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Date: Tuesday, October 10, 2000, 10:15 AM -0400
From: Faulkner Telecom Weekly <telweekly@faulknerinfo.com>
To: ???
Subject: Telecom Weekly Oct 6, 2000



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

Telecom Weekly 

October 2, - October 6, 2000 

Top Story of the Week

Cingular is Born (10/05/2000) 
SBC and BellSouth officially launched their new joint wireless venture
Cingular Wireless. The new company is now the second largest wireless
carrier in the US with over 19 million customers in 42 of the top 50
markets. Annual revenues for the venture are expected to be around $12
billion. The official launch and release of the company's name follows the
recent FCC approval granted on September 29. Both companies will continue
to offer their services under existing brand names until the beginning of
next year, when all 11 brands are consolidated and offered under the
Cingular Wireless brand name. The company is now launching a national
advertising campaign, releasing advertisements in the Wall Street Journal,
the New York Times, USA Today, and Investor's Business Daily. Until the
company's services are offered under Cingular Wireless, SBC and BellSouth
will offer national and regional rate plans as DigitalEdge USA and wireless
Internet service as My Wireless Window. The Wireless Telecommunications and
International Bureaus of the FCC approved the wireless joint venture based
on the finding that the joint venture was not a threat to competition in
the wireless industry and that the joined assets of these two companies
would allow them to compete on a national level. Before granting approval,
the FCC asked that cellular operations in Louisiana be divested in
compliance with the Commission's cellular cross-ownership rule and that
interests in Indianapolis and Los Angeles be divested in compliance with
the CMRS spectrum aggregation limit. 


Acquisitions, Mergers, and Divestitures
Arch Shareholders Approve PageNet Deal (10/06/2000) 
Arch Wireless' shareholders approved the company's pending merger with
Paging Network, one of the last hurdles to clear to complete the
transaction. The deal also requires the approval of PageNet shareholders,
whom are currently assessing the planned reorganization of the company as
outlined in its Chapter 11 proceeding. The reorganization implements the
Arch merger. A hearing on the PageNet plan is set for October 26. In other
news, the US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware denied Metrocall's request to
file a competing plan to merge with PageNet despite Metrocall's claims that
its offer is better than Arch's. 

EMI and Time Warner Withdraw EU Application (10/05/2000) 
After weeks of deliberation, Time Warner and EMI withdrew their application
for approval of a proposed merger valued at $20 billion. The companies,
which negotiated a range of possible concessions to eliminate EU concerns,
terminated their current agreement but will remain in talks in hopes of
finding a combination acceptable to the EU and other regulators. 

Teligent Acquires ECI (10/05/2000) 
Teligent acquired Executive Conference (ECI) for stock and cash valued at
$74 million, with an additional compensation payment based on ECI's future
performance. ECI is a teleconferencing service provider that will give
Teligent a wider variety of Web-based services, including audio and video
conferencing and real-time information sharing. 

Telefonica Buying Motorola's Properties (10/05/2000) 
As part of its plan to increase its presence in Latin America, Telefonica
is planning to acquire five Mexican wireless operators from Motorola. The
$2.63 billion acquisition will allow Telefonica to expand its Latin
American wireless network through Cedetel, Baja Celular, Movitel, Norcel,
and Portatel. The company is in a hurry to complete this deal since its
mobile unit, Telefonica Moviles, is planning an IPO for next month; it
expects to offer 15 percent of its shares. Motorola had been planning a
spin off of its wireless businesses, followed by an IPO, but the deal with
Telefonica would change those plans. 

Vodafone in China Mobile Deal (10/05/2000) 
Vodafone Group is selling seven of its networks to China Mobile for $32.84
billion, and Vodafone is buying a two-percent stake in the company for $2.5
billion in return. With the networks, China Mobile will serve 48 percent of
China's population, making it the number two operator in the world in
number of subscribers. The deal is allowing Vodafone to enter the Chinese
markets. 

AT&T Wireless Acquires Systems (10/03/2000) 
Filling in gaps in its national network, AT&T Wireless completed the
acquisition of wireless systems in San Diego and Indianapolis. The system
in San Diego was owned by GTE before its merger with Bell Atlantic, and the
system in Los Angeles was owned by SBC and divested as a condition for
approval for its joint venture with BellSouth . The populations of both
systems include nearly six million people. 

