Telephone Regulation
AT&T Switches Residential Surcharge to Flat Rate (Telecom AM)
AT&T to Charge Flat Fee to Cover Universal Service (WSJ)
Local Phone Companies To Cut Access Charges $600 Million (TelecomAM)
AT&T Asks FCC to Halt Bell Company Long-Distance Alliances (Telecom AM)
FCC Warns Regional Bell Companies (WP)
7 come 11 -- It's No Dice, It's New Long-Distance Access (ChiTrib)
Internet
US Court Upholds Texas Ruling That Calls to ISPs Are Local (Telecom AM)
IBM to Join Challenge To Microsoft (WP)
Mergers
Disney Will Invest in a Web Gateway (NYT)
Disney Acts to Widen Role on the Internet (WP)
Plan to Sell Puerto Rico Phone Company Leads to Strike (NYT)
Cable & Wireless Drops Suit Against MCI Internet Sale (Telecom AM)
Cable & Wireless Drops Lawsuit Over Deal With MCI (WSJ)
Arts
House Panel Votes to Kill Endowment For the Arts (NYT)
For NEA Another 'No' Vote (WP)
Journalism
Prize-Winning Boston Columnist Losing Job Over Faked Articles (NYT)
Lifestyle
Computers Everyone Was Talking About - and To - at PC Expo
** Telephone Regulation **
Title: AT&T Switches Residential Surcharge to Flat Rate
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: Starting in July, AT&T will charge residential long distance
customers $0.93/month to fund the company's universal service obligation.
The long distance giant has also reduced the percentage surcharge on
business bills from 4.9 percent to 4.1 percent. The reductions reflect the
$1 billion cut backs in the erate program.
Title: AT&T to Charge Flat Fee to Cover Universal Service
Source: Wall Street Journal (B6)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Dow Jones Newswire
Issue: Universal Service
Description: AT&T announced that a new $.93 cent flat fee will begin to show
up on callers' phone bills next month. The fee will be used to pay for the
carriers $1.3 billion annual universal-service contribution.
Title: Local Phone Companies To Cut Access Charges $600 Million
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Telephone Regulation
Description: The United States Telephone Association (USTA) announced that
the large local phone companies will reduce access charges -- the fees
charged to long distance callers to complete calls -- by a total of $600
million in July. Bell Atlantic will reduce fees by $174 million; SBC, $70
million; BellSouth, $150 million.
Title: AT&T Asks FCC to Halt Bell Company Long-Distance Alliances
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Long Distance
Description: AT&T has filed a complaint against Bell companies marketing
another carrier's long distance service to local customers in their regions.
AT&T also asked the FCC to halt the Ameritech and Qwest Communications
agreement. Qwest Communications said AT&T's efforts to halt the alliances
are "limiting competition and wrongly denying Qwest significant profits."
Title: FCC Warns Regional Bell Companies
Source: Washington Post (6/18/98-E2)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: News Service Writers
Issue: Telephony/Regulation
Description:Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kennard warned
regional Bell operating companies (RBOCs) on Wednesday not to proceed with
plans to build advanced data networks without the FCC's approval. Bell
Atlantic, U S West, and Ameritech have asked the agency for exemption
from some provisions of the 1996 Telecom Act that prevents them from
building high-speed networks similar to those underlying the Internet.
However, the RBOC's petitions "raised a lot of questions of first impression
that need to be resolved," said Kennard.
Title: 7 come 11 -- It's No Dice, It's New Long-Distance Access
Source: Chicago Tribune (Sec3 p.1)
http://http://chicago.tribune.com/business/businessnews/article/0,1051,ART-
10701,00.html
Author: Jon Van
Issue: Telephone Regulation
Description: The FCC is ordering all long distance access codes to be seven
digits instead of five. So, to dial a long distance number using an access
code, you'll have to dial 18 numbers. No, speed dialing might not work --
most speed dial systems are set up to handle 16, not 18 numbers. "This isn't
something we asked for," said Brad Burns, a spokesman for MCI Communications
Corp., "but with the explosion of competition, the number supply is being
depleted. We have no choice."
** Internet **
Title: US Court Upholds Texas Ruling That Calls to ISPs Are Local
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Telephone Regulation
Description: Judge Lucius Bunton of the U.S. District Court for the Western
District of Texas has upheld the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC)
ruling that local calls ending at Internet service provider (ISP) numbers
are local traffic under PUC jurisdiction and subject to local reciprocal
terminating compensation payments. SBC had contended that the calls are
interstate and the PUC has no authority to approve reciprocal compensation
on such connections.
Title: IBM to Join Challenge To Microsoft
Source: Washington Post (F10)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-06/19/064l-061998-idx.html
Author: Elizabeth Corcoran
Issue: Internet Servers
Description: International Business Machines Corp. confirmed yesterday that
it plans to "throw its weight behind the world's most popular software for
the 'server' computers that run sites on the World Wide Web." On Monday, IBM
plans to announce that it will become part of a coalition of programmers
from around the world developing and supporting "Apache," a Web server
program that is available free via the Internet. To date, most market
research show that Apache is used by about half of those running Web sites.
IBM plans to include Apache with other developing Web products.
** Mergers **
Title: Disney Will Invest in a Web Gateway
Source: New York Times (A1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/19disney.html
Author: Saul Hansell
Issue: Mergers
Description: The Walt Disney Company will purchase 43% of Infoseek
http://www.infoseek.com, an Internet portal. The deal is valued at $900
million. Portals are gateways to the Internet and are the starting point for
users looking for news, entertainment, and other content. These sites have
more visitors than any others and are the most attractive to advertisers.
