SBC Communications, the No. 1 U.S. local telephone company, says Time Warner workers placed, then canceled orders for Road Runner digital subscriber lines.
SBC has asked the Public Utility Commission of Texas to investigate the alleged DSL scheme, which it contends is unlawful and anti-competitive. It wants a cease-and-desist order, penalties, and a requirement that Time Warner and its Road Runner subsidiary pay costs incurred by SBC's Southwestern Bell unit.
The company filed a complaint against Time Warner "for inducing their employees to place -- and then cancel -- bogus orders for digital subscriber line service from Southwestern Bell."
This method could be used by Time Warner to track its competitor's reach. But the false orders could tie up SPC's system and make them lose customers, an SPC vice president said.
A Time Warner spokesman acknowledged that the orders were made. "It was a mistake and won't happen again," he said.
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House debates China trade bill: A deeply divided House of Representatives is expected to narrowly approve a fiercely contested China trade bill, in what would be a monumental victory for President Clinton, pro-business Republicans in Congress, and economic reformers in Beijing.
As the debate started, a bi-partisan coalition said they had at least the 218 votes needed to grant permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) to China. The do-or-die vote pits organized labor against corporate America in one of the biggest legislative battles of Clinton's presidency.
"The process is moving, the momentum is moving.... I think it will pass," Commerce Secretary William Daley told CBS' Early Show.
Meanwhile, labor unions launched a final lobbying blitz on Capitol Hill with dire warnings that passage of PNTR would undermine human rights in China and cost hundreds of thousands of American workers their jobs.
The bill's opponents remained defiant, saying the vote was still too close to call.
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IBM expands Intellectual Property Network: Internet Capital Group and IBM said Wednesday they are forming a new company to create an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of intellectual property.
The new company, which will be based in Chicago, has bought IBM's existing Intellectual Property Network as the foundation for an online marketplace that will let users search, analyze, buy, sell, and license patents and other intellectual property in several industries. Internet Capital will offer operational expertise to build up the network.
An IBM spokesman declined to comment on the size of IBM's stake in the new company, but IBM plans to list more than 25,000 of its own patents.
The expanded site will launch in the third quarter.
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Poor earnings for online bookseller: Internet bookseller Chapters Online posted disappointing fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday as doubts about the viability of online retailing lingered.
Toronto-based Chapters, known for its e-commerce websites www.chapters.ca and www.gardencrazy.co, posted a loss of CN$10.9 million (US$7.2 million), or 61 Canadian cents a share, on sales of CN$16.5 million (US$10.9 million), compared with a loss of CN$3.3 million on sales of CN$1.5 million for the same period a year earlier.
There was no comparable per share figure available for the period as the company went public in September.
For the year, Chapters reported a loss of CN$36.7 million (US$24.3 million), or CN$2.39 per share, on sales of CN$38.7 million (US$25.7), compared with a loss of CN$5.2 million and sales of CN$2 million for the same period a year earlier.
But even with this loss, CEO Larry Stevenson said his company has met analysts' expectations and is one of the strongest online brands in Canada.