ALLTEL Completes Purchase (10/03/2000) 
ALLTEL completed its $400-million purchase of properties from SBC,
increasing its customer base to 6 million consumers. The properties,
located in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, bring along 160,000 wireless
customers and 300,000 paging customers. In related news, ALLTEL named Scott
Mann vice president and general manager of the areas. 

CenturyTel Buys Lines in Wisconsin (10/03/2000) 
CenturyTel bought over 133,000 telephone access lines in Wisconsin from
Verizon Communications for approximately $364 million. The company
purchased the lines in two separate transactions, paying $194 million for
70,500 access lines in 42 Wisconsin exchanges and $170 million for 62,900
lines in 35 exchanges. 

Nextel Partners Acquires Licenses (10/03/2000) 
Nextel Partners completed the acquisition of licenses from Nextel
Communications and now operates a licensed territory covering over 50
million people. Nextel Partners issued 1.27 million Class B shares at a
price of $36 million for the licenses, which cover areas in Idaho, Iowa,
Kentucky, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, South
Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia. 

ADC Completes Acquisition (10/02/2000) 
ADC completed the acquisition of Broadband Access Systems announced
September 20, 2000. ADC issued approximately six million shares to close
the transaction. Broadband Access Systems' Cuda network solutions platform
will combine with ADC's network, software, and integration services to
provide high-speed Internet access and VoIP services. 

Japan Telecoms Complete Merger (10/02/2000) 
Japanese telecoms firms DDI, KDD, and IDO merged to create KDDI, the
second-largest competitor in an industry dominated by Nippon Telegraph &

Telephone, the former government monopoly. The merger is one of several
deals that have been spurred by recent measures to deregulate Japan's
long-protected Telecom industry. 




Alliances and Joint Ventures
Telecom Italia Buys Global Crossing Capacity (10/06/2000) 
Global Crossing is providing Telecom Italia with 10,000 kilometers of dark
fiber on its Pan European Crossing system and 18,000 kilometers of dim
fiber on its South American Crossing system. Also, Global Crossing agreed
to acquire dim fiber on Telecom Italia's Nautilus Mediterranean system to
connect Israel, Turkey, Greece, and Egypt to the Global Crossing Network. 

Lucent Wins SBC Contract (10/06/2000) 
SBC Communications awarded Lucent Technologies a $1 billion contract to
supply equipment for its national network expansion. Lucent will supply
data, voice, and access infrastructure technology for the expansion
project. 

Project DISCO Develops DVR For Set-Top Boxes (10/05/2000) 
Charter Communications, Motorola, ReplayTV, and Vulcan Ventures formed a
joint venture to develop digital video recording (DVR) capabilities in
advanced set-top terminals. The venture, code named Project DISCO, will
focus initially on creating a set-top based DVR platform for storing video,
audio, and Internet content. 

Nokia and SAS in WAP Agreement (10/05/2000) 
Nokia forged an agreement with SAS Institute to integrate WAP-enabled
business intelligence applications with the Nokia WAP Server. Under the
agreement, both companies are marketing the integrated service by offering
a 30-day free trial of the Nokia WAP Server with the AppDef Studio
applications included. SAS' suite of tools allows companies to develop
business applications for WAP services. 

Nokia in 3G Agreements (10/05/2000) 
Nokia Networks selected partners for the turnkey implementation of
third-generation and GSM networks in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
ABB, Bovis Lend Lease, MKI, and Wireless Facilities are working with Nokia
to implement the networks. All of the partners will take part in network
planning, site acquisition, installation, and commissioning. 

NetSpeak Marketing with Belle Systems (10/05/2000) 
NetSpeak and Belle Systems created a memorandum of understanding in which
Belle Systems will offer billing software that will be included in the
Corporation IP Telephony software products offered by NetSpeak. The
agreement also includes co-marketing of services and the interoperability
of NetSpeak's products with those of Belle Systems. 

Cable &Wireless, Nortel Begin VoIP Initiative (10/03/2000) 
Cable &Wireless teamed up with Nortel Networks to create the industry's
largest global Voice over IP program. In a deal worth about $1.4 billion,
C&W will upgrade its European and US resources to IP and VoIP
internetworking. Nortel will manage the network migration to IP, while C&W
will retain full control of the network architecture and design of the VoIP
platform. 

Cablevision of Mexico and Motorola Sign Agreement (10/02/2000) 
Motorola and Cablevision agreed to bundle their services in Mexico.
Mexico's first commercial digital cable deployment, completed by
Cablevision, will use the Motorola interactive digital broadband platform
to offer services to the growing Mexican market. 




