Stories by Jeanette Borzo

France Telecom, Integra offer global Net services

France Telecom SA yesterday confirmed that it is partnering with Integra SA, a French electronic-commerce specialist in order to sell e-commerce services together to companies around the globe.

Telefonica Denies Deutsche Telekom Merger Rumors

Telefónica de España SA today denied resurfacing rumors that Telefónica will merge part of its business with that of Deutsche Telekom AG.
"It is not true," said Edward Hollin, Madrid-based spokesman for Telefónica, commenting on press reports that Telefónica and Deutsche Telekom plan to merge their international operations. "The stories are false. There has been no contact between the two companies."

Ericsson woes continue, Q2 income drops

Continuing on a year of lagging corporate performance, LM Ericsson Telephone Co.on Friday announced a decrease in profits for both the company's second quarter and half-year results.

Thomson Multimedia, Alcatel Merge Home Networking

Building on last year's agreement to work together on home-network technologies, Alcatel SA and Thomson Multimedia SA here today announced plans for a new company that will combine their currently separate activities focused on consumer telephony, Internet screenphones, and cable and ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) modems.
In this marriage of two French giants -- a telecommunications equipment company with a consumer-electronics outfit -- Alcatel and Thomson Multimedia said they are looking to cash in on a huge consumer market for the Internet-driven, home-networking devices. The combined company, which Thomson Multimedia will manage, will have annual sales of more than US$800 million [M], the companies said. The new venture will be 50-percent owned by each of the two partners.

IT Can Lower Banking Costs in European Union

Internet banking, not often offered currently in the 15 European Union countries, is expected to have the highest growth potential of all remote banking options in the future, according to a report the European Central Bank issued last night.
IT developments, overall, are important to EU banks as a way to lower costs and keep up with the competition, according to the ECB's report called "The Effects of Technology on the EU Banking Systems."

French, Italian Telcos Increase Role in Argentina

France Telecom SA and Telecom Italia SpA today announced they have increased their ownership in the consortium that owns 60 percent of Telecom Argentina SA.
The two telecom providers, who each have owned roughly one-third of the Nortel Inversora SA consortium for nearly a decade, have bought out the remainder of the consortium so that each now has a 50 percent share.
For a combined total of US$530 million [M], the two companies each bought half of the 35 percent share that Perez Companc and J.P. Morgan have held since 1990 when the consortium was established, France Telecom said today.

French, German Telco Alliance Declared "Dead"

Make no mistake about it, the Franco-German affair between the two countries' major telecommunications companies is over.
France Telecom SA today confirmed that it will sell its two percent stake in Deutsche Telekom AG -- currently valued at about US$2 billion [B] -- and has publically stated that the erstwhile partnership between the two companies is dead.

ADSL to Boost French 'Net Speeds in November

The French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industry has approved France Telecom SA's tariff plan for high-speed ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) service, meaning that some French homes will soon have flat-rate, high-speed access to the Internet.
For 265 francs per month (US$41) starting in mid-November, users in Paris' six central arrondissements (or neighborhoods) and in three other cities in the Paris area will be able to stay online as long as they want, over their existing phone lines. Today, home Internet users pay for online time on a per-minute basis, since phone calls in France -- even local calls -- are billed on a per-minute basis.

GTS Acquires Rest of Euro 'Net Backbone Ebone

U.S.-based telecommunications company Global TeleSystems Group Inc. today said it has acquired the remaining 25 percent of Ebone A/S, a European Internet backbone provider of which it bought 75 percent last year.
The move is meant to boost GTS's global Internet profile, the company said. Having full control of Ebone will strengthen GTS's offerings for ISPs (Internet service providers), such as web-hosting for online and e-commerce companies and IP (Internet protocol) communications services for businesses, the company said.

Global One's network, at least, is ready for Y2K

While the business future of Global One Communications may be uncertain, the telecommunications alliance yesterday said that all Global One-owned network elements are ready to enter 2000 without any problems.

Net Fast Lane: France upgrades research network

The French government last week presented a high-speed network designed to give members of the research, technology and higher education community faster and more robust communications with their colleagues in France and the rest of the world.

Papows pushes portals at customer forum

Lotus Development Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Papows' keynote speech at the Lotus Global Government Forum here yesterday afternoon focused on the importance of Internet portals.

Study: executive Web use may spur e-commerce

Senior-management support for electronic commerce may get a boost as top corporate executives around the world log on to the Internet more frequently, according to an Andersen Consulting survey.

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