NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: JIM DUFFY WITH VIEW FROM THE EDGE 10/14/04 Today's focus: The second cut is the deepest
Dear [EMAIL PROTECTED], In this issue: * AT&T lops 7,400 more heads as it exits consumer telephony * Links related to View from The Edge * Featured reader resource _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by Veritas Meta Group Whitepaper Database Infrastructure Performance Challenges: Approaches to Better Manage Application Database and Storage Subsystem Performance Corporate relational databases now manage the majority of business-critical data within the enterprise. IT organizations face continuing challenges in managing increasingly complex, data-driven application environments. Read this white paper to discover several factors which will converge to challenge the IT organization's ability to manage its database software infrastructure. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=84715 _______________________________________________________________ WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE NEW DATA CENTER? Sign up for Network World's Data Center Newsletter in which Johna Till Johnson and the team at Nemertes Research will provide an ongoing assessment of current data center business drivers and future trends; concrete advice and guidance for IT executives seeking to consolidate data centers, improve disaster recovery, and deploy virtualization techniques. Click here to subscribe: http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=84822 _______________________________________________________________ Today's focus: The second cut is the deepest By Jim Duffy AT&T is laying off 7,400 people - more people than planned this year - as it retreats from consumer telephony. The beleaguered carrier is also writing off more than $11 billion in assets as it continues to transform its network to support next-generation data-optimized applications for business customers. AT&T will incur an asset impairment charge of $11.4 billion and a workforce restructuring charge of $1.1 billion for the third quarter. The layoffs are in addition to the 4,900 cuts AT&T announced earlier this year. In all, 12,300 employees will be shown the door this year, or about 20% of the carrier's workforce. AT&T announced plans earlier this year to exit consumer telephony after recent court rulings indicated that prices for access to local RBOC facilities were likely to climb. A Washington, D.C., appeals court in March had ordered an end to portions of the FCC's unbundled network elements platform policy, which established government-mandated rates for wholesaling RBOC local loops. A string of efforts by competitive local exchange carriers, including AT&T, MCI and Sprint, to overturn the ruling have been blocked, prompting AT&T to exit the consumer local access business. Speculation that AT&T would announce a significant restructuring surfaced earlier last week when CEO Dave Dorman abruptly canceled a speaking engagement at a Goldman Sachs conference in New York. Observers believe AT&T is trimming itself down to attract suitors. RBOCs could gain access to a wealth of nationwide enterprise data customers and assets by acquiring AT&T, MCI or Sprint. The RBOCs have all said they are looking to grow their base of enterprise customers. But at that Goldman Sachs conference, SBC and BellSouth indicated they were not interested in acquiring an IXC at the moment - they are still engineering Cingular's $41 billion acquisition of AT&T Wireless - and Verizon has its hands full with a possible divestiture of 10 million rural access lines to help fund its FTTP buildout and EV-DO wireless expansion. AT&T's exit from consumer telecom is a bittersweet milestone in the carrier's 130-year history. AT&T was the parent of the Bell System monopoly, earning the nickname "Ma Bell." AT&T was forced to divest its local telephone operations by the Department of Justice in 1984, a ruling that created the RBOCs. AT&T then became primarily a long-distance provider leasing back pieces of its former local network from the RBOCs to offer local access service. RELATED EDITORIAL LINKS Carriers mull impact of rulings Network World, 06/21/04 http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/062104carrfcc.html RBOCs eye data opportunities Network World, 11/24/03 http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2003/1124rbocdata.html AT&T cuts 7,400 more jobs Network World Fusion, 10/07/04 http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2004/1007att.html _______________________________________________________________ To contact: Jim Duffy Jim Duffy is managing editor of Network World's service provider equipment coverage <http://www.nwfusion.com/edge/>. He has 18 years of high-tech reporting experience, including over 12 years at Network World. Previously, he was senior editor at Computer Systems News and associate editor/reporter at Electronic News and MIS Week. He can be reached at <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter is sponsored by Veritas Meta Group Whitepaper Database Infrastructure Performance Challenges: Approaches to Better Manage Application Database and Storage Subsystem Performance Corporate relational databases now manage the majority of business-critical data within the enterprise. IT organizations face continuing challenges in managing increasingly complex, data-driven application environments. Read this white paper to discover several factors which will converge to challenge the IT organization's ability to manage its database software infrastructure. http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=84714 _______________________________________________________________ ARCHIVE LINKS Archive of the View from the Edge columns: http://www.nwfusion.com/edge/columnists/index.html _______________________________________________________________ FEATURED READER RESOURCE CHECK OUT NW FUSION'S WHITE PAPER LIBRARY Visit Today: NW Fusion's White Paper Library with new features and improved capabilities! Sort NW Fusion's library of white papers by Date and Vendor, view white papers by TECHNCIAL CATEGORY, mouse over white paper descriptions and take advantage of our IMPROVED white paper search engine. CLICK HERE: <http://www.nwfusion.com/vendorview/whitepapers.html> _______________________________________________________________ May We Send You a Free Print Subscription? 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