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Telecommunications Reports presents....

                                  TR DAILY
                                  Oct. 24, 2001
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Table Of Contents
Click here for the full issue:
http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td102401/index.htm

COMMERCE DEPARTMENT ASKS
FCC TO LIFT SPECTRUM CAP
http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td102401/Td102401.htm

POWELL DEFENDS COMMISSION's SUPPORT
FOR 700 MHz BAND-CLEARING PACTS 
http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td102401/Td102401-01.htm

AT&T MEETS THIRD QUARTER EXPECTATIONS,
ANALYSTS SEE DISMAL 2002 
http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td102401/Td102401-02.htm

NEXTEL UPBEAT ON FINANCIAL TARGETS;
LEAP WIRELESS CAUTIONS ON FUNDING
http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td102401/Td102401-03.htm

NextWave SETTLEMENT TALKS
DRAW IRE OF SMALL BIDDERS
http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td102401/Td102401-04.htm

CONTENT SHORTCOMINGS HINDER BROADBAND GROWTH, 
NOT LACK OF CONNECTIONS, ITAA SAYS
http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td102401/Td102401-05.htm

COURT PROBES ROLE OF PERU'S GOVERNMENT
IN AWARDING CONTRACT FOR TELECOM NETWORK
http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td102401/Td102401-06.htm

PRIVACY COUNCIL WANTS AUDIT
OF MICROSOFT'S PASSPORT SERVICE
http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td102401/Td102401-07.htm

NEWS IN BRIEF
http://www.tr.com/online/trd/2001/td102401/Td102401-08.htm


****************************************************************
COMMERCE DEPARTMENT ASKS
FCC TO LIFT SPECTRUM CAP

The Commerce Department today called on the FCC to lift the cap on
the amount of spectrum carriers may hold in any one market, calling
the restriction "arbitrary and outdated."  The development is a
boost to the efforts of major wireless carriers that have lobbied
the FCC to repeal the cap.

Nancy Victory, head of the Commerce Department's National
Telecommunications & Information Administration, sent a letter to
FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell calling for the repeal of the cap on
commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) providers and the cellular
cross-interest rule, which restricts an entity's ownership interest
in cellular carriers operating in the same market.

"In today's CMRS market, characterized by multiple national
providers and numerous local carriers, rules such as these that
draw arbitrary lines in the name of ensuring competition are simply
not needed," Ms. Victory wrote.  "Indeed, their retention will more
likely result in consumer harm.  The rules' arbitrary constraints
on system capacity limit service availability as well as stifle the
deployment of innovative new offerings on the CMRS networks."

Repealing the restrictions "will not leave the CMRS market exposed
and susceptible to anticompetitive behavior or harmful
consolidation," she said.  She noted that the FCC and the Justice
Department had the authority to stop anticompetitive practices. 
The agencies' existing authority is "more than sufficient to
protect against future anticompetitive conduct or consolidation
that threatens the public interest," she said.

Retaining the cap would hurt consumers because carriers would be
unable to keep up with growing demand or handle unusually large
call volumes in certain instances, Ms. Victory said, citing
emergencies such as the terrorist attacks on the U.S.  "With re-
spect to new services, the limits set by the rules discourage the
offering of innovative new services over existing CMRS networks,"
she added.

Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans said the phrase "all circuits
are busy" should be retired "alongside other relics of the
industrial age and replaced by the opportunities and innovations
that consumers have come to expect in the 21st century."

But a conflict apparently exists within the Bush administration
over the spectrum cap.  The Small Business Administration has
complained that the FCC has failed to describe how modifying the
cap would affect small businesses or propose alternatives to
minimize any negative effects (TR, April 23).

Lifting the cap could ease pressure on the FCC and the Bush
administration to find spectrum for third-generation (3G) wireless
services.  Industry representatives have said the cap's repeal is
particularly important in light of the fact that 3G spectrum might
be unavailable for some time.

Thomas E. Wheeler, president and chief executive officer of the
Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, praised the
Commerce Department stance on the cap.  The Department has taken "a
bold policy position that will bring new and innovative services to
consumers across America," he said.

Currently, wireless carriers can only hold 45 megahertz of spectrum
in urban markets and 55 MHz in rural markets.  FCC Chairman Michael
K. Powell has proposed raising the limit to 55 MHz in urban markets
for 18 months, according to sources.  Other Commissioners have
indicated they would be willing to establish a higher limit,
according to one source.

