TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Cox May Join in Fiber-Optic Venture: Atlanta-based media firm Cox Enterprises may join forces with a regional telephone company to install a nationwide fiber-optic network, people familiar with the transaction say. James C. Kennedy, chairman and chief executive of Cox, said that in the next few days, the company will make a “major announcement that will make clear the direction we’re interested in going in.” Cox owns five network TV stations, eight FM and five AM radio stations, and several newspapers, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the West Palm Beach Post. Analysts and media executives speculated that one of the local-service phone companies--US West is talked about as a leading candidate--will enter a venture with Cox and Teleport Communications Group Inc.