TELEPHONY
Phone-Rate Ruling May Cut Revenue For Web Servicing (WSJ)
INTERNET
MindSpring to Buy Big Piece of Netcom from ICG in $245 Million
Transaction (WSJ)
Cisco Pushing Internet Gear For Home Use (WSJ)
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
If Only Demille Had Owned A Desktop (NYT)
Second Generation Digital TVs Demonstrated (WSJ)
MAGAZINES
Hearst Creates Two Magazine Groups To Better Battle TV, Other Titles
for Ads (WSJ)
==========
TELEPHONY
==========
PHONE-RATE RULING MAY CUT REVENUE FOR WEB SERVICING
Issue: Telephone
The Federal Communications Commission is preparing a ruling which could
curtail fees in the complicated issue of "reciprocal compensation" in which
Baby Bells pay independent carriers to pass local calls on to Internet
service providers. The hundreds of millions of dollars in fees have been a
windfall for the rival carriers. The ruling could slash the fees by
defining Internet calls as interstate. The ruling, expected as early as
next week, could let state regulators oversee future compensation
negotiations. The Baby Bells estimate they racked up roughly $600 million
in fees last year and that totals will increase under the present system.
The FCC is expected to suggest that both sides negotiate future payment
rates on their own with oversight by state regulators. But the agency is
likely to hint at how to set those rates to more effectively reflect the
cost of passing on Internet calls. The agency would also give state
regulators the power to decide whether existing pacts between Baby Bells and
independent carriers should stand. Some analysts and government officials
said this could lead to different policies for different states and result
in a myriad of court cases.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A14), AUTHOR: Kathy Chen & Stephanie N. Mehta]
http://www.wsj.com/
==========
DIGITAL TV
==========
IF ONLY DEMILLE HAD OWNED A DESKTOP
Issue: Film
Beyond just creating really cool special effects, digital technology has
enabled independent filmmakers to produce higher quality movies at lower
costs than previously possible. Now, more and more films made with the aid
of powerful home computers and digital camcorders are finding their way into
theaters. "The filmmaker of the future is the person holding a computer
mouse," says Chris Gore, publisher of an underground film magazine. With new
technologies, struggling filmmakers no longer have to worry about the
expensive cost of film stock and developing. This increased accessibility to
the means of film production means that many new voices will have
opportunities to tell their stories. "This technology offers a real
opportunity for filmmakers who currently have been very marginalized by the
industry to create their own footholds in cinema," said Kay Shaw, founder
and owner of Amber Images, a distributor of minority films.
[SOURCE: New York Times (E1), AUTHOR: Michel Marriot]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/01/circuits/articles/07vide.html
SECOND GENERATION DIGITAL TVS DEMONSTRATED
Issue: Digital TV
Major electronics manufacturers showed off the second generation of digital
televisions at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, but
executives said product rollouts will continue to be slow as several
technical and marketing issues remain unresolved. Prices of digital models
are expected to drop by a few thousand dollars this year, but will remain
very expensive when compared to regular TVs. Also holding back purchases is
limited reception due to transmissions from only a few digital television
stations. The most optimistic predictions suggest sales of 150,000 digital
TVs this year. Companies are preparing for new digital-TV equipment to roll
out later this year. Samsung Electronics said this year it will add three
regular-tube "digital ready" TVs to its existing high-definition,
rear-projection models. The South Korean company's separate receiver box
for digital-TV reception will also pick up satellite signals and have
Internet connections. Sharp Corp. and Panasonic's parent company have both
announced they will add plasma-based, ultrathin-panel TVs to their digital
lines. Thomson Consumer Electronics, maker of RCA and GE brands, will sell
a $649 receiver box so today's TVs can pick up a digital signal.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A17), AUTHOR: Evan Ramstad]
http://www.wsj.com/
========
INTERNET
========
MINDSPRING TO BUY BIG PIECE OF NETCOM FROM ICG IN $245 MILLION TRANSACTION
Issue: Merger/Internet
MindSpring Enterprises Inc., an Atlanta Internet service provider, will buy
part of Netcom, a division of ICG Communications Inc., for $245 million in
cash and stock. In effect, MindSpring is buying Netcom's 400,000-member
customer base, plus some other assets. The deal will push MindSpring over
the one million customer mark, bolstering its competitive muscle and putting
it on par with the larger Internet service providers. The largest ISP
continues to be America Online Inc. with more than 15 million customers.
ICG said the sale fits its strategy of focusing on its core business of
providing local phone service.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A18), AUTHOR: Andrea Petersen]
http://www.wsj.com/
CISCO PUSHING INTERNET GEAR FOR HOME USE
Issue: Computer Technology
Cisco Systems Inc., best known as a maker of computer networking gear, is
emphasizing consumer business at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
It is highlighting a new cable modem that can be used for high-speed
Internet connection in the home. It will license the technology to other
companies to manufacture the devices. While the modems themselves are not
"big profit" items, Cisco hopes that their use will increase demand by
telecommunications companies for their routers and switches. The company
also is announcing this week that it will be a key supplier to AT&T as it
builds a national cable modem network using the infrastructure it has agreed
to buy from Tele-Communications Inc.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A17), AUTHOR: Lee Gomes]
http://www.wsj.com/
==========
MAGAZINES
==========
HEARST CREATES TWO MAGAZINE GROUPS TO BETTER BATTLE TV, OTHER TITLES FOR ADS
Issue: Magazines & Journals/Advertising
Hearst Corp. has restructured its magazine operations to create two new
groups in an effort to better court advertisers by category. One new group
is for five magazines in the home/lifestyle category; the other group will
include six women's magazines. Combining similar titles into one group
"enhances their selling efforts," says Cathleen Black, president of the
company's Hearst Magazines unit. The move comes as magazines are under
greater pressure to fight for advertising dollars. The Hearst magazines
traditionally have competed against each other for advertising dollars. Ms.
Black said that she didn't expect competition to diminish among Hearst
publishers. Rather, she hopes the collaboration will enhance programs
offered to potential advertisers. Hearst's two largest titles, Cosmopolitan
and Good Housekeeping, will remain separate under the new arrangement. The
other three magazines owned by the company are already in a group called the
Men's Active Team.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A14), AUTHOR: Wendy Bounds]
http://www.wsj.com/
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*