Under proposals being discussed, after 18 months, the FCC would
either "sunset" the restriction or forbear from enforcing it, a
source said.  The Commission plans to vote on the proposed changes
at its Nov. 8 meeting, sources said.

-- Paul Kirby, pkirby@tr.com


****************************************************************
POWELL DEFENDS COMMISSION's SUPPORT
FOR 700 MHz BAND-CLEARING PACTS 

FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell has moved to justify the agency's
backing of voluntary band-clearing agreements between TV
broadcasters that operate in the 700 megahertz band and wireless
carriers that want the spectrum.  The pacts "may actually serve to
both increase revenues to the U.S. Treasury through auction funds
and facilitate the clearing of these frequencies for new commercial
and public safety uses," he said.

Responding to Sen. Ernest F. Hollings's (D., S.C.) recent letter on
the issue (TR, Oct. 22), Mr. Powell said the FCC was endorsing the
band-clearing option as a way to address a "looming quandary."  The
Telecommunications Act of 1996 permits broadcasters to keep their
frequencies in the 700 MHz band until 2006, at the earliest, while
the 1997 Balanced Budget Act mandates that the FCC auction the
frequencies before then, he noted.

"Relicensing this encumbered spectrum without clearly articulating
the rights and obligations of new licensees vis-a-vis the
incumbents before the end of the DTV transition would produce
further uncertainty of when the current broadcasters would vacate,"
Mr. Powell said in a letter released today by the Commission.  "The
Commission's actions clarifying these rights thus facilitate the
transition to the new uses that Congress has deemed important --
not the least of which is public safety," he wrote.

Freeing up the 700 Mhz band "will double the amount of public
safety spectrum available in the U.S. and provide for nationwide
availability of interoperable communications channels, which now
more than ever are in extremely high demand," he wrote.

Mr. Powell added, "I have no idea how much it will cost the auction
winners to clear the incumbents before the end of the transition,
but I do believe that, by these efforts, the U.S. Treasury and
American consumers will ultimately be compensated with greater
auction returns and more valuable service offerings, respectively."

-- Ryan Oremland, roremland@tr.com


****************************************************************
AT&T MEETS THIRD QUARTER EXPECTATIONS,
ANALYSTS SEE DISMAL 2002 

AT&T Corp.'s third quarter results largely met Wall Street's
reduced expectations, but some analysts anticipate the company's
fortunes will dim even further in 2002.  Merrill Lynch & Co. and
Lehman Brothers today downgraded the company's shares because they
foresee continued declines in AT&T's core businesses next year.

Merrill Lynch analyst Adam Quinton lowered his intermediate-term
opinion on AT&T shares from "accumulate" to "neutral."  Blake Bath
of Lehman Brothers lowered his rating from "strong buy" to "buy."

"Previously we were looking for a 1% increase in business services
revenue in 2002," Mr. Quinton said in a report.  "Given the
sluggish economy, declining market share, and continued pricing
pressure, we are now looking for a year-over-year decline of 4%." 
On the consumer services side, the analyst had expected a revenue
decline of 15% in 2002; he now thinks that unit will post a 28%
decrease.

"Of course the pressure on AT&T's core telco operations are not
company specific," he said.  A Merrill Lynch survey of chief
information officers at major U.S. companies suggests that
information technology spending will fall 1% next year, he noted. 
He predicted businesses would spend less on the kinds of telecom
and consulting services offered by the three major interexchange
carriers (IXCs) -- AT&T, Sprint Corp., and WorldCom, Inc.

At the same time, the three big IXCs also will receive less
wholesale revenue because many of their wholesale service customers
-- emerging IXCs and Internet service providers -- have gone out of
business, he said.  He expects WorldCom to show similar symptoms
when it unveils its quarterly results on Thursday.

In anticipation of a poor showing by WorldCom on the consumer long
distance side, Mr. Quinton reduced his near-term rating on
WorldCom's MCI Group shares from "accumulate" to "reduce."  He
lowered his long-term rating from "neutral" to "reduce."  MCI Group
is a separately traded company that includes WorldCom's consumer
and small-business services.

In discussing its quarterly results yesterday, AT&T acknowledged
that 2002 would be a tough year.  Because it sells services to a
wide range of businesses, AT&T's operations "mirror the American
economy," said C. Michael Armstrong, chairman and chief executive
officer.  "At best," he said, the U.S. economy might begin its
recovery in the second half of next year.

