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Technology Stocks : Voice-on-the-net (VON), VoIP, Internet (IP) Telephony -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (1555)	10/16/1998 8:55:00 AM
From: Stephen B. Temple	Respond to of 3178

OT: 6 of 1 / 1/2 doz of another? > FCC SHOULD OKAY SBC-AMERITECH MERGER TO ADD GLOBAL PLAYER, AMERITECH SAYS October 16, 1998 COMMUNICATIONS DAILY via NewsEdge Corporation : FCC should approve SBC-Ameritech merger and break anticompetitive "duopoly" that exists in market for full-service carriers in U.S. and globally, Ameritech officials said at news briefing Wed. At hour-long session on day before comments are due at FCC on $62-billion merger, executives painted SBC and Ameritech as upstart companies trying to compete with global behemoths AT&T and MCI WorldCom. They said merger approval would add competitor to global market, not subtract competitor from local market. Executives also acknowledged that they face high hurdle and urged commissioners to follow advice of Comr. Furchtgott-Roth, who said more deference should be given to Justice Dept. decision. "Customers need more than just 2 choices" for global, full- service carrier, said Ameritech Exec. Vp-Gen. Counsel Kelly Welsh. "By approving our merger, [FCC would add] a competitor to the duopoly," he said. Welsh said AT&T and MCI WorldCom are only companies that are allowed to provide full range of services -- local, long distance and Internet -- to customers around world. Merged SBC-Ameritech still would be much smaller than competitors, he said. AT&T's combined revenue including various global partnerships is $88 billion each year, Sprint and Deutsche Telekom's Global One is $78 billion, MCI WorldCom is $27 billion, he said, and combined SBC-Ameritech would be $40 billion. Welsh also cited other merger benefits, including promises to: (1) Enter 30 out-of-region local markets through combination of resale, unbundled network element (UNE) combinations and facilities-based competition. He told us later that one goal of strategy is to be better able to court large business customers that have offices throughout country and that generate tremendous revenue. (2) Result in "no net job decrease in the Ameritech region. " (3) Trim $1 billion in expenses, but it was unclear where savings would come from without job cuts. Welsh said savings would come in part from marketing and advertising. Ameritech acknowledged that FCC has set high hurdle for regulatory approval. FCC Chmn. Kennard said after merger was announced that Commission would scrutinize deal to make sure that it served interest of consumers. Welsh said "we expected that" and vowed to "demonstrate that it is good for competition and consumers." Merger also must win approval of state regulators in Ohio and Ill. Welsh said he expects deal to close in mid-1999.

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (1555)	10/16/1998 9:33:00 AM
From: Kenneth E. Phillipps	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3178

Re: IP Telephony needs convenience to take off I heard something on the radio news yesterday that the Washingston State Utilities Commission had ordered US West to take action to eliminate the necessity of dialing all the prefix numbers to connect to competitive carriers. US West says it will be expensive to do this. Ken

To: Stephen B. Temple who wrote (1555)	10/20/1998 10:13:00 AM
From: Stephen B. Temple	Respond to of 3178

Japan Telecom Launches IP Telephony Service Using VocalTec and Fujitsu Business Systems Joint Solution October 20, 1998 TOKYO, Japan and HERZLIYA, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE) via NewsEdge Corporation -- Oct. 19, 1998--Fujitsu Business Systems (FJB) and VocalTec Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq:VOCLF), the IP communications company, today announced that Japan Telecom, a major Japanese domestic and international carrier, chose FJB's Web Telephony Solution based on the VocalTec Ensemble Architecture(tm) (VEA) to launch its commercially available low-cost fax-to-fax IP service and a planned phone-to-phone IP service. Japan Telecom's planned phone-to-phone service will use ITXC's WWeXchange(SM) service to expand their long distance reach. The VocalTec Ensemble Architecture includes the VocalTec Telephony Gateway(tm), VocalTec Gatekeeper(tm) and the VocalTec Network Manager(tm). "We chose the VocalTec Ensemble Architecture because it allows us to offer our customers quality, reliable and secure low-cost fax-to-fax and phone-to-phone service," said Yutaka Nakano, general manager, Data Communications Planning Department at Japan Telecom. "VocalTec offers superior technology and partners with companies that extend the reach and capabilities of our network." "Fujitsu Business Systems and VocalTec Communications are working together to provide a complete IP telephony solution to the service provider and the corporate markets," said Mikio Ohtsuki, President at Fujitsu Business Systems (FJB), integrator of VocalTec's IP telephony network solutions in Japan. "FJB's system integration and support capabilities are designed to address the specific needs of service providers in Japan and Asia. We work with VocalTec because they are a clear leader in the IP telephony industry." "Today's announcement with Japan Telecom demonstrates VocalTec's continued leadership in the IP telephony, global carrier market," said Dr. Elon Ganor, chairman at VocalTec Communications. "Though important, gateways provide only one of the essential components needed by carriers to support global IP telephony services. Without gatekeepers and network managers, IP telephony networks lack the necessary intelligence to support traditional and enhanced applications. VEA provides the infrastructures these carriers need. We are committed to developing full solutions and partnering with other leading companies, such as Fujitsu BSC and ITXC, to enable our customers to deliver superior services." "VEA gives ITXC the scalability and manageability we need to support the volume of traffic affiliates like Japan Telecom are bringing to our WWeXchange Service," said Tom Evslin, CEO at ITXC. "The introduction of VEA and the emergence of Japan Telecom as a provider of IP Telephony services are indicators of the rapid maturing and growth of IP Telephony." About the VocalTec Ensemble Architecture The VocalTec Ensemble Architecture(tm), including the VocalTec Telephony Gateway(tm), VocalTec Gatekeeper(tm) and VocalTec Network Manager(tm), is the first open IP telephony platform to support the most advanced industry standards for widescale, secure and reliable IP telephony services. With support for third-party accounting, billing and security solutions, it provides the framework for quality, intelligent IP telephony services and centralized management solutions for the routing of traffic between thousands of gateways and gatekeepers, network management agents and millions of end-user devices, including PC clients, standard telephones and other communications devices. About VocalTec Communications VocalTec Communications software enables audio, video, data, text and collaborative communications between personal computers and other devices over IP networks. VocalTec is a leader in developing innovative, open standards products that bridge IP networks and the traditional public switched telephone network (PSTN) and drive the convergence of computing and telephone technologies. For the latest company information, visit VocalTec on the World Wide Web at vocaltec.com.