1. Monthly archive
  2. June 2001

June 2001

Communications-related Headlines for 6/13/01

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Group To Train Eritrean Teachers (SJM)
Internet Use In Africa Is Rare But Growing (WSJ)

BROADBAND
Europe To Remain In Broadband Slow Lane - Report (Newsbytes)
Cable Firms Clinging To Lead In High-Speed Race (USA)
Judiciary Plan Would Kill Tauzin-Dingell Bill - Update (Newsbytes)

INTERNET
ICANN Chief Strikes Back (Wired)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

INTERNET USE IN AFRICA IS RARE BUT GROWING
Issue: Digital Divide
While computer use on the world's least-developed continent remains rare, a
recent rash of Internet cafes and service providers have emerged, sometimes
using clever wireless and satellite technologies to skirt moribund
government phone monopolies. Only one out of every 250 Africans is an
Internet user -- compared to a world average of one in 35 people, or one of
three in North America and Europe, according to a study by South African
Internet consultant Mike Jensen. Mr. Jensen estimates the legions of
computer-users are growing by as much as 20% a month. Government regulations
and lack of bandwidth are the major obstacles to the growth in information
technology. Only 15 out of 51 countries are capable of transmitting data
overseas at the modest broadband rate of 1 megabit per second, a data speed
common for a single small business in the developed world.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB992392227346851548.htm)
(requires subscription)

GROUP TO TRAIN ERITREAN TEACHERS
Issue: Digital Divide
Joyce Blueford was sent to Eritrea by NetAfrica, a non-profit company
founded to develop Internet services so that Eritrea -- the second-poorest
in the world -- could get back on track and join the rest of the world
online. Blueford recently visited to Eritrea as the nation celebrated its
independence day, the end of the 30-year war with Ethiopia. In September,
Blueford will go to the capital city of Asmara to train 31 future trainers
who will in turn educate 600 teachers over the next year.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: T.T. Nhu]
(http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/depth/blue061301.htm)

BROADBAND

EUROPE TO REMAIN IN BROADBAND SLOW LANE - REPORT
Issue: Broadband
According to the "Residential Broadband Market Forecast" study by Strategy
Analytics, only 3.3 percent of European homes will have broadband Internet
service by the end of the year, compared to 14.1 percent of North American
homes. Despite the rapid deployment of broadband in Germany, the
Netherlands, and Sweden, Europe lags behind North America primarily because
more Americans and Canadians own and use personal computers than Europeans,
the study found. In addition, Europe's weak cable-modem industry will
maintain what Strategy Analytics researchers call the "Atlantic divide." In
four years, broadband service to European consumers will reach 24.2 percent,
compared to North American consumer penetration levels at 53.1 percent.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Steve Gold]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166740.html)

JUDICIARY PLAN WOULD KILL TAUZIN-DINGELL BILL - UPDATE
Issue: Broadband
The Tauzin-Dingell bill to deregulate broadband is under attack from the
House Judiciary Committee leadership, who is planning to introduce
amendments and an alternative bill that would gut the measure. The Judiciary
Committee has also backed opposing legislation introduced by ranking
Democrat John Conyers of Michigan that would allow a state to halt Baby
Bells from offering long-distance service in areas where they control more
than 85 percent of local markets. The Judiciary Committee Chairman James
Sensenbrenner (R-WI) will introduce an amendment to the Tauzin-Dingell bill
that would give the role of evaluating the process of opening markets to the
Justice Department, a role the bill would take from the FCC, according to
reliable sources. Because the Judiciary Committee was restricted from
amending the bill beyond the oversight of the Justice Department,
Sensenbrenner plans to vote against the bill even if his amendment passes,
sources said.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Brian Krebs]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166759.html)

CABLE FIRMS CLINGING TO LEAD IN HIGH-SPEED RACE
Issue: Broadband
Cable companies, meeting in Chicago this week for their annual convention,
are exploiting every advantage in trying to build on their commanding lead
in selling superfast Internet service to consumers. As providers of digital
subscriber lines (DSL) have faced serious financial woes in recent months,
some going out of business, cable has moved aggressively to pick up the
pieces. Cable companies already enjoy a comfortable lead in offering
high-speed access, with 4.7 million customers in the United States,
according to the Yankee Group. About 2.2 million people subscribe to DSL
service from a phone company or other Internet provider, while 98,000
customers hook up to high-speed Internet via satellite.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001-06-12-high-speed-cable.htm)

INTERNET

ICANN CHIEF STRIKES BACK
Issue: Internet
Board members of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
disputed charges made against the organization by colleagues on the board
who said in a recent Wired story that ICANN is unrepresentative of the
majority of Internet users and needs to be structurally reformed. At-large
board member Karl Auerbach proposed that all of ICANN's board members should
be elected. ICANN's chief executive officer M. Stuart Lynn protested that
low voter turnout for last year's at-large board elections demonstrates that
elected members are not representative of the Internet population. "The
amount of people who actually voted was minuscule, compared to the number of
users on the Internet," Lynn said. "There is a concern that they represent a
very narrow segment of viewpoints."
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Steve Kettmann]
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,44480,00.html)

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

Communications-related Headlines for 6/12/01

INTERNET
Microsoft Is Ready to Supply a Phone in Every Computer (NYT)
AOL teams up on Internet project in China (SJM)
ICANN Conducts Survey on Whois (EPIC)
Study Shows 429 Million Net Users In 27 Countries (Newsbytes)

FILTERING
Web Filtering Law Does Not Violate Free Speech - DoJ (Newsbytes)