Broadband/Cable Networking
Sprint Broadband Direct Launched in Houston (10/06/2000) 
Sprint launched Broadband Direct, its broadband wireless high-speed
Internet service, in Houston. The service provides two-way, high-speed
access to the Internet using fixed-wireless technology. Download speeds are
about 1M bps and average upstream speeds are 256K bps. The fixed-wireless
technology uses a small diamond-shaped transceiver that is pointed toward a
radio transmission tower no more than 35 miles away. Internet services are
provided by EarthLink Sprint. Residential services costs $44.95 per month
and standard business pricing is $119.95 per month. 

DSL.net Adds 52 New Locations (10/05/2000) 
DSL.net expanded to offer high-speed Internet access in 52 new areas,
including Los Angeles, Kansas City, Buffalo, Albuquerque, and Carmel, CA.
DSL.net will offer SDSL service, Web hosting, and e-mail capabilities to
small and medium-sized businesses in these new areas, allowing them to take
advantage of services once only available to large corporations. 

VersaPoint Continues Entry into Broadband Market (10/04/2000) 
VersaPoint, a pan-European broadband provider launched earlier this year
through a partnership between NorthPoint Communications and VersaTel,
announced it secured central office space from British Telecom and signed a
contract to use BT's unbundled local loops to offer DSL service in the UK.
In other news, in France, VersaPoint was awarded a license to trial DSL
service in Paris using France Telecom's unbundled loops. 

AT&T Broadband and DIVA Launch Video On Demand (10/03/2000) 
AT&T
Broadband and DIVA will launch video-on-demand (VOD) services in Atlanta,
where the service is currently being tested, as well as in San Francisco,
Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh. After successful testing in Atlanta, AT&T
intends to use DIVA's headend equipment, software, and content in the new
markets. The VOD service will allow cable customers to order video titles
through their set-top boxes, and to pause, rewind, or fast forward using a
remote control. 

Time Warner Buys Self-Install Broadband Software (10/02/2000) 
Time Warner purchased one million licenses for BroadJump's Virtual Truck
software. Virtual Truck eliminates the need for a technician to connect a
customer to high-speed cable Internet access and allows Time Warner to
market self-installation kits. The self-installation process will eliminate
the slow and costly process of installation involving a technician for many
DSL customers. 

HSA Adds 184,000 Homes Over Charter Network (10/02/2000) 
High Speed Access launched broadband services in eight new Charter
Communications cable systems. HSA's deployments in Ozark, AL; Estes Park,
CO; Carrolton, GA; New Roads, LA; Waynesville, NC; Alamagordo, NM; and Fond
Do Lac and Spencer, WI will add 184,000 homes to their commercial unit. 




CLECs
FT Introduces Flat Price (10/04/2000) 
France Telecom will introduce two residential phone packages that include
the cost of access, calls, and services. The packages will allow customers
to use their home phone 24 hours a day for a single flat price, without
additional subscription charges. 




CTI and Call Centers
Mitel Adds Speech Processing Features To System (10/02/2000) 
Mitel added call routing by voice and fully bilingual speech recognition to
its speech recognition system. In addition to the new speech features, the
Impressa Speak@Ease Attendant includes integration into Nortel Networks
platforms and a Web interface. 




Financial News
Telstra to Pay Less for PCCW Stake (10/06/2000) 
Telstra will cut back on its proposed $3 billion investment in Pacific
Century CyberWorks by up to $500 million. Telstra would pay up to $1.3
billion to get 50 percent of a mobile joint venture. It had originally
agreed to pay $1.5 billion in cash for 40 percent. 

DT Buys 50 Percent Share of Ben (10/06/2000) 
Deutsche Telekom acquired 50 percent minus one share of Dutch cellphone
operator Ben. DT bought the stake through its T-Mobile unit, due to be
floated next year after the completion of its VoiceStream Wireless
acquisition, valued at $37 billion. DT also expanded its cellphone business
by buying British operator One2One. 

DirecTV Adds 450,000 in Third Quarter (10/05/2000) 
In the third quarter of 2000, DirecTV added 450,000 net customers, bringing
its total subscriber base to 9 million. In addition, the company's Latin
American DirecTV service added 126,000 net customers, bringing its total to
1.1 million subscribers. Through the end of September, DirecTV's new
subscriber acquisitions increased 20 percent over the same period in 1999,
and the Latin American year-to-date new subscriber acquisitions increased
80 percent. DirecTV's parent company, Hughes Electronics, also projected
that its third quarter cash flow will be in line with analysts' forecasts
of $90 million and $110 million. 

