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Technology Stocks : How high will Microsoft fly? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sir Francis Drake who wrote (23564)	6/2/1999 10:07:00 PM
From: Bearded One	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74651

The Windows 2000 delay must have screwed up their internal schedule in ways we didn't realize: infoworld.com

To: Sir Francis Drake who wrote (23564)	6/2/1999 10:24:00 PM
From: Sir Francis Drake	Respond to of 74651

<OT> This is not an "urban myth" - certain interests would love to make you pay long distance charges for being on the net. Right now the fight is on in California, but as we all know, many things eventually get adopted by other states - NY Times article from today: nytimes.com <<SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A telephone rate plan that could lead to increased charges for Internet users in California has been put on hold again by state regulators. The state Public Utilities Commission is set to vote Thursday on billing arrangements for Internet hookups between Pacific Bell and a smaller phone company, a $50 million dispute that could eventually be passed along to Web surfers. But Pacific Bell spokesman Bill Mashek said the PUC would not immediately consider the company's plan to eliminate interconnection fees owed to the smaller firm, Pac-West Telecomm, by reclassifying Internet calls as long-distance calls. Instead, the commission will vote either to reaffirm its current rules or to open up the issue for a full review, as some lawmakers have urged. A delay would give Gov. Gray Davis more time to fill two vacancies on the five-member PUC. Both seats were appointed by former Gov. Pete Wilson and had voted with the majority in October. The eventual decision could set a precedent for other carriers that serve 600 Internet service providers in California. The dispute involves Internet calls that start with the caller's local carrier, a field dominated by Pacific Bell. The call is passed along to the Internet service provider's carrier, typically a smaller company like Pac-West. For handling the remainder of the call, Pacific Bell has been required, under past agreements, to pay a fee to Pac-West. That arrangement was designed for the expected increase in competition among local carriers. When Internet traffic flourished among small phone companies, Pacific Bell protested that the fees were an improper subsidy and that the calls, often destined for remote Web sites, were long-distance calls for which no fee was required under their agreement. Pacific Bell started withholding its fee from Pac-West two years ago and has built up $50 million in an escrow account while the PUC considers its appeal. Rick Bryson, Pac-West's chief financial officer, has said his company would have to increase rates to Internet service providers if it lost the Pacific Bell fees. The ISPs could then raise monthly fees to Internet callers. After a PUC vote in October to leave the interconnection fees intact, the Federal Communications Commission weighed in by declaring in January that Internet calls were long distance. However, the FCC specified that Internet callers would not have to pay long-distance rates and that state regulatory agencies remained free to allocate costs between the companies.>>