BROADBAND
Consumer Group Stops Lobbying Broadband Bill (CNET)

INTERNET

MICROSOFT IS READY TO SUPPLY A PHONE IN EVERY COMPUTER
Issue: Internet/Telephony
Microsoft is preparing to include both high-quality telephone and directory
features in Windows XP, which is scheduled to be commercially available on
Oct. 25. Microsoft's new software plans to exploit the next generation of
the Internet, offering computer-based telephony with better-quality voice
than before and with more powerful features than the traditional phone. That
new power has some of the company's competitors worrying that Microsoft will
to steal revenue from the telecommunications industry in the same way it
undermined competitors like Netscape in the software business - by adding
free features to its operating system. Consumer advocates are also concerned
about the Microsoft voice strategy. They say that both Microsoft and AOL
are creating proprietary platforms for new voice services that will limit
competition and hurt consumers. "This is extremely troublesome from the
point of view of market competition," said Gene Kimmelman, co-director of
Consumers Union's Washington office. "Consumers are not well served by two
enormous fortresses. There needs to be more openness rather than less."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: John Markoff]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/12/technology/12SOFT.html)

AOL TEAMS UP ON INTERNET PROJECT IN CHINA
Issue: Internet
America's biggest media company has teamed up with China's largest computer
maker in a $200 million joint venture that could reshape the Internet
landscape in the world's most populous country. The partnership between AOL
Time Warner and Legend Holdings gives AOL, access to what may be the world's
most coveted Internet market.. "The Internet can't fulfill its destiny
without China's full participation,'' said AOL Time Warner Chief Executive
Officer Gerald Levin said. Chinese censors, who monitor Internet chat rooms
and block offensive transmissions, have blocked many American news sites,
including CNN and Time magazine, both owned by AOL Time Warner.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Michael S. Dorgan]
(http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/depth/aolch061201.htm)

ICANN CONDUCTS SURVEY ON WHOIS
Issue: Internet
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is
conducting an online survey of the Internet community's views on Whois
privacy issues. The Whois database allows any Internet user to find out who
has registered a particular domain name and provides contact information for
that person. EPIC sent Congress a letter
(http://www.epic.org/privacy/internet/ICANN_privacy.html) regarding concerns
about Whois earlier this year.
[SOURCE: Electronic Privacy Information Center]
(http://www.epic.org/)

STUDY SHOWS 429 MILLION NET USERS IN 27 COUNTRIES
Issue: Internet
The Nielsen/NetRatings' Global Internet Trends report found that 27 nations
and about 429 million people have Internet access, as of the first quarter
of 2001. The report also found that the percentage of North American
Internet users, currently at 41%, is shrinking. The study concluded that
Europe, the Middle East and Africa make up 27% of users, followed by the
Asia-Pacific region at 20%, with 4% in Latin America. Service to homes in
the U.S. is at 50%, followed by Asia-Pacific at 33% and Europe at 25%.
According to Nielsen researcher Richard Goosey, "Over the next 12 months,
another 9 percent of European households and 12 percent of Asia-Pacific
households plan on acquiring Internet access."
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Dick Kelsey]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166705.html)

FILTERING

WEB FILTERING LAW DOES NOT VIOLATE FREE SPEECH - DOJ
Issue: Filtering
According to the U.S. Justice Department, a new law requiring schools and
libraries that receive the government "e-rate" subsidy to install Internet
filtering software does not violate free speech. According to the brief
filed on Friday, "Any library that accepts CIPA's conditions retains the
discretion to tailor access by patrons to any and all Web communications
that meet local community standards and to do so in a manner that complies
with the First Amendment." In other words, the law gives communities the
authority to determine how the technology should be used and what should be
filtered. In addition, the Justice Department claims that the law falls
under Congress' broad powers over spending federal money.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Brian Krebs]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166706.html)

BROADBAND

CONSUMER GROUP STOPS LOBBYING BROADBAND BILL
Issue: Broadband
Consumers Union said on Friday it would stop lobbying against legislation
that would allow local telephone giants to offer long-distance data services
without opening their local networks to rivals, despite its continued
opposition to the measure, sponsored by Reps. Billy Tauzin and John Dingell
and. The organization, which was in the rare position of being on the same
side as long-distance and cable behemoth AT&T Corp. , said it was pulling
out because of recent price hikes by high-speed Internet, phone and cable
providers. "Given the recent actions by industry players on both sides of
the Tauzin-Dingell bill, we are choosing to remove ourselves from this
debate for now," said Consumers Union spokesman David Butler.
[SOURCE: Cnet, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://investor.cnet.com/investor/news/newsitem/0-9900-1028-6228473-0.html)

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

Communications-related Headlines for 6/11/01

INTERNET
Arts Online: Making Federal Web Sites Friendly to Disabled Users
(NYT)
Search Engines, Portals, Big Web Draws - Nielsen (Newsbytes)
ICANN Cannot, Say Critics (Wired)

EDTECH
Senate Passes Bill To Ease Copyrights For Net Learning (Newsbytes)

JOURNALISM
In Mexico, Publisher Finds New Players but Old Secrecy (NYT)

