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Rochester Telephone Corp. is poised to become a next-generation telecommunication services player by repositioning itself as a telecommunications holding firm; Frontier Communications is the new parent company. The company plans to expand in the US and international markets as it girds to compete head-on. Rochester's Open Market scheme exchanges being a regulated monopoly, for a split company with one regulated entity and one competitive entity, and pursue the network wholesale business., Rochester Telephone staked its future as a next-generation telecom services company on Jan. 1, the day it officially reinvented itself as Frontier Communications, a multi-faceted telecom holding company with plans [...]

Competitive access providers were granted legalized access to public networks by Washington lawmakers and are expected to conquer state public utility commissions (PUCs). States must actively promote or accept a competitive telecommunications market to avoid being overtaken by the Information Highway. MFS Communications Company Inc joined Teleport Communications Group in aiming at state PUCs to acquire regulatory equality with incumbent telephone companies., Competitive access providers have won impressive victories on the federal level. Can they do the same in the states? Competitive access providers (CAPs) no longer are a lone voice, battling [...]

Bell Atlantic VP Mark Wegleitner announced that his company's strategy of adopting switched digital video (SDV) technology for interactive services is based on economical considerations. The telecommunications firm asked the FCC to postpone its so-called 214 applications to construct two video dialtone networks, thereby making the hybrid fiber/coax architecture a questionable solution. SDV is perceived to be ideal in locations with a high penetration of interactive services., Bell Atlantic's strategy shift puts SDV on the fast track. Is it at the cost of HFC? When Bell Atlantic asked the government to suspend its application to build two [...]

The Portability Trial Task Force will oversee a six-month-long test project on local number portability in New York by Feb. 1996. The task force plans to adopt a database architecture when designing hardware and software for local number portability support. The task force wants those carriers participating in the trials to record all pertinent costs incurred, including database interconnection and provisioning. Switch software may have to be upgraded in the trials., New trials seek to address technical issues while avoiding touchy competitive concerns. After much talk over the past few years, local number portability is starting to make its public debut. [...]

Several technology and marketing issues will likely be raised against Sprint Corp.'s venture with TCI Cablevision Inc., Comcast Cable Communications Inc. and Cox Cable Communications to provide personal communications services nationwide. The venture may realize its profits only when it addresses a number of important issues such as the type of technology, the amount of money available for upgrading cable plant and the marketing approach., Technology and Marketing Issues Loom Ahead It sounded good at the time - combine Sprint's national brand name and all-fiber network with the local reach of TCI, Comcast and Cox [...]

CFW Communications Co. is a 32,000-access-line rural telecommunications company with clients in many regions of Virginia. Its goal is to diversify its businesses beyond the traditional boundaries of rural telephone companies. Since its establishment in 1988, it has formed CFW Cable and CFW Information Services as subsidiaries and entered into an alliance with 11 Virginia independent telephone companies to deliver sophisticated telecommunications services all over the state., It's no longer enough for rural telcos to offer customers reliable POTS. Like their urban counterparts, rural subscribers are clamoring for the latest and greatest services. And one day soon, [...]

Four companies have pooled resources to run a subscription-based radio service that would cater to niche markets who prefer CD-quality audio for specialized programming without the distraction of commercials. The four are CD Radio, American Mobile Radio, Digital Satellite Broadcating Corp. and Primosphere. Operations are planned for 1998. The typical customer should have a vehicle and an installed small satellite dish to receive S-band signals., Satellite Technology Opens up New Programming Possibilities Over the past several years, no radio format has taken off like sports talk. In New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, the three [...]

The auction of personal communications service licenses will make the US cellular market similar to the one now existing in Berlin, Germany. E-plus is one of four companies offering cellular services in that city. The company, which already has 200 base stations in Berlin, plans to build 1600 base stations in all major metropolitan areas by the end of 1994, hoping to enlist 30,000-50,000 subscribers during the same period. E-plus expects subscribers to reach 10 million by the year 2000., With three distinct technologies spread over four different networks, users have the ultimate choice. But can the carriers survive? The technician had the right to be confident his demonstration would [...]

