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---------- Forwarded Message ----------
Date: Monday, July 17, 2000, 11:25 AM -0400
From: Faulkner Telecom Weekly <telweekly@faulknerinfo.com>
To: ???
Subject: Faulkner Telecom Weekly July 14, 2000



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

Telecom Weekly 

July 10, - July 14, 2000 

Top Story of the Week

WorldCom, Sprint Merger Dead (07/12/2000) 
Just two weeks after the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against
MCI WorldCom and Sprint to block their $120 billion proposed merger, the
companies officially terminated the agreement. The companies jointly
declared the deal null and void, avoiding the potential $2.5 billion fines
associated with calling the deal off. WorldCom's president, Bernard Ebbers,
criticized federal authorities for hurting an industry that is not in need
of such strict regulation. The Justice Department stated that a merger of
the world's second and third largest long distance carriers would be
anti-competitive and would cost consumers more money. WorldCom recovered
from the sting of the failed merger quickly and announced that it was open
to the idea of being acquired if the price were right. Sprint executives,
confident that it can continue to stand on its own, said that the company
is not for sale and that it is not negotiating with any other companies
about future deals. Deutsche Telekom and NTT, anxious to break into the US
telecoms market, have been rumored to be interested in Sprint and WorldCom.
Last week, DT bid to acquire Voicestream Wireless, which had been
considered a takeover target for WorldCom. BellSouth, outbid for Sprint
last year by WorldCom, might also make a move for Sprint. Sprint's
declining stock price since the fall of the deal makes it a prime target
for domestic and international companies looking to expand their US
presence. 


Acquisitions, Mergers, and Divestitures
Deutsche Telekom to Float T-Mobile (07/14/2000) 
Deutsche Telekom is considering floating 10 percent of its cellphone
operations unit, T-Mobile International, which includes T-Mobil in Germany,
One2One in Britain, and max mobil in Austria. The flotation will most
likely occur in the fall of 2000. 

CTC Buys Part of BellSouth Mobility Partnership (07/14/2000) 
CT Communications announced the purchase of its portion of the BellSouth
Mobility DCS Partnership. Under the agreement, CTC will take over 47 cell
sites, about 9000 subscribers, and spectrum licenses for three and a half
counties north of Charlotte, NC. The transaction will cost approximately
$20 million; CTC plans to finance the partition through debt and sale of
investment securities.

DT Looking to Dive into VoiceStream (07/13/2000) 
Deutsche Telekom initiated a bid to acquire US wireless firm VoiceStream
for $30 billion. This move does not mean that the German carrier has turned
its sights from making a play for Sprint, however. DT is still expected to
place a $100-billion offer on the table for Sprint as well. Telekom is
focused on what it calls a "four pillar" internationalization strategy,
with which it can grow online services, Internet access, business systems,
and wireless services in other markets. If DT is successful in acquiring
VoiceStream, it could find itself in a position to pursue MCI WorldCom.
Sprint's wireless assets make it a more attractive acquisition target than
its merger partner, but VoiceStream would give Telekom the US wireless
assets that it wants and that WorldCom lacks. France Telecom, SBC
Communications, NTT, and Orange are rumored to be negotiating to acquire
VoiceStream as well. NTT may join forces with Hutchison Whampoa to buy a
49-percent stake of VoiceStream for a possible price of $52 billion. 

DT Looking to Buy into Webseek.de (07/13/2000) 
Deutsche Telekom is at the negotiating table with Disney concerning a
possible purchase of the media company's 25-percent stake in Webseek.de, a
search engine. DT figures that boosting its stake in the search engine
makes strategic sense, since 80 percent of Webseek's traffic comes from
subscribers of Telekom's T-Online. Webseek is linked to Infoseek, the
search engine owned and operated by Disney; and a topic of dispute is
whether or not the remaining partners in Webseek will retain the right to
leverage the Infoseek name once Disney is out of the picture. Axel Springer
Verlag and Georg Holtzbrinck Verlag also hold stakes in Webseek. 

NTT to Pay Less for KPN Stake (07/13/2000) 
NTT DoCoMo said that it will pay four billion euros for a 15-percent stake
in KPN Mobile instead of the five billion euros originally expected. 

