PHONE+ Goes Prepaid

Posted: 03/2000

Overheard …

… at a January luncheon
at the National Press Club in Washington …

"My lawyers tell me that the most important question that regulators have to
ask when reviewing our merger [with Sprint Corp.] or any merger is whether the merged
company can raise and sustain a 5 percent price increase in any relevant market. As to the
‘New WorldCom,’ the answer is ‘No.’ There are two reasons I can make this unequivocal
statement: There is too much competition and too much capacity."
—Bernard J. Ebbers, President and CEO, MCI WorldCom Inc. (www.wcom.com)

Surfing or Working?

Surfing on the job could become a problem. Nearly two out of three companies have
disciplined employees for misusing the Internet while nearly one-third have fired
employees for such infractions, according to a January survey by Websense Inc. (www.websense.com) and the Center for Internet Studies (www.virtualaddiction.com).

The survey polled 224 human resource directors of companies ranging from 6 to 224
employees. More than half (56.3 percent) of those polled admitted that employees misuse
the Internet. One-third (34.4 percent) reported not being concerned about it, but a
majority (82.6 percent) of respondents reported having a written Internet use policy.

Numbers Game

1.8 million = number of fiber kilometers deployed by U.S. long-haul carriers in 1997.

4.0 million = number of fiber kilometers deployed in 1998.

6.7 million = number of fiber kilometers deployed in 1999.

10 million = number of fiber kilometers expected to be deployed in 2000.

Source: KMI Corporation (www.kmicorp.com).

Cartoon: Alternate Channel
by Lance Sterling