— Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Classic Chastain series serves as backdrop for successful customer relationship building and community involvement. —

ATLANTA, /PRNewswire/ When Hank Hynson, director of operations for Agility Recovery Solutions, accepted BellSouth’s offer to attend the BellSouth-sponsored Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Classic Chastain event, he expected an amazing performance by George Benson. What he did not anticipate was the growing relationship he would foster at the concert with BellSouth, his communications provider. As a disaster recovery and business continuity organization serving many Fortune 100 companies across the nation, Agility Recovery Solutions relies on BellSouth as the backbone of its business proposition -- to be there for customers when their own systems are not.

«It wasn’t about BellSouth trying to sell me additional communications services. It was about spending quality time to learn more about my business and how to provide me with better service,» Hynson said. «In today’s fast-paced business environment, spending quality time with customers is difficult to do. BellSouth did it. That’s a big deal in my book.»

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DES MOINES, Iowa The Iowa Supreme Court is backing state regulators who want to assure that local telephone exchanges have access to long distance service.

In today’s ruling, the high court says the Iowa Utilities Board has broad authority to regulate the rates and services of public utilities.

The case involves a dispute between A-T-and-T, which provides long distance, and several local telephone companies, which charge A-T-and-T for access. The charges vary, and A-T-and-T resisted paying the higher ones.

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China Netcom Group Corp. (Hong Kong) Ltd., controlled by the nation’s second-largest fixed-line operator, cut its debt by 17 percent in the first half, improving its chances of raising $1.5 billion selling shares.

Netcom, which provides fixed-line and Internet services in six cities and provinces in northern China, cut its debt by 11.9 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) in December to 58 billion yuan as of June 30, as it transferred debt to its parent, according to a sale document seen by Bloomberg News.

The reduction may alleviate concerns that the company holds excessive debt as it prepares for an initial public offer as soon as October. Netcom’s plans to spend 70.7 billion yuan in the three years to 2006 on new networks and rising competition from cellular phone operators may deter investors.

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New Orleans Flooding Poses Biggest Threat, Customers Asked to Be Patient During Recovery Effort

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., /PRNewswire/ Sprint (NYSE: FON — News) crews are ready and on standby to participate in any restoration efforts once Hurricane Ivan passes through the Gulf Coast. However, residents should be aware that restoration and recovery could take time due to several factors. Sprint’s communications systems rely on electricity and local telephone service in order to operate, infrastructure that can be impacted by the storm.
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«Flooding is a major concern with Hurricane Ivan, especially in areas such as New Orleans that are at or below sea level,» said John Quigley, director — Network Operations, Sprint. «After the storm passes and local authorities tell us the area is safe, we will quickly move our workers into the affected areas and begin restoring service.»

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Slate of New Enhancements Include ’Simple Reach Number’ Offer

BEDMINSTER, N.J., /PRNewswire/ AT&T today announced another round of new feature enhancements for AT&T CallVantage(SM) Service including the availability of «Simple Reach(SM) Number,» a new capability that enables subscribers to have up to nine additional telephone numbers for their service in any available area code. The new enhancements are the latest in a series of innovations the company plans to add to this popular new Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service.

«AT&T is moving quickly to deliver innovations that will bring consumers more features, better quality and greater value for residential broadband phone service,» said Cathy Martine, AT&T senior vice president for Internet Telephony. «We have a pipeline of exciting new enhancements coming from AT&T Labs that will give AT&T CallVantage Service customers even more capabilities, convenience and control over their communications.»

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By Cade Metz
PC Magazine

You could save a bundle by making calls over your broadband connection.

Dozens of companies now offer Voice over IP (VoIP) services, which let you use your existing phone equipment to call anyone, whether they use a VoIP service or a traditional phone line. You do sacrifice a bit of clarity, but the best offerings can all but replace your traditional phone line for as little as $15 a month.

The aptly named Net2Phone launched the first VoIP service in July of 1996. It was a nifty technology, but the dial-up connections most people used at that time resulted in poor voice quality and lag. Plus, you were tied to your PC.

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