The IntelCom Group (ICG) is one of the largest competitive access providers in the US and it has been expanding at a rapid rate over the last few years. ICG Pres. Bill Maxwell stated that his company plans to establish a presence in some 40 to 45 new markets during 1994. Maxwell stated that this kind of expansion was made possible by interexchange carrier traffic., Forget convergence. Bill Maxwell is a man who thinks in terms of parallels. Let others focus on merging models. The mental geometry, Maxwell draws as president of Intelcom Group (ICG) [...]

Motorola Inc. has virtually cornered the switched fractional business with the introduction of its SWFT110 switched fractional T1 product line. The new product line fills the bandwidth gap between 56 kbps and full T1 servoice without the high cost normally associated with dedicated access systems. The company's SWFT110 provides bandwidth from 56 kbps up to a contiguous 360 kbps on a single four-wire loop., There's nothing quite as satisfying as filling a market need and creating an exclusive product niche at the same time. Motorola UDS has accomplished both with the introduction of its [...]

Politics, more than technicalities, is dominating the discussion over an interface standard for personal communications services. The joint technical committee tasked with narrowing the field of possible air interface standards is accused of not functioning as a standards body, as at least seven standards may still reach the market. Industry observers say the committee is not aggressively addressing the question of consolidation., Politics is playing a bigger role than technical discussion in the decision over PCS's air interface. Life is not turning out easy for potential PCS carriers. First, they're forced to [...]

The telecommunications industry's local switched service sector will remain under the control of major local exchange carriers despite the implementation of new regulations aimed at promoting competition in the telecommunications market. This can be attributed to several factors, including regulatory issues on interconnection and local number portability., Five reasons local loop competition isn't right around the corner: Competitors to local exchange carriers (LECs) operate more than 500 networks around the country and are expected to earn more [...]

Cellular carriers are developing wireless PBX/centrex systems with macrocellular environments to make them more competitive in a market that is fast getting saturated. Bell Atlantic Corp. and NYNEX Mobile Communications Co. are installing one such system in Wallingford, CT, using Motorola's INReach system., Carriers and vendors begin blending cellular with wireless offices. Will anyone make money? Until this spring's broadband PCS auctions, cellular carriers had a somewhat cozy arrangement. With only one other [...]

Allen Telecom Group is taking the lead in integrating indoor cellular coverage with the macrocell environment by redesigning the Smartcell it introduced in 1994. The Smartcell allows a hybrid link between internal wireless PBX systems and external cellular networks, can served as a wireless adjunct to PBX and extend coverage to rural and suburban areas., If wireless carriers are to become full service communications providers, their top hardware priority must be integrating indoor cellular coverage with the macrocell environment. Allen Telecom Group (ATG), which has [...]

Several cellular telephone equipment manufacturers are forming strategic partnerships to cope with changing customer demands brought about by a deregulated and more competitive environment. Companies such as Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and ADC announced partnerships at the recent Telecom 95 show in Geneva, Switzerland., Providing service in a deregulated, competitive environment will be a challenge to all carriers. Supplying equipment to those carriers may prove equally difficult as service providers pare back staff and [...]

Richardson, TX-based DGI Technologies Inc. is introducing its DIF-2060C HD high-density digital interface frame for the cellular market. DGI redesigned a previously-released frame to come up with the system, which allows cellular carriers to expand Motorola EMS-2500 switching systems from DSC Communications., It's not easy being the scorn of an industry, but Lyle Kaufman is getting over it. 'Everybody hates us but the customer,' says the president of DGI Technologies. That's because [...]

Several vendors have unveiled new asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) products for computer networks. Fujitsu Network Switching introduced its Fetex-150 ESP B160 switch which may be configured to handle capacity from 2.5 Gbps up to 160 Gbps. General DataComm (GDC) disclosed its reseller agreement with NetEdge which paved the way for the latter's edge routers to be marketed with GDC's Apex ATM switches. Premisys, on the other hand, announced its entry into the ATM voice market with its Integrated Multiple Access Communications Server., A host of vendors is rolling our new or next-generation ATM projects including the largest ATM switch yet introduced. Fujitsu Network Switching unveiled its third-generation ATM switch. The Fetex150 ESP [...]

