TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Pacific Bell Freezes Management Salaries: The San Francisco-based telephone company’s announcement, which affects nearly 14,000 employees, comes during PacBell’s review of operations as it attempts to make itself leaner and more competitive. “Like every other company, we’re looking for ways to cut costs so we can be more effective,” PacBell spokesman Dana Pascoe said, adding that there could be a fresh round of job cuts in addition to a staff reduction of 1,500 that has been in the works for several years. The news comes amid PacBell’s involvement in ambitious new projects, including plans for a $16-billion fiber-optic network covering all of California.