DT to Acquire Majority Stake in Slovak Telecom Firm (07/13/2000) 
Deutsche Telekom agreed to acquire a 51-percent stake in Slovenske
Telekomunikacie, the Slovak Republic's telecom monopoly, for $1 billion. DT
plans to invest $940 through 2003 to develop basic services and upgrade
Slovenske's network. The divestiture of this stake is the largest
privatization in the country's history. 

Orange Makes Series of Acquisitions (07/13/2000) 
Orange announced a trio of acquisitions as part of its strategy to develop
its Internet services. The company agreed to acquire Ananova, a search
engine and virtual newsreader; Wildfire, a voice recognition and virtual
personal assistant, for 95 million pounds each; and a 25 percent stake in
NewsTakes, which reformats Web pages so they can be viewed via wireless
phones. Also, it is launching an 300-million pound investment fund to help
IT start-ups. 

Citizens Acquires 1.1 Million Global Crossing Lines (07/12/2000) 
Citizens Communications agreed to acquire 1.1 million access lines from
Global Crossing for $3.65 billion in cash. The deal helps Global Crossing
focus more on its telecommunications services and broadband network. The
two companies also entered a strategic agreement whereby Global Crossing
will provide long distance services. The deal is still subject to
regulatory approval. 

Jazztel Obtains ICT Net's Clients (07/11/2000) 
Jazztel announced the acquisition of ICT Net's client base. ICT Net is a
major ISP in the Catalonia region of Spain providing 14,000 clients
Internet access. The acquisition boosts Jazztel's goal of becoming the
first nationwide CLEC in Spain and Portugal. 

JDS to Buy SDL for $41 Billion (07/10/2000) 
JDS Uniphase agreed to purchase SDL, a developer of fiber-optic network
equipment, for $41 billion in stock. The purchase will give JDS access to
SDL's optic amplifiers, as well as broader access to the Internet network
market. SDL will become a wholly owned subsidiary of JDS. 


Alliances and Joint Ventures
AT&T Teams with Motorola (07/14/2000) 
Motorola is teaming up with AT&T Wireless to develop high-speed data and
voice services for the residential and small business market. The companies
will develop an always-on, high-speed service using fixed-wireless
technology and radio signals. This collaboration follows a recent agreement
in which both companies will test and license Project Angel, AT&T Wireless'
patented digital broadband technology. 

BellSouth, Talk Visual Sign ISDN Contract (07/13/2000) 
BellSouth and Talk Visual signed a two-year ISDN contract service
arrangement. The agreement allows Talk Visual to offer its customers in the
BellSouth region 128K bps ISDN services with free installation and a
monthly fee of $69.00. The monthly service includes 9600 minutes of local
ISDN calls. 

Three Telecom Firms to Invest $1B in Philippines (07/13/2000) 
Globe Telecom-a venture between SingTel and Ayala Corp-and Islacom, which
is backed by Deutsche Telekom, committed to invest between $800 million and
$1 billion in a Philippine wireless venture. Globe and Islacom, which
announced plans to merge earlier this year, will be the largest digital
wireless company in the country, with 320,000 wireline customers and 1.2
million wireless subscribers. But before the investment can be made,
Islacom needs to renew its operating license, which was not renewed after
March 29, 1999 because the company failed to meet installation
requirements. 

Hutchison, KPN, DoCoMo in 3G Three-Way Alliance (07/13/2000) 
Hutchison Whampoa, NTT DoCoMo, and KPN Telecom forged a three-way
partnership to secure third-generation wireless licenses across Europe,
splitting the costs of acquiring licenses and deploying 3G networks. Under
the deal, DoCoMo will acquire 20 percent of Hutchison 3G UK Holdings,
Hutchison Whampoa's UK wireless arm, for 1.2 billion pounds. KPN Telecom
will take a 15 percent stake in the British wireless venture for 900
million pounds. Then, Hutchison and E-Plus, a KPN-owned German wireless
company, will form their own joint venture to bid on a 3G wireless license
in Germany. The partners are not ruling out enlisting additional help in
bidding on licenses in France and Belgium. 

AT&T Wireless Announces Global Products (07/11/2000) 
AT&T Wireless announced a strategic alliance with BT Wireless called
Advance. Advance is part of a combination of the two companies' global
investments and will offer global wireless products. The first solutions
are WorldConnect and WorldView. WorldConnect provides global coverage with
the same phone number in 100 countries and 7000 cities in North America,
and WorldView provides international wireless service management for
corporations. 

