Caron Carlson

Since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 became law, hundreds of new telephone companies, services and deals have sprung up in the marketplace—and almost as many lawsuits, policy disputes and lobbying battles over the laws intent have followed. Last week, a federal appeals court issued a ruling that many of the new companies fear could put […]

Bernard Ebbers, former CEO of WorldCom Inc.— now doing business as MCI— was indicted today for conspiracy and securities fraud for his alleged role in inflating the value of the companys stock in light of its weakening financial condition. The charges came shortly after the companys former chief financial officer, Scott Sullivan, pleaded guilty to […]

Advances in processing power and switching capable of handling the different requirements of voice and data traffic are beginning to make the notion of convergence—a long-hyped notion—a reality. In an effort to accelerate the enterprise migration to converged networking, hardware and software makers are putting together packages that promise a smooth transition. Unimax Systems Corp. […]

The merger of two hospitals in Atlanta to form one of the largest pediatric health care systems in the country presented a long list of logistic and technological challenges, not the least of which was creating a smooth communications system. Those challenges, in turn, presented the hospitals CIO with an opportunity to deploy the latest […]

Businesses may now have a way to turn over private information about critical infrastructure to the Department of Homeland Security with less concern that the information will be made public. But government assurances of confidentiality have done little to reduce worries in corporate America or among privacy advocates, and lawsuits are expected. The DHS Protected […]

Congress faces a relatively brief session this year, with the autumn election portending a timely adjournment, but several IT issues will demand lawmakers attention. The top contenders will be cyber-security, Internet taxes and spyware. To the relief of many in the IT industry, the private sector appears to be sidestepping an attempt to legislate network […]

Federal regulators last week took the first step on a journey that could lead to the end of the traditional Public Switched Telephone Network and the migration of most voice traffic to IP-based networks. While there are sure to be twists along the way, including detours being pondered by federal law enforcement, the destination is […]

Working with the largest deficit in U.S. history, the Bush administration is proposing spending boosts on IT and research for 2005. The lions share of the budget increase is directed at defense and security, including a doubling of the Department of Homeland Securitys funds from its creation in 2001, but it would leave some civilian […]

WASHINGTON—Federal regulators on Thursday took the first step on a journey that will likely lead to the end of the traditional public switched-telephone network and the migration of all voice traffic onto IP-based networks. While there may be twists and turns along the way, including detours set by the FBI, the destination points to more […]

When you order a pizza from Pizza Hut, your request could go to a store, a call center or the company headquarters if you order online. With customer calls routed all over the country, NPC International Inc., Pizza Huts largest franchisee, wants to have all its 840 sites linked to one another by the end […]