P/HUN Issue #4, Volume 2: Phile 10 of 11
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| P/HUN Telecom News/Advancements |
| PART 1 |
| By DareDevil |
|__________________________________|
Feb. 17-19, 1989
SATELLITE USE WILL KEEP SOARING:
Satellites and fiber-optic cables will be used for
international communications well into the 21st century, according
to a Communications Satellite Corp. study. The study suggests that
services using satellite systems could be up to 45% less expensive
than international transmissions that use fiber. Also giving
satellites staying power: Ability to reach remote areas.
RCI SENDS CALLS OVER THE WATER:
RCI Long Distance, a subsidiary of Rochester Telephone, said
Thursday that it has added 122 countries to its international
service, including popular calling areas such as West Germany and
Israel. Rates: RCI says only that the service will be priced
competitively with other carriers offering international services.
PROGRAM PUTS NETWORK ON THE MAP:
A computer program from Connections Telecommunications can be
used by network designers to create a visual map of their
wide-area network, reports Computerworld magazine. The program,
called Mapconnect, will superimpose over a map of the USA the
serving office, hubbing point and area sites with their
connections. Cost: $2,000 per copy, plus $400 annual maintenance
after the first year.
CALIFORNIA, MORE FIRMS COMPETE:
Competition for local access and transport area data
transmissions to long distance carriers has been strengthened in
California by a recent PUC decision. The commission approved a
deregulation plan that will likely have MCI, US Sprint and Cable
and Wireless Management Services competing with Pacific Bell and
GTE California, says CommunicationsWeek.
VERMONT TO UPGRADE TELE SYSTEM:
The State of Vermont will be getting technical support for
improvements in its telecommunications network from Federal
Engineering Inc., according to CommunicationsWeek. Contract value:
Not revealed. Federal Engineering has provided similar service in
Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming.
CAMPUS GETS BIG DOSE OF HI-TECH:
Southwestern Bell is putting more than 40 miles of high-speed
fiber optics into the St. Louis Community College system, reports
CommunicationsWeek. The network will link the school's 3 campuses
and headquarters to provide video, voice and data transmissions
for educational programs. Cost to the school: $580,000, plus
$2,000 per month to use the system.
SOMEONE MIGHT BE LISTENING:
About 30 hours worth of recorded audio-visual material was
recorded by New York City residents recently for transmission into
outer space, reports InfoText magazine. AT&T set up the free
service at its headquarters. Messages were beamed into space on
the company's satellite dishes. Among the messages: A young
student reported on a pro basketball game for any interested
"aliens."
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Feb. 20, 1989
AT&T PLANS OVERHAUL:
AT&T announced a sweeping overhaul Friday designed to make the
long-distance company more competitive and profitable. AT&T will
split its 5 business groups into 12 units to 25 units that each
will have sole responsibility for a product or service. The idea
will be phased in over a period of months this year. (For more,
see special AT&T package below. From the USA TODAY Money section.)
JAPAN SET FOR JUNGLE LAUNCH:
The first of 2 satellites for the Japan Communications
Satellite Co. lifts off Feb. 28 from a jungle launch pad in French
Guiana. The launch will inaugurate commercial satellite
communications in Japan and be the first of Hughes Communications'
new HS 393 series. The satellite will begin serving the Japanese
islands, including Okinawa, after a 30- to 60-day testing period.
SATELLITE HAS MANY CUSTOMERS:
The JCSAT 1 satellite going into orbit on Feb. 28 will provide
the Japanese islands with various new services. Scheduled to come
off the satellite: Network and cable TV distribution, used-car
auctions, prep school classes, religious programming, automobile
dealer training, a specialized engineering video network. Also: A
business group plans to offer business communications.
BIG SATELLITE WON'T BE THE LAST:
With a deployed height of 10 meters, the Hughes Communications'
satellite being launched by Japan next week will be the largest
Hughes commercial satellite ever launched. It contains 32
transponders, each one capable of transmitting one TV channel, 45
million bits of data per second, or more than 250 telephone
circuits. Japan will launch a second satellite this summer.
SPACE STATION MAKES AUDIO PLANS:
NASA has chosen Harris Corp. audio communications systems for
use on the space station Freedom, scheduled for operations in
1995. CommunicationsWeek says that under a $35 million subcontract
with Boeing Aerospace, Harris will design, develop and produce
systems for onboard use. Special feature: At times when crew
members have their hands busy, a voice recognition capability will
be available.
CHINA SPRINTS FOR THE MICROWAVE:
About 90% of its surplus microwave network has been sold or
dismantled by US Sprint, according to CommunicationsWeek. The old
equipment is being replaced by a fiber network. Most recently, the
People's Republic of China spent about $15 million for 6,000 used
analog microwave radios and 600 parabolic antennas. China plans to
use the equipment on 11 existing microwave networks.