Telcordia Joins SCC's Alliance Program (07/11/2000) 
SCC Communications announced that Telcordia will join its communication
Alliance Program. The combination of Telcordia's Exchange Link
interconnection clearinghouse service with SCC's TelConnect service will
reportedly provide a comprehensive and fully automated service for
provisioning E9-1-1 data. 

BellSouth Selects Telcordia as OSS Provider (07/11/2000) 
BellSouth announced that it selected Telcordia as a strategic partner in
the operations support systems (OSS) infrastructure market. The companies
will work together in upgrading BellSouth's Regional Operations Centers. 

BellSouth, Snapfish Forge Alliance (07/11/2000) 
BellSouth announced a partnership with Snapfish to deploy e-Interaction
services to its customers. BellSouth authorized its customers to use
Snapfish services in conjunction with existing BellSouth Internet Services
offerings. 

KPN Declines Confirmation on BellSouth Talks (07/11/2000) 
Dutch KPN Telecom declined to confirm that it was talking to US partner,
BellSouth, about expanding a European mobile phone alliance.  

RSA Licenses BSAFE to Cisco (07/10/2000) 
RSA Security inked a licensing agreement with Cisco Systems that will allow
Cisco to offer RSA's software in conjunction with its products. The deal
includes RSA's BSAFE SSL-J, BSAFE SSL-C, and BSAFE CERT-C security software
products. 




Broadband/Cable Networking
NorthPoint Enters New Orleans (07/13/2000) 
NorthPoint Communications began offering its DSL services to customers in
New Orleans, Louisiana. 

Teligent Enters Dayton, Ohio (07/13/2000) 
Teligent began offering communications services in Dayton, Ohio. 

Lightwave Finishes Long-Haul Networks (07/13/2000) 
Electric Lightwave completed construction in the final three segments of
its 3200-mile, long-haul fiber network. The network spans seven states and
operates at OC-192 speeds. 

Bell Atlantic Offers Intel Clients Free DSL Service (07/12/2000) 
Bell Atlantic is now offering subscribers of Intel's WebOutfitter service a
free DSL modem and one month of Personal Infospeed DSL service. The offer
also includes Bell Atlantic.net Internet access for a total combined value
of $138.95. 

Mitel and Sedona Networks Partner (07/10/2000) 
Sedona Networks announced that Mitel joined Sedona's Internetworking
Partner Program that is aimed to broaden their Services Internetworking
Architecture (SIA). The Sedona SIA will be tested for interoperability with
Mitel's SMART-1 I2AD (Intelligent Integrated Access Device). The Mitel
device features IP routing and VoDSL transport to create new functionality
for VoDSL carrier services. 

Cox Communications, Pulte Forge Alliance (07/10/2000) 
Cox Communications and Pulte formed an alliance to provide broadband
communications services at Springfield Lakes, a Pulte master planned
community in Chandler, Arizona. Cox Communications Phoenix will provide the
new community with digital cable television, local and long distance
telephone services, high-speed data transmission, video-on-demand, and
other related communication services. 

Netopia Unveils Bonding for DSL Routers (07/10/2000) 
Netopia added bonding capabilities for its DSL routers. The service uses
Multilink Point-to-Point Protocol (MPPP) to aggregate multiple DSL lines
into a single pipe. It can be used to aggregate two SDSL or ADSL circuits,
or up to four IDSL circuits. Users can thus increase DSL service speeds and
range. 




CLECs
Williams Communications, Corvis Announce Milestone (07/11/2000) 
Corvis and Williams Communications completed the longest all-optical
terrestrial communications transmission in history. Using Corvis'
integrated suite of all-optical networking products, data was transmitted
at 2.5G bps across a more than 3200-kilometer route on the Williams
fiber-optic network without electrical regeneration. Further testing will
continue on Corvis' all-optical products. 




Financial News
Motorola Releases Second Quarter Earnings (07/14/2000) 
Motorola reported both record sales and record earnings from continued
operations for the second quarter 2000. Sales reached $9.3 billion, a 22
percent increase from $7.6 billion in the same quarter in 1999, and
earnings increased 91 percent, reaching $515 million, or $0.23 per share,
compared to $269 million, or $0.13 per share. The company experienced
improved profits and sales growth with its Broadband Communications and
Network Systems segments, and much of the increase in sales came from its
Semiconductor Products Segment. 

