TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

AT&T; Corp. Signs Agreement With China: The company said it has won a long-sought contract to be a prime supplier of telecommunications equipment and services in China--perhaps the world’s largest market, with its 1.2 billion people and few telephones. AT&T; would not give a value for the new agreement, which calls for the company to invest more than $150 million in China over 24 months. An executive would say only that it is “worth billions of dollars, over time.” China, which has two phone lines for every 100 people, wants to increase that to eight lines per 100 people by 2000, and to 40 lines per 100 by 2020, AT&T; said.