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Technology Stocks : Global Crossing - GX (formerly GBLX) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Teddy who wrote (153)	1/8/1999 7:27:00 AM
From: Teddy	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 15615

Article about the same story, with more details: news.com Global Crossing Asks FCC to Review U.S.-Japan Cable (Repeat) Bloomberg News January 6, 1999, 4:41 p.m. PT Global Crossing Asks FCC to Review U.S.-Japan Cable (Repeat) (Repeats to change headline) Washington, Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Global Crossing Ltd., which is building an undersea fiber-optic cable to link the U.S. and Japan, asked U.S. regulators to examine the competitive impact of an AT&T Corp.-led group that's constructing a competing $1 billion cable between the two countries. By teaming up, the group -- which also includes MCI WorldCom Inc., British Telecom Plc and 30 other companies -- will stifle competition for international telecommunications services, Global Crossing told the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. Customers would get lower prices if the FCC forced these companies to build separate cables, Global Crossing said. Hamilton, Bermuda-based Global Crossing, founded in March 1997, plans to begin providing service on its U.S.-Japan undersea cable in March 2000. The company will compete for customers with the group led by AT&T, the No. 1 U.S. long-distance company, which has said its cable will be ready by the middle of 2000. ''In forming one massive consortium, these carriers have chosen to cooperate rather than compete,'' Global Crossing said in its filing with the FCC. The agency must grant a license for any undersea cable linking the U.S.; it asked for comments on the AT&T group's proposed cable. The FCC should review the competitive impact of the group's application ''before deciding whether and under what conditions'' to grant a license, Global Crossing said. Cynthia Coulter, a company spokeswoman, declined to say what conditions the FCC should place on the AT&T-led group. ''We've asked the FCC to review the license in light of whether it furthers the goal of promoting competition in the international arena,'' Coulter said. Millions of Calls The high-speed cables will be able to handle millions of simultaneous telephone calls and boost capacity for phone and Internet traffic between the U.S. and Japan. In May 1998, Global Crossing began providing service on a cable connecting the U.S. and the U.K., and it plans a network to connect 100 cities in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America. Global Crossing shares fell 27/32 to close at 44 5/32. The shares have more than doubled since the company went public at $19 on Aug. 14. Shares of New York-based AT&T rose 3 3/8 to 82 7/8. The FCC hasn't said when it will decide on the AT&T group's U.S.-Japan cable license. The group will have about two weeks to reply to Global Crossing's filing. Officials with the group hadn't seen Global Crossing's filing and declined to comment, said Patricia Robinson, an AT&T spokeswoman. Other members of the AT&T group include Japan Telecom Co., Sprint Corp. and Qwest Communications International Inc. The 13,000-mile (21,000-kilometer) link, called Japan-US Cable Network, will connect from Ibaraki, Shima and Maruyama in Japan to Kahe Point in Hawaii to San Luis Obispo and Point Arena in California. An AT&T-led group won permission from the FCC in August to build the first undersea cable between the U.S. and China. --Alan M. Wolf in Washington (202) 624-1880/wfs