                      The Teleputing Hotline 
                   The Worldwide Network Letter
             Volume 3 Number 97 -- December 11, 1990
               215 Winter Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30317 
              FAX: 404-378-0794 Phone: 404-373-7634 
        MCI:409-8960 GEnie: nb.atl CompuServe: 76200,3025 

FAX STANDARD DISPUTE THREATENS GROWTH 

The fax business has grown exponentially in part because nearly 
every fax machine follows the same standard, called the Group III 
standard of the CCITT. But those days may be ending with a 
dispute before the CCITT over a new standard called Group IIIbis. 

Group IIIbis would let standard fax machines use compression 
techniques and digital lines to run at up to 64,000 bits/second. 
They would, in effect, gain the speed and resolution offered 
under Group IV, a new fax standard tested for such things as the 
transmission of medical pictures, but incompatible with Group 
III. 

France and Japan, both fax machine exporters, are fighting the 
Group IIIbis proposal. But if U.S. chip makers like Rockwell 
International design chips for Group IIIbis, the Japanese could 
be threatened with loss of the market unless they move toward it. 
The tale will be told next spring, when the acceptance of 
compression for Group III, along the lines of Group IV, is 
scheduled. If that goes through, fax could become far more 
capable, far more quickly, than previously imagined. 

MOSCOW: SPRINTNET PRICING, KGB SERVICES 

SprintNet USSR said its prices will be 20% lower than those of 
its competitors. Connections from Moscow to SprintNet computers 
in Europe will cost $24 per hour, $40 to the U.S. and Canada, $45 
elsewhere. Connections with non-Sprint computers will add time 
and traffic charges -- $10 per hour plus $10 per 64 kilobytes to 
Europe, $20/hour plus $20/kilosegment to the U.S., $24/hour and 
$24/kilosegment elsewhere. Installation of the local node is due 
by year-end, writes Kirill Tchashchin for Newsbytes. 

Alos, the Soviet KGB has secrets for sale to Soviet agencies 
working in the Western market. A Moscow KGB Division Press 
Officer said on Soviet TV state enterprises and Soviet-foreign 
ventures are already using the KGB to learn about their partners' 
credibility and keep other secrets. The KGB is now ready to offer 
the same service to others. If you're interested, call phone +7 
095 921-0762 in Moscow. 

NTT's SMALLEST PORTABLE PHONE: 230 grams 

NTT has developed the smallest portable telephone in the world, 
weighing only 230 grams.  With a rechargeable battery, it can 
run for about 16 hours, or for 45 minutes of calling. The phone 
was developed with Matsushita, Mitsubishi and Fujitsu, all of 
which will market the phone with their own features under license 
from NTT.  

Usage fees for portable phones are still expensive in Japan. 
There's a basic charge of 19,000 yen ($150) per month.  Despite 
this, the number of users has almost doubled in just six months.  
Competition among common carriers is expected to become intense 
next April when the NTT phone is sold. 

FIRST JAPAN-USSR JOINT VENTURE ON TELECOM EQUIPMENT 

Japan's Eiwa Trading (Tokyo) signed an agreement with Central 
Telegraph, a unit of Telecom Ministry in the USSR.  The new 
company, Infatel will sell Japanese telecom equipment such as fax 
machines and telex machines in the USSR.  Capital of the new firm 
will be 110,000,000 yen ($85,000), 60% owned by Central 
Telegraph, 40% by Eiwa Trading. Headquarters will be in Moscow, 
with a president chosen from Central Telegraph. 

MCI MAIL NOW DOES INVOICES 

MCI Mail announced MCI EDI 400, an electronic invoicing 
service under the X.400 message-handling standard. MCI EDI 400 
lets firms exchange invoices with just about anyone. Supply Tech, 
an EDI software supplier, will also enhance its STX12 PC-based 
software product for integration with MCI Mail. The deal is just 
another advance in global electronic invoicing. Infonet, 25% 
owned by MCI, is creating a global EDI network to compete with GE 
and other large players in the field. Business users of online 
services like EDI represent 80% of the total online market. 

IBM MOVES COMMUNICATIONS BASE TO LONDON 

IBM has decided to move the headquarters of its communications 
business to Europe. It's the first IBM product group to be based 
outside the U.S. The decision comes days after Big Blue was 
admitted to the prestigious JESSI program of the European 
Community, the first U.S. computer company allowed in. Another 
reason IBM chose Europe is to demonstrate its commitment to the 
OSI interoperability standard. 

VIP-FAXX SERVICE TURNS YOUR VOICE MESSAGE INTO A FAX 

A California start-up is offering faxes directly from telephones. 
Leave a voice message with a VIP-FAXX operator, and they'll type 
it and fax it to any number you request. The service is aimed at 
businessmen who need to break through voice mail systems. 
Broadcast services to multiple destinations are also available, 
as are confirmations and a database of phone numbers from U.S. 
legislatures, special interest groups and large businesses. The 
company will also store lists of fax numbers which can be called 
up with a list name. Each fax sent with the service costs $5.95, 
$9.95 for international faxes. 

PACIFIC BELL PROVIDING FULL ISDN SERVICE 

Pacific Bell became the first regional Bell company to offer full 
ISDN service, rolling it out in San Francisco and Los Angeles. 
It's called the Integrated Services Digital Network Primary Rate 
Interface, or ISDN-PRI, and divides a 1.544 million bit/second 
line into 23 channels of 64,000 bit/second service and a separate 
signaling channel at the same speed. Businesses can use the 
capacity as they want, sharing it among phones, faxes, and data 
lines. The service will cost $1,500 for installation and $545 
monthly. 

ONLINE FACTOIDS 

AT&T delivered a new chip which will replace five chips and a set 
of relays in business PBX systems, making them smaller, less 
expensive and more reliable. 

BOSCH of Germany cancelled plans to buy half of Novatel, the 
Canadian cellular phone maker, from the government. Bosch was to 
pay C$100 million ($80 million). 

C.ITOH  is importing a telemarketing system from Digital Systems 
of the U.S. Digital Systems modified its Voicelink system to 
handle local switches and the Japanese language.      

ERICSSON of Sweden consolidated its mobile and cordless phone 
operations in the Netherlands. 

MTC ELECTRONICS of Canada formed a joint venture to build a 
cellular phone system in China. MTC already has an exclusive 
license to export fax machines there. 

NASA claimed $12 million in phone service was stolen from it by 
computer hackers over two years, using a credit card and the 
Federal Telephone System. The same thing happened earlier at the 
Houston DEA office. 

CONTACT: 

AT&T, Richard Larris, +201-771-2826 
Digital Systems, Laura McCluer, +206-881-7544 
MCI Mail, Jane Levene, +914-934-6480 
MTC, Miko Leung, +604-278-8788 
Newsbytes, Wendy Woods, +415-550-7334 
Pacific Bell, Scott E. Smith, +415-542-0597 
SprintNet U.S.S.R., Vladimir Blokh, +7 095 292-4119 
Telus, Betty MacLennan, +403-530-3992 
VIP-FAXX, Joe Gagliano, +408-985-6631 
