February 2002

BROADCASTING
Broadcasters Try To Change Campaign Spending Bill (USA)
Part Of Radio Preservation Act Ruled Unconstitutional (MAP)

INTERNET
French Decision Prompts Questions About Free Speech And Cyberspace
(NYT)
ICANN Polls Public, Industry On Governance (WP)
Speech By Commerce Assistant Secretary (NTIA)

BROADCASTING

BROADCASTERS TRY TO CHANGE CAMPAIGN SPENDING BILL
Issue: Television
The National Association of Broadcasters are lobbying aggressively to cut a
campaign spending bill requirement forcing broadcasters to give politicians
their lowest advertising rates. The provision, known as the "lowest unit
rate," passed in the Senate last year. The same language will be voted on in
the House this week. While supporters believe the requirement would reduce
the costs of running for public office, the NAB believes it is a restriction
on free speech and a "slippery slope toward mandatory free time."
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.usatoday.com/news/washdc/2002/02/11/broadcasters-campaign-spendi
ng.htm)

PART OF RADIO PRESERVATION ACT RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Issue: Radio
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturned as unconstitutional
the part of the Radio Preservation Act that prohibited all former unlicensed
broadcasters from applying for low power radio stations. In 2000, Congress
passed the Act, which limited the number of low power radio stations
available. Last week, the court overturned part of the law that prohibited
anyone who had ever broadcast without a license from applying for a low
power radio station.
[SOURCE: Media Access Project]
(http://www.mediaaccess.org/)

INTERNET

FRENCH DECISION PROMPTS QUESTIONS ABOUT FREE SPEECH AND CYBERSPACE
Issue: Free Speech
In the wake of Sept. 11, nations that have strong laws and traditions
against hate speech are increasingly concerned about online expression that
could lead to racial or religious violence. American civil libertarians
think such fears could lead to censorship of online hate speech that may be
illegal within one country's borders but perfectly lawful elsewhere. They
point to a recent case in which a French judge reaffirmed an earlier ruling
that Yahoo had violated French law by allowing French citizens to view
auction sites displaying Nazi memorabilia. In the United States, however, a
federal judge ruled that French sanctions against Yahoo - including $13,000
a day in fines - cannot be enforced here. The Yahoo case has prompted legal
thinkers to consider the potential global implications of hate and terrorist
speech on the Internet. Alan Davidson, a lawyer with the Center for
Democracy and Technology, an Internet civil liberties group in Washington
said the French Yahoo ruling "really puts free expression and communication
in jeopardy on the Net." He warned that online speech could sink to a single
country's lowest-common- denominator standard. Other legal experts, however,
argue that it is possible for countries to choose for themselves what is
lawful within their own cyberborders. And that it is not necessary for all
nations to adopt American free- speech traditions.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Carl S. Kaplan]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/11/technology/11NECO.html)
(requires registration)

ICANN POLLS PUBLIC, INDUSTRY ON GOVERNANCE
Issue: Internet
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has begun
polling members of the Internet public in regards to creating an "at-large"
membership. The membership body would serve as the voice of all Web users
within ICANN. Two polls have been posted on the ICANN Web site to gather
input from interested parties who would like to participate in the creation
of the membership body. While civil liberties advocates have voiced concern
about the proposal, ICANN is expected to approve the creation of an at-large
membership body next month.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes.com, AUTHOR, David McGuire]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/15099-1.html)

SPEECH BY COMMERCE ASSISTANT SECRETARY
Issue: Broadband
[Speech] Commerce Assistant Secretary, Nancy Victory, delivered the Keynote
address at the Alliance for Public Technology Broadband Symposium (February
8, 2002). In marking the sixth anniversary of the enactment of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996, Victory highlighted the changes brought
about by the Act. She continued by reiterating the importance of broadband
to the improved quality of life for all Americans. Victory stated that, "In
the case of broadband, regulators are searching for the right regulatory mix
or Big Bang to provide the foundation for the broadband universe."
Guideposts that regulators are using in this search include a market-driven
roll-out, facilities-based competition, technology-neutral paradigm
(regulatory parity across platforms), awareness of market failures, and
effective enforcement of regulations.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http:www.ntic.doc.gov/ntiahome/speeches/2002/apt_020802.htm)

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DIGITAL DIVIDE
Bush Plan 'Digital Distortion' (WIRED)

REGUALTION
Consumers Still Waiting For Better Phone & Cable Services (CU)
House Schedules Feb. 27 Broadband Deregulation Vote (WP)

INTERNET
The Internet as Classroom (BW)
Study: Sept. 11 Changed E-Mail Usage Patterns (USA)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

