NL International News Briefs

WorldCom severance payments approved by bankruptcy courtThe U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan has agreed to let WorldCom Inc. disburse US$36 million in severance payments. Despite earlier concerns they would get less than they were eligible for (NL, Aug. 13/02), 4,000 laid-off workers will receive an additional US$9,000 on average. Florida utility restructures its utel division, postpones Tier 2 rolloutFlorida Power and Light Company is restructuring its wholesale telecom and energy branches. The utility is lowering growth expectations for FPL FiberNet and will postpone rollout in Tier 2 markets in the state. High-speed cable hits 10 million American customers…The National Cable & Telecommunications Association reports that there are over 10 million high-speed cable Internet customers in the United States. That is a 1,000-fold increase from the numbers at the end of 1996, the NCTA notes. …But not everyone is willing to pay for high-speed serviceMost American families live in regions where high-speed Internet access is available, but most see no need to pay extra for it. A Department of Commerce report says only 10% of U.S. households have high-speed, lower than the rate in other developed countries. Vivendi to shed divisions, focus on telecom and broadcastingVivendi Universal is expected to divest its water supply division Vivendi Environnement, concentrating instead on its holdings in telecommunications and broadcasting. Among other things, chair Jean-René Fourtou is likely to increase the French firm’s 44% stake in phone company Cegetel. AT&T latest telco to consider abandoning Latin AmericaAT&T Corp. is ready to absorb its Latin American subsidiary and buy out holders of the shares. AT&T Latin America Corp., which sells service to businesses in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru, was created as a division of the American telco in 2000 after it purchased the Brazilian operations of small carrier Netstream. FCC seeks record fines against telcos for operator violationsThe Federal Communications Commission wants to fine One Call Communications Inc.—known as Opticom—US$5.1 million and ASC Telecom Inc. US$1.4 million for operator service violations. The FCC charges the companies had access numbers close to other telcos but failed to disclose that fact to customers, who ended up paying more than they expected. The fines would be the largest ever levied in the United States. COLT Telecom builds European infrastructureCOLT Telecom has completed the construction of its core network infrastructure. This will permit the company to rationalize its organization structure across Europe. Pakistan delays privatization of state-owned telcoPakistan is delaying the sale of a 26% stake in Pakistan Telecommunication Ltd. Despite 11 expressions of interest in PTCL, the government felt the telecom meltdown and the country’s border tensions with India did not make this an opportune time for privatization. Office Depot sells broadband services across United StatesOffice Depot Inc. is now offering high-speed broadband in its 820 stores across the United States. The Internet connectivity will be provided by a variety of firms, including Comcast Corp., EarthLink Inc., and America Online Inc. Telemarketer warning is Kanda-hard to believeThe Branch County MI sheriff’s department issued a warning about telephone scams and said that some telemarketing programs are being operated by Al-Qaida. Officials were red-faced when they discovered the report originated in the spoof tabloid, The Onion. The satirical story claimed the terrorists were offering LD service, magazine subscriptions and other services.

NL International News Briefs

News | October 8, 2002

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