Sprint to Offer High-Speed Service to Big Businesses
Bloomberg News
October 5, 1998, 4:27 p.m. ET
Sprint to Offer High-Speed Service to Big Businesses
New York, Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Sprint Corp., the third-
largest U.S. long-distance company, plans to begin offering high-
speed network service to big businesses this month, chief
executive William Esrey said.
The integrated on-demand network service, or ION, allows
users to receive voice, fax and data calls simultaneously on one
phone line. It will be offered to small businesses and consumers
next year, Esrey said.
Sprint is racing AT&T Corp. and MCI WorldCom Inc. to gain
market share among customers who use the Internet and a range of
phone services. ION's introduction to consumers has been delayed
in part because billing systems are still being developed by Bell
Communications Research, Esrey said.
''We have a lot of systems work to do,'' Esrey said after a
speech at the Wall Street Journal Technology Summit in New York.
''The technology works just fine.''
Westwood, Kansas-based Sprint has signed agreements with the
six largest U.S. local phone companies allowing it to connect to
their customers, spokesman Russ Robinson said.
Sprint shares rose 1 13/16 to 76 1/2.
--Andrew Brooks in New York, through the Princeton newsroom (609) |
