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Technology Stocks : COMS & the Ghost of USRX w/ other STUFF -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Scrapps who wrote (17904)	12/7/1998 6:56:00 AM
From: Bill Ulrich	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 22053

Good luck with your video adventures. It's fun aside from having to buy tons of storage. Maybe your kids will get you a big RAID array for Christmas. <ggg> No storms here&#151just earthquakes 'n' stuff. (4.1 in Richmond the other day)

To: Scrapps who wrote (17904)	12/7/1998 9:07:00 AM
From: DMaA	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 22053

What's driving Bandwidth wars? Technology, customer demand, or govm't regulators: Phone, Tech Group to Ask FCC To Ease Its Rules on Networks By STEPHANIE N. MEHTA Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL An alliance of local telephone carriers and high-technology companies Monday is expected to ask the Federal Communications Commission to adopt guidelines that would make it easier to deploy high-speed Internet services in their territories. The group plans to ask the FCC to ease regulations that force the Baby Bell telephone companies to resell their high-speed networks to competitors at discounts, according to people familiar with the situation. The local phone companies contend that expensive, high-speed upgrades for their networks should be exempt from rules granting their rivals access at deep discounts. In exchange, the local carriers would make other concessions, such as making it easier for rivals to offer competitive high-speed service, provided they supply their own gear for upgrading the lines. The request is aimed at accelerating the deployment of "digital subscriber line" technology, which delivers superfast Internet access via traditional copper telephone lines. Many of the technology companies endorsing the guidelines, including Intel Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Compaq Computer Corp., teamed up with the Bells and GTE Corp. earlier this year to develop common standards for the implementation of digital-subscriber line technology. For the computer industry, customers' lack of access to high-speed lines is blocking its ability to develop new products and services. Firms Say Rules Damp Incentive The local phone companies have said that regulation is preventing the widespread deployment of these high-speed connections, because it undermines the incentive for the big investment. Under sweeping telecommunications legislation passed almost three years ago, the Baby Bells are required to lease their ubiquitous networks to rivals. But the Bells have said it would be unfair for them to upgrade their networks for high-speed data connections, only to have to lease parts of that network to rivals at discounted prices. It is unclear whether the FCC will embrace the alliance's guidelines. The agency earlier this year proposed that the Bells be allowed to create separate affiliates for their data networks in exchange for deregulation of those services. The proposal has been criticized by the phone companies and competitors alike: The Bells say such separate subsidiaries are costly to create; rivals say they need to be able to purchase parts of the incumbents' data networks in order to stay competitive with the big local telephone companies. Still, FCC Chairman William Kennard said in an interview Sunday that he was "delighted" to hear "that the industry is continuing to explore ways to enhance broadband development." He declined to comment specifically on the industry proposal, saying, "I guess the devil's in the details here," but said the FCC already is considering similar issues and plans by the end of January to issue rules designed to help the Bells offer broad-band service. Lagging Behind Cable Despite considerable interest from the computer industry, digital-subscriber lines still lag behind competing high-speed service from the cable industry. A recent report by Forrester Research Inc. estimates that by year end, there will be about 25,000 digital-line subscribers, compared with about 700,000 cable-modem users nationwide. The consortium also is expected to promote easing of regulations that prevent the Bell telephone companies from transporting data across long-distance lines. The Baby Bells are prohibited from carrying any long-distance traffic -- voice or data -- in their home regions until they prove they have opened their markets to competition. Several of the Bells have asked the FCC to allow the long-distance transport of data, on the grounds that such relief would promote the development of new high-speed networks and services. The consortium is expected to ask the commission for "liberal waivers" that would allow the Bells to move data across long-distance boundaries in markets where such action would reduce the costs of providing Internet access or other data services. --Bryan Gruley contributed to this article.