InternetNews Staff

Sprint will trim between 5 percent and 7 percent from its operating budget, resulting in more than $1 billion in annual savings over the next three years, its CEO said this morning. The voice and data service provider said the initiative includes: consolidating systems and reducing reduncancies; automating some processes; and recasting the organizational setup. […]

With students downloading everything from music to software, college campuses are becoming a breeding ground for software piracy, according to a new study. Nearly two-thirds of students surveyed say the would potentially download pirated software and a majority of academics say downloading software is a real problem on campus, notes the report from the Business […]

Wireless phone system maker SpectraLink and Vertical Networks, an integrated communication systems company, are pairing their products in an effort to promote wireless voice over IP (VoIP) in retail stores, branch offices and small businesses. Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Vertical Networks said Tuesday that it has added software to its InstantOffice platform that supports SpectraLink’s NetLink wireless […]

More than $4.6 billion in technology-oriented federal grant funds are immediately available to institutions of higher education according to a new report released by Reston, Va.-based market research firm Input. The report examines three of the largest federal grant recipients who collectively received more than $730 million in awards in 2002: Carnegie-Mellon, Massachusetts Institute of […]

Satellite communications specialist Hughes Network Systems (HNS) is expanding its relationship with Internet service provider ChinaCast. Under a new deal, HSN will provide equipment including a new network operations center and remote satellite terminals. The companies also agreed to jointly market enterprise network services in China. Financial terms of the agreements were not disclosed. The […]

A Department of Defense contract is perking up the the bedraggled telecom equipment sector. The Global Information Grid Bandwidth Expansion (GigBe) is said to be worth up to $900 million over two years and includes large orders for core and edge routers, multi-service provisioning platforms, optical transport systems; and optical digital crossconnects. Winners have not […]

On the heels of this summer’s historic blackout and the second anniversary of Sept. 11, AT&T is conducting a three-day network disaster recovery (NDR) exercise beginning today in Boston. Simulating destruction of a telephone switching center, the test challenges the carrier’s workers to restore service as quickly as possible using trucked-in coax and fiber-optic cable […]

Motorola’s broadband unit has licensed conditional access (CA) technology from French telecom Viaccess for use in three of its most popular digital set-top boxes. The combined products, to be available to overseas cable and satellite TV operators first, makes it easier to offer subscription, pay-per-view and other services, to viewers. The deal was announced this […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is hosting a Rural Wireless Internet Service Provider (ISP) Showcase and Workshop Sept. 18 at the FCC’s headquarters in Washington. The event is part of ongoing Commission efforts intended to facilitate the deployment of broadband services to rural America. The event will feature virtual tours of several wireless ISPs, discussions […]

Thoma Cressey Equity Partners has bought a majority stake in Sterling Commerce’s banking software unit for an undisclosed sum. Sterling Commerce is a subsidiary of broadband service provider SBC Communications . The unit, which sells software to automate check imaging, electronic payments and other financial transactions, will be spun out and renamed VECTORsgi. Its management […]

SRA International has won the IT support services contract to provide a broad range of IT services to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), an independent federal agency that oversees the management of all federal records. The contract has an estimated value of $47 million over five years if all options are exercised. Under […]

XM Satellite Radio closed Thursday on a $150 million secondary offering of stock. The Washington-based XM plans to use the money for the construction of XM-4, its new ground spare satellite, if insurance proceeds are not received in a “timely manner.” XM is currently negotiating with its insurer over a $400 million claim on its […]