Carriers are expecting revenues from frame relay services to top $700 million in 1995 and grow to $1 billion in 1997. The service, which enables customers to obtain large savings over leased lines, is currently being extended to branch offices and smaller users even as voice, video and Internet access capability are being integrated into public and private frame relay networks., New applications could send revenue soaring beyond sellers' expectations. Frame relay is booming, no doubt about it. According to some estimates, worldwide revenue from frame relay services will top $1 [...]

ADC Telecommunications Inc. transformed itself from a bit player into one of the largest players in the telecommunications equipment market by focusing on improving its performance. ADC began playing in the big league in 1990 when it won contracts to supply big companies with cabinets and outside plant equipment, but established its position in the industry after landing three awards in 1995: a $35-million share of the deal with Scientific Atlanta and Digital Equipment Corp; a $185-million supply contract with Optus Vision; and, a contract to supply access platform to Southern New England Telephone., ADC has outgrown its role as an outside plant equipment vendor. Now it's a player looking to supply solutions for the entire network. Big companies are supposed to survive by [...]

Communications Manufacturing Corp. has developed a system that allows technicians access to a dialtone regardless of their location. The system, which consists of a hand-held data terminal that uses Proxim's wireless local area network and a Motorola radio with a cellular modem mounted inside a service vehicle, has been tested by Southwestern Bell. The equipment is particularly useful during bad weather conditions and in areas where it is not safe to leave service vehicles., No one doubts the ability of wireless technology to extend carriers' serving areas. But exploiting the full abilities of the technology often takes a combination of wireless systems. Communications Manufacturing [...]

MFS Datanet Inc., the telecommunications company that developed the first network that combines voice, data and video services over the same ATM network, has launched a new service called Wide Area Voice Exchange (WAVE). The service allows customers to deploy voice and data over two separate circuits but over the same network. It involves the variable bit rate technology, which reduces the bandwidth without affecting the quality and reach of the voice call., MFS Datanet president Al Fenn was always certain ATM would combine voice, data and video. He just didn't realize it would take two years. 'It's odd in our business to [...]

Local loop competition continues to intensify as the number of public utilities companies continue to increase in the Western states. Among the companies which have recently received approval to operate in the West include Electric Lightwave Inc., Brooks Fiber and MFS Communications Company Inc. Public service commissions and local authorities have already passed a legislation authorizing competition to eliminate the problems and issues related to number portability, pricing and rate structure., As competition has encroached on local exchange carriers' territories, mast of the attention has focused on high-population density states such as New York, Illinois and Pennsylvania. Now rural Western states [...]

Sprint Corp.'s synchronous optical network (SONET) plan for 1995 was highlighted by the launching of the company's newly-completed four-fiber bidirectional line switched ring. Sprint's coast-to-coast computer network, which consists of 15 rings, is part of the company's planned expanded ring network that will be operational by 1998. When the expanded ring network is completed, major cities throughout the US will be connected by 43 network rings., It only took nine days for Sprint to prove it chose the right technology. Most carriers don't like to trumpet the fact they've had a fiber cut. So when a [...]

Regional Bell operating companies (RBOCs) are aware of the potential profits that will be generated from virtual transactions but they are not certain which part of the transaction process they should assume. RBOCs can offer their services during the actual purchase or in the process of debiting an account. However, they must first gain the confidence of consumers, most of whom are wary of sending their credit card and checking account numbers over computer networks., The RBOCs know there's money to be made in electronic commerce but aren't sure where to look for their pot of gold. Telco radar screens are crowded with potential new [...]

Vocaltec Inc. and Camelot are leading other companies in the development of software products for voice communications. Vocaltec offers the first commercial full-duplex software which enables its users to make an overseas call for the price of a local call. Camelot, on the other hand, is in the process of launching a software package that will include voice encryption, conference calling, call screening and voice messaging., The battle to run voice over the Internet is brewing, but don't expect the amorphous and ever-expanding Net to challenge telco networks any time soon. In the early stages of [...]

