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Long-Distance Operator
The Federal Communications Commission, in a 3-to-1 vote last Monday, gave Verizon Communications the go-ahead to begin offering long-distance service in Massachusetts. FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani voted against the proposal, saying she is not convinced Verizon has complied with the open market requirements of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Verizon already offers long-distance in New York. The only other regional Bell cleared to sell long-distance is SBC Communications, which serves Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
Just a Warm Up
Chipmaker Qualcomm says it has signed another 18 developers to work on Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless, an operating system that competes with Sun Microsystems Java and offerings from Openwave Systems and Texas Instruments. Qualcomm has about 60 BREW developers, a paltry sum compared with the more than 11,000 developers of wireless Java worldwide.
Big Fish
U.S. Cellular will spend about $100 million over four years on wireless gear made by Lucent Technologies. The gear will be used in U.S. Cellulars network in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.