TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

AT&T; Says It Has Technology to Compete With Cable TV: The telephone company says it has a new technology that could help regional phone companies compete with cable television providers by allowing existing copper telephone wires to behave like high-speed fiber optic cables. AT&T; Paradyne Corp., an AT&T; unit that develops and licenses telephone network access equipment, said the new technology, called VideoSpan-Plus, is available for licensing. Frank Wiener, director of business development for AT&T; Paradyne, said the system is being tested by Bell Atlantic Corp. Industry consultant Danny Briere said the AT&T; system could allow regional telephone companies to get their foot in the door with a data system capable of delivering video.