INTERNET

ARTS ONLINE: MAKING FEDERAL WEB SITES FRIENDLY TO DISABLED USERS
Issue: Digital Divide
On June 21, a new set of standards intended to make the government's
Internet sites more accessible to people with disabilities will take effect.
The 16 guidelines cover everything from making sure that a Web page's
colorful hyperlinks can be read by colorblind users to supplying captions to
accompany audio and video clips for hearing-impaired people. Making the
Internet accessible to people who cannot see, hear or touch it adds a
challenge because the Internet's interactive and multimedia elements are not
readily adaptable for people with disabilities. But according to Judy
Brewer, director of the accessibility initiative for the World Wide Web
Consortium, an industry group, complying with accessibility standards
doesn't necessarily take away from the ascetic value of site. "There are so
many myths in the area of Web accessibility, and one of them is that an
accessible Web page has to be dull and boring," said Brewer.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Matthew Mirapaul]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/11/technology/11ARTS.html)
(requires registration)

ICANN CANNOT, SAY CRITICS
Issue:
Critics of ICANN are calling for major structural changes since the
quarterly meeting last weekend, decrying it for being less than democratic.
One of the five at-large board members Andy Mueller-Maguhn refused to vote
to approve meeting minutes he had not read, only to discover 15 minutes
later that there were in fact no minutes. ICANN's 19 member board only has
five members elected from the Internet community at-large, with the rest
being representatives of the business community. At-large board member Karl
Auerbach urged Internet users to apply pressure on ICANN to increase the
number of at-large members if not make all board members electable. "People
have to participate in this at-large study committee and make it quite clear
that any reduction in the role of the at-large board members will not be
tolerated," said Auerbach. "Everybody who uses the Internet should realize
that whatever voice they have is potentially being taken away."
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Steve Kettmann]
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,44404,00.html)

SEARCH ENGINES, PORTALS, BIG WEB DRAWS - NIELSEN
Issue: Internet usage
According to a Nielsen/NetRatings study of American habits online, search
engines, portals and online communities are attracting the greatest number
of Internet users from home and work with a reach of 92 percent. The study
found that 95 million Americans surfed such sites in the month of May.
"Search engines, portals, and community sites have established themselves as
a mandatory part of every surfers' online habits," said a statement by
NetRatings vice president Sean Kaldor. "Nine out of every ten Web users go
to such a site every month, and are going there more frequently - nearly
five times monthly." The fastest growing and second most-visited sector of
Web sites was telecommunications and Internet services, attracting nearly 70
percent of Internet users, or 72 million people. The highest ranking
business was AOL Time Warner, followed by Yahoo and Microsoft. People are
using the Internet at home on average of 32 times a month, visiting 21
unique sites, viewing 1109 pages per month and viewing 35 pages per session.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Martin Stone]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166678.html)

EDTECH

SENATE PASSES BILL TO EASE COPYRIGHTS FOR NET LEARNING
Issue: Distance education
Distance learning will get a boost from legislation sponsored by Senators
Leahy and Hatch that will ease copyright restrictions on Internet content
for educational purposes. Senator Leahy said S.487 "will help clarify the
law and allow educators to use the same rich material in distance learning
over the Internet that they are able to use in face-to-face classroom
instruction." There was some resistance to the bill from copyright holders
who claimed the bill was redundant with current copyright laws that support
"legitimate distance-learning activities." But Leahy said the 1999 Senate
Internet-based education commission report demonstrated there is a need for
legislation that is more appropriate to the virtual classroom with
multimedia and digital transmissions. Senator Hatch added, "Moreover, of
utmost significance to the copyright owners, the legislation adds new
safeguards to counteract the risks posed by digital transmissions in an
educational setting. (The) bill imposes obligations to implement
technological protection measures as well as certain limitations relating to
accessibility and duration of transient copies."
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Robert MacMillan]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166653.html)

JOURNALISM

IN MEXICO, PUBLISHER FINDS NEW PLAYERS BUT OLD SECRECY
Issue: Journalism
When Vicente Fox triumphed over the establishment to become Mexico's first
opposition president in more than seven decades, he promised change and
openness that would fortify Mexico's fledgling democracy. During his
campaign, Mr. Fox said that all Mexican citizens
would have the right to see all public information. But once in
office, officials backtracked, saying that enemies of the Fox
administration would use an open access law to embarrass the new
government. Alejandro Junco, the publisher of some of Mexico's top newspaper
and a supporter of Fox's conservative National Action Party, has been
particularly disappointed in the government's slow move toward greater
transparency. Mr. Junco believes that access to information has importance
far beyond journalism. He said that the government will not be able to
combat corruption successfully unless Mexicans have the right to demand to
know how money is spent in every small town and big city.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Anthony Depalma]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/11/business/11MEXI.html)
(requires registration)

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

Communications-related Headlines for 6/08/01

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Rural, Blue-Collar Virginia Town Is in Battle Over Broadband Access
(WSJ)
Getting Our Girls Ready for the 21st Century Act HR 1536 (Newsbytes)
Student Writers Try to Duck the Censors by Going Online (NYT)

INTERNET
Coordination And Management Of .Us Top Level Domain (NTIA)
ICANN Watcher Warns Against Delay On Governance (Newsbytes)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

RURAL, BLUE-COLLAR VIRGINIA TOWN IS IN BATTLE OVER BROADBAND ACCESS
Issue: Broadband
The town leaders of Bristol, VA were thrilled when a federal judge in May
overturned a state law that had prevented efforts by the Bristol Utilities
Board to wire the town for commercial-broadband service. The town had spent
$7 million laying a high-speed fiber-optic network when no commercial
carrier was willing to install one. But soon after, the state legislature --
responding to pressure from big telecommunications companies -- passed a law
barring municipalities from providing telecommunications services to anyone
other than themselves. The fight raises questions about the commitment of
the private sector to bridging the so-called digital divide in rural
America, even as it lobbies in Washington for deregulation and other
considerations by promising to extend high-speed networks to remote places.
According to Forrester Research in Cambridge, Mass., about 14% of urban
households with Internet service have broadband, compared with 8% of rural
households.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Mark Wigfield]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB991860790592533441.htm)
(requires subscription)

