TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Telephone Service Joint Venture Expected: Motorola Inc., Tele-Communications Inc. and Teleport Communications Group may join forces as early as today to offer local telephone service in suburban Chicago, analysts said. The move would be a direct assault on Ameritech Corp., the main Baby Bell in the Midwest. It also reaffirms what analysts and industry observers have been saying for some time: that Chicago has become a hotbed for U.S. regulatory activity as Baby Bells and long-distance and cable companies try to enter each other’s markets. TCI, Motorola and Teleport together would be able to serve both business and residential customers.