NTT Extends Verio Offer (07/14/2000) 
NTT Communications extended the tender offer to acquire Verio to July 28.
In May, NTT agreed to buy 90 percent of the Web site manager for $5.5
billion and is now tendering Series A 6.75 percent convertible preferred
stock. The offer was to expire by midnight on July 14. 

AT&T to Invest in Argentina (07/14/2000) 
AT&T will invest $500 million over five years in Argentina. The company
reports that they will build a network of fiber-optic cable and wireless
technology which will eventually connect 40 cities. 

CSC Extends Offer for Mynd (07/13/2000) 
Computer Sciences announced that it is refiling under the Hart-Scott-Rodino
Antitrust Improvement Act in connection with its $16 per-share tender offer
for Mynd, formerly Policy Management Systems, on July 17. The extension
will allow the FTC more time to review the offer. 

Verizon to Create a New Center in VA (07/13/2000) 
Verizon Communications will build a center in Chesapeake, Virginia to
accompany its growing number of wholesale customers. Scheduled to open
August 8, 2000, the center will add 300 new jobs to its current 2400
workforce in the Hampton Roads area. The center will process requests for
its new digital loop service. 

Bids Less Than Expected for Dutch UMTS Auction (07/12/2000) 
Opening bids on a Dutch UMTS cellphone auction were less than a quarter of
the opening prices set by the government. The offers for the Dutch mobile
telephone licenses totaled 101.1 million guilders, compared to the required
offer for all UMTS licenses of 470 million guilders. 

Aspect Unveils Preliminary Financial Results (07/11/2000) 
Aspect Communications unveiled preliminary financial results for its second
quarter ended June 30, 2000. Revenues will be approximately $137 million to
$139 million compared to $112 million in the same quarter last year. Aspect
expects earnings per share between $0.01 and $0.03 compared to a loss of
$0.18 per share in 1999. 

$1 Billion Investments in ICO-Teledesic (07/11/2000) 
Bill Gates, through his company Cascade Investment, committed investments,
along with others, worth over $1 billion to Craig McCaw's ICO-Teledesic
holding company. The firm of Clayton, Dubilier, and Rice plans to invest up
to $350 million in the company. ICO-Teledesic Global will use the
investments to back its wireless Internet satellite communication services,
which are projected for launch in 2003. 

AT&T to Sell Bonds (07/11/2000) 
AT&T will privately sell at least $3 billion in global bonds. The
transaction is being arranged by Goldman Sachs and is expected to include
one-year fixed-rate notes and two floating-rate note tranches.

Finnish's VoiceStream Stake is Long-Term Investment (07/11/2000) 
Finnish Telecom's operator Sonera declined comment on the sale of its 7.9
percent stake in Voicestream Wireless . Sonera described it as a long-term
investment.  

KPN's E-Plus to Bid for German Mobile Licenses (07/11/2000) 
In an effort to join the UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems)
market, Dutch KPN Telecom said that it wanted its E-Plus unit to join a
consortium to bid on German third generation mobile phone licenses. The
announcement is a precursor of the expected alliance between the
Netherlands' largest telecoms operator and its Japanese partner NTT DoCoMo. 

NTT Rejects Security Concerns over Verio Bid (07/11/2000) 
NTT Communications claimed that there were no US National Security concerns
over its $5.5 billion bid for US Internet service provider, Verio. On
Friday, July 7, the Wall Street Journal reported that the FBI raised
national-security concerns about the NTT bid as shares of Verio plummeted
on the stock market. 

RSA Doubles Outstanding Shares (07/10/2000) 
RSA Security doubled the number of its authorized shares to 300 million
from 150 million. The company increased its shares in order to ready itself
for possible future acquisitions. RSA also hopes to maintain a stock price
that would allow for stock splits and dividends. 




Internet/Intranet
Prodigy, SBC Release CD Distribution Program (07/14/2000) 
Under their recent alliance, Prodigy Communications and SBC Communications
launched a CD distribution program in SBC's wireless retail stores to
promote the companies' Internet service. As part of the promotion, the CD
will provide the consumer three months of Internet service for $9.95 per
month; each additional month will be $19.95. 

Sprint Offers Online Registration to NYC (07/12/2000) 
Sprint customers living in New York City and its surrounding area can now
order their long distance plans and other related services online. By
accessing www.sprint.com /local, customers can research Sprint products,
choose from a variety of plans, and order calling features online. 

