Jones Communications has laid a 385-fiber network under the Potomac River in Washington, DC. Only 2

Jones Communications has laid a 385-fiber network under the Potomac River in Washington, DC. Only 2 fibers are needed to meet the company?s current business, which includes telephone service to Prince George?s County and Alexandria, VA. The company currently leases river-crossing fibers and will continue doing so as a backup until later this year, when it will build a second pipeline.

at&t, Morristown, NJ, has signed a definitive merger agreement with Teleport Communications Group (tcg), Staten Island, NY, for an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $11.3 billion. Under the agreement, each tcg share would be exchanged for 0.943 of an at&t share. The boards of both companies have approved the transaction, and the companies expect the merger to close in mid- to late 1998. at&t chairman and chief executive Michael Armstrong says that tcg has more fiber-optic route-miles and serves more businesses in more cities than any other competitive local services company, and the merger would speed at&t?s entry into the local business market.