Communications-related Headlines for 11/10/97

Mergers
WSJ: Worldcom Boosts Bid to $36 Billion
NYT: MCI Accepts Takeover Bid From WorldCom
in $37 Billion Deal

Telephone
TelecomAM: Bell Atlantic Counts on LD Approval In N.Y.;
Analysts Say 'Competition' Is A Year Away
WSJ: WinStar's Phone Plan gets Big Boost From FCC
NYT: Patents: Tracing Calls From Mobile Phones
NTIA: Wireless Local Loop in the United States

Internet/Online
NYT: On-Line Sales And Off-Line Taxing Collide
NYT: Defying the Juggernaut
WSJ: Texas Sues Microsoft, Alleging Licenses Impede State's Probe
NYT: Online Banking Doesn't Always Cover the Basics
WP: Net Asset

Cable
WP: All Wired Up About Cable TV
B&C: Deregulation derailed?
B&C: Cable says no to Gates again
NYT: Cable TV in Digital Push To Get in More Channels

Television
WSJ: Motorola to Join Forces with Sarnoff On Low-Cost Chips for
Digital TV Sets
TelecomAM: Web TV: A Marriage Full of Promise
NYT: For TV Movie Producers, What Plays in Peoria Does Not Pay Abroad

Radio
B&C: Radio next for public interest scrutiny?

Advertising
NYT: Audit Bureau to Push for Accurate Web Tracking

InfoTech
TelecomAM: U.S. Senate Considers Millennium Bomb Legislation

FCC
NYT: Atop F.C.C., Still Trying To Be Nice

** Mergers **

Title: Worldcom Boosts Bid to $36 Billion
Source: Wall Street Journal (A3)
http://www.wsj.com/
Author: John J. Keller
Issue: Merger
Description: Worldcom increased it offer to buy MCI by 20% to $36
billion, while GTE studied how to counter the bid. The MCI and Worldcom
boards met yesterday to discuss the new bid, which on a per-share basis
amounts to $50. Some MCI execs said not to count GTE out of the running yet.
"GTE assumed that the offers for MCI wouldn't stick where they were," one
executive said. "Chuck Lee [GTE's chairman] isn't going to retreat." Another
executive pointed out Worldcom's penchant for all-stock deals: "How's
Worldcom going to up its bid, by printing more paper against the cash that
GTE's prepared to offer?" [MCI has accepted WorldCom's bid. See update on
NYT site http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/late/index.html]

** Telephone **

Title: Bell Atlantic Counts on LD Approval In N.Y.;
Analysts Say 'Competition' Is A Year Away
Source: Telecom A.M.---Nov. 10, 1997
http://www.capitol( at )cappubs.com/
Issue: Competition
Description: Bell Atlantic filed on Nov. 6 for regulatory approval to
offer long distance services to its customers in New York. The company said that
within 5 years it could win a quarter of N.Y.'s $7 billion long distance calling
business. However, the Dept. of Justice and the FCC so far have taken the
view that the Bells haven't done enough to open their own local markets to
competition, as required by law. And delays like this one have Wall Street
convinced that the outbreak of full competition won't come for at least
another year, and maybe longer.

Title: WinStar's Phone Plan gets Big Boost From FCC
Source: Wall Street Journal (B6)
http://www.wsj.com/
Author: Stephanie N. Mehta
Issue: Telephone Regulation
Description: WinStar aims to offer Internet-access and local phone
services to businesses using rooftop antennas and digital radio gear. Under
an order approved last week, the FCC said it will allow WinStar and other
high-frequency radio licensees to amass big chunks of radio spectrum in each
market. William J. Rouhana Jr., chairman and chief exec officer of WinStar,
said, "This will allow us to offer more features and more capacity to more
customers."

Title: Patents: Tracing Calls From Mobile Phones
Source: New York Times (D2)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/patents.html
Author: Teresa Riordan
Issue: InfoTech/Public Safety
Description: When you dial 911 on a wireline phone, a dispatcher can find
you even if you're unable to speak. The Federal Communications Commission
has ordered that the a similar safety feature be available on cell phones by
2001. Dr. Dan Schlager has received a patent on incorporating Global
Positioning System (GPS) technology with cell phones to allow emergency
teams to locate distressed people.

Title: Wireless Local Loop in the United States
Source: NTIA
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/111097wireless.htm
Issue: Telephone
Description: NTIA will hold a day-long forum to explore alternative visions
of Wireless Local Loop in the United States and examine corresponding policy
issues. The forum will be held on December 17 in Washington, DC.

** Internet/Online **

Title: On-Line Sales And Off-Line Taxing Collide
Source: New York Times (D1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/111097tax.html
Author: David Cay johnston
Issue: Electronic Commerce
Description: A look at recent legislation sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)
and Rep. Christopher Cox (R-CA) to create a moratorium on new taxes on
Internet service providers and on sales over the Internet. The Internet Tax
Freedom Act was approved by the Senate Commerce Committee and will come
before the full Senate next year. Rep. Cox's bill has passed by two House
subcommittees and now before the Judiciary and Commerce Committees. But
state and local governments are concerned that increased Internet sales will
cut into their sales tax revenue base. The executive director of the
Association of Online Professionals says, "The Internet means that we may
not be able to think of taxation in the ways we used to, that maybe we need
to shift to another form of taxation."