Teleport Corp. has expanded its networking capacity continuously through acquisitions and new construction. The company's central operations are run by its 87-member Network Management Center under the leadership of Carlo Vernieri. It is a relatively new company and this fact has its advantages. For one, it is not saddled with old technology and is therefore free to explore innovative solutions., At the CAP's Staten Island centralized facility, they don't even like to call their operation network management; it's all just customer service. Every time he walks into Teleport's Network Management [...]

Carriers should discard their 'fix it after it's broken' mentality and instead adopt a proactive approach to network monitoring, testing and maintenance. Under this approach, providers strive to attain 99.99999% error-free service by identifying potential problems long before they disrupt service and affect customers. Problems may be spotted through the use of performance monitoring software, traditional testing equipment, or a combination of both., To improve up time, providers cast off 'fix it after it's broken' mentality. In a perfect world, advanced technologies such as Sonet wouldn't need monitoring. A self-healing technology, Sonet should [...]

MFS Communications Company Inc. Pres. and COO Royce Holland is confident his company and other competitive access providers (CAP) will eventually break the monopoly enjoyed by Bell regional holding companies (RBOC) over local telecom service. He believes political reforms and changes in public perceptions will pave the way for local loop competition. He also dismissed RBOCs' accusations that CAPs are only out to boost profits and will be detrimental to the realization of universal service., Behind his desk on the 16th floor of Chicago's Oak Brook Tower, MFS Communications' President and COO Royce Holland has a small collection of antique phones. They're all black except [...]

Bell Atlantic Network Integration's (BANI) VP of marketing and business development Richard Mace says his company is benefitting from large corporations' outsourcing of their network management functions. According to Mace, the trend towards network integration, which has already turned the business into a $2 billion market, is driven by end users' concerns with operating expenses and the size of their networks., For Bell Atlantic Network Integration, creating opportunities means first building trust. But for most carriers, it won't be an easy sell. Like most RBOC executives, Richard Mace has lots of [...]

A group of telecommunication equipment vendors have developed a permanent number portability solution that may be deployed using existing technology. The solution, which was unveiled at the 1995 Assn. for Local Telecommunications spring conference and submitted to the New York Public Service Commission, employs a database of NXX codes and a service control point to relay calls to receiving carriers. Its developers are MCI, Nortel, Siemens Stromberg-Carlson and Tandem Computers., The effort's main purpose: show current technology and standards can create a solution that works and can be ready in the short term. Making as much a political statement as [...]

The American National Standards Institute will launch an on-line database of telecommunication standards in 1998. The development of the National Standards Systems Network database, which may be accessed via the Internet, was financed by a $2 million grant from the National Institute of Science and Technology. According to project director Ron Walker, however, concerns about security, user payments, copyright, access and ownership issues could delay the launch., For telecom equipment vendors such as ADC Telecommunications, standards are more than recipes for developing products. They are guidelines for what the marketplace expects. They also can be a source [...]

Summa Four Inc has developed a next-generation distributed switch that could render the large central office switches extinct. The switch is based on open, programmable and scalable platforms. The distributed switching manufacturer, which has already sold around 1,000 switches, will likely increase its sales figure by 30% by the end of the 20th century. The company's SDS line includes distributed switches that use the Unix operating system and C language-based software., Summa Four's vision of an open, distributed network is making big switch manufacturers nervous and has carriers paying attention. Summa Four has not necessarily changed with the industry. Instead, the [...]

Multichannel Communication Sciences Inc. has developed a broadband descrambling technology that enables video dialtone and cable TV subscribers to avoid renting set-top boxes. The digital broadband descrambler, which is mounted either on the side of the home or at the pedestal, allows subscribers to simultaneously receive all channels, unlike set-top boxes. Subscribers do not have to purchase signal splitters and switches and spend time making the necessary equipment connections., It's a management mantra - the customer comes first. But hundreds of companies pay it little more than lip service. Time Warner learned its lesson the hard way. When it [...]

The Dept. of State and the Dept. of Justice notified FCC Chmn. Reed Hundt about the legality of call-back long distance telephone services. Call-back operations do not violate international law, international comity principles and International Telecommunications Union regulations. However, both AT and T and a consortium from Central America called COMTELCA are protesting about the practice, which they consider as stealing precious network time., Are Call-Back Schemes Good Business or Network Thievery? They represent less than 1% of the long distance market, yet to some interexchange carriers, international call-back firms are nothing more than [...]

Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switch vendors are planning to include voice as part of their service offerings. ATM currently handles data and voice signals, but will likely carry voice transmissions in the near future. General DataCom Industries Inc., FORE Systems Inc., Cascade Communications Corp. and Ericsson Business Communications Inc. have formulated their voice migration plans for the ATM switches. An analysis of the ATM migration is presented., Despite promising to deliver an integrated voice/data/video solution, ATM mostly handles data, with some video applications mixed in for good measure. Within a few years, however, ATM switch vendors plan [...]

Bell Atlantic Carrier Services considers granting potential competitors access to Regional Bell Operating Co.'s (RBOC) network. Such potential competitors include both landline and cellular telecommunication service providers. With the inevitability of business alliances in the telecommunication sector, Bell Atlantic Carrier Services foresees RBOCs merging or establishing joint ventures with foreign service providers., Bell Atlantic Reaps Rewards of Selling Access to Other Carriers Pat Hanley and Helen Seltzer probably don't get invited to many industry cocktail parties. Respectively the president of Bell Atlantic [...]

Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) will have greater use in the telecommunications market if it is applied as a technology rather than a kind of service. Companies will have difficulty justifying high cost of services to power users and there is little possibility that the price can be reduced. However, when used as a transport medium or in interconnecting local area networks, ATM products' marketability will be increased., When the first ATM products hit the market, the technology was hailed as a savior that would lead users and carriers to the promised land of OC-3c access, where killer [...]

The establishment of a single open management systems standards is expected to revolutionize the telecommunications industry. Of the many open management standards available to telecommunications companies, the common management information protocol common management information services standard is increasingly being adopted by telecommunications companies. However, several issues need to be resolved first before a single open management systems standard can be adopted., But Standards Could Yield Unprecedented Freedom for Users Sometime in the future, when an insurance company on the West Coast wants to make a video conference call to a policy [...]

Hughes Network Systems Inc. is introducing two products using very small aperture terminal (VSAT) technology. The first product, known as the LANAdvantage Plus, offers both frame relay and VSAT ports in a single card and can be used in traditional VSAT functions such as credit card verification, price file changes and inventory control. The second, known as DirectPC, is a high-speed information service that allows users to send data at speeds of up to 12 megabits per second., Very small aperture terminal (VSAT) satellite systems, often relegated to the fringes of the telecommunications market, are starting to make a big impression on data communications users. Two new products, [...]

Sprint Corp., Splitrock Telephone, U S WEST Inc. and Southwestern Bell Corp. are involved in a project called the Multi-dimensional Applications and Gigabit Internetwork Consortium (MAGIC), which aims to bring the military's high-speed data transmission technology to the mass market. Among MAGIC's goals is to develop remote live imaging for medical and other applications based on asynchronous transfer mode and SONET data transfer technologies., Telcos' Testbed in Kansas City Seeks to Move High-Speed Military Applications to the Mass Market Call it gigabits or 'teravision.' Those are the words Sprint and a handful of LECs [...]

Cellular telephone and personal communications services providers are turning to subscriber identity modules (SIM) to prevent cellular fraud, which is estimated to cost carriers about $1 million per day. SIMs come in the form of either chips or credit-card-size devices which contain the mobile identification number and the electronic serial number, which are tapped by criminals, as well as other service features. Removing the SIMs prevents unauthorized use of cellular telephone units. SIMs may also be used to customize services and thus minimize customer transfers to other service providers., With cellular fraud costing carriers as much as $1 million per day, according to some estimates, new PCS providers are acutely aware of the need to address the problem before [...]

The commercial deployment of code division multiple access service (CDMA) may take longer than expected. However, a group of 30 business entities are working together to make CDMA available to the market by mid-1995. The coalition is trying to solve problems in linking a CDMA-based system with telephone communication systems. Still, certain companies that aim to enter the market early have decided to forego the technology in favor of those that are ready for commercial deployment such as time division multiple access., Last month's CTIA show in New Orleans was more than an opportunity for manufacturers to show off their latest gadgets. Between the sessions, press conferences and exhibits, the long-simmering battle [...]