For the third quarter ending Sept. 30, AT&T recorded revenues of
$13.1 billion.  On a pro forma basis, that's a 5.8% decrease over
the year-ago figure.  The company posted earnings per share (EPS)
of $0.04 from continuing operations compared with $0.35 a year ago. 
The company's financial report was complicated by the recent
separation of AT&T Wireless and large one-time charges related to
the breakup of its Concert global joint venture.

AT&T Broadband added 76,000 cable telephony subscribers in the
third quarter, versus 148,000 in the second quarter of this year. 
As of Sept. 30, it had 924,000 cable telephony customers.  It added
111,000 cable modem subscribers, down from the 131,000 added in the
second quarter.  Cable modem customers now total 1.4 million.

AT&T executives said they still were pondering whether to sell AT&T
Broadband or proceed with plans to make it a separate company. 
AT&T has been in talks with Comcast Corp. and other potential
buyers.

AT&T's fourth quarter forecast calls for EPS from continuing
operations of $0.03-$0.06 and a "slightly accelerated decline" in
revenues compared with the second quarter.  Capital expenditures
will be $8.5 billion to $9 billion this year but will decline by
20% next year.

AT&T executives said they would cope with slowing business
conditions by continuing to cut costs.  They declined to provide
specifics, but the Communications Workers of America, which
represents AT&T workers, said the company was planning to cut 2,400
positions.

-- Tom Leithauser, tleithauser@tr.com


****************************************************************
NEXTEL UPBEAT ON FINANCIAL TARGETS;
LEAP WIRELESS CAUTIONS ON FUNDING

Nextel Communications, Inc., turned in third quarter results at the
higher end of expectations after reporting few bad effects from the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.  The company sounded an upbeat note on
its ability to meet full-year financial targets and carry strong
momentum into 2002.

Meanwhile, fellow wireless provider Leap Wireless International,
Inc., also reported strong subscriber growth for its Cricket
service but sounded a note of caution on requirements to refinance
its vendor debt in little more than a year from now.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, Nextel reported operating revenues
of $1.99 billion, up from $1.52 billion in the year-ago quarter. 
Nextel's domestic operations accounted for $1.81 billion, up 26%
over the comparable quarter last year.  EBITDA (earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), before a $147
million charge related to Nextel's Philippines operation, improved
to $526 million, from $392 million for last year's third quarter. 

Driving financial performance improvements were net customer
additions of 481,200 for Nextel's domestic business and 650,000
customer additions on a proportionate global basis.  At quarter's
end, Nextel counted 9.6 million customers on a proportionate global
basis.

"During a quarter marked by a national tragedy, we turned in solid
performance in line with our plans and full-year guidance," said
Timothy Donahue, the company's president and chief executive
officer.  In a conference call, Nextel officials reaffirmed full-
year financial guidance of revenues exceeding $7 billion, $1.9
billion of EBITDA from domestic operations, and net customer
additions of up to 2.0 million.  "I strongly believe we can build
on this momentum for the fourth quarter of 2001 and build on it
into 2002," Mr. Donahue said.

Unlike many companies, Nextel was able to shrug off quickly the
effect of the Sept. 11 attacks.  "As terrible as these events were,
they underscored the importance of wireless," said Jim Mooney,
chief operating officer.  "This event caused an unforeseen but very
temporary interruption to our business," he explained.  He added
that Nextel's run-rate for customer additions was back to normal
within a few days of Sept. 11.  Net new domestic customer additions
might have hit 500,000 for the quarter were it not for the attacks,
he said.

Going forward, Nextel will focus on continued expense control and
renewed emphasis on sales to enterprise and government customers as
key determinants of future results.  In particular, Nextel will
target the utilities, financial services, government, public
safety, and transportation sectors.  "These industries are becoming
the early adopters of wireless technologies," said Mr. Mooney. 

On the expense side, Nextel will continue reining in costs as it
drives toward profitability.  The firm spent $534 million on
domestic capital expenditures in the third quarter, down from $616
million in the second quarter.  "Over the next few years, we have
the opportunity to drive $1 billion to $2 billion of operating
costs out of our business," Mr. Mooney said.  Nextel's business
plan is fully funded, and the firm had $5.7 billion of available
cash and credit as of Sept. 30, he added.

While top-line trends at Leap Wireless mirror those at Nextel, the
long-term funding outlook for the two firms is less similar.  Leap
today reported net new customer gains of 252,000 for its Cricket
wireless service in the third quarter, nearly double the 132,000
net new additions in the second quarter and reflecting rollout of
the service in additional markets.  The service counted 724,000
customers at Sept. 30, and management increased guidance for total
customer count to at least 1.1 million customers by year-end. 