Title: Defying the Juggernaut
Source: New York Times (D1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/111097netscape.html
Author: Steve Lohr
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Netscape continues to battle Microsoft in the browser wars
despite analysts' predictions that the company's star would lose its luster.
Netscape's revenues and profits were up last quarter and the Justice
Department's antitrust investigation of Microsoft may slow the software
giant's advance in the browser market. Includes lengthy comments from
Netscape CEO James Barksdale.

Title: Texas Sues Microsoft, Alleging Licenses Impede State's Probe
Source: Wall Street Journal (A4)
http://www.wsj.com/
Issue: Antitrust
Description: The state of Texas is suing Microsoft, charging that the
company's software licenses are impeding the state's antitrust investigation
of Microsoft's business practices. Texas Attorney General Dan Morales
alleged that provisions in Microsoft's licensing agreements require
companies that buy its software to inform Microsoft before providing
information to state or federal investigators. Mr. Morales said that PC
manufacturers are afraid to come forward with the info because they can't do
so confidentially. A Microsoft spokesman said that the provisions aren't
designed to impede investigations, but to allow companies to seek court
orders requiring government agencies to safeguard proprietary business
information.

Title: Online Banking Doesn't Always Cover the Basics
Source: New York Times (D6)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/sites/111097sites.html
Author: Saul Hansell
Issue: Electronic Commerce
Description: Many banks have rushed to offer online banking, but their
systems fail to offer answers to basic questions about their services. You
could surf for hours, for example, and not find mortgage rates or minimum
balance information. For the big banks see CitiBank
http://www.citibank.com, Chase http://www.chase.com, First Union
http://www.firstunion.com, Nations Bank http://www.nationsbank.com Wells
Fargo http://www.wellsfargo.com, and Bank of America http://www.bofa.com.

Title: Net Asset
Source: Washington Post (B9)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-11/10/
Author: Howard Kurtz
Issue: Online Services
Description: The Wall Street Journal's online edition has just topped
150,000 paying customers about a year after it began charging for
subscriptions. "We're well on our way to making money on this," said Richard
Tofel, Dow Jones's communications chief. "You have to be satisfied that your
content is essential to people, and you have to be willing to swim against
the tide."

** Cable **

Title: All Wired Up About Cable TV
Source: Washington Business (WashTech, p.17)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-11/10/
Author: Paul Farhi
Issue: Cable TV
Description: Regulation No. 95-184 is a new FCC rule that sets up a means
for quickly resolving disputes between cable companies over who will be
responsible in wiring/rewiring issues. Under the rules, once a landlord
informs the incumbent company that it is being replaced, the company and the
new provider have 30 days to agree on a sale price for the existing wires.
If they can't agree, the incumbent must put the matter before an arbitrator
within seven days. If the cable firm refuses to sell, it must abandon its
wires or remove them, but not until the new provider has strung its own
lines, thus ensuring uninterrupted service. John Norcutt of OnePoint Comm.,
a private cable company that advocates the new regulation, said, "This
eliminates a whole bunch of major shenanigans. It is huge, absolutely huge to
us, both as a company and as an industry."

Title: Deregulation derailed?
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p.64)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Paige Albiniak
Issue: Telecom Act of 1996
Description: Cable rates were supposed to be deregulated after March 1999
according to the Telecommunications Act of 1996, but complaints -- from
voters about rising cable rates and from competitors about access to
programming -- may convince Congress that deregulation is not the best idea.
"Competition to the cable industry is not approaching in such a way that
makes March 1999 a realistic date," said Rep Ed Markey (D-Mass). "Congress
should not sing the same song now that the industry has changed the tune."

Title: Cable says no to Gates again
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p.12)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: John Higgins
Issue: Cable
Description: The billions of dollars Microsoft has tempted the cable
industry with is not convincing operators to adopt Microsoft's proprietary
operating system for their advanced digital set-top boxes. In part, the
rejection comes as Microsoft and partner Intel have been unable to provide a
converter box for less than $400. A participant at the CableLabs meeting
last week said, "They're trying to do everything they can to have open cable
not be opened."

Title: Cable TV in Digital Push To Get in More Channels
Source: New York Times (D7)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/cable-digital-compete.html
Author: Joel Brinkley
Issue: Cable
Description: Moving to offset an expected Christmas push by direct broadcast
satellite services, cable operators are introducing digital services that
will greatly increase the number of channels they can offer. Through digital
compression, cable operators are finding they can squeeze 12 channels in the
amount of space they used to use for one. The quality of the signal is not
quite as good as today's standards, but most customers do not seem to care.

** Television **

Title: Motorola to Join Forces with Sarnoff On Low-Cost Chips for
Digital TV Sets
Source: Wall Street Journal (B6)
http://www.wsj.com/
Author: Dean Takahashi
Issue: Digital TV
Description: Motorola Inc. and Sarnoff Corp. are joining forces to build
low-cost semiconductor chips for digital TV sets that will begin appearing
next year. "It's a powerful combination since Sarnoff has the architectural
and software experience and Motorola can supply the building blocks," said
Handel Jones, president of International Business Strategies Inc. Sarnoff
was a key participant in defining standards for digital TV technology.
Motorola will be manufacturing the several special-purpose chips, according
to Sarnoff's designs, and the microprocessors to provide computing power.

