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Technology Stocks : PairGain Technologies -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bobby G. who wrote (25327)	8/6/1998 8:09:00 PM
From: stevie ray	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 36349

For what it's worth....... WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Communications Commission Thursday proposed lifting some of the restrictions on regional telephone companies building data networks, saying it would help promote faster Internet access for more consumers. The five-member commission unanimously agreed to put out for comment a plan that would allow the "Baby Bells" to set up data networks in separate subsidiaries. "By opening up and unleashing the power of these high-capacity networks to promote commerce, we are going to improve the lives of American consumers," FCC Chairman William Kennard said ahead of the vote. Smaller phone companies that compete with the Baby Bells and long-distance companies like AT&T Corp. (T) and MCI Communications Corp. (MCIC) oppose the data network waivers because, they argue, the Bells have not opened their existing networks to competitors. Under the 1996 telecommunications law, the Bells are barred from offering long-distance and data services within their local regions until they open their local telephone networks to competitors. But the Bells argue that the demand for data networks, from increasingly wired businesses and the vast growth of the Internet, is exceeding the capacity of existing providers. Without regulatory relief, the companies say, they cannot afford to build new systems and relieve the strain.