TelecomWeb News Digest articles from July 2004

TelecomWeb News Digest archives from July 2004

FCC Approves Nextel Spectrum Swap Plan - But At What Cost?
July 12, 2004... The FCC commissioners Thursday (July 8) unanimously approved a plan that allows Nextel Communications to swap patches of spectrum at 700, 800, and 900 MHz for contiguous blocks of spectrum at 800 MHz in the 1.9 GHz band. While the decision...

Fitch Ratings Comments on Nextel in Wake of FCC's Action.(Federal Communications Commission )
July 12, 2004... The Federal Communications Commission adopted a long anticipated plan Thursday (July 8) loosely based on Nextel's Consensus Plan for resolving interference to public safety users. Cash requirements for this plan closely match Fitch's previous...

FCC Drops 'Pick-And-Choose' Provision From Interconnection Rules.(Federal Communications Commission )
July 12, 2004... The FCC on Thursday (July 8) eliminated the so-called "pick-and-choose" provision of the agency's rules on interconnection. The "pick-and-choose" provision, long a point of contention for incumbent telcos, allowed competitive local exchange...

ABI Research Foresees Large DSRC Market Later This Decade.(Dedicated Short Range Communications)
July 12, 2004... Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) is an idea whose time is fast approaching. But by the end of this decade and beyond, this wireless technology aimed at the motor vehicle will produce a huge market in the United States, with serious...

Adelphia Founder John Rigas and Son Found Guilty of Fraud.(Brief Article)
July 12, 2004... A federal jury in Manhattan on Thursday (July 8) convicted Adelphia Communications Corp. founder John Rigas and his son, Timothy Rigas, of securities and bank fraud charges stemming from the multi-billion dollar scandal that plunged the cable...

AT&T, McLeodUSA Reach Agreement on Residential, Business Local Phone Service.
July 12, 2004... AT&T and McLeodUSA have reached a long-term agreement in principle whereby AT&T would begin an orderly transition of lines off the Bells' UNE-P platform in selected states and onto McLeodUSA's UNE-L network. Finalization of the agreement...

Integra Telecom Taps Former Minnesota PUC Chairman to Head Regulatory Affairs.
July 12, 2004... Integra Telecom, a provider of all-in-one communications services for small and mid-sized businesses in the West, has hired Gregory Scott as vice president of regulatory affairs. The appointment will increase Integra's involvement in state and...

Toshiba Now Ranked Third in Key Telephone System Market Share.
July 12, 2004... Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., Digital Solutions Division (TAIS DSD) now ranks third in market share in the Key Telephone Systems (KTS) category for first quarter 2004, according to industry market analyst and TelecomWeb affiliate...

First BPL Project Launched in Texas.(Brief Article)
July 15, 2004... A pilot project to deliver broadband over power lines (BPL) is now under way in three Texas communities, courtesy of Central Texas-based Broadband Horizons. The project is important in that it further demonstrates that existing infrastructure...

Qwest Director Stephens Resigns.(Brief Article)
July 15, 2004... W. Thomas Stephens, former president, CEO and a director of MacMillan Bloedel Ltd., has resigned from Qwest Communications' board of directors. The resignation was announced Wednesday (July 14), but it became effective last Friday (July 9)....

UBS, Allen & Co. to Oversee Possible Sale of Adelphia Cable.(Brief Article)
July 15, 2004... Investment bank UBS and New York based Allen & Co. , an investment firm specializing in entertainment properties, have been tapped by bankrupt cable company Adelphia Communications to manage its potential sale. While no formal offers have...

What's Really Behind Verizon's Complaint About Nextel?
July 15, 2004... The FCC's decision last Thursday (July 8) granting Nextel most of what it sought -- contiguous blocks of spectrum at 800 MHz in the 1.9 GHz band in exchange for Nextel's patchwork of spectrum in the 700, 800 and 900 MHz bands --likely will...

Leucadia To Buy Half of MCI's Common Stock.(Brief Article)
July 15, 2004... Leucadia National Corp., a highly diversified investment company with holdings in telecommunications and healthcare, has signaled its intent to acquire half of MCI Inc.'s common stock. Officials at MCI on Monday (July 12) said they had received...

Lucent Nabs $5 Billion Deal with Verizon Wireless for Network Expansion.
July 15, 2004... Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest wireless service provider, and Lucent Technologies have inked a pact worth at least $5 billion for Lucent to supply a wide variety of network equipment, software and services for Verizon Wireless' national...