AT&T Introduces Ecosystem for Media (07/11/2000) 
AT&T announced its "Ecosystem for Media," a network service platform with a
co-marketing and distribution program designed to allow companies to
create, manage, and distribute audio and video to Internet users. Scheduled
for release in the first quarter of 2001, the service will help businesses
utilize applications including Web site acceleration, streaming media,
distance learning, and media-based e-commerce. AT&T, working with Inktomi,
Microsoft, and RealNetworks, will use its Internet infrastructure, digital
media productions capabilities, and broadband network to establish the
various media services. 

ALLTEL Sending Messages Using Software.com (07/10/2000) 
ALLTEL contracted Software.com to provide its customers with messaging
applications. Software.com's InterMail will allow ALLTEL's customers to use
the wireless Web or PCs to access Internet e-mail. 

SBC Offers Free Compaq PCs to DSL Customers (07/10/2000) 
SBC Communications is giving customers that sign a two-year contract for
DSL Internet services with Prodigy Communications a free Compaq Presario
personal computer. The monthly DSL service will cost $60 per month. The
promotion will run through August in regions served by Pacific Bell and
Southwestern Bell. The company will expand the deal to customers of Nevada
Bell, SNET, and Ameritech later this year. 




Personnel and Organizational Changes
PanAmSat Names CFO (07/14/2000) 
Michael Inglese was named senior vice president and CFO by PanAmSat.
Inglese comes from DIRECTV and now reports to PanAmSat president and CEO R.
Douglas Kahn. Inglese replaces Kenneth Heintz, who will head Hughes
Electronics' mergers and acquisitions activities. 

Anderson Retires From BellSouth (07/12/2000) 
After fifteen years as BellSouth State President, Joe Anderson retired
concluding a 34 year career with the company. BellSouth named Harry M.
Lightsey III, senior attorney for BellSouth's customer markets group, as
Anderson's replacement. 

ICG Appoints Gary F. Lindgren (07/11/2000) 
ICG Communications appointed Gary F. Lindgren, former vice president of
Engineering at MediaOne Group, senior vice president of Network Planning
and Engineering. He is responsible for the engineering, design,
maintenance, and construction of the company's broadband network. 

CenturyTel Appoints COO (07/10/2000) 
CenturyTel named Karen Puckett COO and Executive Vice President. Puckett
will be responsible for acquisitions, marketing, and development of
wireline, wireless, and data technology. 




RBOCs
Documentum Creates Web-based Contract for BellSouth (07/10/2000) 
Documentum, a provider of Internet-scale content management solutions for
e-business applications, announced that its Professional Services Group
formed a Web-based contract management solution for BellSouth
Interconnection Services. The browser-based contract is designed to
simplify the process of contract transactions. 




Regulatory News
FCC to Monitor Phone Company Mergers (07/13/2000) 
The FCC said it will, in addition to the SBC/Ameritech merger, oversee the
recent Qwest/US West and Bell Atlantic/GTE transactions to ensure that the
companies are meeting the conditions set by the agency. 

Talks Over NTT Interconnection Rates Begin Again (07/13/2000) 
Representatives from the US and Japan sat down on July 10 to try and hammer
out their dispute over NTT's interconnection rates. The US wants Japan to
slash the rates by 41 percent immediately, while Japan says the best it can
do is a reduction of 22.5 percent over four years. A compromise is likely
to be reached, but according to Deputy US Trade Representative Richard
Fisher, the US is unwilling to accept Japan's latest proposal to reduce
rates by 22.5 percent over three years. Members of the Japanese parliament
are reportedly pushing for the country to offer to cut the rates by 41
percent by 2002, but no such offer has been placed on the table as yet.
Both countries want to settle this thorny issue before the international
Group of Eight Summit kicks off later in July. 

EU Expected to Break Monopolies on Local Loops (07/13/2000) 
The European Union is expected to unveil plans that will force telecom
companies to open up their local loops by the end of this year. The EU
hopes that by unbundling the local loop, member countries will see an
increase in broadband Internet access and will see more competition that
will ultimately close the technology gap between the US and Europe. It is
undecided whether the call for an end to local-loop monopolies will come as
a regulatory law or as a simple recommendation 

EU Gives OK to Telefonica's Endemol Takeover (07/13/2000) 
The European Union gave its approval to Telefonica's proposed $5.2 billion
takeover of Endemol Entertainment Holding, a Dutch television production
company. 

