NL International Briefs

FCC travel underwritten by regulated industriesOfficials from the Federal Communications Commission have taken 2,500 business trips paid for by the telecom and media companies the American agency regulates. A new study by the Center for Public Integrity found groups like the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association and the Telecommunications Industry Association sent FCC staff and commissioners to places like Las Vegas, London and Buenos Aires. Cybersecurity to be part of Homeland Security departmentThe new chief of cybersecurity in the United States will be part of the Department of Homeland Security, the White House announced. Previously, the position was attached to the presidential staff, most recently by Richard Clarke. A new appointment should be announced by mid-June. Anti-spam legislation gaining support in CongressA new bill that could see bulk emailers facing prison terms and/or millions of dollars in fines is gaining support on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Reduction in Distribution of Spam Act has been introduced by North Carolina representative Richard Burr. The chairs of the House Energy and Commerce and the House Judiciary committees have signed on as co-sponsors of the legislation. Three American telcos reach fibre network dealVerizon Communications Inc., SBC Communications Inc., and BellSouth Corp. have reached an agreement to standardize the construction of residential fibre-optic networks. The goal is to bring more homes and small businesses a fat pipe that can pump telecom applications at faster speeds than DSL or cable modems. Sprint Corp. to upgrade local telephone grid over 12 yearsSprint Corp. has begun a 12-year project to upgrade its eight million local lines in the United States. It will use Nortel Networks Corp. gear to switch to a packet network. Time Warner Cable launches VoIP service in MaineTime Warner Cable has rolled out its VoIP service in Portland ME, the first American cableco to offer the service on a commercial basis. Cisco Systems is providing the infrastructure for the launch. Japan Telecom profitable, looking to sell wirelineJapan Telecom Holdings announced a profit of 79.5 billion yen (about $924 million) for the latest fiscal year, contrasted with a loss of 66 billion yen (about $767 million) in 2001. The telco will sell its fixed line division shortly. European broadband growing at healthy rateA study by Nielsen/Netratings found that the number of Europeans using high-speed Internet has increased by 136% over 2002. The increase was fueled by demand for file-sharing, pornography and music. Lufthansa offers in-flight Internet on all long-haul tripsLufthansa is about to offer broadband Internet on all of its long-haul flights. The German airline was testing the service on its Frankfurt-to-D.C. run (NL, Jan. 28/03). Restrictions do not interfere with job ability, Sprint boss saysSprint Corp. CEO Gary Forsee says restrictions placed on him when he returned to the telco after serving at BellSouth are not onerous. Because Forsee had been a senior executive at a rival company, he is not permitted to take part in M&A talks involving Sprint nor can he boost the firm’s wireless division. Subscribers Carrey on after number used in new filmIn the new movie Bruce Almighty, God summons Jim Carrey’s character by dialing 776-2323. That has angered a dentist near Boston, a glass manufacturer in Florida, a radio station in Denver and an old lady in South Carolina, who are among the folks who have that phone number in their individual area codes. Some have already complained to Universal Studios, so far without success.

NL International Briefs

News | June 2, 2003

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