NYNEX BEGINS ANOTHER TEST:
Nynex is providing a digital data-over-voice private-line
access service for Telenet Communications in a New York City field
trial. It is one of 35 basic service elements Nynex specified in
its Open Network Architecture plan for the FCC, reports
CommunicationsWeek. Nynex expects to present 14 other new
offerings before the end of the year.
BOSSES GET MORE RESPONSIBILITY:
The reorganization plan announced by AT&T Friday is the first
major policy move by Robert E. Allen since he took over last April
as chairman. The goal: Get managers to focus more on customers and
on costs by giving them total responsibility for any money they
make or lose. Right now most of that responsibility is held by top
managers at AT&T.
AT&T HOPES FOR BIGGER SALES:
The AT&T move to split its business groups comes at an
opportune time. AT&T is losing market share in the long-distance
phone market to rivals MCI and US Sprint. Also: AT&T's overall
sales growth has been modest over the last several years. Under
the new plan, the presidents of AT&T's 5 operating groups will be
renamed group executives. The new units will operate as
independent businesses.
NEW APPROACH MIGHT START SLOWLY:
Analysts say it will take years to streamline AT&T's
bureaucracy and get managers accustomed to being directly
accountable for the performance of their businesses. AT&T reported
a loss of $1.67 billion on sales of $35.21 billion in 1988.
Earnings were reduced by a net charge of $3.94 billion from
writing off old equipment and accelerating modernization of its
long-distance network.
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Feb. 21, 1989
DATA CROSSES MILES WITH SPEED:
Northern Telecom yesterday announced the availability of the
High Speed Data Module, a data connectivity device that is an
addition to the Meridian SL-1 Data Services product line. A
typical application might involve a bank that uses the module to
connect a programming facility with the bank's main data center,
located approximately 400 miles away. Cost: $725.
INMATES TOUCH, SAVE AND LOSE:
Some 15 inmates from local prisons in the Nashville, Tenn.,
area face computer fraud charges after figuring out Touch & Save
long-distance phone customers' user codes. Officials say the
inmates charged more than $2,000 in calls. The inmates gained
access to the codes and sold them for $5 or more to others in the
prison. (From the USA TODAY News section.)
PRODUCTS WILL PROTECT DATA:
CompuServe Inc. has introduced new encryption products for its
public packet data network, Network World reports. The encryption
services let users move data from expensive leased lines to
cost-effective dial-up public circuits, while protecting the data
from unauthorized access. The cost ranges from $1,495 to $8,100.
PROTEON UNVEILS FIBER MODEM:
Proteon Inc. has developed a single-mode, fiber-optic modem
that will extend the distance between 2 nodes on a token-ring
network, says Network World. The p3282 modem permits 2 nodes to
communicate over a maximum distance of 30 kilometers without using
a repeater. The fiber also uses optical laser technology instead
of LEDs for transmission of the signal. Cost: $10,000.
NETWORK CHARGES ARE DROPPED:
Transettlements Inc. has stopped making additional charges for
internetwork transmission, reports Computerworld magazine. The
firm will no longer charge its users fees, penalties or premiums
for interconnection with other value-added networks. The charge
for going through 2 networks will be the same for going through
only Transettlement's network.
AIRLINES, HOTELS JOIN NETWORK:
GEnie, a consumer online information service from GE
Information Services, is now offering the Official Airline Guide
Electronic Edition Travel Service. The edition will permit GEnie
subscribers to view airline schedules, fares and hotel
information. Cost: A surcharge on GEnie of 17 cents/minute during
non-prime hours and a surcharge of 47 cents/minute during prime
time.
RESERVATIONS ARE A TOUCH AWAY:
Harrah's Reno introduced a guest service center at the Reno
Airport yesterday that uses interactive, live video to streamline
guest reservations. Guests can check into Harrah's, make dinner
reservations and arrange to see a show by touching a TV screen.
The system uses Nevada Bell's new ISDN network that allows voice,
data and video communications to use fiber optic wires
simultaneously.
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Feb. 22, 1989
PHONE USERS DO IT THEMSELVES:
US West's 35,000 Bellingham, Wash., customers will test the
first of what could be a major telephone innovation:
Instantaneous, do-it-yourself phone service. In the plan, a person
could shut off service, have a 3-way holiday conversation and have
calls sent to work - all by dialing a series of numbers. (For
more, see special Phones package below.)
SATELLITE TO SERVE INDONESIA:
Scientific-Atlanta has been selected to supply a half dozen
major communication systems in the Pacific Rim: A VSAT satellite
link for Indonesia and 5 private television networks for Japanese
firms. The satellite network will provide interactive data, video
and voice communications to as many as 4,000 sites on the 13,677
islands that make up the Republic of Indonesia.
