Phone companies create traffic jam on road to Internet
Article Abstract:
Erratic local telephone networks are creating a significant bottleneck for computer technology companies that eye the Internet. Chip makers's emphasis on efficiency has resulted in constant improvement of bandwidth and power. By contrast, typical home telephone lines offerings are virtually the same as they were in the 1960s, digital switches and fiberoptic cables notwithstanding. Computer companies since the 1970s have worked to overcome the differences, and 56K modems represent the most current offering. Many USRobotics 56K Modem users who live in densely populated East Coast areas will attain only a maximum 26,400 bps for the foreseeable future, according to Bell Atlantic. Phone companies blame the problem on increased demand for multiple home lines, fax machines and modems. Computer companies, which perceive phone companies as regulated monopolies, have attempted to entice them with the G.lite standard for ADSL. A more severe threat is their development of ethernets for connections with cable television companies.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1998
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High court says local phone giants don't have to sell access
Article Abstract:
A Federal Communications Commission rule that forced the dominant local phone service providers, especially the Baby Bells, to rent access to their communications networks to companies entering the local phone business has been overturned by the Supreme Court. The issue that concerned the court was the scope of the rule rather than the intent. The companies will still be forced to provide access to competitors but the extent of that access is to be redefined. The ruling was a victory for the phone giants but also for the F.C.C., in that the Supreme Court's decision upholds the Telecommunications Act of 1996, giving the commission precedence over state and local jurisdictions in defining the rules governing the telecommunications industry. The job of the F.C.C. now will be to create new access rules designed to foster competition. The local phone providers will still have to prove they operate in a competitive environment before they will be allowed access to the long distance market.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1999
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Ameritech will accept competition; phone move in Illinois may spur deregulation
Article Abstract:
The Ameritech Corp reversed its ground and agreed to open its local telephone market in Illinois to competition in a move that may hasten deregulation. Ameritect holds a near-monopoly of local telephone services to its 3.7 million customers in Illinois. The company had previously decided to open its local market to long-distance and other carriers only if it could offer its customers long-distance service, but the company reversed its position in favor of local phone service competition. The company still wants to enter the lucrative long-distance market, but has decided to help break the old rules of telecommunications deregulation by opening its local market. Ameritech and other regional Bell companies are forbidden to offer long-distance services under terms of the court order that broke up the old Bell system in 1984.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1995
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