US Puts Pressure on Japan's Telecom Fees (07/12/2000) 
The United States put pressure on Japan to settle a telecoms dispute
quickly as President Clinton stated that he was keen to see a deal. After
Washington dismissed Japan's three-year 22.5-percent cut in rates, the
world's two largest trading partners will resume talks, and sources claim
that they are expected to settle by July 17, 2000. 

AT&T Files Complaint Against Bell Atlantic (07/11/2000) 
AT&T filed a complaint with regulators against rival Bell Atlantic claiming
that the company illegally steered New York customers to its own new long
distance telephone service. The complaint states that Bell Atlantic, now
part of Verizon Communications, only told customers about its own long
distance service, not any other carriers' as required by federal
regulations. AT&T asked the FCC to prohibit Bell Atlantic from marketing
its long distance until it develops a compliance plan and hires an
independent compliance officer. 




Satellite Communications
Hughes Forms Satellite Relationship with Juno (07/14/2000) 
Hughes Network Systems and Juno Online Services agreed to offer high-speed
Internet access via satellites to US users of Juno. Hughes' DirecPC will
allow customers anywhere in the US to access Juno Express, Juno's
high-speed Internet broadband service. The new service will be named Juno
Express Powered by DirecPC, and it will provide downstream access speeds of
400K bps using two-way satellite transmissions, which will be made
available in 2001. Until then, data will be sent through a modem and a
standard phone line. When subscribing to the new service, customers will
also need to purchase and install a satellite dish and a USB-connected
satellite modem. 

INTELSAT Selects COMSAT for Broadband (07/11/2000) 
INTELSAT selected the LINKWAY satellite terminal from COMSAT to manage its
Broadband VSAT service. The BVSAT service provides high-speed VPNs and
networking solutions for data, voice, multimedia, and high-speed Internet.
COMSAT is supplying networking terminals and a network management
infrastructure for the service, which will provide service to four regions
around the world. 




Security
Businesses Mull Insurance Against Hacking (07/10/2000) 
Security monitoring service Counterpane Internet Security joined forces
with Lloyd's of London to offer Counterpane customers insurance against
loss of revenue and data caused by network security breaches. The policy
can be used to insure companies for up to $100 million in losses. 




Voice Processing
ITXC Super PoP Connects Seven Carriers (07/10/2000) 
Seven European carriers are connected to ITXC's London Super PoP, which has
the capacity for handling 3000 simultaneous calls. The carriers are
connected through Fibernet and the Super PoP converts telephone calls to IP
protocol for transmission over ITXC.net. 




Wireless Communications
US Unwired Brings Sprint PCS to Nine Markets (07/14/2000) 
Sprint PCS Network Partner, US Unwired, launched Sprint PCS service in nine
markets, increasing the number of markets it serves to 20. The new Basic
Trading Areas include Anniston, AL; Hot Springs, AR; Mobile, AL; Jackson,
Meridian, and Vicksburg, MS; five counties surrounding Birmingham, AL; four
counties surrounding Little Rock, AR; and Jackson County, FL. This launch
is part of Sprint PCS' expansion program that it has established with its
Network Partners, and US Unwired hopes to bring Sprint PCS network coverage
to 6.1 million residential customers by the end of 2000. In addition to the
cities and surrounding areas, the new markets include highway corridors on
Interstates 10, 20, and 30. Under the Network Partner program, US Unwired
receives revenues from Sprint PCS customers that travel through areas
covered by the US Unwired network. 

Verizon and Lucent Complete Wireless Data Call (07/14/2000) 
Verizon Wireless announced that it completed the first third-generation
wireless data call using Lucent Technologies' commercial network. The two
companies demonstrated the call by downloading a wireless Web page at a
speed 10 times faster than current CDMA networks. Verizon Wireless and
Lucent are working on circuit packet and software upgrades to allow the
wireless company to meet the International Telecommunications Union's 3G
requirements. 

Mobistar Orders GPRS from Nokia (07/14/2000) 
Belgium's Mobistar ordered GPRS core network equipment from Nokia. The
technology will allow Mobistar to expand its mobile Internet offerings. 