BUSH PLAN 'DIGITAL DISTORTION'
Issue: Digital Divide
In the budget proposal released on Monday, the Bush administration seeks to
eliminate some programs aimed at closing the gap between digital haves and
have-nots. The biggest cut is to the Technology Opportunities Program (TOP),
a federal grant program designed to bring aid to communities that are
lagging in access to digital technologies. On Tuesday, the Commerce
Department released a report showing gains in Internet use among minorities,
low-income households and people living in rural areas -- groups that have
been behind the national average for computer use and Internet access in
years past. Larry Irving helped draft past versions of the report as
assistant secretary of commerce under Clinton. He thinks the optimistic tone
of the report is little more than spin used to justify cutting support for
the programs that helped make progress possible. "I would call this a
digital distortion," Irving said. "Do you think these numbers would be where
they are without public investment?" Although traditionally unwired
communities are getting online in record numbers, they are still fall far
behind the national average. Whites are still twice as likely as Hispanics
to have Internet access, for example. In addition to the TOP program, the
funding for community technology centers administered through the Department
of Education, which was set at $32.5 million in 2002, is also set to be
eliminated next year.
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Benner]
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,50279,00.html)

REGULATION

CONSUMERS STILL WAITING FOR BETTER PHONE & CABLE SERVICES
Issue: Competition
February 8 marks the sixth anniversary of the1996 Telecommunications Act,
which promised consumers lower prices and more choices in cable television,
long-distance and local telephone services. Lawmakers agreed to deregulation
based on the belief that the resulting competition would remove the need for
public oversight. According to the Consumers Union And Consumer Federation
Of America, however, the Telecommunications Act has not delivered on its
promises to consumer. Local telephone charges have increased 17 percent and
cable rates have increased 36 percent since the Telecommunications Act
became law. The groups urge the President and lawmakers to re-establish
industry accountability to consumers and to find ways of opening markets to
competition, while protecting consumers until competition develops.
[SOURCE: Consumers Union]
(http://www.consumersunion.org/telecom/sixthdc202.htm)

HOUSE SCHEDULES FEB. 27 BROADBAND DEREGULATION VOTE
Issue: Broadband
The House leadership has scheduled a vote on the controversial
"Tauzin-Dingell" broadband deregulation bill for Feb. 27. If passed, the law
would allow local Bell phone companies to offer broadband Internet services
over long-distance lines without requiring the Bells to open their local
service monopolies to outside competition. Bell companies and their
supporters say the law would spur broadband rollout by allowing them to reap
a reasonable profit on their investments in digital subscriber line (DSL)
networks and infrastructure. Bell opponents, including many of the nation's
long distance competitive carriers and high-speed cable providers, say the
legislation will remove any real incentive for the Bells to relinquish their
local phone monopolies, while at the same time ensconcing the Bells in a new
DSL monopoly.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Krebs (Newsbytes.com)]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/15033-1.html)

INTERNET

THE INTERNET AS CLASSROOM
Issue: EdTech
Newton N. Minow, former head of the Federal Communications Commission, and
Lawrence K. Grossman, former president of NBC News and PBS, Minow, have
proposed to Congress that it use $18 billion from upcoming FCC auctions of
radio spectrum to fund the digitization of educational material. A major
goal of their Digital Opportunity Investment Trust [DO IT] proposal is to
put material from universities, museums, and libraries on the Internet. In
an interview with BusinessWeek Correspondent Darnell Little Minow and
Grossman explained how their plan could revolutionize K-12 formal education
and lifelong learning."[The government is] spending $2 billion a year to
connect every classroom to the Internet, but we spend virtually nothing on
content," said Grossman. "So when they connect to the Internet, the uses of
it for educational purposes are extremely limited. And certainly the
training of teachers is virtually nonexistent."
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Darnell Little]
(http://biz.yahoo.com/bizwk/011208/z84e9yszp3yhcddzgaacsq_1.html)

STUDY: SEPT. 11 CHANGED E-MAIL USAGE PATTERNS
Issue: Inernet
According to UCLA study, 57% of e-mail users -- more than 100 million
Americans -- received or sent messages related to support or concern in the
week following the attacks. Based on focus groups conducted afterward,
researchers found that many of the contacts - particularly with those
outside the immediate circle of friends and family - wouldn't have been made
by telephone, even if phone lines had not jammed on Sept. 11. Jeff Cole,
director of the UCLA Center for Communication Policy, also said some
Americans used e-mail as an opportunity to reconnect with someone with whom
they had lost contact or had a fight.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/02/07/attacks-email.htm)