Title: Web TV: A Marriage Full of Promise
Source: Telecom A.M.---Nov.10, 1997
http://www.capitol( at )cappubs.com/
Issue: Digital TV
Description: Earlier this year, Microsoft bought WebTV for $425 million
in cash and stock and invested $1 billion in Comcast. Sun Microsystems
bought Diba, a Web TV company, and turned it into a new consumer technology
group. Both companies want to dominate one of the most potentially enormous
technology markets of the future: the market that brings traditional
broadcast TV together with the Internet. People with TVs will be able to
access virtually unlimited 'content' both in the form of traditional Web
pages and broadcast digital TV streams. Chris Marjara, a European marketing
manager for Scientific Atlanta, said, "We see it opening up many new types
of applications from videoconferencing and telemedicine to
education--wherever you want to combine TV with text and graphics and
interactivity."

Title: For TV Movie Producers, What Plays in Peoria Does Not Pay Abroad
Source: New York Times (D1)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/tv-filmproducers-media.html
Author: Geraldine Fabrikant
Issue: Television Economics
Description: Robert Halmi Sr and Robert Halmi Jr, perhaps the biggest
television movie producers in the world, are finding that new global
audiences are rejecting shows with provincial American themes. They are
scaling back on the number of films the produce each year and are looking
for films with more international appeal. The father and son team runs
Hallmark Entertainment and their credits include Lonesome Dove, The Odyssey,
and Scarlett. Last year, Hallmark made $20 million on sales of $120 million.
This year they expect to make $60 million on sales of $400 million.

** Radio **

Title: Radio next for public interest scrutiny?
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p.56)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: John Merli
Issue: Radio
Description: Radio should be following television into the digital era
within the next few years. Some are concerned that the recommendations of
the Advisory Committee on Public Interest Obligations of Digital
Broadcasters could spill into cable and/or radio. The issue television
broadcasters appear most concerned about is free time for candidates:
National Association of Broadcasters General Counsel Jeff Baumann is
concerned with "anything that deals with free time" and says this "certainly
has the danger of spilling into radio." Committee member Harold Crump, vice
president at Hubbard Broadcasting, thinks the recommendations "could bleed
over into cable. We don't know. We do know that the ramifications of our
actions on the committee will be enormous." Of $928 million of media time
donated in 1996, $542 million came from radio stations. Nelkane Benton,
director of community affairs for KLOS-AM in Los Angeles, says "public
service is imperative and should be part of any radio station's programming
mix. Good community service is good business."

** Advertising **

Title: Advertising: Audit Bureau to Push for Accurate Web Tracking
Source: New York Times (D13)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/111097advertising.html
Author: Stuart Elliott
Issue: Advertising
Description: "The Audit Bureau of Circulations, which measures the
circulations of newspapers and magazines, begins its first-ever ad campaign
this week, aimed at convincing advertisers and agencies that the number of
visitors to commercial World Wide Web sites should be formally audited -- by
ABC Interactive." In other interactive advertising news this week, the Ad
Council begins a new online public service ad initiative -- the Online
Public Service Network -- that will seek to automate delivery of pro bono
banner ads on the Internet. Banners will link to causes like the Coalition
for America's Children http://www.kidscampaigns.org and the use of safety
belts http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov.

** InfoTech **

Title: U.S. Senate Considers Millennium Bomb Legislation
Source: Telecom A.M.---Nov. 10, 1997
http://www.capitol( at )cappubs.com/
Issue: InfoTech/Legislation
Description: The U.S. Senate is to consider legislation that would
require all publicly traded companies to disclose progress in dealing with
the so-called "Millennium bomb". Robert Bennett, R-Utah, and chairman of the
Senate banking subcommittee, said, "The year 2000 problem is more than a
computer problem; it is a pervasive business issue for which there is no
quick fix, a failure in one computer system could not only devastate the
operation controls but cold domino through other systems and cause other
seemingly unrelated systems to shut down." Bennett said his legislation
would also require regular reports on the implementation of any necessary
changes to its computer systems.

** FCC **

Title: Atop F.C.C., Still Trying To Be Nice
Source: New York Times (D1)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/fcc-kennard-interview.html
Author: Seth Schiesel
Issue: FCC
Description: Although William Kennard took a lot of heat as general counsel
for Reed Hundt's FCC, he now takes the position of perhaps Washington's most
powerful regulator with a reputation for "being decent, understanding and,
simply put, nice." Chairman Kennard says, "I have no illusions about the
fact that having this job will require that I make decisions that are
unpopular with many quarters -- that's the nature of the job. But I hope to
do that without being unpopular personally. It's important that you disagree
in an agreeable fashion." In the coming months, Chairman Kennard and the new
Commission will be faced with encouraging competition in the local
telecommunications market, Bell entry into long distance, and the transition
to digital television.
*********