Aihnss.1181 net.jokes utzoo!decvax!duke!chico!harpo!mhtsa!eagle!ihnss!karn Tue Jan 5 17:28:31 1982 Ma Bell Burned AT&T's highly touted Northeast Corridor Fiber Optic Cable has been shut down by the Environmental Protecion Agency, this publication has learned. The powerful lasers that the company was using to transmit the line's huge message volume were discovered to be creating extremely high temperatures in the cable-duct system. According to reliable sources, the reason for the unforeseen complication is a mixup of lasers at an ultrasecret Bell Labs test site. Somehow, specs for the communications laser got mixed up with plans for a death ray Bell was working on for the DOD, and a hybrid device was built and installed. The intense heat generated within the cables has melted the duct system and surrounding rock strata, causing roads and buildings beneath which the cable passes to sag and in some places collapse. The EPA has filed suit against AT&T which is countersuing. AT&T has also filed for substantial rate increases in all affected states. "we don't see why our stockholders should be forced to take a beating on this," a company spokesman said. --Datamation Magazine, April, 1981 ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.