August 2003
The ATS Network & Billing Update is published by Advanced Technologies & Services, Inc. (www.atso.com), a revenue and service assurance solutions provider. This free newsletter is an electronic monthly guide to telecommunications OSS, billing, and revenue assurance news and analysis, and is distributed by subscription only. To subscribe, click on the "Sign Up" link at left. To unsubscribe, contribute an article, or for offbeat news, please scroll to the end. Feel free to forward this newsletter!
In this issue:
Justice Department investigates WorldCom/MCI for
access-charge fraud
Justice Department Investigates WorldCom/MCI For Access-Charge Fraud
MCI, the bankrupt telecommunications company that has won a contract to offer mobile-phone service in Iraq, is now being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice for fraud related to the payment of access charges to wireline telephone companies. [More] [Top of Page]
(Related Article: NY Times: Accusations Against MCI Could Drive Clients Away)
Analysts Think Bitter Verizon Strike Looms
With hours left before contracts expire for 80,000 unionized Verizon Communications Inc. workers in the Northeast, telecommunications companies and analysts are bracing for what many see as a likely protracted and disruptive strike whose effects could ripple through the telecom industry. [More] [Top of Page] Source: Boston Globe -- Peter J. Howe.
ITC DeltaCom, BTI Agree to Merge
CLECs ITC DeltaCom and BTI Telecom (BTI) plan to merge in an all stock transaction that will establish the new company as the largest CLEC serving the southern part of the US. The companies signed a definitive agreement to combine their operations to serve about 40 markets and more than 50,000 customers. The deal calls for ITC to issue seven million shares of its common stock to BTI along with warrants to buy three million shares of its stock for $8.50 per share, whereby BTI will become a subsidiary of IDT. The new company will be located at ITC's headquarters in West Point, Georgia and will operate under the name ITC DeltaCom. The transaction has been approved the both companies' board of directors and is slated to be completed by October 2003. [Top of Page]
Today's Optical Switches are Less Ambitious, More Practical
Few industry observers would have predicted during the heyday of optical switch development just a few years ago that the first applications of the technology would involve low port counts and specialized niches. The initial vision was for large switching matrices for use at the core of an all-optical network-and when that vision came face-to-face with the reality of the bandwidth glut, optical switching seemed to go into a kind of hibernation period. [More] [Top of Page] Source: America's Network -- .
Qwest Negotiating Resale Agreement With Sprint PCS
Qwest Communications is
reportedly close to inking a wireless resale agreement with Sprint PCS.
According to a copyrighted story published by the Wall Street Journal,
Qwest may also agree to transfer all of its existing wireless customers
onto the Sprint PCS network. Under the resale deal, Qwest would offer
wireless services to consumer customers in its local calling region under
its own brand name. It also would provide service to businesses
nationwide. Qwest lacks a strong presence in the wireless sector, which
detracts from its ability to offer service bundles like the ones offered
by most of the other major telecom carriers.
[Top of Page]
OffBeat News: Divorce by mobile phone?
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysian (Reuters) -- Malaysian Muslim men can divorce their wives through text messages on mobile telephones, the New Straits Times daily reported on Saturday, quoting a religious adviser to the government.
Hamid Othman, adviser to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, said divorce via SMS or short messaging service was in accordance with sharia law if it was clear and unambiguous.
"SMS is just another form of writing," the daily quoted Hamid as saying, following an Islamic court decision on Thursday that ruled in favor of a man who served divorce on his wife using SMS.
Islamic law permits a man to divorce his wife by declaring "I divorce you" three times. [Top of Page]
_______________________________________________________________
If you find this newsletter valuable, then please pass it on to any colleagues or friends who may benefit from this information. Thank you!
Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Please do e-mail us at info@atso.com.
Subscription Instructions:
Terms
of Use l Privacy
Statement l
Contact Us
Copyright 2008 (Advanced Technologies & Services,
Inc.) All Rights Reserved
ATS Finds Money in Your Network:
SimCall™: Revenue & Service Assurance at the Switch™ ROI Estimator
MTP™: Automation at the Switch™
AMADEUS™: CDR Mining and Analysis for Recip Comp/CABS
RCM™: Corporate Definitions of Routing and Charging Expectations
