                      The Teleputing Hotline 
                   The Worldwide Network Letter
              Volume 3 Number 95 -- December 3, 1990
               215 Winter Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30317 
              FAX: 404-378-0794 Phone: 404-373-7634 
        MCI:409-8960 GEnie: nb.atl CompuServe: 76200,3025 

Editor: Dana Blankenhorn 
European Editor: Steve Gold 
Associate Publisher: Lamont Wood 
Correspondent: Masayuki Miyazawa 
Sales Manager: Hiro Nakamura 
 
EC GREEN PAPER ON SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS 

The European Commission laid the political foundation for a 
satellite-based array of trans-European networks and services. 
Regulations on satellites across Europe remain unchanged from the 
1970s, despite the rapid expansion of the small satellite dish 
market. The ultimate aim is to establish the commercial freedom 
for space segment providers, in particular the EUTELSAT 
consortium. Transponder capacity will double by 1993. 

FRENCH UNVEIL PROTOTYPE VIDEOPHONE 

France Telecom unveiled a prototype videophone which it claims is 
more advanced than its Japanese counterpart. Capable of 
transmitting voice, data, and color-TV images, it is set to enter 
the market next year at a unit price of 30,000 FF ($6,000). By 
the end of 1992, France Telecom is expected to order 100,000 
for sale to consumers, starting in about 2 years. Matra of France 
has a license to produce the videophone which the French hope to 
use as a springboard to promote other French telephone products 
such as mobile telephones and pocket phones, wrote Eric Dauchy 
for Newsbytes. 

MICOM INTRODUCES VOICE/DATA SERVER 

Micom Communications announced Marathon 5K, a data/voice server 
which it says eliminates toll charges on phone calls and faxes 
sent from one networked office to another. The device moves 
normally sent over the public phone network onto the leased lines 
used by computers, and vice versa. The company claims that just 
one hour of daily phone and fax traffic between offices can allow 
the Marathon 5K to pay for itself in under a year, writes Janet 
Endrijonas for Newsbytes. 

U.S.S.R: VIRUS CRISIS APPROACHING 

The USSR is facing a computer virus crisis, 350 experts concluded 
in Kiev. "The crisis is that a number of new computer viruses 
appearing in the country is now equal to or even bigger than the 
ability of the country's experts, antivirus program developers, 
and distributors to incorporate changes in their products in time 
to reach customers. Most of the Soviet virus designers are young 
computer students who learned a lot but have no place to use 
their talents," a conference statement concluded to Kirill 
Tschaschin of Newsbytes. 

UK: ROYAL MAIL GOES ELECTRONIC 

Royal Mail, the UK postal authority, launched a trial service in 
conjunction with Sprint International's Sprintmail. Sprintmail 
users in London can now send letters online to the main Royal 
Mail sorting office at Mount Pleasant, London. Letters are 
printed out on `Electronic Post' heading to a high print quality, 
placed in a windowed envelope, and then fed into the first class 
letter mail network. Mount Pleasant is the main post office in 
the nation, with delivery routes radiating around the UK. Pricing 
has not yet been set. A maximum of 6 printed pages can be sent at 
once. 

NTT GAINS MORE TELEPHONE SUBSCRIBERS

Japan's former telecom monopoly, NTT, expects record growth in 
new phone lines for 1990. The total of 2.11 million new lines is 
up 100,000 from last year. An NTT spokesman credits increased 
demand for fax and PC lines. The growth is worth 5 billion yen in 
charges to NTT. To meet demand, NTT will change telephone numbers 
in the Tokyo area on January 1. All numbers will get an extra "3" 
in them. Tokyo exchanges dialed at 81-3-3XXX-YYYY from overseas 
should now be dialed at 81-3-XXX-YYYY. 

NTT STARTS DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE CHARGE: But you can get around it

NTT began charging 30 yen ($.20) for each directory service call 
December 1. This is 3 times the charge of a regular phone call.  

But you can get numbers for 10 yen each using NTT's proprietary 
"Angel Note" notebook PC.  NTT has rented 100,000 to lucky 
customers chosen by lottery. NTT is also giving away personal 
computer software for searching telephone numbers, again at 10 
yen each. 

AT&T TELEWORK TEST IN ROCHESTER 

AT&T and Rochester Telephone began a major test of teleworking, 
using digital services under ISDN standards. The 4 month test in 
35 homes will focus on an AT&T network controller which links 
every phone, modem and fax in a home with ISDN services. Prodigy, 
the IBM-Sears joint venture, is a part of the test. A Rochester 
Tel spokesman told Newsbytes she wants to see if use increases 
when normal 1,200 bit/second modem links are replaced by a 9,600 
bit/second digital link, speeding screen refresh rates. 

APPLE AND ACORN TO DEVELOP RISC-BASED NOTEBOOKS 

Apple and Acorn will set up a joint company, Arm Limited, whose 
aim will be to develop notebook computers based around Acorn's 
RISC chip, and marketed under the Apple brand name. The move is 
important in light of Apple's interest in a new generation of 
machines, previously thought to be based around the 88000 and 
88110 series of microprocessors. 

ONLINE FACTOIDS 

ALCATEL of France won the Australia Telecomm contract for 
digital switches. Ericsson of Sweden had been the preferred 
supplier. The switches will be made in Australia. 

BELL CANADA applied to federal regulators to offer the country's 
first commercial Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) 
service. Bell hopes its ISDN service, called Megalink, will be 
available in 4 central Canadian cities next June. The 23 voice 
channels and 1 signaling channel will rent for C$1,427-C$1.679, 
depending on location and contract term. 

GERMANY began joint work with the U.S.S.R on a satellite 
communications network called the Romantis Project. The plan will 
be carried out next year, linking Soviet satellites to the West 
under international standards. 

HITACHI announced a lightweight cellular phone which will ship 
to the UK in December. It will compete with the Motorola TAC and 
be sold as the FLITE. A total of 10,000/month will be produced by 
next year. Exports to the U.S. must wait for a version following 
the U.S. AMPS standard. 

HONG KONG INFOLINE sponsored its first "900" number charity. To 
raise funds for the bline, callers paid HK$4 per minute to hear 
bloopers from local radio. 

JAPAN signed a deal with North Korea to open a satellite link. 
KDD hopes to have the link opened before the end of 1990. 

NISSHO IWAI of Japan and STS of the U.S. will build ground 
stations linking Romania to the EuTelSat satellite network. 
Inmarsat, Don Koulaouzos, +61-2-901 2033

RICOH will market an Hitachi digital PBX which can be connected 
with ISDN services. 

SUZY, the Canadian online network of Stratford Software in 
Vancouver, dropped president Alex Morton in a bid to cut 
expenses. 

CONTACT: 

Bell Canada, Douglas Peck, +416-979-8251 
Hitachi, +03-258-2056 
HK Telecom, + 852 808 6470 
Micom Richard S. Borden, +805-583-8600 
Newsbytes, Wendy Woods, +415-550-7334 
Rochester Tel, Carol Schuhart, +716-777-7337 
Stratford Software, Thompson McKie, +604-439-1311 
