe information directly
from Asia to Europe, bypassing the US. With a total capacity of 4OG bps,
SMW3 is the largest Asian-European cable. Connectivity with the UK will
occur in cooperation with Telstra, which recently announced connectivity
and mobility agreements with PCCW. 

EQUANT and Bezeq Partner to Provide Network Service i (09/13/2000) 
EQUANT and Bezeq agreed to offer EQUANT's full suite of global data and
voice services in Israel. Bezeq and EQUANT will offer private network
services including IP, ATM, frame relay, X.25, X.28, voice, and iVAD over
IP and frame relay. 

BellSouth Self-Install DSL Offered in 31 States (09/12/2000) 
BellSouth is offering the self-install option for its BellSouth FastAccess
Internet Service to customers in each of the 31 markets where the service
is available. The kits come with either an internal DSL modem or an
external USD DSL modem, in addition to configuration software and phone
line filters. The self-install DSL service offers a maximum download speed
of up to 1.5M bps and a maximum speed from the user's computer to the
Internet of up to 256K bps. FastAccess is available for $49.95 per month;
new residential customers will receive the first two months for the price
of one. BellSouth residential customers who subscribe to the Complete
Choice calling plan can sign up for DSL service for $40 per month. 

Motorola Introduces DVi Set-Tops (09/11/2000) 
Motorola's Worldwide Interactive Networks unit introduced the DVi set-top
family, including the DVi-5000+, DVi-4000, and DVi-3000 set-tops. The
company's family of set-tops provides interactive digital applications such
as video and audio and other advanced interactive services. 




CLECs
Broadwing Files For CLEC Status (09/14/2000) 
Broadwing Communications filed to operate as a CLEC in Arizona and
Pennsylvania. The terms of the filing would allow Broadwing to compete for
local voice and data communications traffic in those states. 




Financial News
Adelphia Sells Notes, Gets Loan (09/14/2000) 
Adelphia announced it will offer $500-million aggregate principal amount of
new Senior Notes due 2010. Adelphia plans to use net proceeds from the sale
to repay existing debts, including a $500 million, 9-1/4 year bank loan
also announced. The loan, which Adelphia plans to close by September 28,
2000, brings the total amount of their credit facility to $2.75 billion. 

EchoStar Unit to Sell $600M Seven-Year Notes (09/13/2000) 
EchoStar Communications announced its broadband unit will privately sell
$600 million of seven-year senior notes. The proceeds will fund capital
expenditures in connection with the construction, launch, and insurance of
satellites and other general purposes. 

Williams to Sell $250 Million in Convertible Shares (09/13/2000) 
Williams Communications announced the auction of $250 million worth of its
12-year convertible preferred shares. Williams plans to use the investment
to fund its $5.8-billion expansion plan. 

Verizon Employees Getting Stake in Company (09/11/2000) 
Verizon Communications instituted the Founders' Grant program that allows
210,000 Verizon employees with options to purchase a total of 55 million
shares of the company's common stock. Employees below the director level
will receive options to purchase between 100 and 700 shares, priced at
$43.34 per share, based on their employment category. The shares will vest
in three years. Eligible employees include benefits-eligible hourly,
salaried and part-time workers on the company's US payroll, and select
overseas and international payrolls as of September 7, 2000. Verizon
Wireless employees have a separate benefit package and do not qualify for
the Founders' Grant program. 




Internet/Intranet
ITXC Using Lucent's ExchangePlus (09/13/2000) 
ITXC began operating the ExchangePlus IP service from Lucent Technologies.
The company installed the service in each of its ITXC.net SuperPoPs and
on-location for remote customers. ITXC claims that it is the first service
provider to deploy the ExchangePlus IP capability commercially. ITXC now
uses the service as a telephony switch and as a switch/gateway solution.
With this technology, a single box interfaces with telephony switches and
converts calls to Internet Protocol from the Public Switched Telephone
Network and vice versa. 

NetSpeak Partners With Cisco (09/13/2000) 
NetSpeak, Cisco, and Datacraft Asia announced that their partnership has
given birth to a VoIP product for the Asia-Pacific marketplace. The launch
of a VoIP offering is part of Cisco's and Datacraft's joint venture to
focus on the telecommunications marketplace. In addition, Datacraft is the
systems integrator and distribution partner in NetSpeak's Solutions
Partners Program. 