GETTING OUR GIRLS READY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY ACT HR 1536
Issue: Digital Divide
Getting Our Girls Ready for the 21st Century Act HR 1536 bill can be
followed on the Internet on a Web site hosted by the nonprofit organization
Dads and Daughters. Visitors are encouraged to learn more about the bill and
get involved by contacting their members of Congress. The site announces
that the legislation "would encourage girls to pursue studies and careers in
science, mathematics, engineering, and technology by sparking girls interest
early so that they (and their teachers) are motivated to create more
opportunities."
The site is on the Web at:
http://www.dadsanddaughters.org/Actions/gogirlaction.htm
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166532.html)

INTERNET

STUDENT WRITERS TRY TO DUCK THE CENSORS BY GOING ONLINE
Issue: Internet
Thousands of high school students have flocked to the Internet in recent
years to start underground newspapers, where they may publish articles or
art censored from school-sponsored papers or simply put their thoughts on
Web pages. A fear of school violence has heightened administrators' concern
about underground publications and the controversies they may raise. Some
principals have been quick to suspend or expel students over their online
creations, leading to lawsuits in several states about the reach of school
officials. Several court rulings, however, have found that the Internet is
outside the reach of public school administrators if students post and view
their Web site articles off school grounds.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Selingo]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/07/technology/07HIGH.html)
(requires registration)

ICANN WATCHER WARNS AGAINST DELAY ON GOVERNANCE
Issue: Internet
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is raising
eyebrows in the community for not meeting a deadline set by its own bylaws
to report on the controversial election process of at-large members to the
board of directors by the second quarterly meeting in 2001. Lawyer Alan
Davidson of the ICANN watchdog group Center for Democracy and Technology
(CDT) warned that ICANN could be heading for a train wreck when it moves to
elect new leadership next year. Davidson said the delay is an indication of
the ongoing debate over the role of the Internet public in the ICANN system,
highlighted by the recent announcement that ICANN's country-code top-level
domain constituency would pull out of one of its supporting organizations.
The "[country-code top-level domain] (defection) is emblematic of a much
deeper frustration in the bottom-up governance process at ICANN," Davidson
said. "Groups no longer feel like they can get redress through the
supporting organizations."
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: David McGuire]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166558.html)

COORDINATION AND MANAGEMENT OF .US TOP LEVEL DOMAIN
Issue: Internet
The U. S. Department of Commerce (DOC), National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) intends to issue a written solicitation Request for
Quotations for management and coordination of the.us top level domain. The
RFQ will be issued on June 11.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/usrfp/cbd52501.txt)

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

Communications-related Headlines for 6/07/01

EDTECH
Internet Access in Public Classrooms Rose to 77% Last Year, Study
Says (WSJ.COM)
Education: From Working in Mines, to Learning Online (NYT)

FCC
Powell: Changes in the Air for F.C.C. (NYT)
New Fcc Consumer E-Mail Service Is Now Available (FCC)

BROADBAND
House Judiciary Sinks Teeth Into Bells Broadband Bill (Newsbytes)
Broadband Walks the Last Mile (TechReview)

JOURNALISM
As Online Publishers Trim Fat, They May Cut the Main Course (WSJ)

EMPLOYMENT
Tech Growth Hit Record Low In 2000 - 'Cyberstates' Study (Newsbytes)

EDTECH

INTERNET ACCESS IN PUBLIC CLASSROOMS ROSE TO 77% LAST YEAR, STUDY SAYS
Issue: Digital Divide
According to a recent Department of Education study by the National Center
for Education Statistics, 77% of U.S. public school classrooms had computers
connected to the Internet in 2000, up from 64% in 1999. In 1994, only 3% had
access to the Internet. By fall 2000, 98% of all elementary and secondary
schools had at least one computer connected to the Internet. Schools with
the highest levels of poverty and minority students had the lowest
percentage at 94%, although this was a jump from 20% in 1994. The study
found that last year, 60% of teaching rooms in classrooms, labs, libraries
and media centers in schools with high poverty rates had computers with
Internet links, up from 38% the year before. A new question on the survey
found that 61% of high-minority enrollment schools and 56% of high-poverty
schools allowed students to use computers to jump online when school was not
in session.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Melinda Patterson Grenier]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB991763657946918844.htm)

EDUCATION: FROM WORKING IN MINES, TO LEARNING ONLINE
Issue: EdTech
When the LTV Mine in northeastern Minnesota's rural Iron Range region closed
its doors in February, leaving more than 1,400 hundred workers unemployed, a
handful of unemployed mineworkers discovered online learning as a way to
stay in their communities and earn college degrees. In response to a request
by U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone, Capella University committed $500,000 to
displaced mine workers and their families, and formed a partnership with
Mesabi Range Community and Technical College that gives students access to
computer labs and financial aid counseling. "Many rural communities are
without the physical infrastructure to provide a community with options for
continuing education or advanced degrees," Wellstone said. "Individuals are
either forced to leave their rural homes to go where an education is more
readily available, or they forgo the education altogether due to the
prohibitive costs of time and transportation."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Rebecca S. Weiner]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/06/technology/06EDUCATION.html)

