May 2001

INTERNET
Review of Revised Internet Names Contract (NYT)
Sony, Aol Join Up To Link Playstation 2 To Internet In Move To
Outflank Microsoft (WSJ)

BROADBAND
Battle Over Bells and Broadband Service Heats Up (WSJ)
Advocacy Group Calls for Investigation of AOL Contract (WP)
Satellite ISP Sambas South (Wired)

INTERNET

REVIEW OF REVISED INTERNET NAMES CONTRACT
Issue: Internet
Representatives of the Commerce Department met yesterday with VeriSign Inc.
and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, ICANN, to
review an agreement that would change the contract that governs VeriSign's
control over the Internet address system. The Commerce Department created
ICANN to oversee a transition of the address system to competition from a
monopoly. Under the agreement reached by Icann and VeriSign in early April,
VeriSign would be allowed to retain control of the database, or registry,
for .com addresses through Nov. 10, 2007, but would cede control of the .org
and .net registries before then.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Susan Stellin]
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/15/business/15DOMA.html
(requires registration)

SONY, AOL JOIN UP TO LINK PLAYSTATION 2 TO INTERNET IN MOVE TO OUTFLANK
MICROSOFT
Issues: Internet
Sony is cinching a partnership with AOL over its popular PlayStation 2, a
video-game console that allows users to jump on-line to use e-mail and other
features while playing games. Sony and AOL are teaming up to connect
PlayStation 2, which was released last October, to the Internet and to
outmaneuver Microsoft Corp. in the fight over the market of interactive
technology in the home. "It's the first step in moving the PlayStation 2
into a broadband environment," says Kaz Hirai, head of Sony's PlayStation
department in the U.S. To surf the Web using PlayStation 2, users will need
a hard drive, modem, keyboard, LCD monitor display, and mouse, whereas the
Xbox will have a build-in hard drive and connection to the Web. "We see
[online gaming] moving from a novelty to a necessity," says Robbie Bach,
head of the Xbox unit. AOL's chief executive Barry Schuler says the
partnership with Sony is part of the "AOL Anywhere" strategy, and "It
expands our overall reach inside the home." AOL wants to provide service to
cellular phones, hand-held computers and other devices. "We believe that the
whole area of gaming is going to go through another wave of explosion that
will come from hooking it all up to the Internet," he says.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Khanh T.L. Tran]
(http://www.wsj.com)

BROADBAND

BATTLE OVER BELLS AND BROADBAND SERVICE HEATS UP
Issue: Broadband
Congress is currently considering a bill that would allow the Baby Bells to
sell high-speed Internet access without opening their local-phone markets.
New House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin (La-R) has
thrown his considerable political muscle behind the bill that would amend
the landmark 1996 Telecommunications Act. But in recent weeks, the Tauzin
bill has been slowed by parliamentary squabbling and vigorous resistance
from a coalition of Bell competitors and consumer groups, who contend that
it would drive smaller telecommunications companies out of business and
remove any incentive for the Bells to relax their stranglehold on the
nation's local-telephone service market. As the bill nears a vote, both
opponents and supporters have launched expensive public-relations campaigns.
In television, radio and newspaper ads, competing organizations bankrolled
by AT&T and SBC accuse each other of stifling competition and slowing the
spread of a vital New Economy technology.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Yochi J. Dreazen]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB989874280800743786.htm)

ADVOCACY GROUP CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION OF AOL CONTRACT
Issue: Competition
Consumer advocates are calling on government regulators to investigate
potential conflicts of interests between AOL Time Warner Inc. and another
Internet firm in the first formal complaint lodged against the company since
its merger. The Center for Digital Democracy, a D.C. nonprofit advocacy
group, has asked the Federal Trade Commission to look into AOL's recently
announced contract with High Speed Access Corp., a small Colorado Internet
service provider. Under the agreement, AOL will open its vast cable
television network to HSA so it can offer high-speed Internet service. As
part of the concessions it made to the
FTC in order to buy Time Warner Inc. for $112 billion in January, AOL Time
Warner agreed to open its cable network to at least three rival Internet
providers. Jeffrey Chester, Digital Democracy's executive director, said he
is concerned that High Speed Access is not an independent Internet provider
because it already has business ties to AOL, which could make it a reluctant
competitor. "This deal raises serious questions about AOL Time Warner's
commitment to effectively fulfill its obligations," Chester said.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Alec Klein]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27093-2001May15.html)

SATELLITE ISP SAMBAS SOUTH
Issues: Broadband
Brazil's massive Internet user market is first in line this year, with
Argentina and Mexico's close behind, to be the target of "always-on"
satellite Internet service provided by a conglomerate of telecom, satellite
and Internet service companies. This move is the first time that constant
Internet connections by satellite will be available south of the Equator,
say leaders at StarBand Latin America, one of the partners in the venture.
The wireless service will be attractive to people who "do not have access to
any other broadband connectivity" in both rural and urban areas, say
proponents of the joint venture. No phone lines or cables need to be run
in order to get the service. However, it will be more expensive than
standard dialup connections, and it is likely to cost more than the $70
monthly fee and a satellite dish for a few hundred dollars in the United
States, says Doreen Mendez, of Gilat Latin America, operator of StarBand.
The United States has two competing wireless providers, StarBand and
DirecPC, which keeps prices in check. Although the service in Brazil does
not yet have branding, it has support by powerful companies in the Latin
American telecommunications industry.
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Joanna Glasner]
(http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,43789,00.html)

