REVISITED
High-Speed Cable Modem Trial Time Warner Cable has launched "Road Runner," a high-speed cable modem trial in Akron and Canton, Ohio (WT, May 23). The system will use Time Warner's 3,000-mile fiber coaxial cable network. Companies involved in the project read like a who's who of infotech: Motorola provides the cable modems; customers are linked through MCI's Internet service; servers and routers come from Hewlett-Packard Co. and Microsoft Co
Cordant Wins NIH CIOSP Contract
Cordant Inc. has launched its new owner, Tracor, into the information technology sector (WT, Sept. 12).
The Reston, Va., company has been selected as a prime contractor to support the National Institutes of Health Chief Information Officer Solutions and Partners program. The five-year contract is designed to streamline the acquisition of information technology solutions by federal government CIOs and information technology managers. The value of the contract has not been disclosed.
R&D Budget Threatened by Both Parties
Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole's spending plan would slash the federal government's non-defense research and development spending by 40 percent, according to Rep. George Brown, D-Calif. (WT, May 23)
However, President Bill Clinton's balanced-budget spending plan, if enacted, would cut such spending by roughly 25 percent, according to the Washington-based American Association for the Advancement of Science.
One Rate for All
AT&T, Basking Ridge, N.J., has launched a new calling plan that charges 15 cents a minute for all long distance calls made anywhere to anyone in the United States.
In announcing the plan, AT&T slammed Sprint's 10 cents a minute program, which does not apply in all regions at all times.
This is the latest in a series of announcements by AT&T, MCI Communications Corp., Washington, and Kansas City, Mo.-based Sprint Corp. to simplify telecommunications services for businesses and individuals (WT, March 7). Other plans have included single bills and comprehensive offerings that include paging, cellular, Internet and traditional telephone service.
"AT&T One Rate couldn't be clearer: one rate good 24 hours a day, seven days a week to anyone, any time, anywhere in the United States, period," said Joseph Nacchio, executive vice president of AT&T's consumer and small business division.
What's In a Digital Name
Wireless firm Sprint Spectrum has decided to name its personal communications services offering Sprint PCS (WT, Dec. 7). The digital service is so far only available in Washington, but is expected to appear in 15 to 20 more regions by the end of this year.
Sprint PCS has also just signed a three-year contract with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. for $600 million worth of PCS handsets. The company's U.S. division, Samsung Telecommunications America, is based in Dallas. The sets work on a digital technology called code division multiple access or CDMA.