AT&T-BT global venture stirs doubts about timetable, stepped-up rivalry

Article Abstract:

AT&T Corp. and British Telecommunications PLC plan to showcase their new global joint venture, Concert, at the Telecom 99 forum in Geneva. The alliance has the same name as British Telecom's former venture with MCI Communications, which ended when MCI was acquired by WorldCom Inc. The venture aims to use the companies' global assets to serve corporate customers worldwide. However, the venture has yet to be approved by the U.S. Dept. of Justice, so has yet to truly be launched. Officials at both firms insist that the alliance is on schedule, but analysts say the firms had hoped it would be further along by now. Moreover, analysts view such alliances with skepticism. The Global One alliance between Deutsche Telekom AG, France Telecom SA and Sprint, has lost money from the start, and some analysts expect it to be disbanded now that MCI WorldCom plans to acquire Sprint. MCI WorldCom and Global Crossing Ltd. are but two firms likely to give Concert serious competition in the international market. In light of the intense competition in the industry, some analysts see the alliance as the first step toward an eventual outright merger between AT&T and British Telecommunications.

United Kingdom, United States, Wired Telecommunications Carriers, Telephone Communications, Telephone communications, exc. radio, Planning, Joint ventures, AT&T Corp., T, Telephone services, British Telecommunications PLC, Concert PLC

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Internet phones are catching on as global experiment; big and small carriers hope to breach defenses of entrenched monopolies

Article Abstract:

Internet telephony increasing in popularity among many carriers in their attempts to compete with phone monopolies. Bertelsmann will introduce service in early 1998 that would cost 30% to 60% less than fellow German rival Deutsche Telekom's long-distance and international rates. AT&T-Jens is an AT&T venture with 25 Japanese companies that introduced Internet technology to Japan in Aug 1997. AT&T-Jens charges 135 yen ($1.10) for a three-minute call from Japan to Britain, compared to a traditional Japanese carrier's charge of 770 yen. Large telephone companies must choose between offering their own discounted Internet telephone services, which could weaken their usual high-margin revenues, or avoid the service and risk losing revenues to new competitors. Small companies also can join the market because of inexpensive Internet packet-switching costs and the Internet's numerous interlinked networks.

Product introduction, Services, Internet, Telecommunications systems, Bertelsmann AG, Company service introduction, Service introduction, AT&T Jens Corp.

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'Slamming' scourge: stealing of customers spreads with resellers of telephone service; the FCC is talking tough, but long-distance firms all resist an easy fix; the case of Furst Group Inc

Article Abstract:

Small telecommunications companies are reselling long distance telephone services to small and mid-size businesses and some are being accused of taking over subscribers without asking and then charging unreasonable fees. The big three telecommunications companies used to accuse each other of this practice, known as "slamming," but now there are hundreds of resellers of services that are being accused of the practice. Big telecommunications companies such as AT&T are reporting that complaints of slamming have doubled over the last year and law enforcement officials say that for every one complaint of slamming, another 100 customers have been slammed. It is easy to avoid being slammed. The subscriber simply must freeze the long-distance account until the local phone company can switch the account back to the right company.

Forecasts and trends, Industry trend, Telephone company, Telephone companies, Long distance telephone services, Crime, Long-distance telephone service, Industry Trend Or Event

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