FT, Enel Differ on Infostrada Price (10/04/2000) 
France Telecom and Italian ally Enel are analyzing different approaches to
buy Italy's Infostrada from Vodafone but are 2 billion euros apart on the
price. It is rumored that Enel is willing to pay up to 11 billion euros,
but FT has put the bar at nine billion euros. 

PCCW Seeks Safety Net (10/02/2000) 
Pacific Century CyberWorks is reportedly working on an alliance with major
telecom companies in the event that its deal with Telstra falls through.
Telstra and PCCW first announced forming an IP network and mobile joint
venture in April, but a fall in PCCW's shares sent the companies back to
the negotiating table. 




Internet/Intranet
China's Internet Rules Shake Privacy (10/06/2000) 
Chinese and foreign Internet companies are taking a wait-and-see approach
to regulations that require Internet companies to re-register with the
government. The regulations could mark a first step toward barring some
foreign investment. The companies most affected are portals linking users
with Internet content. 

Broadwing Introduces New VoIP Service (10/05/2000) 
Broadwing Communications introduced a new VoIP service developed by
Zeroplus.com. The new service will be implemented over Broadwing's 18,000
mile IP-backbone and will eliminate computer requirements by allowing
customers calling by phone to use a toll-free access number to enter a
personalized PIN. Broadwing and Zeroplus.com will market and sell the new
service to telecom carriers, communications resellers, and ISPs that will
in turn mass market the service directly to customers. 

Nokia's TETRA Network Launched (10/05/2000) 
Belgium's ASTRID launched the Nokia advanced TETRA network for digital
professional mobile radio. The network includes IP packet data capabilities
for data base access and mobile communications, and ASTRID is providing
those services to Belgium's public safety, transportation, and utility
organizations. In addition, the TETRA network allows for enhanced WAP
services and the ability to develop new WAP solutions. 

ITXC Reports Traffic for September (10/05/2000) 
Traffic over ITXC.net for the month of September reached over 100 million
minutes. ITXC reports that this is the first time monthly minutes exceeded
that point. About two years ago, the company had its first one
million-minute month and it has grown steadily since then. 

Huawei Selects VocalTec (10/05/2000) 
In support of its accounts from Guangdong Telecom, Beijing Telecom, and
UnitedCom, Huawei Technologies selected the IP telephony platform from
VocalTec Communications. Huawei is using the technology to provide
operators with the platform for 500 E1 lines in the Chinese markets. 

iBasis Expanding VoIP Network (10/03/2000) 
As part of a plan to expand its presence in Europe, iBasis is tripling the
number of Internet Central Offices on the continent. Already operating
offices in London, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam, the company is launching
offices in Brussels, Copenhagen, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Stockholm, and
Zurich as part of its expansion strategy. 

C&W Announces VoIP Program (10/02/2000) 
Cable &

Wireless plans to embark on a project to route telecommunications traffic
using Internet technologies instead of conventional switches. In an
agreement estimated to be worth $1.4 billion over 10 years, C&W selected
Nortel Networks to plan, design, implement, and operate the VoIP backbone
network, which will extend throughout Europe and North America. 




Legal News
DT's Bid Gets Boost from US Business, Labor (10/06/2000) 
Deutsche Telekom's bid for VoiceStream Wireless got a boost from the
AFL-CIO labor federation and the Chamber of Commerce. The two groups joined
forces to testify against passing legislation that would bar DT from
purchasing a US telco because of its partial ownership by the German
government. 

CA Residents Sue Verizon over Equipment Charges (10/06/2000) 
A group of California residents filed a lawsuit against GTE California, now
Verizon Communications, for charging rental fees on obsolete rotary phones.
In the 1980s phone companies required consumers to rent rotary telephones,
an item that was not for sale to the public. The suit alleges that Verizon
has billed customers monthly for the phones since 1984. A Verizon
spokesperson said that the $3.40 monthly fee would be charged indefinitely
until the rotary phones are returned to the company. 

Shareholders Sue ICG (10/03/2000) 
A class action suit was filed on behalf of shareholders who purchased ICG
common stock between December 20, 1999 and September 18, 2000. The
complaint maintains that ICG executives misled investors during this
period, failing to disclose customer-service issues, network outages, and
equipment failures. Despite these issues, ICG publicized significant growth
in revenue and network capacity. 