FCC

POWELL: CHANGES IN THE AIR FOR F.C.C.
Issue: FCC
The telecommunications industry is transition, being "pushed away from
legacy systems and pulled by advances in technology and infrastructure that
stem from computer power being married to communications," said Federal
Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell to a packed house at the
Supercomm 2001 conference Monday. He stressed that the FCC, and other
government agencies, are likely to take a hands-off approach to emerging
technologies in the years ahead. "We will let markets pick [technology,]
winners and losers," he said.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: James Cope - Computerworld,
Thestandard.Com]
(http://www.nytimes.com/thestandard/standard_26914.html)

NEW FCC CONSUMER E-MAIL SERVICE IS NOW AVAILABLE
Issue: FCC
The Federal Communications Commission today announced the availability of a
new e-mail service to apprise consumers about developments at the FCC, to
disseminate consumer information materials prepared by the Commission to a
wide audience and to invite comments from other interested parties on FCC
regulatory proposals.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Consumer_Information/News_Releases/2001/nrci0104
.html)

BROADBAND

HOUSE JUDICIARY SINKS TEETH INTO BELLS BROADBAND BILL
Issue: Broadband
Today, the House Judiciary Committee resumed the debate over the broadband
bill H.R. 1542, which would deregulate the telecommunications market and
allow Baby Bells to offer high-speed data services before proving local
markets have opened to competition. Verizon's Senior Vice President Tom
Tauke said the outmoded regulations of voice telephony should not be applied
to advanced data communications. Critic Jim Glassman of the American
Enterprise Institute contends that the bill's provision that removes
requirements for Baby Bells to lease their local phone lines to digital
subscriber line (DSL) providers is enough to dry up the capital that
supports broadband competitors. "The mere prospect of the passage of H.R.
1542 and its predecessor last year has already severely damaged
(competitors) by helping to cut off the flow of investment capital,"
Glassman said. "Congress is unwittingly aiding in a strategy to kill the
competitive telecommunications industry in its cradle."
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Brian Krebs]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166487.html)

BROADBAND WALKS THE LAST MILE
Issue: Broadband
The "last-mile" of high-speed Internet service to homes furthest from the
Internet backbone will first be provided by the existing infrastructure of
television cable and phone lines. A study by Cahners In-Stat projects that
this year there will be 10 million cable modem users and 11.5 million
digital subscriber line (DSL) users. The study predicts that by 2005, only
half of all Americans online will have high-speed broadband connections.
Although the ideal connection is fiber optic cable service, current
high-speed Internet options at home are being joined by new wireless
technologies provided by satellite that don't require laying expensive
cable, and eventually by digital TV datacasting, wireless optical networks
and even dirigibles. More and more, the quality of the broadband service
provider's link to the Internet is more significant than the speed of the
broadband modem. This report addresses the various broadband service
options.
[SOURCE: TechReview, AUTHOR: Eric S. Brown]
(http://www.techreview.com/web/brown/brown060501.asp)

JOURNALISM

AS ONLINE PUBLISHERS TRIM FAT, THEY MAY CUT THE MAIN COURSE
Issue: Journalism
Many money-losing Web publishers are slashing editorial staff to cut costs.
But they may also be ditching their most powerful weapon in the battle to
survive: original content. Some readers say they've noticed changes. Because
of weak ad sales and falling revenue, sites have been forced to cut back
staff, including writers and editors -- and the original articles they
produce. The popular online publication Salon.com laid off 20% of its staff
late last year and cut back its original coverage, including reductions of
its travel and media coverage and has expanded use of wire stories to update
its site. Generally, sites "can't just rely on derivative stories and they
cannot just rely on legacy media or collaborative and affiliated Web sites
to survive," says Sreenath Sreenivasan, a new-media professor at the
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. "People will come and
they will find you if you have stuff that no one else has." [SOURCE: Wall
Street Journal, AUTHOR: Stephanie Miles]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB988831596870628967.htm)
(requires subscription)

EMPLOYMENT

TECH GROWTH HIT RECORD LOW IN 2000 - 'CYBERSTATES' STUDY
Issue: Employment
The fifth annual "Cyberstates" study by Nasdaq and AeA (formerly the
American Electronics Association) found that the number of U.S. high-tech
jobs have grown from 235,000 in 2000 to 5.3 million this year, although the
rate of growth is slowest its been in five years. The study found that
individual states had stellar performances in an otherwise struggling
market. California ranked number one in growth, with 973,600 tech employees
in 2000. Texas ranked second with 440,700 workers, and New York,
Massachusetts and Florida fell in line behind Texas. States that reported
the fewest tech jobs were Montana (5,551), Alaska (5,428) and Wyoming
(2,372). The study also found that high-tech wages across the nation on
average increased from $57,701 in 1998 to $64,900 this year, which is almost
twice as high as the national average private sector wage of $33,200 in
1999. "Notwithstanding the present slowdown," said AeA President William
Archey, "Cyberstates 2001 shows the underlying strength of the high-tech
industry in state economies."
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Robert MacMillan]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166493.html)

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Communications-related Headlines for 6/06/01

EDTECH
Students Embrace Technology (WP)

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Korean Volunteers Take Net To Developing Countries (Newsbytes)
Report Urges World Leaders Not To Ignore 'Digital Divide'
(Newsbytes)

INTERNET
Napster Near Accord on Music Sales (NYT)
ICANN, Meet Gobbledygook.org (Wired)

TECHNOLOGY
Dell Plans Electronic Voting System (NYT)

