Monday, September 8, 2008

Phone Companies Freed From Reporting Mandate

The Federal Communications Commission approved late Saturday a request by telephone giant AT&T to end a decades-long requirement for the company to submit an annual report on service quality and infrastructure investments.

The decision also extended to other providers, including Verizon Communications and Qwest, which had filed similar petitions.

The FCC granted the requests on the condition that the companies continue to report and track data on consumer complaints and investments for two years.

Consumer groups have criticized the proposal, saying such information keeps phone companies accountable to their subscribers and gives smaller phone providers important data to remain competitive.

HITCHCOCK, Tex. -- A retired NASA engineer looking to develop an inexpensive way for people to travel to space might have to go back to the drawing board after one of his experiments exploded Saturday.

Jim Akkerman was working on a spacecraft that his firm is developing when his rocket fuel exploded. No one was injured and no property was damaged in the accident.

Too much methane-oxygen fuel mixture accumulated in the rocket engine when the engine wouldn't fire, causing the explosion, said the local police chief, Glenn Manis.

-- From Staff Reports and News Services