"The search engines have become to the Internet what Windows is to the
computer desktop," said Alec Ellison, a managing director of Broadview
Associates, a technology investment banking firm. The NYT reports, "as
television, telephones and computers all converge into one integrated
network of communications and entertainment, companies of all sorts see
portals as a possible keystone to their future strategy. The power to funnel
users to certain advertisers and content sites is worth millions of dollars
in revenue."
Title: Disney Acts to Widen Role on the Internet
Source: Washington Post (F1,F2)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-06/19/065l-061998-idx.html
Author: Paul Farhi
Issue: Mergers
Description: Disney yesterday agreed to buy 43 percent of Infoseek Corp., a
company that operates one of the Internet's most popular search engines.
Like NBC's purchase of Cnet Inc.'s Snap online directory earlier this month,
Disney's move further signals a new interest by "large, established" media
companies in acquiring Internet entry points. Analysts say that such
transactions spring from similar motivation: to use the popularity of
outposts on the Internet, or "portals" such as search engines, to "lure"
users to related sites. In turn companies hope to use these sites to
"cross-promote" the companies' other media ventures.
Title: Plan to Sell Puerto Rico Phone Company Leads to Strike
Source: New York Times (A16)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/puerto-phone-strike.html
Author: Mireya Navarro
Issue: Mergers
Description: A consortium led by GTE is trying to buy the government-owned
Puerto Rico Telephone Company and 6,000 workers telephone workers are
striking to prevent it. The Puerto Rico Senate approved the $1.8 billion
deal and the House is expected to do so by Saturday. Workers fear for their
jobs, but there is also public opposition to the sale because the company is
viewed with nationalistic pride -- it is a profitable public asset that
could compete in the world market. If approved, GTE would own a majority
share and pay $375 million. The FCC will have to approve the deal.
Title: Cable & Wireless Drops Suit Against MCI Internet Sale
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Mergers
Description: Cable & Wireless has dropped its suit to prevent MCI from
selling the remainder of its Internet assets to a company other than Cable &
Wireless. MCI is trying to sell its Internet assets to win regulatory
approval of its merger with WorldCom.
Title: Cable & Wireless Drops Lawsuit Over Deal With MCI
Source: Wall Street Journal
http://wsj.com/
Author: Jared Sandberg
Issue: Legal Issues
Description: Cable & Wireless announced that it dropped its lawsuit against
MCI Communications Corp. that claimed MCI was about to renege on its
agreement to sell some of its Internet assets to C&W and instead "shop" the
entire MCI business to other carriers. C&W's move clears an obstacle in
WorldCom's bid to win regulatory approval of its $37 billion takeover of MCI.
** Arts **
Title: House Panel Votes to Kill Endowment For the Arts
Source: New York Times (A17)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/washpol/nea-spend.html
Author: Katharine Seelye
Issue: Arts
Description: Here we go again. The House Appropriations Subcommittee voted to
kill the National Endowment for the Arts in what is becoming a annual
ritual. Republican members of the subcommittee were silent as Democrats
"branded them as sheep following their leaders' election-year efforts to
satisfy conservatives." Last year, the House voted to zero out the NEA's
funding; in the end it received $98 million. The issue will be debated on
the House floor later this summer.
Title: For NEA Another 'No' Vote
Source: Washington Post (B2)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-06/19/108l-061998-idx.html
Author: Jacqueline Trescott
Issue: Arts
Description: Adding more fuel to the belief that culture really doesn't
matter to many in the U.S., the House Appropriations subcommittee once again
put the National Endowment for the Arts on the road to termination. Rep.
Sidney Yates (D-Il), a fierce protector of the NEA since its creation 33
years ago, reminded everyone of the House Republican leadership's renewed
goal to eliminate the NEA, Yates said: "By taking this position you are
carrying out their wishes." Rep. Yates' efforts to get the panel to vote on
$110 million for the NEA failed by a voice vote. "He wistfully looked around
at the empty Democratic seats, which had been filled before floor votes and
appointments broke into the rhythm of the session," saying quietly: "Look at
all the votes we lost."
** Journalism **
Title: Prize-Winning Boston Columnist Losing Job Over Faked Articles
Source: New York Times (A1)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/globe-columnist.html
Author: Robin Pogrebin
Issue: Journalism
Description: A week after The New Republic published the results of an
internal investigation that Stephen Glass fabricated 27 of 41 stories, The
Boston Globe has asked for the resignation of respected columnist Patricia
Smith. The paper has found that she fabricated people and quotes in four
columns this year. In the late 1980's Ms. Smith wrote a review of a concert
she did not attend for the Chicago Sun-Times.
** Lifestyle **
Title: Computers Everyone Was Talking About - and To - at PC Expo
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/06/cyber/articles/19expo.html
Author: Matt Lake
Issue: Computers
Description: If the 16th annual PC Expo in New York City this week is any
indicator, computers will soon be undergoing a transformation. No longer to
be stuck staring a boring grey boxes, we will be talking to our computers,
putting them into shirt pockets and hooking up two or more flat screens to
each box. Voice dictation programs are up to the speed of a New York minute
-- 140 spoken words in a 60 second time frame. And if you slur a few here or
there you can go back and orally correct any speech errors that might have
slipped in. Speech recognition is also breaking through with hand-held voice
recorders that will convert voice memos into text on a PC. You also can
never be too small or too thin (and no we aren't talking about the fashion
industry) when it comes to pocket computers. Advanced versions of models
already on the market now offer keyboards and VGA ports so you can connect
the device to a regular computer monitor. And for those out there that
prefer a full-sized keyboard, a new class of extremely thin notebook PC's
are emerging - some no thicker than a thumb, whose thumb I don't know. It
also seems that the flat screens monitors will soon be offered for less than
$1,000.
*********
...and we are outta here... Mulder! Scully!