But accompanying strong quarterly revenues gains to $66.6 million
were operating losses of $118 million.  Leap Wireless said it had
the resources to fund its business plan and purchase licenses won
at auction, but it cautioned it would need to "refinance or
reschedule" vendor debt prior to January 2003 or raise additional
capital to pay a portion of that debt.

"We expect to seek additional financial resources to support the
further expansion of our business when terms and conditions appear
favorable to the company and its stakeholders," Leap said.  "We
also intend to continue pursuing opportunities to maximize the
value of our current spectrum portfolio."

-- John Curran, jcurran@tr.com


****************************************************************
NextWave SETTLEMENT TALKS
DRAW IRE OF SMALL BIDDERS

Small entities that bid on spectrum that has since been returned to
NextWave Telecom, Inc., have been "frozen out" of settlement talks
involving the carrier's "C" and "F" block PCS (personal
communications service) licenses, two bidders complained today.

In a letter to FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell, Vincent D. McBride
and Scott D. Reiter of Santa Monica, Calif., noted that
representatives of major carriers -- including some with
significant foreign-ownership interests such as Verizon Wireless,
AT&T Wireless Services, Inc., and VoiceStream Wireless Corp. --
were participating in the settlement negotiations.

"As we recall, the C and F block PCS licenses were originally
earmarked by the FCC for American-owned small businesses in order
to satisfy the intent of Congress," they wrote.  "The sad fact is
that most of these C and F block licenses that were set aside for
small businesses are now in the hands of a select few international
behemoth telecoms."

"It galls us to witness the FCC privately negotiating with these
same select few behemoth telecoms for licenses once set aside for
small businesses.  Not only have true small businesses been treated
as second-class citizens in this auction, we have been frozen out
of all negotiations concerning these very same licenses," Messrs.
McBride and Reiter added.  "We should be treated fairly and
equitably and given the same options and rights as any of the other
winning bidders in auction No. 35."

The bidders said they supported Verizon Wireless's request for
additional time to pay off the balance of its debt to the
government, but they want small businesses that participated in the
auction should be given a say on the issue.  "If Verizon can't
readily raise the approximately $6 billion needed for their final
payment, it is even harder for true small businesses to raise the
capital," they said.  They called on the FCC to return to bidders
deposits paid on spectrum that has since been returned to NextWave.

Mr. Reiter submitted net bids of $971,250 for four licenses at the
auction, while Mr. McBride bid $1.5 million for one license.

-- Paul Kirby, pkirby@tr.com


****************************************************************
CONTENT SHORTCOMINGS HINDER BROADBAND GROWTH, 
NOT LACK OF CONNECTIONS, ITAA SAYS

A lack of compelling content, rather than any shortfalls in
availability, is the chief culprit in slower-than-expected growth
of broadband services, declared Harris N. Miller, president of the
Information Technology Association of America 

"It's the content, stupid," said Mr. Miller on Wednesday as the
ITAA kicked off "Positively Broadband" campaign to spur the demand
side of the broadband equation.  "People won't buy [broadband
service] to get their e-mail faster," he said.  "They need
compelling uses for it."

According to Mr. Miller, bandwidth supply isn't the problem.  He
cited a recent Morgan Stanley Dean Witter study showing that 73% of
households have access to cable modem service, 45% have access to
DSL (digital subscriber line) services, and 86% of homes are
covered by satellite broadband services.  "But the take-up rate
trails the supply that is out there, indicating a `demand gap,'" he
said.

The most promising areas for spurring the demand side are what Mr.
Harris called e-work, e-government, e-health, e-education, and e-
entertainment uses.  Richer, next-generation broadband applications
could help broadband adoption, he said.  "But we need a broadband
vision or roadmap to follow."

In the debate over broadband deployment, Washington policy-makers
have focused on mixing the cement for building the highway instead
of on what will get people to drive on it, argued Mr. Miller. 

Governments policies for spurring broadband acceptance should be
policy neutral, he said.  Moreover, the government should offer no
sustained subsidies to spur broadband acceptance, but could use
targeted nondiscriminatory incentives to address social policy
holes such as the digital divide, Mr. Miller added.   