France Telecom Unveils New Public Internet Terminal (09/13/2000) 
France Telecom introduced a new type of public Internet access terminal,
dubbed "Netanoo," that accepts Telecard prepaid phone cards. 

QUALCOMM Releases Eudora 5.0 (09/11/2000) 
QUALCOMM released the commercial version of Eudora 5.0 for Windows and
Macintosh users. This new version includes the Eudora Sharing Protocol, a
file-sharing and syncing system that allows Eudora users to share files
without the use of a central server or IT support. The company is offering
the service for $49.95 and an upgrade price for $29.95 for customers with
Eudora Pro 4.0-4.2. 




IXCs
Global One Launches Prepaid VoIP Worldwide (09/15/2000) 
Global One announced worldwide availability of its Prepaid VoIP. In
addition to using a single prepaid card for voice calls or Internet access,
the platform also supports advanced applications such as prepaid wireless,
prepaid for fixed-line telephones, voicemail, value-added services, and
unified messaging. The system, based on Cisco routers, allows businesses
and carriers to route traffic either by IP or PSTN using LCR or QoS
parameters. 

Sprint Introduces IBOT (09/14/2000) 
Sprint launched its International Block of Time, a flat-fee international
long distance offering for small businesses. The plan is targeted at small
businesses that spend between $50 and $15,000 in long distance per month,
with a bulk of the cost going toward international calls. Sprint is
offering five IBOT plans, ranging from 300 international calling minutes
for $39 to 2000 international calling minutes for $240 a month.
International destinations included in the IBOT offer are; Austria,
Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy,
Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, and Vatican City. 

Sprint, EarthLink Offer One Bill (09/14/2000) 
In keeping with the trend toward bundled services, Sprint and EarthLink
teamed up to offer unlimited Internet services and 1000 minutes of
state-to-state evening long distance calling for a flat rate of $30 per
month. The offer pairs Sprint's 1000 Nights with EarthLink's Internet
Access. For an additional $2 per month, consumers will receive up to six
mailboxes on their EarthLink account. Current Sprint customers also have
the option of bundling either Sprint Nickel Nights, Sprint $0.07 Anytime,
or Sprint 1000 Anytime with EarthLink Internet access. 




Legal News
TyCom, Global Crossing Settle Claim (09/14/2000) 
Global Crossing and its affiliates agreed to pay TyCom $19 million to
settle a suit that arose over the Atlantic Crossing-1 cable system. Under
the terms, the Administration and Maintenance Agreement pertaining to the
AC-1 was dismissed with prejudice. 




Personnel and Organizational Changes
Sprint Creates new Business Group (09/15/2000) 
Sprint created the Global Business Markets Group to serve international and
domestic business customers. Len Lauer was named president of the new
organization. Reporting to Lauer will be Keith Paglusch, president Sprint
Internet; John Berndt, president Sprint International; and the existing
Sprint Business management team. 

BCE Emergis' Brian Edwards Named CAT Alliance Chair (09/15/2000) 
Current president and CEO of BCE Emergis, W. Brian Edwards, was named
Chairman of the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance. 

Mitel Adds Jobs, Expands Operations (09/14/2000) 
Mitel announced that it will add 400 new engineering positions to its
semiconductor division to meet growing demand. Mitel will spend C$20
million to expand its Ottawa facility to house the expanded workforce. A
new building, which will add 100,000 square feet to its campus, will be
completed in one year. 

RPT-Olivetti Stages World's Largest Bond Vote (09/13/2000) 
Creditors who funded Olivetti's takeover of Telecom Italia met in London to
vote on a shake-up of the ownership structure. They were asked to vote on a
scheme devised by Olivetti that would boost the return on their
investments, thus compensating for lowered credit ratings triggered by
plans to merge Olivetti with its takeover funding unit Tecnost. 

Level 3 Opens Second Data Center in Silicon Valley (09/13/2000) 
Level 3 Communications announced the opening of its second advanced data
center in Silicon Valley. Level 3 has already sold out all the co-location
spaces in the new 96,000 square foot building and is planning to build a
third facility to satisfy the growing demand for space.

Teligent President Resigns; New CFO Named (09/13/2000) 
President and COO of Teligent, Kirby Pickle, resigned from his position,
and joined PF.Net, a fiber-optic telecommunications firm, as CEO. Alex
Mandl, chairman and CEO of Teligent, will take over Pickle's
responsibilities in the company. In addition, Teligent named John C. Wright
as new CFO. Wright was a partner in the Washington office of Ernst &Young
he had been with E&Y for 29 years. 

