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Technology Stocks : Qwest Communications (Q) (formerly QWST) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: LTK007 who wrote (2170)9/10/1998 11:34:00 PM
From: MangoBoy  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 6846
 
[AT&T Testing Combined Voice, Data System For Business]

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- AT&T Corp. is testing a high-speed service that would allow business customers to carry voice and data over a single communications system, the company said Thursday.

AT&T (T), based in New York, is experimenting with the service, which involves placing high-tech asynchronous transfer mode switches at the customer's business, said company spokeswoman Kate Rankin. These switches turn different kinds of information into a single stream that can be handled efficiently at high speed.

The network plans were reported Thursday in USA Today.

Funneling voice and computer communication through a single digital technology would save customers money and help AT&T compete with companies such as Qwest Communications International Inc. (QWST) and IXC Communications Inc. (IIXC), which are building new fiber-optic networks based on digital technology.

The test is part of AT&T's plan to "future-proof" its network, Rankin said. Chairman and Chief Executive C. Michael Armstrong said earlier this year that the company would begin such tests this year, she said.

She declined to say how many customers are participating in the test, when the system might be commercially available, or how much it might save customers.

The network initiative, which had been rumored, has been compared to a similar service, called Ion, that Sprint Corp. (FON) outlined in June.