EDTECH

STUDENTS EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY
Issue: Education Technology
According to Market Data Retrieval, there is a little more than 1 computer
for every 5 students, and a little less than 1 Internet-connected computer
for every 8 students. U.S. schools have spent nearly $6 billion in 2000
trying to create the formula for excellence in education technology: to
acquire a large number of computers and training for teachers in how to use
them. But education technology experts say there is still much to do,
particularly in training teachers. Only 29 percent of students were being
taught difficult concepts using computers, reported a recent survey by
Education Week. "The computer is so valuable in spatial relationships," said
Eileen Steinkraus, coordinator of the magnet program at Montgomery Blair
High School in Silver Spring. "Modeling of a molecule, for example . . .
[or] to see what happens to the blue crab population in the Chesapeake Bay
when you change various parameters, salinity, runoff, pH, etcetera."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jay Mathews]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/media/10260-1.html)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

REPORT URGES WORLD LEADERS NOT TO IGNORE 'DIGITAL DIVIDE'
Issue: Digital Divide
A report by the International Data Corp. finds that countries that ignore
the gap between information technology "haves" and "have-nots" could
jeopardize their own ability to compete in the world market. IDC researcher
Ludovica Bruno, lead author of the study comparing national information
technology infrastructures, contends, "Unless everybody (in a country) has
an opportunity to be online, the nation will fall behind." The study was
based on the IDC's Information Society Index, which ranks nations based on
several criteria relating to their information-technology backbones. The
study, first released in February, found that the United States had fallen
from second in the world to fourth in overall ranking in 2000. Sweden, with
its high percent of Internet access, ranked number one.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: David McGuire]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166432.html)

KOREAN VOLUNTEERS TAKE NET TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Issue: Digital Divide
South Korea's government is sending 150 youth to teach basic computer skills
to students in developing countries. The Ministry of Information and
Communication announced that the "Youth Volunteer Corps" will disperse its
young volunteers in groups of two or three to 20 developing countries on
July 10. Volunteers are selected from youth who apply on the Korea Internet
Corporation Association Web site, and will be provided notebook computers
and other educational equipment. President Kim Dae-jung proposed the
program at the 2000 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, said officials.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Adam Creed]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166460.html)

INTERNET

NAPSTER NEAR ACCORD ON MUSIC SALES
Issue: Intellectual Property
The online song-swapping service Napster is close to an agreement for
permission to use music from three of the major record companies in a pay
version of its service, according to people close to the situation. The
proposed deal would not affect the music industry lawsuit against Napster,
nor would it alter a preliminary injunction crippling Napster's service by
forcing it to block traffic in copyrighted songs. But the agreement would
represent Napster's biggest step yet toward transforming itself into a
profitable business The discussions are the latest tactic in a competition
among the major record companies trying to control the distribution of music
over the Internet.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David D. Kirkpatrick And Matt Richtel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/05/technology/05MUSI.html)
(requires registration)

ICANN, MEET GOBBLEDYGOOK.ORG
Issue: Internet
Most likely, only people who are familiar with the acronyms DNSO, UDRP, GAA,
SO, ISPCP, or GAC would be able to decipher the ICANN's quarterly meeting
reports broadcast on the Web. "We speak ICANNese, not English," said ICANN
board member Amadeu Abril I Abril. "Yesterday I spoke to people who were new
to this and they couldn't understand a word we were saying." For those who
are able to follow the proceedings, it is apparent that ICANN is ready to
crack down on imposter domain registries that have created names like
dot-xxx, to avoid confusion with the 13 existing domain suffixes. Milton
Mueller, telecommunications professor at Syracuse University and ICANN
member, complained about the process: "They want to rule top-down. We
weren't even able to discuss competing name organizations."
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,44269,00.html)

TECHNOLOGY

DELL PLANS ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEM
Issue: Technology
Dell Computer Corp. announced Monday it is teaming with a maker of
electronic voting systems, a partnership inspired in part by the five weeks
of recounts and legal battles that followed the last presidential election.
"The November 2000 elections shined a spotlight on the nation's election
infrastructure, and we've clearly heard the need from our customers to help
them modernize the way America votes," said Bob McFarland, vice president
and general manager of Dell's government sector. Dell said the system will
simplify voting and speed up results tabulation. Voters would use electronic
tablets, costing $2,500 each, to cast ballots. The main controller, or
server, costs $3,500 and can control up to 12 tablets.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Dell-Elections.html)
(requires registration)

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Communications-related Headlines for 6/04/01

DIGITAL DIVIDE
G8 Nations Mull Digital Divide Task-Force Report (Newsbytes)
Technology Incubator to Focus on India (NYT)
E-Rate Chief Goes Back to School (Wired)

TECHNOLOGY
New Economy: Open-Source Movement Advances (NYT)
Microsoft and AOL Discuss Linking Products (NYT)

INTERNET
Media Consolidation Narrows Control Of Online Time (Newsbytes)
High Speed, Higher Fees For Net Access (WP)
Telecom Failures Hit Customers (WP)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

G8 NATIONS MULL DIGITAL DIVIDE TASK-FORCE REPORT
Issue: Digital Divide
Leaders from eight industrialized nations are reviewing the recommendations
from a yearlong study that could help decision-makers bridge the growing
digital divide between wealthy and developing nations. The report is the
collaborative work of the Digital Opportunity Taskforce - or "DOT Force" for
short - led by the U.S. government and
non-governmental organizations from the remainder of the G8 nations. The DOT
Force was conceptualized at last summer's G8 summit in Okinawa, Japan, as a
way to help close the digital divide, a phenomenon characterized by the
limited access to communications technologies among the world's poorer
citizens.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Brian Krebs]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166371.html)