--------------------------------------------------------------

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Global IT Spending $1.4 Trillion by 2005 -- Study (WashTech)

INTERNET
Oxford to set up Internet institute (Times UK)

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Guiding Nonprofits Into the 21st Century (WP)
Bridging the Digital Divide (Nando)

TELEPHONY
Now You Need an Area Code Just to Call Your Neighbors (NYT)

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

GLOBAL IT SPENDING $1.4 TRILLION BY 2005 -- STUDY
Issue: IT research
According to a new study by Dataquest, spending in global information
technology services is expected to almost double to $1.4 trillion by 2005,
up from $700 billion. Last year, the IT services industry grew nearly 10
percent worldwide to $665 billion. This year, the market is predicted to
increase at a rate of 12.5 percent. It is forecasted that North America's IT
services market will continue to account for 52 percent of the world market.
Regardless of the slack economy, Dataquest says that there are opportunities
for long-term growth in the IT industry. "In periods of economic
contraction," remarks analyst Michael Palma, "the IT services market has
benefited from the need for organizations to increase productivity and
re-engineer their processes." He says that product support services will
also continue to push the market forward. The Dataquest study predicted that
the Asia/Pacific region is likely to demonstrate the highest rate of growth.
[SOURCE: Washtech.com, AUTHOR: Martin Stone]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/netarch/9465-1.html)

INTERNET

OXFORD TO SET UP INTERNET INSTITUTE
Late last week, Oxford University's Balliol College announced that it will
be the first major university in the world to set up an institute entirely
devoted to researching the Internet and its impact on society. The 15
million pound program, the majority of which will be funded by the Shirley
Foundation, plans to launch its inaugural research program this autumn. "You
can already shop, bank, vote, debate, argue, consult a doctor and get your
degree over the Net -- and do so all around the globe," said Andrew Graham,
Master-Elect at Balliol College. "However," he added, "there is also an
enormous amount of rubbish out there and some material that is harmful. To
understand what is happening and to formulate helpful policies, you need
people such as political scientists, lawyers, medics, economists and
computing scientists working together." The Oxford Internet Institute will
coordinate all Internet-related research within the university.
[SOURCE: The Times of London, AUTHOR: John O'Leary]
(http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-124762,00.html)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

GUIDING NONPROFITS INTO THE 21ST CENTURY
Issues: Technology Assistance, Nonprofits
Even while the economy falters, there are still people who are proving that
access to information technology can make a real difference. So-called
"circuit riders," for example, are high-tech advisors to nonprofits that
travel from one organization to another, managing their technology needs. "I
believe in technology as a strategic instrument for helping nonprofits
develop themselves," says circuit rider Asma Ramadan of Technology Works for
Good (www.technologyworks.org), a DC-based nonprofit committed to connecting
other nonprofits to the Internet. Circuit riders, who often have previous
experience or interest in working with nonprofits, face the challenge of
working with groups that have a wide range of technology experience. Some of
the riders would like to be fully integrated as nonprofit staff. "Hopefully
by then the technology side and the nonprofit side will have converged,"
said Colin Moffett, who works in health and advocacy issues.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Carrie Johnson]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/atwork/9586-1.html)

BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
Issue: Higher Education, African Americans, PC Ownership
Several recently published studies indicate there is a digital divide
between historically black campuses and other colleges. According to school
officials, St. Augustine College in Sumter, South Carolina, has 150
computers available on campus for as many as 1,500 students. St. Augustine
says the solution could be one that few historically black colleges have
explored: requiring a laptop computer for every student. School officials
are negotiating a bulk contract with IBM that would allow St. Augustine's
students to buy or lease Thinkpad laptops at reduced rates. Other
historically Black colleges such as Wake Forest University, Meredith College
and University of North Carolina Chapel Hill have similar laptop agreements
with IBM. However, St. Augustine would be only the third historically black
college in the country to require Thinkpads for its students, according to
IBM. Some St. Augustine students, however, say that if they were asked to
begin paying another $ 1,000 a year for a lease or another $ 2,000 or more
to buy a laptop, the costs would be prohibitive to their education.
[SOURCE: The Raleigh News and Observer, AUTHOR: Lorenzo Perez]
(http://www.nandotimes.com)

