Lucent Technologies and Time Warner announced $100 million fiber network system deal for former to supply TW with its newest system. Time Warner Telecom will deploy Lucent’s WaveStar OLS 1.6T, DWDM system, with initial capacity of 800 Gbps.

Universal Space Network and BAE Systems opened Western Australia remote ground station at Yathanrragga to support former’s subscriber base, which includes NASA’s Triana spacecraft mission. Station will be constructed and maintained by BAE Systems.

Hearst-Argyle TV will use Harris Corp. DTV transmitters under new agreement. Deal at start covers 17 stations, allowing them to begin DTV broadcasting this year, companies said. Hearst-Argyle owns or manages 26 stations.

Ill. Commerce Commission Chmn. Richard Mathias this week asked other 4 Ameritech state commissions whether they ought to call another joint session with top SBC and Ameritech officials to get explanations for seeming contradictions between what companies were telling states and what they were telling securities analysts about service quality, competition and regulatory compliance burdens. In letters Tues. to heads of Ind., Mich., Ohio and Wis. commissions this week, Mathias cited “discrepancies” in statements by SBC Chmn. Edward Whitacre and other top SBC/Ameritech officials to state regulators in Oct. 16 summit meeting, and what Whitacre and other officials told securities analysts in Dec. 16 briefing. He asked other states “whether it would be helpful to know” which story contained real reasons for company’s troubles of past year. Mathias said SBC/Ameritech told securities analysts service problems of 2000 were caused by aging outside plant and capacity difficulties but told states problems were caused by technician shortages coupled with weather problems and surges in demand. He also said SBC/Ameritech had been telling Great Lakes state regulators and legislators company was being hammered by local competitors, while telling securities analysts that Tex. was where most local competition was happening, and that elsewhere companies expected growth in vertical service revenues would offset access line losses to CLECs. Mathias also questioned SBC/Ameritech’s blaming regulators for delays in entering long distance and other new markets when companies were paying millions of dollars in penalties for failing to serve retail and wholesale customers they already had. He said that while Ameritech seemed to have improved service for retail customers, it still was falling short in wholesale service to its competitors. “We should determine whether the seeming discrepancies between the comments by SBC/Ameritech to securities analysts and to state regulators demand immediate clarification,” Mathias wrote, and asked whether states wanted another summit with Whitacre to hear explanations. Ameritech spokesman said there wasn’t any pressing reason for another joint session with regulators because service problems that led to first session in Oct. “by and large have been addressed.” He said Ameritech hired hundreds of technicians and its service performance was at or close to state service quality standards. In related action, SBC’s Whitacre Tues. publicly apologized for Ameritech’s poor phone service in appearance before 250 Mich. business leaders at Economic Club of Detroit. “I know we stumbled coming out of the gate” following Ameritech-SBC merger, he said: “I'm not saying the problems are over. We are all embarrassed by them, but we are well on the way to correcting them.” He said Ameritech was upgrading its network to digital fiber system, which he said should cut down on maintenance problems, and has hired and trained more technical workers. He said service quality in Mich. still wasn’t quite as good as in other states, but vowed that it “will be and will be quickly” as good as elsewhere in region.

Hot topics at N. American Numbering Council (NANC) meetings Wed. were elimination of certain numbering/dialing options and expansion of N. American Numbering Plan (NANP)capacity. Industry Numbering Committee (INC) proposed elimination of proposals to: (1) Use 4-digit area code. (2) Use 1-digit national destination code that would be dialed as “1” is now for long distance calls. (3) Dial NANC steering committee’s proposed 2-digit geographical code before area code. Also discussed were: (1) How to transition changes once decision is made on dialing methods and whether transition should be gradual or “flash cut.” (2) Whether 10-digit dialing question has been decided. (3) Whether need to move to new dialing regimes is pressing, since it appears significant amount may be accessible soon. NARUC representative said real resolution of numbering issues wouldn’t occur soon.

PanAmSat Net36 and Hughes Network Systems (HNS) said Net36 would provide additional streaming content delivery for DirecPC services. With addition of new service, Net36 now has access to half of N. American broadband households via satellite-to-edge servers. Meanwhile, HNS said it was expanding its relationship with Telkom SA Ltd. of S. Africa. HNS will supply Telkom SA with 14,000 very small aperture terminals (VSATs) that will meet 90% of nation’s VSAT needs. HNS technology will support delivery of Telkom SA’s VSAT service to provide advanced communications systems for election monitoring, air traffic control, rapid financial transactions, multimedia, other services. No terms were disclosed.

STM Wireless and Alcatel said Wed. they signed OEM partnership agreement under which Alcatel will integrate STM’s VSAT products into its range of carrier grade systems and software in order to offer satellite broadband solutions to service providers using current satellites and emerging Ka-band systems.

Paxson closed on purchase of 51% of KPPX (Ch. 51, Pax) Tolleson, Ariz. (Phoenix market) from Hector Salvatierra, broker Kalil reported. Paxson, which earlier had acquired 49% of station, paid $6.6 million for rest.

Broadlogic said iBeam signed agreement to use Satellite Express XR1 Fast Ethernet receiver/router developed by Broadlogic as standard satellite receiver platform for current and new deployments within iBeam networks.

FCC released 2000 biennial regulatory review Wed. that includes details on items that agency accepts for further review that were part of staff report released last fall. On wireless spectrum, review said agency accepted staff recommendation that spectrum caps that limited spectrum entity could hold in single market be considered. CTIA and several wireless carriers have been pressing agency to consider lifting spectrum cap on 45 MHz in all markets except rural areas, where cap is 55 MHz. Agency plans to consider notice of proposed rulemaking in “near future” that will consider “existing competitive conditions and technological developments that could affect the continued need for the cap.” Agency also accepted staff’s recommendation to consider excluding rural ILECs from requirement that independent (non-Bell) ILECs must offer long distance service through separate subsidiary. FCC said it would begin proceeding to seek comment on idea. In addition, it will ask whether it should consider waivers of that requirement for other independent ILECs that showed it created hardship for them. FCC Comr. Furchtgott-Roth said he was “heartened” by more detailed analysis in 2000 Biennial Review issued by agency Wed. Review includes staff report that analyzes regulations on “subpart-by-subpart” basis to determine whether they are needed, action that Furchtgott-Roth has championed in past. That level of detail offers “meaningful opportunity for debate about each section of our rules,” he said. He urged regulated companies to take active role in commenting on process that he said was “opportunity to keep our regulations consistent with marketplace and technological change.”