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DIGITAL DIVIDE
'Digital Divide' Plan in Peril (WP)
Federal Gov Publishes Internet Report (NTIA)
U.N. Looks to Narrow Tech Gap (YAHOO)

SECURITY
Bush Eyeballs Heavy Tech Spending (WIRED)

MERGER
FCC Urged To Reject Echostar, Directv Merger (USA)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

'DIGITAL DIVIDE' PLAN IN PERIL
Issue: Digital Divide
President Bush's proposed budget for next year would kill two widely
heralded grant programs to help low-income, rural and other disadvantaged
groups share in the benefits of high technology. The Technology
Opportunities Program, a federal initiative aimed at bridging the "digital
divide" through $45 million in grants to state and local agencies and
nonprofit groups, would be eliminated by the proposed budget released
yesterday. Also slated for elimination is a companion Community Technology
Centers program funded through the Department of Education. "We're very
disturbed that these investments will potentially be axed," said Norris
Dickard, a senior associate at the Benton Foundation. The Technology
Opportunities Program "has been a laboratory of how technology can empower
low-income communities to solve social problems," said Dickard. The proposed
Bush budget also would slash high-tech research grants, which went to
corporations and universities, by 42 percent, from $185 million in 2002 to
$108 million in 2003.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jonathan Krim]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23353-2002Feb4.html)

FEDERAL GOV PUBLISHES INTERNET REPORT
Issue: Digital Divide
Today, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and
the
Economics and Statistics Administration released A Nation Online: How
Americans
Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet. The report -- based on the
September 2001U.S.
Census Bureau's Current Population Survey -- provides comprehensive
information on
Americans' connectivity to the Internet, broadband services and computers.
According
to the study, in September 2001, 143 million Americans (about 54 percent of
the
population) were using the Internet. It also found that children and
teenagers are more
likely to use computers and the Internet than any other age group. Ninety
percent of
children between the ages of 5 and 17 (or 48 million) now use computers. The
report's
finding, however, still point large divides between technology "haves" and
"have nots."
People with mental or physical disabilities, for example, are stell less
likely than those
without such disabilities to use computers or the Internet.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/dn/nationonline_020502.htm)

U.N. LOOKS TO NARROW TECH GAP
Issue: Digital Divide
A two-year Global Digital Opportunity Initiative, announced Tuesday by the
United Nations Development Program and the Markle Foundation, hopes to use
communications technology to improve health care, education and economic
development. The initiative, announced at the close of the five-day World
Economic Forum, will provide high-tech consultants to help boost the
information technology infrastructure of dozens of developing nations those.
"New technologies, deployed appropriately, offer an unprecedented
opportunity to meet global development challenges,'' said Zoe Baird,
president of the Markle Foundation. Many delegates at the forum discussed
development problems, including the so-called "digital divide," but few
concrete initiatives were announced at the forum.
[SOURCE: Yahoo, AUTHOR: Jim Krane (Associated Press)]
(http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20020205/tc/global_tech_gap_1.html)

SECURITY

BUSH BUDGET WOULD BOOST TECHNOLOGY SPENDING
Issue: Security
President Bush's budget proposal would more than double the growth of
federal technology spending. The budget reflects a new respect for
information technology's part in fighting the war on terrorism. The budget
proposal includes $23 million for the State Department for a passport
modernization system, which aims to decrease the percentage of fraudulent
domestic passports. The Department of Justice would get $30.7 million for an
integrated automated fingerprint identification system. But most of the
increase would be in the Department of Defense as it fights the war in
Afghanistan, Forman said. Defense Department information technology spending
would hit $26 billion in 2003, up from $23 billion this year.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Renae Merle]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/washtech/A23534-2002Feb4.html)

MERGER

FCC URGED TO REJECT ECHOSTAR, DIRECTV MERGER
Issue: Merger
On Monday, groups representing broadcasters and rural communities joined the
ranks of many others in asking the Federal Communications Commission to
reject EchoStar's $30 billion plan to merge with DirecTV parent Hughes
Electronics. The National Association of Broadcasters told the FCC that
creating a satellite monopoly would give EchoStar "the ability and incentive
to raise prices and lower the quality and quantity of available
programming," The 25 million homes that don't have cable would be left with
only option for multi-channel TV service if the merger is approved,
according to the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, which sells
DirecTV services in many small communities. The Competitive Enterprise
Institute, on the other hand, say that if deal is rejected by the FCC or the
Justice Department, which is weighing antitrust concerns, "there is no
guarantee that both companies, or either, would remain viable."
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/invest/2002/02/05/echostar.htm)

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