Also

* Verizon Communications Inc. said some customers who subscribe to its phone and high-speed Internet service could drop their local calling plans but still keep their speedy Web connection. Verizon also said it would carry NBC Universal Inc.’s suite of cable channels. It is the fledgling TV service’s third major programming carriage deal.

* The $6.6-billion sale of Toys R Us Inc. to an investment group attracted by the value of the company’s real estate won U.S. antitrust clearance.

* As telecommunications carriers around the globe experiment with a wireless replacement for cable and digital subscriber line modems, Intel Corp. released its first chip for the technology, known as WiMax.