December 5, 1996

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Era of Local Phone Competition Begins

Reminiscent of MCI's battle against AT&T, WinStar launches its quest for local telecom market share

By Shannon Henry, Staff Writer

Nathan Kantor, president and COO of WinStar Communications Inc., New York, feels a sense of déjà vu.

A lot of people thought Kantor was crazy for declaring war against the venerable AT&T back in the 1970s when he worked for a startup called MCI Communications Corp. That story, as they say, had a happy ending.

Now, WinStar, a four-year-old company that entered the New York local service market last month, has become one of the first telcos to challenge a Baby Bell monopoly.

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Ernst & Young Web Service Takes Off

The interactive business program has attracted 250 organizations, nearly 90 of which are new customers

By John Makulowich, Contributing Writer

Catching its competitors asleep at their servers, Ernst & Young LLP, New York, is picking up a nice piece of change with its World Wide Web-based Internet service named Ernie: Your online business consultant (http://ernie.ey.com).

At $6,000 for an annual subscription, Ernie has racked up impressive numbers in its first six months: more than 1,000 queries, over $1 million in revenues and more billings for the firm.

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Database Treaty Wipes Out at WIPO

Database protection treaty is sidetracked by domestic and international opposition

By Neil Munro, Staff Writer

White House officials are quietly sidetracking their draft treaty to create new legal protection for databases, setting the stage for a contentious policy debate next year in Washington, say industry and government officials.

Administration officials, led by Bruce Lehman, the commissioner of patents and trademarks at the Department of Commerce, drafted the treaty for international approval at a conference in Geneva this month by the World Intellectual Property Organization.

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Distributors Reshape Integration Business

Ingram Micro adds muscle to Boeing's integration model

By Jack Sweeney, Editor

If Ingram Micro Inc. gets its way, an innovative government supply contract with Boeing Information Services will become the blueprint for how systems integrators supply configured computers to their customers worldwide.

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