Sprint reports upgrade

Sprint Corp. announced Tuesday that it has begun transforming its telephone network so voice calls are transmitted in “packets” — the same way data moves over the Internet. The move is designed to lead a wide range of improved services for consumers, such as online voice-mail management.

While an increasing percentage of calls these days skip traditional phone circuits and are routed as data packets, Overland Park-based Sprint is among the first major telecommunications company in the country to begin converting its entire network to the newer system.

Mike Fuller, president of Sprint’s local telecom division, said the technology will make it cheaper for Sprint to expand its network.

Oil: Protesters target Exxon

Environmental activists blocked the entrance Tuesday to Exxon Mobil’s headquarters in Irving, Texas, and climbed onto the roof to protest what they said was the oil company’s inaction against global warming.

The environmental group Greenpeace said 32 protesters were arrested. Police did not confirm how many were taken into custody. The protest was timed to coincide with preparation for the oil company’s shareholder meeting today in Dallas.

Technology: Microsoft pulls software

Microsoft Corp. withdrew a security improvement for its Windows XP software after it crippled Internet connections for some of the 600,000 users who installed it.

Microsoft officials said Tuesday the update — which had been available as an option since Friday on its “Windows Update” Web site — apparently was incompatible with popular security software from other companies, such as Symantec Corp.

Consumers could reconnect only by removing the update, which promised to improve reliability for types of secure Internet connections commonly used by corporations.

Health Care: Tenet ousts chief

The board of Tenet Healthcare Corp. has replaced the hospital chain’s chief executive and started a search for a successor as it tries to restore investor confidence in the troubled company.

Chairman and chief executive Jeffrey Barbakow submitted his resignation after the board met by phone Friday and decided to seek new leadership, the company said Tuesday.

The board appointed Tenet’s president, Trevor Fetter, 43, as acting CEO of the nation’s second-largest for-profit hospital chain.