Amazon.com and computer direct-seller Dell Computer said on Wednesday they will provide links from their Web sites to new co-branded home pages.
The agreement joins the names of two of the fastest-growing companies in their fields. Exposure on Amazon will give Dell another outlet for its successful strategy of selling personal computers directly to customers.
No financial terms of the agreement between the companies were disclosed.
Dell currently sells more than US$14 million in products each day over the Web, which accounts for 25 percent of its business. It intends to do 50 percent of its business online by the end of 2000.
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Dialing for less: The cost of Internet calls in the United Kingdom could fall, under proposals published Wednesday by the government's telecommunications watchdog.
Proposals from regulators at Oftel would also mean that rapidly growing subscription-free Internet access services should be able to continue operating.
Internet advocates argue that their industry's development in Britain is stunted by high local access call rates. They compare this to the United States, where local calls are free. However, Internet use in Britain has been boosted in recent months by the launch of subscription-free services such as Freeserve, provided by electrical retailer Dixons.
Oftel's plans come in response to a dispute between British Telecom and other phone companies over revenues from calls made over the Internet. The regulators said there should be no fundamental change to the current arrangements under which BT receives costs plus what is deemed to be a reasonable return.
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Lucent's bond windfall: Lucent Technologies said on Wednesday it plans to sell $1.36 billion in bonds to raise money to cover short-term expenses, one of the biggest corporate offerings in recent months.
The telecom equipment maker said it will offer 30-year bonds that will mature on 15 March 2029, and will pay 6.45 percent annual interest.
Lucent (LU) plans to list the debt offering on the New York Stock Exchange, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, and the Stock Exchange of Singapore Limited.
Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch are the lead members of Lucent's underwriting group, which also includes Goldman Sachs, Chase Manhattan Corp., J.P. Morgan, ABN-AMRO, Barclays Capital, Salomon Smith Barney, and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.
Reuters contributed to this report.
