MassPort Upgrades Telecommunications for Airport and Travelers
(World Airport; 09/15/98)

Sep. 15, 1998 (WORLD AIRPORT WEEK, Vol. 5, No. 37 via COMTEX) -- Boston's 
 Logan International Airport (BOS) has awarded a contract to AT&T that will give 
 the airport a major upgrade to its telecommunications systems at no charge to 
 the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport), while giving travelers laptop 
 computer access to Email and the Internet. The contract, signed in late July, 
 calls for AT&T to manage Logan's switched and private-line services, as well as 
 public communication services, including pay phones, prepaid calling cards and 
 Internet kiosks. In October, the telecommunications company will begin 
 installing more than 600 "intelligent" pay phone stations, meaning that the 
 phones will offer remote diagnostic monitoring and trouble-reporting 
 capabilities, the ability to "read" billing information electronically encoded 
 on calling cards and improved fraud detection features. Roughly 20 percent - or 
 120 - phones will also be equipped with data ports to give travelers access to 
 Email and the Internet. AT&T plans to have all phones installed by the end of 
 the year. So what does Logan get out of this? A lot, said Barbara Platt, a 
 Massport spokesperson. AT&T is paying $6 million to construct and install the 
 fiberoptic system that will form the backbone of the new system. But Massport 
 will be able to tap into that system for free, giving its telecommunications 
 system "higher speed, capacity and bandwidth," said Platt.

 How Will Logan Benefit?

 AT&T will spend $6 million to install a fiberoptic SONET - Synchronous Optical 
 Network - system that will form the backbone for Massport's upgraded 
 communications system. It will provide broadband services and enhanced 
 operations, administration, maintenance and provisioning.

 In addition to significantly increasing network transmission capacity, SONET 
 systems are highly reliable, providing sub-second restoration in the e