In 1990, Eastman Kodak Co spread its facilities management favours, giving IBM Corp the data centre and its SNA network, Digital Equipment Corp the contract to run its voice and data network (CI No 1339): last year, DEC lost a large part of that deal to Northern Telecom Ltd, and now it has lost the rest of it to IBM’s Integrated Systems Solutions Corp, which has a five-year contract alongside Northern Telecom covering Kodak’s US data, voice and video telecommunications networks.
The German Green Party, now ahead of the Liberal Democrats as the third force in national politics, is demanding that public utilities be banned from entering the telecommunications sector: it says that utility operators such as Veba AG, Viag AG and RWE AG should not be allowed to offer telecommunications services as long as they remain legally-protected power monopolies.
Shares in MR Data Management Plc were declared indicative yesterday after they had plunged 26 pence to 64 pence in response to an item in the Daily Telegraph saying that the best market sources say MR Data may need reminding that it is about to issue a profits warning.
Compaq Computer Corp cut prices up to 16% on its workgroup-class server, the Compaq ProSignia 300: the ProSignia 300 5/90 Model 1050 is now $4,000 and the the ProSignia 300 5/75 Model 1050 is now $3,550.
Silicon Graphics Inc was due to host a press conference last night with fledgling supergroup studio DreamWorks SKG Inc to announce a creative alliance and to feature new developments at Silicon Graphics’s Digital Studio, with Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg, two of the three founders of Dreamworks movie studio on the platform.
These things take time… Micro Focus Plc has finally completed the acquisition of Burl Software Laboratories Inc, a deal it announced way back in June 1994: Micro Focus is paying $13.5m, $6.2m in cash and the balance in new shares – but the operating results of Burl have been included in the results reported by Micro Focus ever since June 1994.
British Telecommunications Plc is cutting average domestic bills by 5% from June 28 with a move to by-the-second timing, which will cost it ú310m a year: the move will hurt Mercury Communications Ltd but the real target is the cable companies now offering local telephony too.
Compaq Computer Corp is to sign up a third-party service provider to back its thrust into the high-end corporate market, US PC Week reports, suggesting that Xerox Corp’s Multivendor & Network Services Group in Rochester, New York is the number one name in Compaq’s frame.
Australia’s state-owned telecommunications carrier Telstra Corp is actually asking for the same kind of pain as British Telecommunications Plc has been suffering: it is currently in the position British Telecom enjoyed when it faced only Mercury Communications Ltd – local rival is Optus Communications Pty Ltd – but according to Reuter, it is urging the government to open the national market to full competition by 1997 so as to avoid slipping behind on the superhighway – it says the local market could grow dramatically with full competition.
The Federal Communications Commission has bowed to pressure and says it will not enforce the rule requiring phone companies to up prices on vastly higher capacity Integrated Services Digital Network lines.
Dallas-based Saber Software Corp, under offer from McAfee Associates Inc (CI No 2,674) has restated its first quarter net profit downward to reflect an additional accrual of $184,000 relating to co-operative advertising allowances: restated first quarter net is $257,000, or $0.06 per share on a diluted basis, compared with $331,000, or $0.10 per share, a year ago and $377,000, or $0.08 per share first reported.
Germany’s E-Plus Mobilfunk GmbH claims it signed over 60,000 subscribers during its first year and is lower some of its calling rates on June 1: charges for the so-called partner tariff will fall 11% evenings, weekends and holidays; the evening re
duced tariff period will also be extended to 6pm to 8am from 8pm to 7am, but daytime rates for the partner tariff will stand.
Wang Laboratories Inc and Microsoft Corp have now completed the software and financing alliance under which Microsoft pays $90m for a 10% stake in Wang to settle the patent infringement suit Wang brought against it over object technology; Wang’s desktop imaging and object controls will be incorporated into Microsoft’s Windows95 and Windows NT operating systems and Wang will now be Microsoft’s preferred vendor of imaging and workflow software.
The European Community should be spending more of our money, the European Commission is demanding: it wants money set aside for cross-border telecommunications projects to promote computer links between universities, libraries and doctors, job information databases, environmental monitoring, transport management, electronic mail and high speed pan-European Integrated Services Digital Networks – all things that a privatised, liberalised telecommunications sector stripped of state-owned dinosaurs would do without subsidy if they were commercially worth doing; the Commission is also asking public authorities to step in to promote information society projects that have socioeconomic benefits but whose commercial viability is uncertain for private investors.
British Telecommunications Plc yesterday announced it had a ú350m five-year contract to operate the internal telecommunications network of National Westminster Bank Plc.
US Federal authorities have arrested members of an alleged computer chip robbery ring, taking the owner of a San Jose computer company and 14 others into custody, the Attorney’s Office said on Friday: FBI agents and local police arrested Lawrence Wong, president of Prestige Computer Inc, two employees and several recruits for plotting to rob that Intel Corp warehouse to steal a multimillion dollar supply of processors; about $100,000 cash and five guns were also rounded up.
Stac Electronics Inc expects to take a $3.5m pre-tax charge, about $0.08 per share after taxes, in its June quarter for the cost of closing the facilities of its ReachOut software acquisition in Florida: it has moved the ReachOut operations to its San Diego base; the charge c overs redundancy costs, lease and contract termination costs, asset write-downs and relocation costs.
BellSouth Corp has signed Electronic Data Systems Corp to revamp its design processes throughout its nine-state territory under a three-year pact: the aim is reduced time to market for new products and services, improved customer service, and more rapid installations of telephones: terms were not given.
Serge Tchuruk was duly named chairman of Alcatel Alsthom SA in succession to the ousted Pierre Suard.
The top reason for the explosion of interest in the Internet, according to Volpe Welty Co’s Gregory Curhan is that if the boss catches you playing a video game during working hours, it’ll get you fired, but if the boss catches you cruising the Net, you’ll be given a bonus for having advanced computer skills.
