Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.telcom From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: telcom Thu, Mar 5 1992 Date: Thu, 5 Mar 92 05:55:52 EST Message-ID: 03-05 0000 DECISIONLINE: Telecommunications USA TODAY Update March 5, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network JWP TELECOM BUYS AIM: AIM Telephones Inc. said Wednesday that it has entered into an agreement to sell substantially all of its assets to JWP Telecom Inc., a unit of JWP Inc. Terms were not disclosed. AIM filed a petition for re-organization under Chapter 11 in January. AIM will seek approval of the sale with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the District of New Jersey. WATCH WITH PAGER UNVEILED: Watch what's happening in the paging industry. MobileComm and Swiss watchmaker Swatch announced a partnership Wednesday to supply pager watches in the USA. Swatch Chairman Nicolas Hayek and BellSouth Corp. Chairman John Clendenin unveiled the product, called The Piepser, in Atlanta. MobileComm is a BellSouth subsidiary. Previous attempts to market a pager watch have failed. (For more, see special Pager package below.) UPI MAY BE NEAR END: United Press International is losing $100,000 a month and may be close to going out of business, the judge overseeing its bankruptcy reorganization said. Judge Francis Conrad Wednesday gave creditors the power to come up with their own plan to get the firm out of Chapter 11. The creditors, which include AT&T, GTE, General Electric and the Wire Service Guild, are owed $60 million. NET CONNECTS COACHES, ATHLETES: Starting Thursday, high school athletes seeking college scholarships will be able to connect with more than 12,000 Division I, II, III and NAIA college coaches through the Collegiate Athletic Network's computer database service (the cost is $49.95). For information, call 1-800-535-9283. POLICY INFORMATION OFFERED: The public can get immediate access to information on drug testing policy and regulations covering transportation workers by phone or by using a computer modem, Deputy Secretary of Transportation James B. Busey said Wednesday. By dialing 800-CALL-DRUG, a caller gets short descriptions of drug testing programs. Those who wish access via modem should call 800-225-3804. ROACH WINS CONTRACT: The Roach Organization Inc. says it has been awarded a $935,115 contract from the Tennessee Valley Authority to install PLATO computer-based education systems in five counties in western Tennessee. The systems will be managed by one school district within each county. The courseware will be distributed via modem to schools, businesses, industries and social service agencies. PLATO TO INSTRUCT AT-RISK KIDS: The PLATO systems in western Tennessee will provide individualized, comprehensive instruction to at-risk students within the counties' school systems. It will also be available to adults in need of the basic literacy and employability skills required to obtain and maintain successful employment. Initially, the number of workstations offering PLATO courseware will be 100. APOLLO, GALILEO TO MERGE: Apollo and Galileo, the two leading on-line airline reservation systems, are expected to announce their merger Thursday. The linkup of Apollo, owned by an affiliate of United Airlines, and Galileo, formed by a group of major European carriers, would create the world's largest computerized reservation system. SNET ASKS TO OFFER NEW SERVICES: Southern New England Telephone Company has asked the Connecticut Department of Public Utility for permission to offer seven custom local-area signaling services. They include Caller ID (displays calling party's number) and Priority Call Ringing (provides a distinctive ring for preset numbers). If approved, SNET says they will be offered later this year. OPTELECOM GAINS CONTRACT: Optelecom, Inc. said Wednesday it has been awarded a $218,000 contract with a major oil company to deliver fiber optic high resolution video transmission systems. These systems are for use in trading desk applications. Optelecom says it had a record backlog of $938,000 in orders at the end of February for the Communication Products Division. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON PAGER: PAGER WEIGHS LESS THAN OUNCE: The pager watch unveiled Wednesday is billed as the world's smallest paging device, weighing less than an ounce. The Piepser (pronounced peep-seh) will be marketed in the USA under a partnership between MobileComm and Swiss watchmaker Swatch. The $200 devices should be available in limited U.S. markets in August. DEVICE USES FOUR TONES: MobileComm is the country's largest paging company, serving more than 1 million customers. Swatch watches are the fastest-selling in watchmaking history. Sales are expected to pass 100 million this month. The Piepser, which is German for beeper, uses four tones to signify a phone number: Home, office, answering service, etc. ALREADY SOLD IN SWITZERLAND: Swatch introduced the product in Switzerland last year. Initially, paging ability will be limited to local markets. "I don't think it is going to be a business-person buying this. I could see a health-care worker in a hospital wearing a watch instead of carrying a pager," said Mark Dunkel, telecommunication analyst with Robinson-Humphrey in Atlanta. ANTENNA IS IN CASING: The Piepser will feature gold casement, leather band and a choice of navy blue or black facing. The antenna is in the watch casing and appears as five horizontal stripes on the crystal. Swatch is scheduled later to introduce a pager watch that will display callers' phone numbers. (End of package.) Telecommunications Editor: Ed Kelleher. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM