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Technology Stocks : Broadband Wireless Access [WCII, NXLK, WCOM, satellite..] -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ftth who wrote (451)	6/30/1999 9:54:00 AM
From: SteveG	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1860

<A> WSJ(6/30):U.S./Undersea -2: No Confirmation Of Cos Named By Bryan Gruley (BTW, will follow up with DSL response - have been in overload.) WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The Justice Department is investigating possible anticompetitive practices in the undersea-cable business involving many of the world's largest telephone companies. A department spokeswoman confirmed that antitrust enforcers are "looking at the possibility of anticompetitive practices in the international undersea-cable industry." She declined to elaborate. The investigation could lead to substantial changes in the way phone companies sell voiceand data-transmission services around the world. For decades, the business has been controlled by AT&T Corp. and a handful of other big companies that formed consortia to build and operate undersea cables. But the business has exploded with the growth of the Internet, spawning rivals such as Global Crossing Ltd. that have challenged the groups' ways. It couldn't be determined late yesterday which companies had been notified of the Justice Department's investigation. A spokesman for Sprint Corp. confirmed the company received an 18-page subpoena from the Justice Department concerning practices of a 30-plus member consortium that is building a $1.2 billion undersea cable between the U.S. and Japan. He declined to elaborate. Other members of the trans-Pacific consortium include AT&T, MCI WorldCom Corp., Qwest Communications and Level 3 Communications. An AT&T spokesman declined to comment. The other companies couldn't be reached immediately for comment. Global Crossing, the two-year-old company that had its first success competing against a similar consortium in the Atlantic Ocean, complained to the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission earlier this year that the trans-Pacific consortium had engaged in illegal practices designed to deter new competitors. Greg Simon, a Washington lobbyist for Global Crossing, said yesterday "The Justice Department's interest shows this kind of underwater monopoly will not stand the light of day." Consortium members have denied Global Crossing's claims, telling the FCC that their venture is a legal and efficient way of building undersea cable. The FCC is still considering whether to grant the consortium a trans-Pacific license. Traditionally, small groups of big telecommunications companies teamed up to share the sizable costs and risks these projects involved. Because each company commanded a monopoly in its home country, it mattered little that they jointly decided how the cable's capacity would be parceled out and priced among themselves and customers. But construction of these cables often lagged behind demand for new capacity. Transmission prices were much higher for customers than for the big companies governing the consortium, presenting an opportunity for Global Crossing and other independent challengers who sprang up as the rise of the Internet fueled demand for superfast telecom pipelines. Global Crossing has told the FCC that the consortium has used its control of cable landing stations in Japan to coerce smaller partners into joining the consortium, rather than buying service from Global Crossing. (END) DOW JONES NEWS 06-30-99 04:01 AM