TECHNOLOGY INCUBATOR TO FOCUS ON INDIA
Issue: Digital Divide
Despite India's $7 billion of software exports and huge talent pool of
technical workers, the country has underperformed in inventing and creating
technology that addresses domestic needs. Driven to create technologies that
benefit India's masses, the government has approved the $1.09 billion Media
Lab Asia project, a collaboration of the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology and India's information technology ministry. Media Lab Asia will
promote a decentralized, project-based approach to research, said Walter
Bender, executive director of the M.I.T. Media Lab. "Projects will be
designed to change people's lives using innovative and enabling technologies
that can touch all of India," Mr. Bender said. Some of the projects under
consideration include technologies to provide communication to 300,000
Indian villages that have no telephones, and small, low-cost health
appliances to perform simple diagnostics and gather epidemiological
information.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Saritha Rai]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/04/technology/04INDI.html)
(requires registration)

E-RATE CHIEF GOES BACK TO SCHOOL
Issue: EdTech
Kate Moor--the woman in charge of managing the e-rate program--is leaving
the Schools & Libraries Division of the Universal Service Administrative
Company to teach elementary school. "The real impact of the e-rate depends
on what happens in the classroom, and that is where I am headed," she said
in a letter posted on USAC's website. The e-rate is credited with connecting
America's classrooms to the Internet. Despite the benefit to many schools
around the country, the program has been plagued with red tape, confusing
applications and poor invoice review procedures. A December report by the
General Accounting Office found that over a billion dollars had gone
unspent. George McDonald, SLD Director of Operations, takes over as acting
president.
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Katie Dean]
(http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,44204,00.html)

SOFTWARE

NEW ECONOMY: OPEN-SOURCE MOVEMENT ADVANCES
Issue: Software
Richard M. Stallman, the philosophical leader of the free-software movement,
fired the latest round in a war of words over open-source, a method of
software development in which a program's source code is freely available to
anyone to read and even tinker with. Craig Mundie, a senior vice president
at Microsoft, recently took the open-source approach to task, essentially
calling it bad for business and a threat to the intellectual property of
software companies. Mr. Stallman responded to the latest round of criticism
to a full audience at the Stern School of Business at New York University,
where Mudie had disparaged Mr. Stallman's pet project, the General Public
License. From all appearances, Microsoft has reason for concern as
GNU-Linux--the open-source operating system that has emerged as a competitor
to Windows--has quickly moved from the fringe to become entrenched in
corporate information-technology departments. I.B.M. says it will spend $1
billion on GNU-Linux this year to help make the software a standard.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Laurie J. Flynn]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/04/technology/04NECO.html)
(requires registration)

MICROSOFT AND AOL DISCUSS LINKING PRODUCTS
Issue: Software
Microsoft and America Online are negotiating a range of licensing and legal
issues related to including each other's software in each's own products and
services. But there are significant and unresolved areas of dispute,
including Microsoft's demand that AOL agree not to challenge Microsoft in
court over antitrust matters. Another key issue is whether America Online's
access software will be included in the consumer version of Microsoft's new
Windows XP operating system. For AOL, underlying the specific negotiating
points is a broader concern that Microsoft is moving rapidly to consolidate
its operating system monopoly and will try to use it to dominate the next
generation of consumer Internet services. AOL has recently shelved plans to
create an "AOL PC," would have used the GNU-Linux operating system in an
inexpensive Internet computer that was outside Microsoft's control.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: John Markoff]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/04/technology/04SOFT.html)
(requires registration)

INTERNET

MEDIA CONSOLIDATION NARROWS CONTROL OF ONLINE TIME
Issue: Internet
A study by Jupiter Media Metrix reported that the number of companies
controlling half of users' time on the Internet fell from 11 to 4 since
March 1999, shrinking 64 percent. The number of companies controlling 60
percent of user online minutes shrank 87 percent, from 110 in March 1999 to
only 14 in March of this year, the report found. Jupiter found that media
giants are being formed from mergers and acquisitions, such as the AOL/Time
Warner merger that . AOL ranked number one and Time Warner ranked number 11
in the top 11 companies controlling 50 percent of Internet user minutes in
March 1999.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Martin Stone]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166403.html)

HIGH SPEED, HIGHER FEES FOR NET ACCESS
Issue: Internet
Comcast's announcement that it will raise rates for new customers 12.5
percent marks its first increase since it launched in 1996, and the latest
in a rash of major cable or telephone companies' price increases in recent
weeks. The race to raise rates comes on the heels of the elimination or
crippling of competitors in the telecommunications sector and the decrease
in pressure to hold down rates when competition is strong, say economists.
To counter fears that the deregulation of the telecommunications industry
will widen the gap between the information haves and have nots, some
Internet service providers argue that they had set rates artificially low to
compete with new competitors, and now higher prices will allow companies to
expand and improve their services. Critic Gene Kimmelman, co-director of the
Washington office of Consumers Union, refutes this claim. "You have the
cable and telephone companies claiming that they want to compete against one
another and challenge each other to offer consumers better deals for
broadband services," Kimmelman says. "Lo and behold they both jack up their
rates for broadband, demonstrating that they have no intention to compete on
price."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Christopher Stern and Peter S Goodman]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166399.html)

