TELEPHONY
The Telecom Act's Phone-y Deregulation (WSJ)
Ameritech Repair Bill: Millions in Fines (ChiTrib)
Sleepy Telcos Wake Up to Fast Access (ZDNet)
INTERNET
Filtering Bill Comes to Life Again in Senate (CyberTimes)
Parsing the Promise of 'Unlimited' Access (CyberTimes)
U.S. Argues Case on Online Smut Law (CyberTimes)
Judge Rules on Online Porn Statute (WP)
ANTITRUST
Microsoft, Justice Clash Over Barrage of E-Mail (WP)
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TELEPHONY
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THE TELECOM ACT'S PHONE-Y DEREGULATION
Issue: Competition [Op-ed]
Yesterday's high court ruling that upheld the FCC's authority to oversee the
local implementation of the 1996 Telecom Act, does not put to rest
discussion of weather or not the act is the most effective means of
encouraging competition in local markets. Mr. Crandall questions the
ultimate wisdom of the act's unbundling requirements of local incumbent
carriers. "Why should these firms invest in new, often risky technology for
delivering advanced, high-speed services if they are to be required to offer
any such new facilities to their rivals at cost?" he wonders. Perhaps the
simplest and most effective way to facilitate competition, according to
Crandall, is through genuine deregulation, which eliminates "mandatory
wholesale leasing of pieces of an incredibly complicated network at prices
that are based on regulators' imperfect understanding of cost."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A22), AUTHOR: Robert Crandall (Brookings
Institution Fellow)]
http://wsj.com/
AMERITECH REPAIR BILL: MILLIONS IN FINES
Issue: Mergers
Rather than upgrade its repair standards to meet the requirements of the
Illinois Commerce Commission, Ameritech has paid multimillion dollar fines.
This year's penalty will be $16 million. Ameritech acknowledged this during
an ICC hearing concerning the company's merger with SBC. ICC staff believe
that Ameritech pays the fines instead of improving service because the fines
are cheaper. ICC hearings on the merger continue through Friday and a
decision is expected in April.
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1), AUTHOR: Jon Van]
http://chicagotribune.com/textversion/article/0,1492,SAV-9901270380,00.html
SLEEPY TELCOS WAKE UP TO FAST ACCESS
Issue: Bandwidth
Recent developments may mean that you can get Asymmetric Digital Subscriber
Line (ADSL) service soon. Worried about cable access that cold allow you to
get TV, Internet and phone service from the "cable guy," the telephone
companies are getting more aggressive with rollout plans for high-speed data
service over traditional cooper wire. The industry has finalized ADSL
standards http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2153527,00.html,
SBC Communications announced the biggest ADSL roll-out to date
http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/news/0,4164,2186384,00.html, and an
announcement from NBC and CNET
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2188875,00.html means there
will be some place to go with all this speed. But there are still some
hurdles: telecos are not making the service available in all areas
http://www.zdnet.com/intweek/stories/prtarchivestory/0,4356,370856,00.htm,
the service is only 350 kbps (not the 1.5 MBPS advertised)
http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/story/story_2981.html, and, well, the
telcos are not the most tech-savvy people out there
http://www.zdnet.com/sr/stories/issue/0,4537,377228,00.html -- it will be
awhile before ADSL installation is a routine operation.
[SOURCE: ZDNet, Jesse Berst's Anchor Desk]
http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/story/story_3031.html
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INTERNET
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FILTERING BILL COMES TO LIFE AGAIN IN SENATE
Issue: Legislation/Universal Service
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) http://www.senate.gov/~mccain reintroduced a
bill last week that would require schools and libraries that receive federal
funds from the so-called E-Rate program to install filtering technology to
block children's access to objectional material online. Some $427 million
has been given to schools and libraries around the country through the
E-Rate program. Sen McCain's bill mandates filters only for school
computers, which are used strictly by minors and, in the case of libraries,
it states only that at least one of the library's computers be equipped with
technology to protect minors. The bill also allows local control over the
choice of technology, and what should be filtered. Cheryl Williams, director
of education technology programs for the National School Boards Association
http://www.nsba.org/ said such a requirement would be a bureaucratic
hurdle for local school boards. "This really strikes me as language designed
to support an industry -- not to protect children. It is particularly
insidious from that standpoint," Ms. Williams said. "It is just one more
thing that makes it more difficult to get [Internet funds for schools].
