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Show \ The Salt Lake Tribune BUSINESS Wed a CENTERPIECE il) New, Old Tech at Odds Over the Airwaves LE SoA BabySeats Recalled For Defective Handle A bandwidth auction is expected to pit longtime users againstelectronic heavyweights such as Microsoft BY KATHY CHEN ‘THE WALLSTREET JOURNAL WASHINGTON — A manufacturer is recalling and issuing repair kits for some 754,000 infant car seats because of a handle problem thathas led to injuries. When used as an infantcarrier, the handle of the seats made by Kolczait Enterprises unexpect- ediy can change position, causing the seat to rotate and the baby to fall to the ground, government officials said Sunday. Atleast oneinfanthas suffered a skull fracture, and two havesuffered concussions. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said ae eee injured as a resultof the The aimbves Koleraft infant car seats/carriers with the model names Infant Rider, Secura, Travel-About, Plus 4, Plus 5, Koleraft Infant Restraint, Kolcraft WASHINGTON — A new federal auction of the airwaves is becominga battle hetween the new andold economies. In the auction nextspring, the government is planning to sell licenses for a valuable band of electromagnetic spectrum that may be used for everything from wireless Internet access to traditional two-wayradios. Unlike past spectrum auctions thatgotlittle attention outside the industry, this latest round is attracting everyone from old-line manufacturers such as The Boeing Co. and Ford Motor Co. to brash new-economystars suchas Microsoft Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. With the Federal Communications Commission set to draw up crucial auction rules as early as this week, scores of companies are jockeying for position before the bidding beginsin Jate April or early May. “This is beachfront property in spectrum,” says Buck Logan, a lawyer representing Silicon Valleystart-up FreeSpace Communica- Infant Car Seat and Playskool tions LLC, which wants to buy some of the spectrum to roll out a wireless national Inter- from Jan. 1, 1998 through last net network. “It’s very valuable.” That's because the spectrum being freed up — originallyallocated to television broadcast- Infant Car Seat manufactured June 30. To receive a free repair kit, consumers may call Kolcraft toll- ers as UHF channels 60 through 69 — also has free at 877-776-2609. the rare ability to easily penetrate building Holiday Lights Have Fire, Shock Hazards PHILADELPHIA — About 100,000 sets of holiday lights have been recalled by the distributor after safety regulators discovered potential fire and shock hazards. Jingle Bell Enterprises Inc, of Philadelphia jissued the recall Monday. The announcement applies both to the company’s icicle lights and traditional clear lights. The affected products were sold in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania: and Delaware over the past month, according to the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission. All of the lights were sold in red boxes. The package backs contain serial numbers 00450 through 00455, and 00491, 11491 and 11451. walls, makingit ideal for new-age technologies such as wireless Internet services and other high-speed data applications. It’s impossible to say how high the bidding could go, Seme past auctions have been disappointments, others hugely successful. But Congress already has spent someof the money expected from the auction:In thelatest federal budget, lawmakers thoughtthe auction would bring in $2.6 billion; it could easily produce more, given the wide corporate interest. “This is an auctionfor the new millennium.” Wiillam Kennard FCC Chairman RS “This is an auction for the new millennium,” says FCC Chairman William Kennard. “This can only mean good things for the deployment of advanced technologies for consumers.” A numberofInternet heavyweights have expressed interest in the event. FCCofficials say executives from Microsoft, Cisco and a major Internet-service provider, PSINet Inc., have cometo visit the agency’s headquarters here, mostly to convey their concern that the auction be wide open to a variety of compa- nies. The officials say they think the companies may be considering bidding for the spec- trum, whether on their own, in a consortium or by backing another concern. Most prospective bidders won't show their cards. Microsoft spokesman Rick Miller says the software giant hasn't decided, then adds,“I wouldn't discount”the possibility. Up to now, he says, Microsoft's goal has been to ensure an openbidding process.“We're always looking for better waysto deliver ser- vices,” Miller adds.