Caron Carlson

Microsoft Corp. said Friday that it has improved its communications protocol licensing program, which was the focus of sharp criticism early last month from the U.S. Department of Justice and 16 states that had agreed to a remedy settlement ending years of antitrust litigation. The settling parties warned the U.S. District Court for the District […]

The federal government today suspended MCI WorldCom Corp. from any new federal contracts and proposed debarring the company from future contracts altogether. Bad news for the bankrupt company is emerging on a daily basis, as the proposed debarment comes one day after federal lawmakers demanded to see records of its call-routing patterns. The General Services […]

Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisc., today introduced a bill limiting the FBIs ability to force enterprises to turn over private data about their clients and customers. Under the USA Patriot Act, which passed shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the government can require companies to turn over records of Americans and non-Americans alike without […]

A Senate committee voted today to create a permanent ban on discriminatory Internet taxes and Internet access taxes. The committee-approved legislation, which mirrors a bill passed by a House committee earlier this month, paves the way for Congress to extend the Internet tax moratorium due to expire Nov. 1. Industry officials caution that if the […]

As WorldCom struggles to repair the damage wrought by its massive accounting fraud and subsequent bankruptcy, it continues to be dogged by new allegations of wrongdoing. Today, federal lawmakers who oversee telecommunications policy demanded to see documents pertaining to accusations that WorldCom diverted calls to avoid paying fees to other telephone companies. Now doing business […]

The expanded powers that Congress gave the FBI to search and seize private records—as well as other personal information and belongings—have been a source of criticism since the new authorities were enacted as part of the Patriot Act shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. More than 140 towns and other localities around the […]

Almost one-quarter of large businesses are poised to switch wireless carriers once they can keep their phone numbers, according to a study released Monday. A survey of 100 companies by The Management Network Group Inc. found that 24 percent of businesses with more than 500 employees are prepared to switch once carriers are required to […]

The Federal Communications Commission is considering redefining broadband access as an information service, regardless of whether it is provided by a telephone company, a cable company or any other vendor. But what sounds like a lot of regulatory minutiae comes down to one main issue: Who will offer low-cost broadband services in the future if […]

New modeling and simulation technology developed by Northrop Grumman Corp. for homeland security and disaster response agencies may soon be available to private enterprises for their own security and asset management operations. The Virtual Integrated System of Systems Tool for Analysis provides a realistic visual representation of an environment with icons serving as portals to […]

Content filtering becomes an escalating challenge as Internet users become more adept at sidestepping efforts to block their views. Today, Allot Communications Inc. is rolling out an upgraded version of its NetPure content filtering system, with added Russian and Spanish language filtering support and improved management capabilities. Organizations across sectors are looking for ways to […]

Avaya Inc. reported revenue of $1.072 billion for the third quarter of fiscal 2003, reflecting relative sales stability from second-quarter revenue of $1.081 billion. The Basking Ridge, N.J., company reported a net income of $8 million for the quarter, a considerable improvement over the second-quarter net loss of $41 million. To reduce expenses over the […]

If youre out on the road in an unfamiliar setting, you can now find out where the nearest gas station, post office or hotel is with a call from any digital cell phone. Wednesday, TeleCommunications Systems Inc. introduced Xypages, a hosted wireless location directory assistance application for wireless carriers. Carriers with digital networks can offer […]