ClariNet Tearsheet:
Telecommunications and Networking

This summary of computer and technology news is brought to you by ClariNet Communications Corp., publishers of the ClariNet e.News electronic newspaper. The e.News is the first and largest newspaper on the Internet. This tearsheet is a small portion of the live news, distributed around the clock, that the e.News offers.

PictureTel Doubles Australian Sales

After years of resistance, Australian companies may finally be warming to the notion of video conferencing. Market leader PictureTel Australia reports a good 1995, with sales of more than 300 in-room systems, doubling its local user base.

Canadian Broadcasters Told To Support V-Chip By Fall

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has given Canadian broadcasters until September to encode their programs so that a V-chip installed in the viewer's television set can block violent programs.

Hongkong Telecom Internet Service Due

As Hongkong Telecom IMS ducks and dives the challenges of video-on-demand, the company says it will launch its Internet interactive service at the end of April. Called Netvigator, the service plans to offer local content.

SurfWatch AT&T WorldNet's Parental Control Software

SurfWatch has scored a major coup in the online world, company officials said. Its SurfWatch Internet filtering software for parental control will be one of the two available via AT&T's new WorldNet Internet access service.

Java Much More Than A "Lightweight Browser"

"Java is not just a lightweight browser," contends Sun Microsystems' John De Armon. To the contrary, Java is now being tested by the R.R. Donnelley & Sons printing company and a number of other large users for "enterprise-class" Intranet and Internet applications that will "change the way business is done," according to De Armon.

First Floor Yahoo Exchange Technologies

First Floor Software and Yahoo! Inc., plan to incorporate Yahoo's popular directory structure and "Top 350" Web sites into First Floor's Smart Bookmarks 2.0 product. Yahoo, as part of the agreement, will now incorporate First Floor's Bulletin technology on their Web site.

Businesses Choose Intranet Over Internet - Study

Move over Internet and type in Intranet. O'Reilly & Associates' latest study shows businesses are using the Internet more for internal user rather than public access and while acceptance of the Internet as a business tool is growing, caution is the word of the day.

India - Supreme Court Decision Opens Telecom Market

The Supreme Court of India has upheld validity of the procedures adopted by the Indian Government for inviting domestic and foreign private sector companies to provide basic telephone services. This clears the way for the Government to grant licences to the successful private sector companies in this hitherto state-owned sector.

Korea Changes PCS Licensing Rule

In Korea, the government announced changes to how it plans to license PCS services. The Ministry of Information and Communication said the three licenses due to be awarded at the end of June will be distributed among a telecom-equipment manufacturer, a non-manufacturer and Korea Telecom.

Alphatel Set For Vietnam

Thai company Alphatel, a subsidiary of Alphatec Electronics (Atec) which does integrated circuit packaging and testing, says it expects snap up a contract to supply 200,000 phone sets to Vietnam.

EC Pushes Low-Cost Phone Rules

Confirming plans announced late last year, the European Commission (EC) has announced the creation of a directive that will require landline telecom companies across Europe to offer basic phone services to anyone who requests them, no matter how remote they are.

Updated Friday, March 15, 1996, at 1:00 pm Pacific time.

ClariNet Tearsheet:Telecommunications and Networking