TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Baby Bells Offer Experimental ‘Video on Demand’: Under a system unveiled by the seven Baby Bell companies and Northern Telecom Ltd., TV viewers will be able to order videos over ordinary telephone lines. The experimental system allows viewers to punch up a movie from a library that would be stored digitally within the telephone network. Viewers get complete control over when, where and how they watch video programs, the companies said. The service is available immediately for any of the Bell companies to sell, according to an agreement between Northern Telecom and Bellcore, a research company owned by the seven Bells.