Dsc

PHILADELPHIA -- Bell Atlantic Corp. and DSC Communications Corp. filed a $3.5 billion lawsuit in Texas yesterday against AT&T Corp., claiming that AT&T impeded competition in the telephone equipment-making business.The suit says that AT&T, the largest U.S. long-distance company and one of the largest makers of phone equipment, has refused to build equipment that's easily compatible with gear made by other companies.Bell and DSC claim that such practices make AT&T customers reliant on AT&T's equipment for future purchases, such as software.

For landlubbers like myself, great sea movies from Captains Courageous to Master and Commander cast a spell because they're exotic in such a rugged and elemental way. Even if you can't grasp the jargon of sails and riggings or plotting a course, the action feels understandable when you see ships outmaneuvering each other or plowing through wind-tossed seas. Morning Light, a handsome, compelling documentary produced by Roy E. Disney and Leslie DeMeuse, and written and directed by Mark Monroe, offers a high-tech version of nautical adventure as well as something else: a refreshing affability and purity.

WASHINGTON -- A key piece of software that has been linked to recent phone outages, including one in Maryland on June 26, was not adequately tested by DSC Communications Corp. before it was released, a DSC official told a House subcommittee yesterday.Frank Perpiglia, DSC's vice president for technology and product development, said that software developed by DSC usually undergoes three to four months of rigorous testing in the lab before it is released to customers.But he said that usual test procedures weren't used with a software modification that has since been linked to half a dozen phone outages across the territories served by Bell Atlantic Corp.

PARIS -- Alcatel Alsthom SA, the fourth-biggest maker of telephone equipment, agreed yesterday to buy DSC Communications Corp. for about $4.4 billion in stock, adding products that increase the amount of voice and data a phone network can carry.Shareholders of Plano, Texas-based DSC will receive .815 of an Alcatel American depositary receipt, or $35.40 a share, an 80 percent premium. DSC stock rose $7.8125 to $27.50 in trading of 46.2 million shares, making it the most active U.S. stock yesterday.

PARIS -- Alcatel Alsthom SA, the fourth-biggest maker of telephone equipment, agreed yesterday to buy DSC Communications Corp. for about $4.4 billion in stock, adding products that increase the amount of voice and data a phone network can carry.Shareholders of Plano, Texas-based DSC will receive .815 of an Alcatel American depositary receipt, or $35.40 a share, an 80 percent premium. DSC stock rose $7.8125 to $27.50 in trading of 46.2 million shares, making it the most active U.S. stock yesterday.

DSC Communications Corp., the Plano, Texas-based company whose hardware has been linked to a half- dozen phone outages over the past week, said yesterday that it has duplicated in the lab a "critical problem" that led to the breakdowns.But it still doesn't know what caused the breakdowns to occur in the first place.Without admitting that DSC equipment was to blame for the recent spate of outages, DSC said investigation has shown that a "trigger event" causes networks built around DSC equipment to overload.

WASHINGTON -- DSC Communications Corp., whose software has been linked to recent phone outages, knew a year ago that there were potential problems with the new signaling systems used by the "Baby Bell" phone companies to handle calls, a DSC official told a House subcommittee yesterday.The admission raised new questions about whether Bellcore, the research arm of the seven regional Bells, had adequately investigated the "Signaling System 7" technology it helped develop. Technical standards developed by Bellcore are used by all seven Bells.

A team of 200 telecommunications experts believes it has narrowed to five the number of possible causes of last week's phone outages, but, a week after the widespread problems struck, it still can't identify the problem with certainty.John O'Rourke, assistant vice president of switching technology and analysis for Bell Communications Research Inc., which is known as Bellcore, said five likely causes have been identified for the outages that have dogged Bell Atlantic Corp. and Pacific Bell since June 26.Bellcore is the research arm of the seven regional Bell phone companies.

DSC Communications Corp., the manufacturer of telephone equipment that has been linked to five phone outages in the past week, yesterday began making available software programming patches to its customers as a preventive measure.Terry Adams, a spokesman for Plano, Texas-based DSC, said the company was making available to all of its customers -- not just those who have experienced outages over the last week -- "interim" software to use until the root cause of the widespread outages can be identified.

WASHINGTON -- A federal judge said yesterday the "Baby Bells" do not need court permission to work with a hardware manufacturer to fix whatever caused the recent phone outages, effectively derailing a Bell plan to get some political mileage out of their recent troubles.U.S. District Judge Harold H. Greene said that Bell Atlantic Corp. and Pacific Bell do not need special court permission to work with DSC Communications Corp. to find out what caused their phone systems to crash recently. Equipment sold by DSC to Bell Atlantic and Pacific Bell has been implicated in a half-dozen phone outages and near-outages over the past two weeks.