Starstream Communications Pres. Zoe Hazen aims to join the competition in the personal communications services (PCS) industry by participating in the FCC's broadband PCS auctions. Hazen has had experience in the telecommunications industry where she offered consulting services to Satellite Master Antenna Television operators based in the West Coast. Hazen's strong business relationships and management expertise could help her guide Starstream through strategic partnerships in the highly competitive telecommunications industry., Telecom Business Is Next on Entrepreneur's Agenda Zoe Hazen has spent most of her professional life breaking barriers - first in the construction industry, next the radio business. Currently, she's [...]

Bell regional holding companies (BROC) are being pressured to open themselves to competition as the Republican-dominated Congress begins to discuss the deregulation of the industry. The most sensitive issue is the call for BROCs to pay for calls that are coursed through networks owned by other entities. While Nynex has acceded to the proposal by signing a contract with MFS Communications on a reciprocal compensation scheme, other companies have resisted. U S WEST, among others, has recommended the use of a flat rate that has access switched charges as its basis instead of the proposed compensation scheme., With the new Republican-controlled Congress apparently ready to tackle telecom deregulation soon, it may become politically important for the RBOCs to begin opening their networks to potential competitors. But getting [...]

Ameritech VP for Technology Joel Engel wants to develop a product which will best embody the convergence of various computing and communications technologies. In looking for multimedia applications which have the potential to become a huge market success, he believes it is important to have a firm grasp of the needs of typical users. He predicts that some home-based applications will soon be utilized in business operations and that switching systems will continue to play a key role in future technological developments., But Ameritech's Joel Engel Hasn't Gone Hollywood Joel Engel is searching for the application that will make convergence a reality and bring big dividends to Ameritech stockholders. But he's cautious, [...]

Yelm Telephone Co. has begun adopting new communications technologies to boost its competitiveness and to introduce customers to the benefits of advanced service. Despite their interest in new systems, however, Yelm officials adopt only those technologies which they believe are needed by customers. A case in point is its introduction of wireless centrex services for businessmen in rural communities in early 1994., Staying in business means staying one step ahead Yelm, Wash., doesn't differ much from most small towns that dot the Pacific Northwest. Entering city limits via Hwy. 510, the scenery [...]

Technological advancements in voice recognition methods could simplify certain tasks such as recording television programs on video or calling up someone over the telephone. A technology is being developed for a voice-activated information services system in which users prompt a terminal to find out the latest stock market figures or seek directory assistance. Research is under way, but it could take some time before voice recognition technology becomes a permanent household fixture., For the more than 50% of Americans who still have 12:00 flashing on their VCRs, the thought of learning to record programs in a 500-channel world is daunting. However, advances [...]

The personal digital assistant (PDA) may become popular once again with the commercial deployment of intelligent agent technology. PDAs fell out of favor due to overly-optimistic projections as well as to the technology itself. The first PDA with an intelligent agent to be launched is Sony's Magic Link communicator. The unit combines General Magic's Magic Cap platform and Telescript software, and uses AT&T's PersonaLink Service., Despite some premature death notices, the personal digital assistant (PDA) is alive and well. True, sales have been anemic. But that is due as much to overly-optimistic projections as it [...]

A combination of inertia at the high end of the asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) market and increasing demand at the fringes of the network is generating business for small ATM vendors. Large companies are not likely to dominate the market because there is no demand for big ATM switches, partly because of the difficulty of measuring these switches. Aside from this, business is beginning to pick up for small vendors because ATM applications are dominated by LAN-to-LAN data transfer., A market in flux creates opportunities for smaller, fleet-footed competitors. So it is in the ATM switching market, where a combination of emerging demand at the edge of the network [...]

Cable companies are well-positioned to serve the demand for integrated data, voice and video communications. To help cable commpanies with the complicated process of sending two-way signals over cable systems, Motorola Inc. has developed the CableCom system, which has been tested by TCI and Teleport. The manner of sorting voice and video signals downstream while sending voice signals upstream is discussed., As cable companies and telcos emerge from post-merger mania, they are stuck with the technological reality of converging voice, data and video into a single network. In theory, cable companies, [...]