NETWORKS TO GO ON NEW SATELLITE:
Nippon Telephone & Telegraph Co. of Tokyo and 4 other Japanese
companies said yesterday they will use Scientific-Atlanta's B-MAC
satellite technology to establish 5 private business television
networks in Japan. When their private television networks are
completed, Nippon, Nikken, Telecom Sat and Video Sat plan to send
video signals to JC-Sat, Japan's new communications satellite.
TELCO ENTRY IS UNPREDICTABLE:
Congress will probably not address the issue of telephone
companies entering the TV business in the near future, National
Assn. of Broadcasters President Eddie Fritts tells Broadcasting
magazine. He says the telco entry will be one of the top issues of
the 1990s. But he stops short of making predictions, saying only
that free over-the-air broadcasting will survive.
MORE STATIONS PICK UP SATELLITE:
Satellite-delivered talk-radio programs are growing as AM
station directors look more closely at the potential of
low-maintenance, national talk shows. Broadcasting magazine says
the 3 month-old American Radio Networks joined the field with 22
affiliates and now has 110 stations receiving its 24-hour
satellite service.
SATELLITES FLY FOR GERMAN TV:
Highly competitive satellite and cable TV services are expected
to grow significantly during the next 2 years in West Germany,
according to Broadcasting magazine. West German private TV channel
RTL Plus, a satellite-to-cable service, is expected to expand its
market to 10 million viewers. U.S. firm Capital Cities/ABC has a
holding in Tele-Munchen, part owner of the Tele5 satellite
channel.
SPECIAL PACKAGE ON PHONES:
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SERVICE COULD START IN A SNAP:
Customers moving into new homes could start phone service
within minutes by dialing telephone responses to a series of
computer-voiced questions with a new service being tested by US
West Communications. Officials liken the change to the switch from
operator-assisted to direct-dial local calls in the 1920s or the
similar change in long-distance calls in the 1950s.
SERVICE COULD LINE THE WEST:
If an upcoming test of do-it-yourself phone service works in
Bellingham, Wash., another 2-year test will be done on the same
service in a larger market, such as Denver. If that also goes
well, the entire US West market - 14 states - will get the new
system by the year 2000. Throughout the test, all customers still
will be able to use their telephones as they now do.
FEATURES ARE A BUTTON AWAY:
US West customers with do-it-yourself service will be able to
start or stop telephone feature services at any time, including
such commonly used services as call forwarding and 3-telephone
conversations. These services already are available, but only by
calling US West sales representatives during daytime business
hours. The new system will allow changes to be made at any time.
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Feb. 24-26, 1989
CELLULAR SIGNAL GOES FARTHER:
Pacific Telesis has installed antennas at both ends of an
Oakland, Calif.-area tunnel to carry signals from cellular car
telephones, reports Forbes magazine. Also: PacTel is using a solar
cell to power a repeater signal and extend coverage into Laguna
Canyon. Forbes says the developments are indications of coming
improvements in cellular transmissions.
THE AIRWAVES ARE CROWDED:
The main problem for cellular phone users in large metropolitan
areas is the addition of new subscribers to already jammed
cellular systems, reports Forbes magazine. The FCC has allocated
only 437 channels of radio waves to each carrier. To add
customers, systems have been subdividing cells, with each cell
having low-power antennas that operate in limited boundaries.
SENDING COSTS WOULD BE HALVED:
Digital cellular technology could solve the problem of cramped
airwaves for cellular telephone systems, reports Forbes magazine.
With digital, ordinary radio interference is eliminated,
conversations are private, data from laptop computers can be sent
to the office from the road. Also: Digital cellular would cost
about half the transmission price because it's twice as fast.
LOYOLA PLANS FOR ISDN USE:
AT&T recently said that the Definity 75/85 communications
system will be the base for an Integrated Services Digital Network
that will carry voice, data and images for Loyola University.
Computerworld says Loyola is expected to be the first commercial
customer to use Definity. By early next year about 7,000 phones on
the 3 Chicago-area campuses will be on the system.
TELENET LINKS WITH STRATACOM:
Telenet Communications has made an agreement with Stratacom
Inc. to develop the technology for what the companies said will be
the first broadband Integrated Services Digital Network service to
be based on the ISDN frame relay interface, reports Computerworld.
Telenet, a subsidiary of U.S. Sprint, will integrate packet
switches with Stratacom digital multiplexers.
THE PHONE IS IN THE BANK:
Banks are playing it smart with their money and are winning
price concessions from telephone companies by pitting carriers
against one another, reports Network World. Some banks are
negotiating for new services; others are cutting costs by striking
custom contracts with local carriers. Example: Irving Trust of New
York used MCI and AT&T to get a new international calling service.