-- Ed Rovetto, erovetto@tr.com


****************************************************************
COURT PROBES ROLE OF PERU'S GOVERNMENT
IN AWARDING CONTRACT FOR TELECOM NETWORK

A Peruvian court has issued an injunction preventing government-
owned carrier OSIPTEL and Gilat-To-Home Peru from continuing work
on a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) network for telephone
services in rural Peruvian communities.  Irvine, Calif.-based STM
Wireless, Inc., sought the injunction.  Gilat-To-Home Peru is a
subsidiary of Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. of Israel.

STM, in a joint venture with Peruvian CIFSA Telecom, won the
competitive bidding for the project last year with a $27.8 million
offer.  Gilat submitted a bid that was $10 million higher than
STM's.

In papers filed with the court, STM contended that even though the
contract was awarded to its consortium, the Peruvian government
allowed Gilat to lower its bid to match STM's, then transferred the
contract from STM to Gilat.  The court said it found enough
irregularities to question the legality of the government's
handling of the contract.

The court also found that OSIPTEL had violated Peruvian law regard-
ing competitive bidding for government contracts when it allowed
Gilat to lower its bid after the process had ended.  The court
ruling requires Gilat and OSIPTEL to cease work under the contract
immediately.

STM Chief Executive Officer Emil Youssefzadeh, speaking to what he
views as an overly close relationship between Gilat and Peru's
national telecom service provider said, "One way or the other,
Gilat is now the VSAT supplier for all three rural telephone
tenders that OSIPTEL has ever conducted. . .While we are pleased
with the court's decision, the ruling shows that OSIPTEL has been
clearly favoring Gilat in a highly questionable manner."

STM also is suing Gilat Satellite Networks in California.  STM
alleges that Gilat had "improper, privileged access to government
information.  This information allowed Gilat to make a public
announcement of government actions even though government records
indicate that these actions had not yet occurred."

"We have brought this matter to the attention of [Peruvian] Presi-
dent Alejandro Toledo and U.S. government officials," Mr.
Youssefzadeh said.  "This incident could raise questions about
Peru's willingness and ability to allow U.S. companies to compete
fairly in the Peruvian marketplace."

Peru is aggressively pursuing an expansion of trade between it and
the U.S. under the Andean Trade Preference Act.  Erin McConaha, who
monitors Latin America for the office of the U.S. Trade
Representative in Washington, said she was unaware of the STM case. 
"I'm glad to hear about this and will look into it," she said. 
"There is wildly differing opinion here about Peru."

?Michael Romanello, mromanello@tr.com


****************************************************************
PRIVACY COUNCIL WANTS AUDIT
OF MICROSOFT'S PASSPORT SERVICE

The federal government must establish a system of checks and
balances to ensure that personal information gathered by systems
such as Microsoft Corp.'s Passport service are kept private,
Privacy Council Chief Executive Officer Larry Ponemon said in a
conference call today.  He questioned where data-mining programs by
public corporations could lead.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received a letter last week
from several consumer and privacy groups complaining that
Microsoft's failure to disclose risks associated with the
collection and use of personal information in its Passport service
was an unfair and deceptive trade practice.

The service, which will coincide with the scheduled release of
Microsoft XP tomorrow, will enable consumers to provide certain
information to Microsoft that will authenticate them when they shop
online with participating vendors.  The privacy groups asked the
FTC to order the software giant to revise its XP registration
procedures so that Microsoft XP purchasers are informed clearly
that they don't need to register for the Passport service to access
the Internet.

"As companies like Microsoft move from technology [vendors] to
information intermediaries, who's to say Microsoft is not planning
to do more sophisticated things with your data, including
surveillance," Mr. Ponemon said.  "Windows XP by itself is not
creating a privacy issue, but it could be without the right checks
and balances.  If you're in an organization that is collecting
data, you have an obligation to protect that information, and it is
true that Microsoft has to be very sensitive to security features."

Mr. Ponemon called for more government funding and technology tools
to enforce privacy violators.  "There is a tendency to create rules
that are difficult to enforce, even if your best intentions are to
crack down on bad players," he said.  "The real concern is FTC will
not have the resources to truly crack down.  The ability to enforce
[against] privacy abuse is very minuscule."

-- Jerry Ashworth, jashworth@tr.com


****************************************************************
NEWS IN BRIEF

The Senate today confirmed Phillip Bond to be undersecretary for
technology for the Department of Commerce and John H. Marburger III
to be director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy....

AT&T Corp. has removed executives C. Michael Armstrong, Frank
Ianna, Charles H. Noski, and Daniel E. Somers from the board of At
Home Corp.  AT&T execs Mufit Cinali and John C. Petrillo will
remain on the board of the bankrupt Internet service provider.  The
move eliminates AT&T's control of the board, thereby removing a
potential conflict of interest as At Home considers whether to
accept AT&T's bid for some of its assets....

