Broadband Week Direct

Today's report from Web Editor Susan Rush

• FCC Issues Building Ruling; Suspends AOL-TW Review
• AMCC Stock Gets A Boost
• And Internet For All
• Dentists Open Wide For Online Education
• Broadband Briefs

FCC Issues Building Ruling; Suspends AOL-TW Review

Commercial building landlords are shelling out large sums of money to make their buildings broadband-ready for business tenants, but the looming question is how long will owners have the final say as to who gets paid. The Federal Communications Commission adopted a ruling this morning that would require commercial building owners to open their properties to a variety of communications carriers.

In a morning session, regulators took two courses of action. One, the FCC forbade telecommunications carriers from signing exclusive real estate deals with building owners. Two, the agency established procedures to reduce competitive carriers' dependence on incumbent local exchange carriers to gain access to on-premises wiring.

The issue of delivering service to multi-tenant units pits the property rights of landlords versus the tenant's rights to competitive markets for services - a potential recipe for a regulatory nightmare. To this end, the FCC also adopted a "Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making" in the event that further action needs to be taken quickly.

In Other FCC News: The Commission put a hold on its review of the America Online - Time Warner merger until after the Federal Trade Commission rules on the deal. FCC officials say it is "normal practice" for it to wait until after the FTC concludes its antitrust review. "Once the Federal Trade Commission has acted we will promptly publish an anticipated timeline for FCC action," explains Christopher Wright, the FCC's general counsel. The FTC is scheduled to rule on the merger by month's end.

AMCC Stock Gets A Boost

Yesterday, Applied Micro Circuits Corp. suffered a stock blow falling 6 percent to $167 47/64 after its client Lucent Technologies announced lower than anticipated earnings for the latest fiscal quarter. But good news wipes out the bad - AMCC rebounded in early trading today to $175 11/16, following the announcement of its second quarter results.

The maker of high-bandwidth silicon products earned 26 cents per share during the quarter, topping the average analyst estimate compiled by First Call/Thomson Financial of 23 cents per share. AMCC reported pro forma net income of $35.7 million, compared to $9.1 million during the same period a year ago.

Separately, the company's board of directors approved a 2-for-1 stock split, to be distributed in the form of a stock dividend on or about Oct. 30 for shareholders of record on Oct. 16.

And Internet For All

High-speed Internet access is an inalienable right in Norway, according to the government. The country's officials are willing to fork over $37.7 million to bridge the digital divide among their citizens. The Norwegian government's goal is to provide broadband Internet access to all businesses and households by 2004.

Grete Knudsen's, Minister of Industry, first priority is to first give access to schools, libraries, hospitals and public administrations by 2002, and then branch out to remote parts of the country until everyone has access. To accomplish its goal, the government will have to work closely with the private sector to stimulate competition.

Dentists Open Wide For Online Education

Next time you plop yourself down in your dentist's chair, you may meet a wiser and more informed "teethman" - that is if he is taking advantage of the streaming media education classes now available online. DenTrek.com's on-demand webcasts geared specifically for the dental industry will now be available on the dentalxchange.com Web site. The two companies hope that the deal will encourage dentists to log on and participate in virtual lectures to stay abreast of the latest dental developments.

"We chose to align with DenTrek.com because they share our vision of using the Internet to make evidenced-based, clinically relevant course material available to a worldwide audience," says Richard Lee, dentalxchange.com's senior vice president and co-founder. During the streaming webcasts, viewers can interact with lecturers by asking questions and getting an immediate response, just like in a traditional classroom setting.

Broadband Briefs:

Corning Inc. partners with Atlanta-based Fiberworks to bring direct fiber-based access to the Southeastern United States. Corning will be the exclusive fiber supplier to Fiberworks and Corning Cable Systems, a wholly owned Corning subsidiary, will provide all cable and hardware for these networks.
CAIS Internet, Inc. announces an alliance with Hughes Network Systems to offer broadband satellite services to businesses and residential customers nationwide.
Broadband general contractor Broadband Investment Group Corp. has changed its name to Broadband Infrastructure Group Corp. to bring the company's name more in line with its business model.
OpenTV unveils its broadband initiative to offer U.S. cable, satellite and terrestrial operators a scalable and currently deployable digital interactive television solution.
Broadview Networks selects Nortel Networks' Universal Edge Intelligent Multiservice Access System for its high-speed DSL network. The carrier-class broadband solution enables Local Internet by combining support for multiple DSL transmission types with ATM switching.
360networks is only 4,000 miles short of completing its 24,000-mile North American fiber optic network. Once complete, the network will connect 50 major cities in North America.
Inktomi Corp. inks a deal with Orblynx Inc. to integrate its network products into Orblynx's network to bring streaming media services to carrier and ISP customers.
StreamSearch launches the X-Stream Sports Channel to provide enthusiasts with a searchable compilation of streaming video, audio, news, music and E-commerce. The extreme sport site will feature live commentary, athlete interviews and chat events.