Agence France-Presse
HONG KONG, Sept 22 (AFP)

HONG KONG, Sept 22 (AFP) — Asian share markets closed narrowly mixed Wednesday with profit taking continuing in a number of markets that have seen recent rallies, notably China and Indonesia.

A further climb in oil prices and an absence of significant fresh leads kept trading generally cautious.

The as-expected 25 basis points hike in the US Federal Reserve’s key rate was largely ignored although an announcement by key Hong Kong banks to raise lending rates in line with the Fed move saw the market come under pressure.

In Japan dismal trade figures for August raised fears that the country’s export-led recovery may be faltering, while in Jakarta euphoria over a peaceful election gave way to profit taking Wednesday as investors turned their focus on the possible cabinet line-up and policies of former general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who is expected to replace incumbent President Megawati Sukarnoputri when the final vote count for Monday’s poll is complete.

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By Globe Wire Services

MCI Inc. chief executive Michael Capellas said yesterday that the telephone provider has retained advisers, responding to a question during an investors’ conference on a possible sale of the company.

«We have a set of advisers and if that is a surprise to anybody in this room, and they don’t know who these folks are, I would be shocked,» Capellas said at a conference in San Francisco sponsored by Banc of America Securities.

MCI, the number two US long-distance phone company, has become a more affordable target after its shares dropped 26 percent this year amid a price war with competitors including AT&T Corp. Verizon Communications Inc. and other US local phone firms, known as Baby Bells, could use an MCI purchase to bolster their businesses that cater to large corporate clients.

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Kristen Miranda (Rochester, NY) Sending your kids away to college without a cell phone isn’t really an option in many cases anymore--many schools are getting rid of long distance programs; some are even eliminating landline phones in college dorm rooms.

The Rochester Institute Of Technology stopped offering long distance in dorm rooms right before the 2003 academic year. They say it got too expensive and students weren’t using it, they all had cell phones.

In 1999, about 85 percent of students signed up for the school-sponsored long distance program. Four years later, only 10 percent were using it.

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LONDON, /PRNewswire/ A majority of corporate executives now predict that they will implement Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), according to a new survey and report on networking and business strategy from AT&T in co-operation with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

VoIP, the ability to transmit voice calls over the Internet and IP-based data networks, means companies can carry calls within their own enterprise on their own networks, bypassing traditional telecom providers and avoiding toll charges. The additional promise of greater functionality and flexibility than conventional fixed lines finally positions VoIP as a true rival to the dominance of today’s fixed line telephony.

«The question is no longer if but when VoIP will become the new standard for voice traffic,» says Cathy Martine, AT&T’s senior vice president of Internet telephony.

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GATINEAU. QUEBEC — The CRTC has opened hearings that will determine whether Internet-based phone service should be regulated just like traditional phone service, or whether it should be regulated at all.

More than 30 companies and interest groups are scheduled to give their views on the issue over three days.

The CRTC has already waded into the debate with its early views. In April, it said it saw little difference between new Internet-based telephony and regular phone service. The broadcast regulator said its preliminary view was that its existing regulatory framework should apply to VoIP (Voice-Over- Internet Protocol) services.

Some intervenors say the CRTC should play a hands-off role and let the marketplace decide the issue. «Let the customer choose,» said Vonage Holdings’ Brook Schulz.

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