Robert Romano has been named senior vice president-strategic
alliances for First Virtual Communications, Inc., a Santa Clara,
Calif.-based provider of IP (Internet protocol) voice and video
services.  He was president of the U.S. subsidiary of Israeli
videoconference company VCON....

CACI International, Inc., has appointed Roger W. Baker executive
vice president and manager of its network and telecom business
group.  He was chief information officer at the U.S. Department of
Commerce.  CACI, based in Arlington, Va., provides information
technology and telecom network systems....

Chris Royden has been named vice president-sales (Europe, Middle
East, and Africa) for Corvis Corp.  He was managing director of the
same regions at SOTAS, Inc., a network management software maker. 
Corvis is an optical networking systems provider based in Columbia,
Md....

Kathleen Perone has been named to the board of Con Edison
Communications, Inc.  She is the founder and managing director of
private telecom investment firm Accappella Ventures LLC.  CEC is a
wholly owned subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc., and is a
"carrier's carrier" serving the New York City area....

The House today voted 357-66 to approve legislation (HR 3162) to
give law enforcement officials sweeping new wiretap and electronic
surveillance authority.  The Senate is expected to take up the same
antiterrorism bill by the end of the week.  The bill's wiretap
provisions would expire at the end of 2005 under an agreement
worked out late last week by House and Senate negotiators (TR, Oct.
22).  President Bush has indicated he would sign the
legislation....

The FCC's Common Carrier Bureau today conditionally granted
delegated authority to the Florida and South Carolina public
service commissions to implement thousands-block number pooling
trials.  Florida requested a trial in the `941' area code, and
South Carolina in the `803' and `843' area codes.  The trials must
be initiated prior to March 2002, the start of national number
pooling, the bureau said.  South Carolina must maintain rationing
procedures for six months following the implementation of area code
relief, the bureau said.  The bureau denied an Iowa Utilities Board
petition for thousands-block pooling in the 319 area code, which
rendered moot its request to require carriers not possessing local
number portability to participate in number pooling....

The application window for schools and libraries to apply for "E-
rate" discounts on telecom and Internet access services and
internal connections for funding year five opens on Nov. 5 and runs
through Jan. 17, 2002.  Funding year five runs from July 1, 2002,
until June 30, 2003.  Applications filed during the window are
considered simultaneously filed, which allows them to be reviewed
based on need and poverty, as opposed to order of filing.  The
schools and libraries division (SLD) of the Universal Service
Administration Co., which runs the program, has posted a new
eligible services list, which changes or clarifies the eligibility
of some products and services....

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee has
canceled tomorrow's hearing on broadband technologies and the
transition to digital TV, according to the Senate's Web site,
www.senate.gov/legislative/legis_legis_committees.html....

The sale price of Teligent, Inc., has dropped from $115 million to
$72.5 million.  In a filing with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, the bankrupt fixed-wireless service provider said it
had a new agreement with a potential buyer, Teligent Acquisition
Corp., which is led by former Teligent executives.  The sale
agreement will be reviewed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the
District of Delaware....

At the rates prevalent in urban areas, broadband Internet access is
a losing proposition in much of rural America, according to a study
the National Exchange Carrier Association, Inc., released today.
Nor can service providers make up for losses by increasing business
volume, according to figures in the "Middle Mile Cost Study." 
Indeed, as penetration rates for high-speed Internet service
increase from 0.5% to 15%, overall losses actually increase.  NECA
projects revenue shortfalls from $50 a month subscriber fees would
fall short of combined DSL (digital subscriber line) charges and
transport fees by $63.8 million, if broadband Internet access
subscribership reached 15% across the 9 million access lines served
by NECA member companies.  For a summary of the study, visit
222.neca.org.


********************************************************
TR DAILY Copyright 2001 Telecommunications Reports International,
Inc., (ISSN 1082-9350) is transmitted weekdays, except for
holidays.  Visit us on the World Wide Web at http://www.tr.com. 
Published by the Business & Finance Group of CCH INCORPORATED.

Editor: John Curran
Associate Editor: Tom Leithauser
Associate Editor: Ryan Oremland
Associate Editor: Ed Rovetto
Publisher: Stephen P. Munro
1333 H Street, NW, 1st Floor-East Tower, Washington, DC 20005
Editorial Information: Telephone:  (202) 312-6060
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                       Email: jcurran@tr.com
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