“We wantto makesure the spectrum can be used for that, whetherit’s us delivering the services or someoneelse.” A new breed of wireless Internet services would fit with Microsoft's recent strategy of investing in or partnering with cable,satellite and other firms providing high-speed “broadband”Internet access. That is exactly what PSINet of Herndon, Va., wants to do. John LoGalbo, associate general counsel, says the companywill bid for a 30-megahertz block of the spectrum to develop a fast, nationwide network that would permit consumers to get on the Internet more than 50 times as fast as regular phone lines permit. Covol Technologies Inc. of Lehi said oneof its licensees sold its facility toa major U.S.electric utility company. The project is in Somerset, Pa., and was developed by West Materials. Mondorn Corp. will operate the facility, whichwill use Covol’s industrial. Squaring off against these high-tech companies are the old guard, including Boeing and waste engineering technology in the production of synthetic fue} under a licensing arrangement some members ofthe agricultural sector. They the company has with CoBon Ford, oil companies, utilities, airlines and say they badly need someof the spectrum for the two-way ae systems that they have used for internal communications for the pastfive decades. Energy, LLC. Covolwill receive a one-time license fee and profits from the sale of its binder materials. These two-way bands already are congested, says Sharpe Smith, a spokesman for the Q Colliers Commerce CRG, a commercial real-estate company, users. “A lot of our companies can’t add people on and can’t expand.” Salt Lake City to accommodate growth and expanded services, Q Industrial Telecommunications Association,a trade group representing the private-radio The companies have asked the FCC to set aside six of the 36 megahertz of spectrum being auctioned for use by private-radio networks only. In a departure from the past, when the FCC awarded them spectrum licensesforfree, the companies have agreed io bid like every- one else. Even so, their potential competitors are crying foul over the proposed restriction, and the conflict hassetoff a fierce, 11th-hour lobbyingbattle. The FCC has to serve other constituencies as well. Ofa total of 60 megahertz of spectrum that TV broadcastersare giving up, the agency wasdirected by Congressto set aside 24 megahertz for use by police, firefighters and other public-safety users, leaving the remaining 36 megahertz for commercial use. But to prevent interference with the public-safety communi- ty's networks,the FCCislikely to designate in its rules 6 megahertz of the 36 megahertz of commercial.“use spectrum as buffers, or ard ”* Occupants of the guard-band spectrum would operate at lower power or offer other features that would protect against possible interference. has moved to 175 S. 400 East in SolutionBank Ine., a Salt Lake City one that offers certification in IBM Internet com. merce applications. The centers are in Long Beach,Calif., ard Irv. ing, Texas. Qa Iomega Corp. said that Agfa Corp.is shipping thefirst digital camera with a built-in Iomega Clik! drive. The ePhoto CL30 Clik! has an estimated price of $549. Agfa is a subsidiary of AgfaGevaert Group, based in Mortsel, Belgium. Iomega, based in Roy, makes storage devices. Qe Evans & Sutherland Computer Corp.has beenselected to provide the visual system for Air New Zealand’s new B737-300 flight simulator, marking thefifth time the airline has bought equipment New Englanders Willing to Pay for a White Christmas from E&S. The company,based in Salt Lake City, makes computer hardware and software that cre- ate three-dimensional imagesfor ‘THE ASSOCIATEDPRESS MANCHESTER, N.H. — With no snow on the ground and only flurries in the forecast, New Englanders desperate for the white stuff are shelling out the greenstuff. Bill Hurley, the owner of Snow Meisers, has orders for a white Christmas from more than half a dozen people willing to pay at least $400 for a few inches of snow. Mark LeBlancofGoffstown is oneof them. His 5-year-old daughter wanted to go sledding andhis family wanted a white Christmas, so LeBlanc ordered snow for his front yard, “Hopefully we'll have it now to sled on for a couple ofdays,” LeBlanc said Sunday. A photograph Monday in the Union Leader newspaper showed a snowmaking machine hooked up to a fire hydrant and dumping snowacrosshis yard andhouse. It got people around the state blow snow on the yards of four homeson Christmas Eve and severalothers the day before. the hook at 7 a.m.,” said Colette Veilleux, who works with Snow “Our phonestarted ringing off Although LeBlanc had ordered foot of snow, he ended up getting only 4 inchesafter eight hours of off-and-on snowmaking. “Tf the weather's cold you can Meisers. “Everyone wants snow.” And the $200-an-hour price to make 8 to 4 inches an hour,” Veilleux said. “But the weather scrambling to be next. makeit snow didn’t deter some. Snow Meisers has orders to wasn't the greatest so we ended up with 4 inches.” simulators andother products, Q MyFamily.com Inc. of Orem is making information normally available only through a paid subscription to Ancestry.com's online service available free through Jan. 4, 2000. Ancestry.com is a genealogy site that enables users to search more than 500 million names in more than 1,800 databases. it's a color inkjet printer for only $79. Even better news: im from Cel KO), © Xerox DocePriet C8 color Inkjet printer + Up to 5 ppm bisck & white, 2.5 ppm coler. * Print at up to 1200 n 600 dpi. + hadividwol ink tauks seve money. * Jeet $79 after $80 molt-ia rehete. THeBEM? Company |