TELECOM FAILURES HIT CUSTOMERS
Issue: Internet
At least three dozen telecommunications startup companies have failed since
last fall, reports Paul Stapleton, a partner at Rampart Associates, a small
investment banking firm in Boulder, Colo., that specializes in acquiring
startup carriers. With the collapse of competitors comes vanishing phone and
Internet service for their customers. Around 500,000 customers across the
U.S. have lost their dial tones and Internet connections in the shakeout,
according to the Association for Local Telecommunications Services, a trade
organization that represents upstarts. According to one Wall Street
brokerage firm, only ten percent of the upstart companies they follow are
making enough overhead to cover expenses without bringing in additional
capital. "It doesn't make any sense that the need for telecom has never been
greater than it is right now, and yet so many of these companies are going
out of business," says Charles A. Fazio, director of a media design business
in northern Virginia that lost its bankrupt ISP and long-distance carrier.
"Riddle me this, Batman: I don't get it. This is not the way it was supposed
to happen."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Peter S. Goodman]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/telecom/10201-1.html)

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

Communications-related Headlines for 6/01/01

CONTENT
Cyber Law Journal: Controversial Ruling on Library Filters (NYT)
Employers Call Internet Filtering 'Absolute Necessity'(Newsbytes)

DOMAINS
Domain-Name Challenge at Meeting (WSJ)

BROADBAND
California ISPs Unite To Fight Baby Bells (Newsbytes)

FCC
Powell Touts Move to Digital World (NYT)

CONTENT

CYBER LAW JOURNAL: CONTROVERSIAL RULING ON LIBRARY FILTERS
Issue: Content
Acting on complaints from librarians at Minneapolis's central branch
library, the city's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission office ruled
last week that the library, by exposing its staff to sexually explicit
images on unrestricted computer terminals, may have allowed for a hostile
work environment. Free speech advocates quickly expressed
concern that the E.E.O.C.'s decision is a dangerous precedent that could
pressure libraries to aggressively monitor patrons' viewing habits or
install filtering software as a means to ward off potential discrimination
suits. Bob Halagan, the librarians' lawyer in the Minneapolis matter, said
that it is a mistake for people to reduce the
controversy to a filtering vs. non-filtering debate. "As a matter of fact,
my clients are split on the subject," he said. "The answer could be separate
computers for children, filtering, limiting printer access, posting notices
or working with local police. It's a complex issue."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Carl S. Kaplan]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/01/technology/01CYBERLAW.html)
(requires registration)

EMPLOYERS CALL INTERNET FILTERING 'ABSOLUTE NECESSITY'
Issue: Internet Filtering
According to a survey commissioned by Internet filtering company SurfControl
Inc., 75 percent of U.S. employers believe they have the need to install
Internet filtering and monitoring technology to prevent personal use of the
Internet during business hours. More than two-fifths of bosses in
information technology (42 percent) believe that Internet filtering in the
workplace is "standard operating procedure," while almost three-fourths (70
percent) believe that it should be. Businesses are "waking up to the fact
that the Internet does form a big part of the day-to-day work environment
...," said Kevin Blakeman, president of SurfControl, "and as such (Internet
access) needs to be tuned, particularly in today's environment where
productivity is so important." Blakeman encourages employers to unveil their
filtering and monitoring activity to staff in an Internet acceptable use
policy, although Congress has failed to pass legislation requiring companies
to be more transparent.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: David McGuire]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166332.html)

DOMAINS

DOMAIN-NAME CHALLENGE AT MEETING
Issue: Domain Names
ICANN's authority to approve new domain names instituted by the U.S.
government in 1998 has been challenged by the Internet service provider
New.net that in March began selling 20 alternative suffixes such as
"dot-kids," "dot-god," "dot-sport," "dot.xxx," and "dot-travel." New.net
began offering the unsanctioned suffixes because it complained that ICAAN
has moved too slow in introducing new suffixes. ICANN President M. Stuart
Lynn defended his organization's practices as offering long-term stability
over the "illusory short-term advantages" of rushing out and establishing
new domain names. New.net retorted that ICANN's strategy to build consensus
"inherently cannot serve the diverse and large groups that have varying and
even diametrically opposed stakes." ICANN may commission a task force at
Monday's quarterly meeting to set up procedures for evaluating the
transition to establishing seven new suffixes before it will approve more.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB991337795714511835.htm)

BROADBAND

CALIFORNIA ISPS UNITE TO FIGHT BABY BELLS
Issue: FCC
Internet service providers in California have joined forces as the
California Internet Service Providers Association (CISPA) to go up against
the powerful Baby Bells. The association plans to enter the political battle
against the controversial Internet Freedom and Broadband Deployment Act of
2001. The bill, sponsored by Reps. Tauzin and Dingell, would give the Baby
Bells the power to enter the long-distance data market before proving that
local markets are open to competitors. Another priority for CISPA is Pacific
Bell's request before the California Public Utility Commission to enter the
long-distance market. Says Sue Ashdown of the American ISP Association,
"ISPs have a limited lifespan if Tauzin-Dingell passes."
[SOURCE: Newsbytes.com, AUTHOR: Martin Stone]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/telecom/10148-1.html)

FCC

POWELL TOUTS MOVE TO DIGITAL WORLD
Issue: FCC
While FCC Chairman Michael Powell favors marketplace solutions over
government intervention, he said the commission won't ignore the changes
happening in these markets. "We are a key place for helping be a forum and a
voice and even a regulator for Internet infrastructure evolution on the way
to the all-optical world," he said in an interview with Associated Press on
Thursday. Powell also said that the FCC will review restrictions on media
companies, and promised to look at them with a fresh eye. He noted that many
TV rules were enacted decades ago, when there were only three networks.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Powell-Interview.html)
(requires registration)

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