US LEC Installs 15th Lucent ATM Switch (09/13/2000) 
US LEC announced the completion of its 15th Lucent CBX500 ATM switch
installation. US LEC will now begin its second expansion phase of ATM
switches, which will add an additional eight markets and a second switch in
Atlanta to the US LEC network. The second phase will be completed by the
end of 2000 and will raise the number of ATM switches to 24. 

Rhythms Expands Network into New Orleans (09/13/2000) 
Rhythms NetConnections expanded its network into New Orleans, LA. This
enables Rhythms to provide DSL-based, high-speed Internet access and
networking services to New Orleans businesses and residences. Rhythms now
provides DSL in 58 markets. 

Ameritech Executive Shake Up (09/11/2000) 
In the wake of a FCC investigation in response to an outpouring of
complaints about poor service, Ameritech reorganized its top executives.
Parent-company SBC Communications appointed Edward Mueller president and
CEO of Ameritech, responsible for Ameritech's five-state region. Mueller
replaces Jim Shelley, who will now report to Mueller as president of
external affairs. Shelly was lambasted at an Illinois Commerce Commission
hearing last week for the deplorable quality of service provided by
Ameritech. Since SBC and Ameritech completed their merger in 1999,
Ameritech customers have had to wait weeks or months to have new phone
lines installed; average repair time went from 29 hours in 1999 to 160
hours in August 2000. 

Sprint PCS Names COO (09/11/2000) 
Sprint PCS' interim president Ronald LeMay promoted chief sales and
marketing officer Charles Levine to COO. Levine had been the president of
OctelLink and senior vice president of Octel Services before joining Sprint
PCS. As COO, he will report to LeMay. 




RBOCs
SBC Launches ENM WAN Service (09/11/2000) 
In a move to provide enterprise customers with a fully integrated,
nationwide solution for WAN monitoring and performance management, SBC
Communications launched its Enterprise Network Management Wide Area Network
(ENM WAN) service. Combining the company's integration experience with its
Network Operations Centers, ENM WAN creates a range of management options
for public, private, or hybrid WANs, using frame relay, ATM, or private
line transport services. 




Regulatory News
FCC Delays Open Access Inquiry (09/15/2000) 
The FCC postponed its inquiry into regulating cable Internet access because
of the complications such a decision would cause during a review of the
AOL/Time Warner merger. The review is expected to examine the promotion of
high-speed cable services while preserving an open market and to clarify
whether cable Internet access is a cable, telecommunications, or
information service. The FCC agreed to vote on the review within two weeks.

Broadwing Files for CLEC Status in PA and AZ (09/15/2000) 
Broadwing Communications filed to operate as a CLEC in Pennsylvania and
Arizona. Under terms of the filing, Broadwing would be free to compete for
local voice and data communications traffic in these two states. 

FCC Considers Instant Messaging Debate (09/14/2000) 
Aggressive lobbying by America Online competitors brought instant messaging
issues to the forefront in the FCC's investigation of the proposed AOL/Time
Warner merger. AOL currently controls 90-percent of the instant messaging
market and could be forced to open its service to competitors as a
condition of its merger with Time Warner. AOL argued that it has plans for
interoperability, but that instant messaging should not be an issue in the
current merger talks.  

WTO Attempts to Curb Telmex Powers (09/13/2000) 
Feeling pressure from the WTO, Cofetel is mandating that Telmex adjust its
rates to provide cost-based interconnection tariffs and to eliminate the
high fees that competing carriers must pay to connect to the network.
Telmex was given a deadline of mid-October to abide by the order. 

Deutsche Telecom Fees Cut, Aiding Voicestream Deal (09/13/2000) 
RegTP cut fees that DT can charge competitors accessing its network. While
a setback for DT's home market, the move should assist DT's chances of
securing regulatory approval for its proposed VoiceStream acquisition. 

NTT Asked to Open Networks (09/13/2000) 
In an attempt to provide high-speed Internet access by 2005 nationwide, the
Japanese government plans to ask regional carriers of NTT to open their
fiber-optic networks to competitors as early as this year. The Ministry of
Posts and Telecommunications will submit the proposal next week. 