PHILADELPHIA -- Bell Atlantic Corp. and DSC Communications Corp. filed a $3.5 billion lawsuit in Texas yesterday against AT&T Corp., claiming that AT&T impeded competition in the telephone equipment-making business.The suit says that AT&T, the largest U.S. long-distance company and one of the largest makers of phone equipment, has refused to build equipment that's easily compatible with gear made by other companies.Bell and DSC claim that such practices make AT&T customers reliant on AT&T's equipment for future purchases, such as software.

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks were mixed across a range of industries yesterday, as technology issues were pulled down by a plunge in DSC Communications Corp.Major market indexes were little changed amid gains by a handful of companies, such as Aluminum Co. of America, with sales closely tied to the economy and consumer stocks such as Procter & Gamble Co.DSC, a maker of telephone and cable television equipment, touched off a late slide in technology stocks by announcing that third-quarter sales and earnings will fall short of expectations.

Telephone outages, such as the ones that affected more than 10 million people on the East and West coasts last month, could recur unless local telephone companies start talking with each other, federal investigators have concluded.According to the first in-depth report on the incidents, prepared by the Federal Communications Commission and turned over to a congressional telecommunications subcommittee late yesterday, at least four times during the past year unreported telephone outages took place in the United States, Japan and Sweden.

WASHINGTON -- A federal judge said yesterday the "Baby Bells" do not need court permission to work with a hardware manufacturer to fix whatever caused the recent phone outages, effectively derailing a Bell plan to get some political mileage out of their recent troubles.U.S. District Judge Harold H. Greene said that Bell Atlantic Corp. and Pacific Bell do not need special court permission to work with DSC Communications Corp. to find out what caused their phone systems to crash recently. Equipment sold by DSC to Bell Atlantic and Pacific Bell has been implicated in a half-dozen phone outages and near-outages over the past two weeks.

WASHINGTON -- DSC Communications Corp., whose software has been linked to recent phone outages, knew a year ago that there were potential problems with the new signaling systems used by the "Baby Bell" phone companies to handle calls, a DSC official told a House subcommittee yesterday.The admission raised new questions about whether Bellcore, the research arm of the seven regional Bells, had adequately investigated the "Signaling System 7" technology it helped develop. Technical standards developed by Bellcore are used by all seven Bells.

WASHINGTON -- A key piece of software that has been linked to recent phone outages, including one in Maryland on June 26, was not adequately tested by DSC Communications Corp. before it was released, a DSC official told a House subcommittee yesterday.Frank Perpiglia, DSC's vice president for technology and product development, said that software developed by DSC usually undergoes three to four months of rigorous testing in the lab before it is released to customers.But he said that usual test procedures weren't used with a software modification that has since been linked to half a dozen phone outages across the territories served by Bell Atlantic Corp.

Telephone outages, such as the ones that affected more than 10 million people on the East and West coasts last month, could recur unless local telephone companies start talking with each other, federal investigators have concluded.According to the first in-depth report on the incidents, prepared by the Federal Communications Commission and turned over to a congressional telecommunications subcommittee late yesterday, at least four times during the past year unreported telephone outages took place in the United States, Japan and Sweden.

For landlubbers like myself, great sea movies from Captains Courageous to Master and Commander cast a spell because they're exotic in such a rugged and elemental way. Even if you can't grasp the jargon of sails and riggings or plotting a course, the action feels understandable when you see ships outmaneuvering each other or plowing through wind-tossed seas. Morning Light, a handsome, compelling documentary produced by Roy E. Disney and Leslie DeMeuse, and written and directed by Mark Monroe, offers a high-tech version of nautical adventure as well as something else: a refreshing affability and purity.

DSC Communications Corp., the Plano, Texas-based company whose hardware has been linked to a half- dozen phone outages over the past week, said yesterday that it has duplicated in the lab a "critical problem" that led to the breakdowns.But it still doesn't know what caused the breakdowns to occur in the first place.Without admitting that DSC equipment was to blame for the recent spate of outages, DSC said investigation has shown that a "trigger event" causes networks built around DSC equipment to overload.

A team of 200 telecommunications experts believes it has narrowed to five the number of possible causes of last week's phone outages, but, a week after the widespread problems struck, it still can't identify the problem with certainty.John O'Rourke, assistant vice president of switching technology and analysis for Bell Communications Research Inc., which is known as Bellcore, said five likely causes have been identified for the outages that have dogged Bell Atlantic Corp. and Pacific Bell since June 26.Bellcore is the research arm of the seven regional Bell phone companies.