Sprint Completes Data Call (07/14/2000) 
Sprint PCS completed a 3G high-speed data call using 1x wireless technology
developed with Lucent Technologies. The two companies used 3G 1X Radio
Transmission Technology to browse the Web and transfer files at speeds of
144K bps. The 3G technology is based on cdma2000, which allows CDMA
technology to support a wider range of applications. 

Covad Enters Six Markets (07/13/2000) 
Covad Communications began offering services in Harrisburg PA, Providence
RI, and in Bridgeport, Danbury, Hartford, and Stamford, CT. 

i-mode Service Crashes Again (07/13/2000) 
i-mode, the wireless Internet service offered by NTT DoCoMo, crashed yet
again, this time for 15 hours. The company said the failure was related to
switching problems and effected 240,000 customers in central and
southwestern Tokyo. The wireless Internet service is extremely popular in
Japan, with a 60 percent market share, but its repeated failure has caused
NTT to halve the number of new subscribers it will allow to sign up for the
service for six weeks. 

Sprint Announces Wireless Phones (07/11/2000) 
Sprint PCS made its service available over Motorola's V8162 and V2267 CDMA
phones. The V Series phones are Internet-ready and will allow Sprint PCS
customers to access the company's wireless Web. The V Series joins
Motorola's Timeport and TalkAbout series phones in carrying Sprint PCS
service. 

Arch Launches Webster (07/11/2000) 
Arch Communications launched its first Arch Webster Interactive Service,
Arch Webster 100 two-way messaging. Users can communicate using e-mail with
a Motorola T900 interactive messaging device. The two-way service is
designed for both individuals and mobile employees. 

Sprint PCS Offers Wireless Shopping (07/11/2000) 
Through an agreement with DealTime, Sprint PCS is offering mobile access to
comparison shopping through its Wireless Web. Customers are able to access
DealTime and compare prices for items such as electronics, gifts, books,
and computers. 

Verizon Wireless Announces SingleRate Plan (07/11/2000) 
Verizon Wireless began offering its SingleRate wireless pricing plans for
customers in the Southeast. Subscribers in Virginia, Maryland, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama,
Mississippi, and the District of Columbia will have access to flat-rate
plans, starting at 100 minutes for $25 per month and ending at 2200 minutes
for $200 per month, with no roaming or long distance charges. 

France Awarding Radio Licenses (07/11/2000) 
The French government is deciding on whether to award 54 radio phone
licenses for local radio loop technology. Siris, FirstMark Communications
Europe, and 26 other companies are planning to bid on the licenses, which
include 52 regional licenses and two national licenses. The companies will
use the licenses to chip away at France Telecom's control of the local
markets. 

Sprint, Cisco Educate on Convergence (07/11/2000) 
In an effort to educate mid-sized businesses about network convergence
Sprint and Cisco Systems are hosting free seminars covering emerging
technologies, network convergence, and the e-commerce applications that
convergence makes possible. The seminars feature Sprint's Integrated
ON-Demand Network, which is an end-to-end network capable of integrating
voice, video, data, and Internet. 

Motorola in Deal with China Unicom (07/10/2000) 
Motorola's Network Solutions Sector signed 10 network expansions contracts
worth $300 million with China Unicom. In eight provinces, Motorola will
expand the GSM 900 networks for China Unicom, which will be able to serve
10.5 million subscribers after the expansion. 

Nokia Wins Deal in Austria (07/10/2000) 
Austria's ONE awarded Nokia a GPRS core network deal that will include the
expansion of ONE's GSM 1800 services, which include offering mobile
Internet access. 

Nextel Partners Offering Nextel Online (07/10/2000) 
Nextel Partners began offering its Nextel Online wireless Internet service
to businesses in Central Pennsylvania and Central Texas. Customers can use
Nextel phones to access the wireless Internet or use their phone as a
wireless modem and connect to the Internet with a laptop or handheld
device. Nextel Partners follows Nextel Communications in offering wireless
Internet to its customers in small and medium-sized markets. 

Cox Communications Selects Workstyle Server (07/10/2000) 
Cox Communications selected Wireless Knowledge's, a Microsoft and QUALCOMM
company, Workstyle Server to provide its employees wireless access to
critical corporate applications. The Workstyle Server is designed to
provide real-time wireless access to corporate information including
e-mail, calendar, and contacts using any wireless Web-ready device. 

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