BT Competitors Complain to Oftel (10/02/2000) 
Claiming that British Telecom is denying its competitors a level playing
field for competing on DSL, a group of BT's rivals have filed a formal
complaint against the company with industry regulator Oftel. BT is accused
of discriminatory behavior in its unbundling of the local loop, under which
the company is obliged to let rivals install high-speed Internet equipment
in its exchanges. 




Personnel and Organizational Changes
Orange's Fuller Leaves for Telewest (10/06/2000) 
Bob Fuller, chief operating officer of France Telecom's Orange unit, will
join British media and telecom company Telewest to head its cable division.
Fuller has been COO of Orange since 1997. 

BellSouth Announces Executive Appointments (10/06/2000) 
BellSouth appointed Gary D. Forsee vice chairman of the company and
president of BellSouth International. Charles C. Miller was named executive
vice president and chief staff officer of BellSouth. All changes went into
effect on October 1. 

AT&T Considering Long Distance Spin-Off (10/06/2000) 
Following the company's annual shareholder retreat last week, the board of
directors at AT&T is reportedly in favor of spinning off the company's
struggling consumer long distance operations in the hopes of reviving the
company's depressed stock price. According to the Wall Street Journal, the
company would offer the business to shareholders rather than selling it
outright. Initial reports named Verizon Communications as a possible buyer,
but such a deal would be complicated by federal laws barring regional Bell
companies from selling long distance in their own markets. If the company
follows through with the divestiture, it would mark the third major
reorganization for Ma Bell in less than two decades and shift it from an
old-economy phone company to a broadband powerhouse. In 1996 AT&T spun off
Lucent Technologies, a move that proved to be overwhelmingly financially
successful, and in 1984 it shed its local calling operations as seven Baby
Bells. FCC officials are already warning that a move by AT&T to shed its
consumer long distance business would draw close scrutiny by federal
regulators to safeguard public interest. The company is expected to
announce restructuring plans, including possible deals with British Telecom
or Nextel Communications, following the October shareholders meeting. 

Time Warner Names VP (10/03/2000) 
Media giant Time Warner named Shira Perlmutter vice president and associate
general counsel of intellectual property policy. Perlmutter is a widely
published author on intellectual property issues and former head of the
office of Policy and International Affairs at the US Copyright office. She
will be responsible for global and domestic policy relating to intellectual
property issues for Time Warner and its affiliates. 

FT Ups Plans for Orange Float (10/02/2000) 
France Telecom appointed Morgan Stanley to handle the floatation of its
mobile phone unit, Orange, which it priced at 60 billion pounds. FT, which
bought Orange from Vodafone for 31 billion pounds this year, wants the
floatation under way by the end of the year. About 15 percent of Orange
will be sold to investors, with a large portion of the shares going to
management and staff. 




RBOCs
Verizon Offering Reduced Phone Rates on Tribal Lands (10/06/2000) 
Verizon Communications is offering Lifeline telephone service on federally
recognized tribal lands in New York for $1 a month. Qualifying residents
also will receive savings on installation and connection charges. Verizon
will also offer the program in Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho,
Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Washington, and
Wisconsin. 




Regulatory News
EU States Back Local Phone Deregulation (10/06/2000) 
Ministers of the European Union backed landmark rules to deregulate the
"last mile" of wire connecting homes and offices to the Internet by January
1. Large telecoms companies such as France Telecom and British Telecom
still control as much as 98 percent of local phone networks. 

Oklahoma, Kansas Support SBC Long Distance Bid (10/06/2000) 
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission and the Kansas Corporation Commission
voted to recommend to the FCC that Southwestern Bell, a unit of SBC
Communications, be allowed to offer long distance services to consumers in
each agency's respective state. The company has yet to file an application
with the FCC to offer long distance services in either state. Southwestern
Bell is already offering long distance in Texas. 

Swisscom Ordered to Cut Prices (10/04/2000) 
Swiss telecoms regulator ComCom ordered Swisscom to cut its price it
charges rival operators to lease its lines by up to 63 percent. The ruling
was made after Commcare, a small Zurich-based telecoms provider, filed a
complaint in 1998. Swisscom is considering appealing to the Federal
Tribunal against the ruling. 

India Converts Telephone Monopoly (10/02/2000) 
The Indian government converted it fixed-line telephone service provider
into a new company that will compete with private enterprises. With equity
capital of $1.09 billion and 400,000 employees, Bharat Sanchar Nigam, or
BSN, will be India's largest state-owned company, in which the government
will continue to have 100-percent equity. 