CFA Cautions Regulators Against Undermining 'Next Generation' of the Internet.(Consumer Federation of America)
July 15, 2004... The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) on Tuesday (July 13) presented a new framework for evaluating the importance of open communications networks to the success of the Internet. CFA plans to file the 110-page white paper, The Public...

Canadian Start-up Steals IBM Optical Business from Nortel.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... Four-year-old Canadian optical switch start-up Meriton has pushed aside Nortel and snagged a deal with IBM to sell Meriton products -- starting with its flagship metropolitan core switch -- in the key South Korea market. Meriton's products are...

PFF Presses Opposition to 'Network Neutrality' Regulation.(Progressive & Freedom Foundation)
July 19, 2004... Hosting a panel discussion in Washington, D.C., Friday (July 16), the Progressive & Freedom Foundation (PFF), a conservative think tank, used the opportunity to press its opposition to policy proposals calling for a "network neutrality"...

Directory Assistance: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... Here's one way to make money on both sides of the fence: Michigan's Clearpath Communications is offering its Easy411 Directory Assistance service to its VoIP customers, and it also plans to resell Easy411 mobile service to wireless subscribers...

Investing in Telecom is Dangerous? Tell That to Eagle Broadband.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... Who says U.S. telecom firms are hurting? The folks at Eagle Broadband Inc. likely would take strong exception to that notion. And for good reason! The company on Friday (July 16) posted third quarter results with the Securities Exchange...

CDT Critical of ICANN's Internet Governance Forays.(Center for Democracy and Technology)(Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) has just released a scorching critique of apparent efforts by entities within the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to expand ICANN's role to include...

First BPL Project Launched in Texas.(broadband over power lines)(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... A pilot project to deliver broadband over power lines (BPL) is now under way in three Texas communities, courtesy of Central Texas-based Broadband Horizons. The project is important in that it further demonstrates that existing infrastructure...

Qwest Director Stephens Resigns.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... W. Thomas Stephens, former president, CEO and a director of MacMillan Bloedel Ltd., has resigned from Qwest Communications' board of directors. The resignation was announced Wednesday (July 14), but it became effective last Friday (July 9)....

UBS, Allen & Co. to Oversee Possible Sale of Adelphia Cable.(Brief Article)
July 19, 2004... Investment bank UBS and New York based Allen & Co. , an investment firm specializing in entertainment properties, have been tapped by bankrupt cable company Adelphia Communications to manage its potential sale. While no formal offers have...

AT&T Gives Up on Consumer Market.
July 26, 2004... AT&T made it official Thursday (July 22): The company announced that it will no longer invest resources in traditional consumer services, such as residential local and long distance telephone services, and will focus future growth efforts on...

SAIC Announces Plans To Auction Telcordia.(Science Applications International Corp)(Brief Article)
July 26, 2004... The news that Telcordia Technologies (the former Bellcore) is up for sale took the fiber-optics industry by surprise, even though investment house J.P. Morgan reportedly has been shopping the company around for some time. Instead of...

Leaders from Industry, Government, Academia and Media to Speak at COVITS 2004.(Commonwealth of Virginia Information Technology Symposium)
July 26, 2004... Virginia Secretary of Technology George Newstrom on Thursday (July 22) announced the complete program for the Commonwealth of Virginia Information Technology Symposium (COVITS 2004), which is slated for Sept. 26-28 at the Norfolk Waterside...

TIA Urges Passage of VoIP Legislation; Sends Letter in Advance of Mark-up.(Voice-over internet protocol)(Brief Article)
July 26, 2004... The influential Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) has thrown its support behind legislation sponsored by Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) that would, among other things, bar state and federal authorities from regulating providers of...

AOTMP Opens 'Boot Camp' For Telecom Professionals In Indianapolis.(Association of Telecom Management Professionals)(Brief Article)
July 26, 2004... The Association of Telecom Management Professionals (AOTMP), a membership organization for end-user telecom professionals, has launched the Certified Telecom Management Specialist program, a first-of its-kind certification program designed to...

Federal Judge Tells New York PSC It Can't Regulate, Tax VoIP Providers.(public service commission)(voice over internet protocol)(Brief Article)
July 26, 2004... A federal judge has ruled that the New York State Public Service Commission can work with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service provider Vonage in resolving customer complaints and quality of service issues, but the state commission...

Motorola Pushes DTV, Products to U.S. Audience.(Brief Article)
July 26, 2004... Motorola, which sports a robust presence in Europe when it comes to serving the digital-TV marketplace, wants to reprise that role in the United States. Speaking today before the House telecommunications subcommittee, Carl McGrath, CTO of...