ExploreZip virus hits Aust shores

The new ExploreZip virus has infected several Australian companies.

The virus hit Sabela Media and Ninemsn late yesterday, with both businesses reporting minimal damage. Many other companies, including KPMG, are also believed to have been infected.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/atug.nsf/date/NT0000387EThree-way Asia Global Crossing deal completedGlobal Crossing, Microsoft and Softbank announced Friday they have completed a joint venture that will build high-speed network pipes to link several Asian countries.

The Asia Global Crossing venture, announced September 8, will provide advanced telecommunications services over a network that connects Japan, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines. That network in turn will be connected to the Americas and Europe over Global Crossing's existing undersea cables.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/atug.nsf/date/NT0000385ETelstra cable pricing causes troubleTelstra is at risk of losing Internet cable customers following the introduction of a new pricing structure at Big Pond Advance where specific data transferred using the service will incur charges.

Following notification of the changes, customers have posted threats to leave Telstra in favour of Cable & Wireless Optus on a user newsgroup.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/atug.nsf/date/NT0000387AMannesmann fights Vodafone takeoverThe takeover drama between telecommunications companies Mannesmann and Vodafone AirTouch intensified yesterday following Mannesmann's supervisory board's rejection of Vodafone's latest buyout offer on Sunday.

Mannesmann Chief Executive Office Klaus Esser and Vodafone's CEO Chris Gent each kicked off separate multi-city tours in an effort to influence Mannesmann executive board members before Vodafone makes a formal offer to buy the German-based company, expected at the end of this month.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/atug.nsf/date/NT0000384EAT&T to build networks for GM, DelphiAT&T said yesterday it will build and manage global IP (Internet Protocol) networks for General Motors and for Delphi Automotive Systems in contracts worth $US510 million.

The GM contract, valued at $350 million, calls for the replacement of the automaker's multiple networks with a network set up by AT&T Solutions, the company's professional services subsidiary, AT&T and GM executives said.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/atug.nsf/date/NT00003866Oracle, Telstra ASP deal tippedOracle and Telstra are tipped to partner in an ASP (application service provider) deal that will be the largest in the Asia-Pacific region.

Telstra executives were meeting with Oracle CEO Larry Ellison in the US last week, ostensibly to talk about Web TV.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/atug.nsf/date/NT00003846TVNZ talks telco deal with NTLTelevision New Zealand (TVNZ) as your telco? That's one of the potential implications of the state broadcaster's ongoing talks with the rapidly expanding UK Telecommunications Company NTL.

NTL confirmed last month that it was in advanced talks with TVNZ regarding a possible joint venture. The discussions have continued and - in sharp contrast to TVNZ's relations with the Murdoch-backed Sky Television - appear to have pleased both sides. One TVNZ source has praised NTL's "very impressive upper management".

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/atug.nsf/date/NT0000384AReport: Chinese telecom networks Y2K readyChina's telecom network passed a system-wide Year 2000 test over the weekend without incident and has been declared ready for the turn of the century, according to a report in the Monday edition of the China Daily.

Labelled a "great success" by China Telecom deputy director Leng Rongquan, the test simulated the rollover period from December 31 to January 1, from February 28 to 29 and from February 29 to March 1, said the newspaper.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/atug.nsf/date/NT00003856ASEAN pushes ahead with wired initiativeThe 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries have formally endorsed a plan to form a regional electronic community and have set up a special task force to accelerate its development.

The plan, known as E-ASEAN, is designed to enable the countries to enhance their ability to trade electronically and thereby improve their global competitiveness.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/atug.nsf/date/NT0000385AClinton wants regulations updated for e-commerceUS president Bill Clinton has ordered the creation of a federal task force to update regulations in ways that assist e-commerce while protecting consumer privacy.

The working group, led by the US Department of Commerce, will identify federal, state and local laws and regulations that hinder e-commerce growth, and recommend how they can be revised, the White House memorandum said.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/atug.nsf/date/NT0000386ETelstra merges mobile satellite business with KPNTelstra will merge its global satellite business with Netherlands Telco Koninklijke KPN in order to strengthen their position in the global mobile satellite communications market.

The new company will combine KPN's Satcom business under the brand Station 12 and Telstra's mobile satellite business.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/atug.nsf/date/NT00003876NTT DoCoMo to take stake in HutchisonNTT Mobile Communications Network (NTT DoCoMo) today signed an agreement with Hutchison Whampoa. to take an equity stake in Hutchison Telephone.

The deal gives Japan's largest cellular operator a 19 per cent stake in the Hong Kong market leader and marks the first of several anticipated stakes NTT DoCoMo will take in regional cellular carriers.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/atug.nsf/date/NT00003882CSC teams up with CWOSolutions provider Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) has announced a $500 million strategic partnership with telecommunications company Cable & Wireless Optus (CWO).

The telco will provide communications infrastructure products to support CSC's professional services and outsourcing businesses in Australia.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/atug.nsf/date/NT00003886Y2K? That's the least of their Net concernsDecember 31 may be looming large for many businesses - but for others, the Y2K problem is shaping up to be a paper tiger.

"With all the preparations we've made, I would expect [New Year's Eve] to be a nonevent," says Chris Coons, manager of enterprise services at Southwest Airlines.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/atug.nsf/date/NT0000388AY2K glitch calls jurors for duty 100 years agoA call to a programming library that was not Y2K-ready was the culprit in a court mailing that ordered about 500 Philadelphians to report for jury duty January 3, 1900, said a city official.

Philadelphia Jury Commissioner Michael J. McAllister said he learned of the glitch November 26 when one of the potential jurors, Charles McLaughlin, called in.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/atug.nsf/date/NT0000386AIndustry leaders join Bluetooth wireless effortEfforts to develop wireless Bluetooth technology have gained momentum as four major vendors said they would help promote the emerging standard.

3Com, Lucent Technologies, Microsoft and Motorola said they will join the five founders of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group - Ericsson, IBM Intel, Nokia and Toshiba - to form a nine-member Bluetooth Promoter Group.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/atug.nsf/date/NT00003872