Mexico Okays Hike In Telmex Rates (10/02/2000) 
Mexico's Cofetel authorized an average 6.13-percent increase in local
telephone rates charged by Telmex. This was the first rate increase for
Telmex in more than a year. 




Wireless Communications
Nextel Added Half Million Subscribers (10/05/2000) 
During the third quarter, Nextel Communications added over 540,000 domestic
subscribers, including more than 200,000 data subscribers to its Nextel
National Network. The company is considering a merger with AT&T Wireless. 

Ericsson Delivers 3G System (10/05/2000) 
Ericsson announced that it is delivering the world's first third-generation
customer care and billing system to Suomen 3 P Oy. In cooperation with
EHPT, Ericsson's partner and a developer of application software, the
company is providing a system that will allow Suomen to compete in the
growing mobile Internet market and will take a step closer to implementing
GPRS and 3G services for Finnish regional telephone companies. This 3G
service from Ericsson allows for the collection and handling of invoices
and for billing for mobile and IP services.  

Arch Offering Services Through Lowe's (10/05/2000) 
Lowe's retail stores are offering Arch Wireless' Webster 100 service, an
interactive, two-way wireless service. The national chain is also offering
the company's one-way numeric and alphanumeric messaging. With Arch
Webster, users are able to communicate through e-mail, chat, and
information services using a Motorola Talkabout T900 messaging device. 

Sprint PCS Teams with MSN (10/05/2000) 
Sprint PCS is teaming with MSN to offer the portal's content over
Internet-ready Sprint PCS phones. Using the Wireless Web, MSN customers
will be able to access all of the information and services that they need
using any of Sprint's 15 phones with Internet capabilities. MSN Mobile 2.0
includes customizable information from MSNBC.com, MSN MoneyCentral, and
Expedia, which provides online travel services. About 70 million users
signed up to MSN Hotmail will also be able to access their inboxes and to
respond to messages. In addition, MSN's wireless Internet content services
include news, weather, sports, address books, instant messaging, and
driving directions. 

Sprint PCS Offers Shopping (10/05/2000) 
Subscribers to the Sprint PCS Wireless Web can make online purchases
through buy.com, an e-tailer that offers shopping services for books,
videos, music, computers, software, and electronics. The agreement also
allows Sprint PCS to compare prices and search for products. 

Metrocall Buying 500,000 Motorola Devices (10/05/2000) 
Metrocall announced that it is purchasing over 500,000 messaging devices
from Motorola, marking the largest order for two-way interactive messaging
devices in the history of the product. The devices being purchased are the
Timeport P935 Personal Interactive Communicator and the Talkabout T900. The
company is purchasing the devices in anticipation of growing demand for its
messaging services. 

Nokia Signs with Telefonica Moviles (10/03/2000) 
Nokia entered into an agreement with Telefonica Moviles Espana in which
Telefonica is implementing a GPRS core solution from Nokia into its
network. This agreement allows Nokia to be one of the main suppliers of
GPRS for Telefonica as the company moves from second to third generation
networks services. By the end of 2000, customers in Spain will have access
to GPRS services such as continuous Internet connectivity, a corporate
Intranet, or a WAP portal. 

Sprint Introduces Internet-Ready Phones (10/03/2000) 
Sprint PCS introduced two new Internet-ready phones supplied by InfoComm as
part of an agreement to purchase CDMA phones. The company will make the
phones available by mid-October. The Touchpoint Phone TP1100 includes a
separate external LCD screen for caller ID, and the TP3000 includes a
high-resolution touch screen for navigation between applications. 

Cincinnati's "Digital Rhine" District Goes Wireless (10/03/2000) 
Broadwing, Compaq, Lucent Technologies, and Microsoft launched a
high-bandwidth, wireless, wide area network community in Cincinnati's
"Digital Rhine" district. The project, which is intended to support a
growing dotcom population, enables users within the business community with
a portable computing device wireless access to the Internet. 

NTT to Push I-mode into Europe (10/02/2000) 
To further strengthen its position in Europe, NTT said it would establish a
UK subsidiary and research lab in Germany. NTT also plans to set up a joint
venture with KPN, a Dutch carrier, which would enable seamless I-mode
services. The company hopes to offer I-mode-like services and 3G mobile
services in Europe by 2001. 

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