CIA HELP IS NO SECRET:
The CIA linked its electronic-mail systems together with the
help of Soft-Switch, a company in Wayne, Pa., that specializes in
connecting multivendor E-mail systems, reports Government Computer
News. A key function of the software package: Directory services
that maintain information on all mail systems directly or
indirectly connected to the software.
FCC GETS COMPLAINT ON PACBELL:
Conference-Call USA, based in Chicago, has filed a complaint
with the FCC, accusing Pacific Bell of refusing to change its
practice of automatically routing all conference-call traffic to
AT&T, reports CommunicationsWeek. The firm says the practice is
stunting the growth of competitive companies.
STUDENTS ARE ON THE PHONE:
School children in Denver are using computers and transmission
facilities from US West Advanced Technologies to communicate with
teachers, special subject experts and other students.
CommunicationsWeek says the equipment will be given to the school
system at the end of the school year. US West is using information
gained from the trial to plan an information gateway in Omaha,
Neb.
HEARING IMPAIRED CAN MAKE CALLS:
The State Relay Center is scheduled to begin service Friday in
Birmingham, Ala. The new relay center was created to link
hearing-impaired customers by teletype to people they want to
call. The service is funded by a small surcharge on all phone
bills in the state.
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Feb. 28, 1989
CALLERS MUST BE TOLD THE COST:
The FCC yesterday ordered 5 companies that charge customers 20%
to 80% more than AT&T, MCI or Sprint to toe the line. The
alternative operators must now tell callers how much the call will
cost and which company is placing it before it goes through. The
high rates usually are placed on hotel, airport or hospital
phones. (From the USA TODAY News section.)
FIRMS GIVE A PART OF REVENUES:
The phone companies told by the FCC yesterday to reveal costs:
Central Corp., International Telecharge Inc., National Telephone
Services Inc., Payline Systems Inc. and Telesphere Network Inc.
Right now all these companies buy phone time from a major carrier
such as AT&T and MCI and then give the hotel, airport or hospital
that uses the service a cut of revenues from every call.
CALLERS WILL GET MORE RIGHTS:
The FCC said yesterday that alternative long-distance operators
must: Put a sticker on the phone with price information or tell
the caller the price verbally; give callers an chance to hang up
without any charge; offer callers a chance to go through AT&T or
another phone service. Right now many alternative operators stop
you from using another carrier.
NISSEI PLANS A FAX EXPANSION:
Portable facsimile machine manufacturer Nissei says that a
major expansion of its operations will be completed within 2
months. To come: As many as 5 new fax machines, a revamping of the
field staff to cover all sales territories. Also: Vice President
John Haggerty says Nissei will move into other areas of the retail
information technology market.
BELL GOES TO COLLEGE:
Bell Atlanticom Systems said yesterday it has signed a contract
with the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., for a
fully integrated voice and data communications system. The
campus-wide system will provide resale of communications services
to students, a management system, and a universal wiring plan to
provide voice and data transmission.
SYSTEM INCLUDES TRUNKS, LINES:
The communications system obtained by the College of William
and Mary yesterday will provide 300 trunks, 3,800 faculty and
student lines, 150 voice/data faculty users and 1,050 host data
ports. It includes more than 5,000 inside wiring runs and several
miles of fiber optics. Also included: A 1,000-user Aspen Voice
Mail System and the Alex-IS Telecommunications Management System.
MESSAGES GO AROUND THE GLOBE:
GE Information Services has announced a new capability of its
QUIK-COMM System (electronic mailbox service) which enables users
to send QUIK-COMM messages to facsimile machines throughout the
world. Receiving fax machines must be Group III facsimile
terminals that conform to CCITT standards. Recipients do not have
to be QUIK-COMM System subscribers to receive the fax document.
MCI GETS THE INSURANCE:
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. said yesterday it has
selected MCI Communications to replace AT&T's data network with a
nationwide data communications network linking Northwestern
Mutual's Milwaukee-based home office with its remote general and
district agency offices. The 3-year, multimillion dollar agreement
will eventually link more than 200 agency offices.
BELLSOUTH GETS CLOSER TO EUROPE:
BellSouth Corp. has signed a definitive agreement to purchase
Air Call Holdings' shares in Air Call Communications, providers of
cellular, paging and telephone answering and telemarketing
services in the United Kingdom, Ireland and continental Europe.
BellSouth provides mobile systems services in the USA, Argentina,
Australia, Ireland and Europe.
SYSTEM OFFERS NEW OPTIONS:
New networking and programming capabilities for the McDonnell
Douglas REALITY Operating System are being scheduled for beta
testing at several customer sites, the company said yesterday.
Dubbed ROS 7.0, the system will offer capabilities previously
unavailable in PICK systems. Also: Data and processing can be
distributed transparent to users and, in cases, the programmer.
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