Paul Coe Clark III

WASHINGTON — Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.) today brought his Bell-deregulation act before a harsh critic: Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-S.C.), a Southerner as ornery and eloquent as Tauzin and staunchly opposed to it. Tauzin and Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), the chairman and ranking member of the House Commerce Committee, were pitching their bill (H.R. 1542), which […]

WASHINGTON — The average American might be excused for thinking, on the basis of the output of the hyperactive Washington press corps, that our nations capital is a place of constant activity. Not so. In fact, most issues of grave public import enter the governmental consciousness with a media-generated splash, then disappear into a void […]

The Network Reliability and Interoperability Council, the cross-industry group that makes best-practices recommendations on reliability, on Sept. 11 inherited an intense new focus on homeland security. Paul Coe Clark III talked to James Crowe, outgoing chairman of NRIC and CEO of Level 3 Communications, about the new focus and the challenges facing incoming chairman Joe […]

Howard Schmidt is chief security officer at Microsoft. He recently testified before the House Subcommittee on Commerce Trade and Consumer Protection about the state of Internet and computer security. We tracked him down later to ask him about, among other things, cyberterrorism and the Microsofts level of responsibility for the success of large virus attacks. […]

WASHINGTON — Theres a bad idea percolating in this city. I know, I know, youre thinking thats not possible. Washington is a wellspring of wisdom and a fountain of intelligence. Nonetheless, I assure you its true. But theres no point in blaming Washington for this idea. Like many bad ideas that emerge here, it was […]

In the current state of tension on Capitol Hill, it only takes one casual remark to start a panic. No, Im not talking about anthrax, although I spent much of the morning in the newly (I hope) disinfected Rayburn House Office Building. Im talking about broadband deregulation. The case in point is the now-famous (for […]

Telephone carriers today continued a struggle to reconnect southern Manhattan in preparation for the planned reopening of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. Verizon Communications, the incumbent carrier for New York, had about 100 people working feverishly in the 140 West S. Central office that feeds lower Manhattan. Talking to reporters today, Verizon president […]

Verizon Communications, the incumbent carrier for New York and most of the Eastern Seaboard, struggled today to restore service to Manhattan after the World Trade Center attacks damaged two central offices near the former site of the towers. The carrier apparently lost several employees in the attack. Verizon had 488 employees at the World Trade […]