TELEPHONY

NOW YOU NEED AN AREA CODE JUST TO CALL YOUR NEIGHBORS
Issues: Telephone services
The number of area codes has almost doubled in the past six years, up 138
new codes since 1995 to reach a national total of 344. Only nine new area
codes were added in the previous decade from 1984 to 1994. This rapid
addition of area codes is due to what's referred in the industry as number
exhaustion: in other words, a simple shortage of telephone numbers. New
codes are being interspersed among current ones in large cities like New
York City and Boston, and local calls can require dialing 10 or 11 digits,
which has become frustrating to many callers. Says Miguel Segovia, a
graduate student at Harvard Divinity School, "It is incredibly disorienting.
I now get the annoyed feeling that my life is becoming cluttered with
numbers." The industry has chosen to add new area codes to avoid costly
equipment upgrades and to keep the numbering system that has been in place
since 1947. Some customers have recommended the European and Asian numbering
system of adding a single digit to the phone number.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Simon Romero]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/07/business/07DIGI.html)

--------------------------------------------------------------

POLICY & THE ECONOMY
Lower Wages Never Looked Better (Wired)

COPYRIGHT
Court Takes up Copyright Law Case (AP)

LIBRARIES
Even in Seattle, Some High-Tech Ideas are Too Far-Out (WSJ)

EDTECH
School Computer Deal Includes Families (Ed Week)

DIGITAL DIVIDE
The Challenge Of Getting Latinos Online (Newsday)

INTERNET
Plea for Web Continuity (SCMP)

POLICY & THE ECONOMY

LOWER WAGES NEVER LOOKED BETTER
Issues: The Economy, Workforce Issues
In their new report, "A Prescription to Relieve Worker Anxiety," economists
Lori Kletzker and Robert Litan propose a "wage insurance" provided by the
U.S. government to supplement the incomes of suffering dot-commers forced to
take lower-paying jobs. They argue that a wage insurance would encourage
former technology workers to go back into the workforce rather than stay at
home and accept unemployment checks. Keeping people employed would also
contribute to attempts to prevent a recession, they argue. Federal Reserve
Chairman Alan Greenspan seems to agree with at least part of this idea.
Speaking before the Senate Finance Committee last month, he alluded to a
wage insurance, stating, "In the end, economic progress clearly rests on
competition. It would be a great tragedy were we to stop the wheels of
progress because of an incapacity to assist the victims of progress."
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Jenn Shreve]
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,42942,00.html)

COPYRIGHT

COURT TAKES UP COPYRIGHT LAW CASE
Issues: Freedom of Speech and Copyright Law
Should access to software that can decrypt digital movies be considered a
constitutional right? That is the question raised in a case brought before a
federal appeals court on Tuesday that will test the scope of copyright law.
Current law allows individuals to make legitimate copies under its "fair
use" provision, and the defense is making the case that software and its
underlying code require constitutional protection to defend against unfair
use. But according to Judge Jon Newman of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals,
"At worse, [the digital format] eliminates fair use in the most
technologically preferable form.... It doesn't say anything about making
fair use with less technologically (sophisticated) methods." In other words,
"fair use" doesn't necessarily apply to higher-quality digital media when
videotapes and other non-digital media formats already allow "fair use"
copying.
[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Anick Jesdanun]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20010501/aponline181700_000.h
tm)

LIBRARIES

EVEN IN SEATTLE, SOME HIGH-TECH IDEAS ARE TOO FAR-OUT
Issues: Libraries and information technology
In Seattle, Washington, there has been a backlash from within the technology
community against extravagant plans to build an "information age" library.
Plans for the building include a "waterfall of information" and floor lights
that turn on as librarians walk on them. Rem Koolhaas, the award-winning
Dutch architect hired to build the high-tech library in Seattle, has stated
that libraries should abandon their "unquestioned loyalty to the book"
because this philosophy would "undermine the library's plausibility at the
moment of its potential apotheosis." Offering a reality check,
representatives of the local technology community have argued that the
library's builders should focus less on architectural aesthetics and more on
practical matters such as effective strategies for providing public Internet
access. Microsoft's Dick Brass said about the plans, "We don't mind the
occasional unusual structure, so long as it works."
[SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Rebecca Buckman]
(http://www.wsj.com)
(requires subscription)

EDTECH

SCHOOL COMPUTER DEAL INCLUDES FAMILIES
Issue: School-Home Computer Purchasing
Across the US, there's been a growing trend in which high-population school
districts sign exclusive agreements with a particular computer company,
giving students and their families opportunities to purchase PCs at reduced
prices. For example, Florida's Hillsborough County School District recently
entered into a five year, $50 million agreement with Compaq, Inc. that will
help the district's 160,000 students purchase reduced-price computers. The
practice has been praised as a practical solution to getting computers into
the homes of students, which has become increasingly important as schools
embrace education technology in their curricula. Others, however, have
expressed concerns that these agreements effectively block out other PC
products that might serve families better, especially as newer technologies
are released over the term of the contract.
[SOURCE: Education Week, AUTHOR: Andrew Trotter]
(http://edweek.org/ew/ewstory.cfm?slug=33deal.h20)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

THE CHALLENGE OF GETTING LATINOS ONLINE
Issues: Latinos, Digital Divide, Access
As reported recently by the US Census Bureau, America's Latino population
has skyrocketed in the last decade. At the same time, a growing number of
Latinos are going online - though a digital divide still persists, says Matt
Barreto of the Tom