WorldCom said its Internet and data revenue jumped 15% in quarter ended Dec. 31 but net income for overall company plunged 44% to $726 million from $1.3 billion year ago. While continued long distance pricing pressures pinched profits, WorldCom said revenue increases were driven in part by 28% year-over-year growth in data and Internet services. For 2000, international services revenue rose 29%. Based on recent restructuring, company reported financial results separated by high-growth data operations of WorldCom group and MCI Group long distance unit. For latter, revenue in quarter dropped nearly 9% to $3.8 billion from $4.2 billion year earlier. MCI Group saw growth in consumer subscription long distance and local services businesses, offset by lower revenues from transaction brands and calling card service. Services such as calling cards are seeing fall-off as more customers migrate to wireless plans, company said.
Kan. House passed bill (HB-2099) that would amend state’s antislamming law to allow corporations and other organizations to take legal action against telephone slamming. Present law allows only individuals and state agencies to prosecute slamming complaints. Measure also would require Kan. Corp. Commission and Attorney Gen.’s Office to share information and otherwise cooperate in prosecuting slammers. Bill now is in Senate Commerce Committee.
Cisco won contract to provide BT Cellnet with IP and asynchronous transfer mode equipment for its 3rd-generation wireless network, value not announced. BT Cellnet said infrastructure would allow it to provide advanced voice, data and mobile services.
Metricom revenue plummeted nearly 50% to $2.4 million in 4th quarter ended Dec. 31 from same period last year. Company, which offers high-speed mobile Internet service Ricochet, reported net loss more than doubled to $114.4 million from net loss of $56.3 million year earlier. Metricom CEO Timothy Dreisbach said results were in line with expectations but company was scaling back deployment plans due to “the reality of the tight capital markets.” Company said it had sufficient funding for operations and network build-out into 2nd half of year, but would need more financing beyond that. On earnings news, Metricom shares fell nearly 44% on Nasdaq Thurs. to $5.81.
Reflecting on Telecom Act progress after 5 years, FCC Comr. Ness said Thurs. she hoped Commission would “hold firm in our view” that it’s only after Bell companies have met statutory requirements such as cost-based pricing that they are allowed to enter long distance. She spoke to reporters at press breakfast one day after AT&T Chmn. Michael Armstrong suggested in National Press Club speech that long distance carriers were having so much trouble breaking into local markets it might not be worth effort (CD Feb 8 p7). He raised concerns such as inability to lease unbundled network elements at reasonable prices. Chmn. Powell this week also told reporters he didn’t think “deregulation is like the dessert” served only as reward for creation of competition. Asked about Armstrong warning that AT&T might exit markets where it offers local service, Ness said his frustration appeared to stem from pricing regime set on state-by-state basis. “I do think we need to look at some pricing issues, particularly together with our colleagues in the states,” Ness said, noting issue had emerged in conjunction with Bell long distance applications in Mass. and Okla. “We need to have prices that are forward-looking, that are consistent with the requirements of the Act,” Ness said. “We ought to be looking together with the states on what the best practices are.” She said “sustainable” competition has to be based on both cost-based measurements and efficient applications. Asked whether she expected Powell-led FCC to take less activist turn, Ness disputed “notion that all issues here are decided on partisan grounds.” Telecom issues historically are framed along lines of arguments that are more sympathetic to incumbents “versus those more sympathetic to the arguments of the insurgents,” she said. In other policy areas, Ness said she anticipated Commission would move forward on reciprocal compensation and related intercarrier compensation issues shortly. “I am hoping that we will address both of those pieces in the next few weeks,” she said. On wireless spectrum cap, which FCC is re-examining, Ness said it was time to assess purpose of cap. She said she also hoped that service providers with wireless licenses would “do everything in their powers to use spectrum more efficiently.”
NTL Australia signed 10-year contract with Cable & Wireless Optus to provide satellite downlink services for Australian Bcstg. Corp. digital TV in regional and rural Australia, terms not announced.
Verizon shouldn’t be allowed to enter Mass. long distance market because Mass. Dept. of Telecom & Energy (MDTE) hasn’t set permanent rates for unbundled network elements (UNEs) based on forward-looking TELRIC (total element long-run incremental cost) methodology, Mass. Attorney Gen. said in comments to FCC Feb. 6. Filing said rates didn’t meet one of Telecom Act’s checklist requirements. It also said that until MDTE can review Verizon’s performance assurance plan (PAP), filed Jan. 30, there was no proof that Verizon wasn’t discriminating against its data competitors in favor of its separate affiliate. Attorney Gen. said Verizon’s PAP didn’t include enough DSL performance measures to assure compliance with Act. Filing said DSL competition in Mass. was dwindling, making need to monitor and remedy poor DSL performance greater to ensure consumers have choices.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Consumer acceptance of Interactive TV (ITV) has been “staggering,” said Wink Communications Vp-e-Commerce Mktg. Karen Gold at IBDNetwork panel discussion here Tues. Todd Lash, RespondTV senior vp-product strategy, said ITV had encountered no problem of consumer acceptance. Technology used in ITV is similar to that on Internet to track consumer movements and preferences and can be research tool to help advertisers target their messages, Gold said. Company such as Wink can follow viewers’ responses to interactive ads or surveys and help their advertising clients analyze results, she said.
Unless policymakers crack down on Bell companies, AT&T may have to leave markets where it now offers local phone service and not enter new ones, AT&T Chmn. Michael Armstrong said Wed. in speech at National Press Club. On eve of Telecom Act’s 5th anniversary, Armstrong said AT&T, Sprint and other competitors have had so much difficulty breaking into local markets that it might not make sense to keep trying. Biggest problem is inability to lease unbundled network elements (UNEs) at reasonable prices, he said: “We cannot continue to lose money to force competition. If competing doesn’t make business sense, it’s not going to happen.” Armstrong told reporters after speech that AT&T would “no longer go into markets and lose big sums just to show we're competing.” If nothing changes, “we will be forced to shut down our local service business in N.Y. and Tex.,” he said.
Ga. PSC approved 2nd overlay area code for metro Atlanta to relieve depletion of area’s first code overlay, 678. When new overlay is implemented in fall, it will cover same geographic area now designated by 678, 770 and 404 codes. PSC also ordered phone number conservation measures including number pooling, rate center consolidation and surrender of exchange prefixes that have gone unused for more than 6 months. PSC also ordered all local exchange providers to file number-usage reports each March and Aug.