A savings of only 10 to 15 percent per customer is equivalent to the entire investment per customer of the cable TV industry. In Japan, PVC has already incorporated the chip in five video CD models capable of accepting audio CDs, music and movie videos, karaoke titles, and photo collections. Tufts' director of information technology and libraries says the grants will go to librarians and faculty members, who in turn will impart the knowledge they gain to students. Instead, there will be a flat, 30-cent fee per message. The Stentor alliance of phone companies paved the way for competition in local phone services by filing a proposal with Canadian regulators to allow access to any part of its local network.
Critics charge the plan fails to ensure open access to local markets.
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