AT&T Petitioning Cable Ownership Limits (09/12/2000) 
Just months after AT&T agreed to shed cable properties as a condition of
the MediaOne acquisition, the company is lobbying to change federal
regulations that limit how many cable systems a single company may own.
AT&T CEO C. Michael Armstrong is reportedly meeting with the head of the
Senate Appropriations Committee to amend the current bill, a move that
could potentially relieve AT&T of its obligation to sell certain cable
assets. AT&T General Counsel James Cicconi said that the company fully
intends to comply with the merger conditions. 

PageNet Statement Approved (09/11/2000) 
The US Bankruptcy Court of Delaware approved the Disclosure Statement for
PageNet, which filed the statement along with its reorganization plan under
Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company is awaiting an October 26 hearing that
will confirm its plan and will allow it to emerge from bankruptcy and
complete its merger with Arch. 




Satellite Communications
Belgacom Partners with EUTELSAT (09/15/2000) 
In cooperation with EUTELSAT, Belgacom announced the launch of Internet
Over Satellite. Aimed at ISPs and corporate users in areas with poor
terrestrial infrastructure, the new service offers high-speed Internet
connectivity via EUTELSAT satellites. The service will be operational in
October 2000. 

Hughes Building Satellites for ICO (09/13/2000) 
Hughes Space &Communications is building three satellites for New ICO and
providing modifications for 11 existing satellites in the New ICO system.
Hughes' enhancements will allow ICO to offer voice and packet-data
services. 

INTELSAT Offers DTH Multimedia Services (09/11/2000) 
France Telecom's broadcast services division, GlobeCast, and Office des
Postes et Telecommunications of French Polynesia are using the INTELSAT 701
satellite to offer DTH multimedia services such as video and Internet
access to  French Polynesian customers. 




Wireless Communications
Motorola Launches Russian GPRS Network (09/13/2000) 
Motorola launched Russia's first GPRS high-speed network with Mobile
TeleSystems. The network is based on a MTS dual band GSM 900/1800 network
and will allow Mobile TeleSystems to offer GPRS-based cellular services.
The launch included installing the network, which includes 160 base
stations in Moscow and the surrounding area. Commercial launch is scheduled
for December. 

Motorola and Compaq in OEM Agreement (09/13/2000) 
Under an OEM agreement reached between the two companies, Motorola's EDGE
wireless technologies will include Compaq's Home Location Register. With
Compaq's HLR data base, multiple EDGE core networks can be supported by
operators offering simultaneous voice and data on an integrated network.
The primary function of the Compaq HLR is to maintain each subscriber's
service while the subscriber is roaming. 

Nokia Installs WAP into TETRA (09/13/2000) 
To provide data communications to digital mobile radio users, who are often
traveling professionals, Nokia combined WAP with TETRA, which allows users
to access data bases in real-time. The services are ideal for field
employees and service personnel. 

Motient Introduces Exec2000 (09/13/2000) 
Motient introduced its Exec2000 mobile messaging service for Windows NT.
Companies using the MobileMAX2 mobile data terminal can use Exec2000 to
maintain connectivity and communications through the company's Mobile
Messaging Services. Exec 2000 includes a suite of solutions for terrestrial
and satellite connections. 

Ericsson Sitting on the Dock of the Bay (09/11/2000) 
Ericsson made a $7-million investment in Bay Area start-up Red Jade, which
develops wireless entertainment products. Ericsson's Business Innovation
unit is also supporting Red Jade with development and marketing. Red Jade
also received a $3-million investment from IT Provider in addition to the
Ericsson investment. 

Vodafone Announces 10 Millionth User (09/11/2000) 
Including the addition of 640,000 customers since June, Vodafone announced
that its total number of UK subscribers topped 10 million. The company
plans on adding over 700,000 subscribers during the third quarter. In
addition to adding more customers, the company reported over 50 million
voice calls per day during the month of August. 

Verizon Offers Free Weekends and Long Distance (09/11/2000) 
Verizon Wireless enhanced its local calling plans by adding free weekends
for life and free nationwide long distance. The company now offers Digital
Choice plans with three different pricing options, including: $30 per month
for 250 minutes; $40 per month for 500 minutes; and $50 per month for 700
minutes. 

Comments or suggestions about Telecom Weekly may be sent to Tammy Boyle. 

  

  

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