Already there is a lot of paperwork. Already there is a lot of work that has
to be done at the local level -- that is difficult for districts that are
small. I understand the need for a certain level of this, but already it is
not an easy thing to do...It is designed to discourage taking advantage of a
program that we hoped would equalize districts." [See a copy of the bill
http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/legis/legis.htm and Sen McCain's Press
Release http://www.senate.gov/~mccain/internet.htm]
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing jeri( at )nytimes.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/01/cyber/education/27education.html
PARSING THE PROMISE OF 'UNLIMITED' ACCESS
Issue: Internet Access
Many ISPs advertise unlimited Internet access for about $20/month. But
customers who really want "unlimited" access may find themselves receiving
warnings, having their session disconnected, or being terminated from a
service altogether. The ISPs contend that they are in business to provide
active sessions -- not letting computers sit idly logged onto their systems.
Consumer advocates say that the ISPs are practicing false advertising. "It's
like with President Clinton," said Steve Dougherty, director of Internet
operations for EarthLink Network Inc., a San Diego-based ISP. "It depends on
how you define 'access.'"
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Matt Richtel mrichtel( at )nytimes.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/01/cyber/articles/27access.html
U.S. ARGUES CASE ON ONLINE SMUT LAW
Issue: Internet Regulation
The Justice Department closed its defense of the Child Online Protection
Act yesterday arguing that Internet is not a special playground exempt from
the rules society has created for the physical world. "The Internet is not a
private playground. It can be regulated," said Karen Stewart, a DOJ lawyer.
"The true premise of the Child Online Protection Act is quite
straightforward, that in the real physical world...our society has
determined it is in the public interest to restrict minor's access to adult
entertainment material, and there are a number of laws throughout the
country to this effect." The ACLU, however, argued that the law is much
broader than supporters suggest, and threatens a much wider range of
Internet speech. "The result is going to be that they are going to
self-censor, or they are going to erect a barrier that deters adults from
visiting their sites," Ann Beeson, and ACLU lawyer, argued. "The fundamental
issue is whether the legislation which Congress passed has an inhibiting and
deterrent effect on free speech," she said. "And all of the evidence
summarized earlier shows that it does." The arguments ended the five day
hearing on the law. A ruling is expected soon.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing jeri( at )nytimes.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/01/cyber/articles/27copa.html
JUDGE RULES ON ONLINE PORN STATUTE
Issue: First Amendment
A Philadelphia judge who has issued a restraining order against the Child
Online Protection Act is expected to rule by Monday whether a preliminary
injunction - a more permanent delay - should be issued. U.S. District Judge
Lowell Reed Jr. will decide whether the federal law designed to keep online
pornography away from children violates free speech guarantees or is a
permissible way to keep tabs on potentially harmful material. The act would
require commercial Web sites to collect a credit card number or some other
access code as proof of age before allowing users to view material deemed
harmful to minors. Tuesday during final arguments in the case Ann Beeson, a
lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the act would produce "a
devastating effect on free speech." Justice Department lawyer Karen Stewart
dismissed Beeson's view as "a doomsday scenario" and said, "The Internet is
not a private playground. It can be regulated."
[SOURCE: Washington Post (Online), AUTHOR: Joann Loviglio (Associated Press)]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WAPO/19990127/V000103-012799-idx.html
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ANTITRUST
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MICROSOFT, JUSTICE CLASH OVER BARRAGE OF E-MAIL
Issue: Antitrust
Paul Maritz, a top executive at Microsoft Corp., testifying in the Microsoft
antitrust trial Tuesday, refused to admit that his company sought to ensure
that Netscape would not compete with Microsoft's dominant Windows operating
system. Justice Department lawyer David Boies presented electronic mail
messages from Microsoft officials suggesting they were an antitrust smoking
gun, a clear demonstration of Microsoft's attempt to illegally persuade
Netscape not to compete with Windows. Maritz said the e-mail messages were
not trying to eliminate Netscape as a competitor but to move them within a
narrow set of Internet technologies. The government alleges that Microsoft
saw Netscape's Navigator browser software as a possible threat to Windows
and at a June 21, 1995 meeting tried to convince Netscape not to make
browsers for personal computers running a new version of Windows.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: Rajiv Chandrasekaran]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/microsoft/micro.htm
See also:
U.S. ATTORNEY IN MICROSOFT CASE STEALS SPOTLIGHT
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: John R. Wilke & David Bank]
http://wsj.com/
JABS AT COMPANY FIGURE INTO TRIAL
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: Rajiv Chandrasekaran]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/microsoft/stories/19
99/pcmakers012799.htm
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