'900' telephone business withers as problems rise
Article Abstract:
The '900' number industry, which earned about $1 billion annually in its first five years, is failing big time as sales and call volume went down almost 50 percent in 1992. The industry's continuing downturn is abetted by bad publicity, investigations by federal regulators and uncollectible bills. Analysts blame the industry itself for its troubles. The bad publicity it got stemmed from misleading advertising and deceptive operations; the New York State Attorney General says the '900' business had attracted more scams in a shorter period of time than other businesses. While there have been a number of '900' businesses ordered closed, there are also legitimate ones. The New York Times offer '900' services for crossword clues, weather reports, sports scores and restaurant reviews. The Wall Street Journal's '900' services provide news and financial information.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: News, opinion and commentary
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1993
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Canada seeks licenses for pocket telephones
Article Abstract:
The Canadian government will take applications for wireless telephone services. The Canadian move upstages a policy debate in the US, where the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has not decided what sort of services might be needed or what frequencies they might use. The Canadian Communications Department plans to allocate frequencies near ones already used for cellular services. The Canadian agency plans to authorize four national franchises. Competition among franchises will be encouraged. The phone systems that are planned would be more limited than today's cellular systems. They would have a range of about 600 yards, and they would operate in designated 'phone zones,' areas characterized by high traffic. Calls would be relayed via clusters of antennas.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: News, opinion and commentary
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1991
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
U.S. Softens Its Warning To Beijing
Article Abstract:
U.S. officials have stopped telling China to let the yuan float freely on the foreign exchange market, and have instead asked China to increase its value.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: News, opinion and commentary
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 2005
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: Teleglobe merging with U.S. telcom. Fonorola bidding war shaping up. Rogers seeks change in cable ownership rules
- Abstracts: Ottawa bends on magazines to aviod U.S. trade war. PM ties debt relief to health education. Canadian proposal would delay UN sanctions
- Abstracts: The bubble with Harry. Losing our independence. Notes from the underground
- Abstracts: I.B.M. in chip deal with Toshiba and Siemens. Waiting for even cheaper PC's. New product from I.B.M
- Abstracts: Summertime and the computin's easy. Learning to save trees. Planning for summertime is not always a picnic; blackouts, brownouts and power spikes require a strategy for hot weather