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To: Maurice Winn who wrote (3206)	2/28/1999 10:04:00 AM
From: Sawtooth	Respond to of 29987

7:37 AM ET February 28, 1999 Hackers Reportedly Seize British Military Satellite LONDON (Reuters) - Hackers have seized control of one of Britain's military communication satellites and issued blackmail threats, The Sunday Business newspaper reported. The newspaper, quoting security sources, said the intruders altered the course of one of Britain's four satellites that are used by defense planners and military forces around the world. The sources said the satellite's course was changed just over two weeks ago. The hackers then issued a blackmail threat, demanding money to stop interfering with the satellite. "This is a nightmare scenario," said one intelligence source. Military strategists said that if Britain were to come under nuclear attack, an aggressor would first interfere with military communications systems. "This is not just a case of computer nerds mucking about. This is very, very serious and the blackmail threat has made it even more serious," one security source said. Police said they would not comment as the investigation was at too sensitive a stage. The Ministry of Defense made no comment. © 1998 Reuters Limited.

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (3206)	3/1/1999 1:48:00 AM
From: djane	Respond to of 29987

NY Times. Omnipoint May Eliminate Roaming Fees nytimes.com March 1, 1999 By SETH SCHIESEL ollowing in the footsteps of communications giants, Omnipoint Corp., a small wireless phone carrier that operates mainly in the Northeast, is expected to announce new calling plans Monday that eliminate long-distance and "roaming" charges, according to executives close to the company. Omnipoint, which has tried to make its service especially attractive to foreign visitors to the United States and to people who often travel overseas, also intends to offer flat-rate calling at low rates to 42 other nations. Last year AT&T Corp., the nation's largest communications company, became the first wireless carrier to offer a plan with no long-distance fees and with none of the roaming fees most wireless companies charge when customers use their phone while in an area served by another company. Bell Atlantic Corp., which provides wireless service in the Northeast and middle Atlantic states, followed suit. But in following the path of these much bigger companies, Omnipoint is bound to raise an important question among communications experts and financial analysts: How can Omnipoint afford it? When AT&T introduced its plan, it cited its own extensive national network and said that it was willing to lose money when its customers roamed by absorbing the fees demanded when the calls required a transfer to other carriers' networks. Omnipoint has nowhere near the financial resources of AT&T, and its network is limited to the Northeast, southern Florida and parts of Michigan and Indiana. Executives close to Omnipoint, however, said the new plan would be feasible because less than 5 percent of the company's wireless traffic comes from roaming customers. Perhaps more important, they said that Omnipoint had probably been able to negotiate lower roaming rates with its wireless partners than AT&T had managed to negotiate with the companies that would pick up AT&T's roamers. But that advantage might be offset to some extent by the geographic limits of Omnipoint's roaming arrangements. Omnipoint is one of 15 North American companies that use a wireless technology known as GSM, which is the dominant technical format in Europe but has been adopted in this country mostly by smaller companies. Only 163 million of the roughly 270 million people in the United States live in areas reachable by GSM phones. By comparison, AT&T's wireless network and alliances provide almost universal coverage in the United States. GSM's popularity in Europe, however, may give Omnipoint an edge in the cosmopolitan New York City market among customers who might want to make calls when they travel overseas. Within the United States, the new Omnipoint plan will require a minimum monthly commitment of $99.99 for 700 any-time, anywhere minutes. The company also intends to offer a rate of 29 cents a minute for calls to 18 foreign nations, mostly in Europe, and a rate of 59 cents a minute for calls to 24 other countries, largely outside Europe. Omnipoint currently charges up to $1.99 a minute for calls to the nations that will now come under the new international plan. Copyright 1999 The New York Times Company