Patricia Fusco

Multimedia authority James E. Martin has been named to head up Netscape Communications Corp.’s Netcenter portal. America Online, Inc. Tuesday appointed Martin as Netcenter’s senior vice president and general manager. He replaces Mike Homer, who took a sabbatical from Netscape after AOL’s acquisition. Homer has said he does intend to take a position in AOL, […]

Organizations supporting open access to cable networks are still celebrating last week’s U.S. District Court ruling that AT&T Corp. must make open access part of its $55 billion Tele-Communications Inc. “This decision was unavoidable and the idea that a local commission can’t speak for their own utilities is not the exception, but the harbinger of […]

AG Communication Systems, a subsidiary of Lucent Technologies, Monday announced that GTE Network Services will launch a dual state test of their SuperLine Access System in July. The innovative bundled solution is designed to deliver additional voice lines and data over existing copper wiring, reducing upgrade costs and deployment time. SuperLine voice and data access […]

U.S. District Judge Owen Panner has upheld a local government order for AT&T Corp. to open up its broadband cable network to competitors in Portland, Ore. In a blow to the telecommunications giant, Judge Panner late Friday said cable regulators in Portland had the right to make open access a condition their approval of AT&T’s […]

International Discount Telecommunications Corp. Friday launched its first co-location facility at its headquarters in Hackensack, N.J. Aside from traditional co-location features, IDT also allows businesses to co-locate voice servers alongside data servers. IDT currently co-locates for their subsidiary, Net2Phone. Internet telephony gateways at the facility allow IDT to support both voice and fax over IP […]

Affordable Internet access for Californians was on the line this week when the state’s Public Utilities Commission decided to defer action on a fee dispute between incumbent and local exchange carriers. CPUC Commissioner Josiah Neeper said the dispute between the carries boiled down to two issues. Whether Pacific Bell must pay reciprocal compensation to Pac-West […]

EarthLink Network Inc. Thursday released Fast Lane, a new piece of diagnostic software it hopes will reduce subscriber turnover. According to EarthLink, Fast Lane could help reduce the company’s less than 4-percent churn rate by as much as 10 to 15 percent. The application is designed to optimize member’s connections to the Internet through the […]

The battle cries demanding leased access to cable networks were delivered Wednesday to the Federal Communications Commission this week by a small California-based Internet service provider. Internet Ventures Inc. filed a petition with the FCC invoking the “must carry” clause of the 1996 Federal Communications Act. IVI contends that cable operators must carry independent Internet […]

Concentric Network Corp. Wednesday rolled out Digital Subscriber Line service in the greater Detroit metropolitan area. Concentric has aligned with Covad Communications Co. in order to deliver broadband Internet access utilizing DSL local loops throughout the greater Detroit area. DSL services are quickly replacing usage-based ISDN lines as a cost- effective alternative for businesses utilizing […]

WebTV Networks Inc. Tuesday announced President and Co-Founder Steve Perlman, a pioneer in the fusion of video and telecommunications technologies, is leaving the company at the end of the month. Perlman developed the WebTV concept in March 1995 and established WebTV Networks shortly thereafter with Bruce Leak and Phil Goldman. Perlman will remain with the […]

International Discount Telecommunications Corp. Tuesday unveiled one of the nation’s first pre-paid bilingual Internet services. Nuestra Voz is a full Spanish-to-English pre-paid Internet service designed for bilingual households in the U.S. “Only 11% of Hispanic households have Internet access, yet 27% have a personal computer at home. Through Nuestra Voz we can bring the Internet […]

AboveNet Communications Inc. Monday agreed to acquire the assets and liabilities of the Palo Alto Internet Exchange from Compaq Computer Corp. for approximately $75 million. “PAIX is unique among the major U.S. Internet Exchange points in that it is the first and only one to have open business policies and neutral peering policies,” said Sherman […]