PUBLIC BROADCASTING
National Public Radio to Boost Fees to Stations (ChiTrib)
UNIVERSAL SERVICE
Acceptable Use Policies (NTIA)
MERGERS
Ohio Regulators Give OK to Takeover of Ameritech
by SBC (ChiTrib)
Kennard Response to SBC-Ameritech (FCC)
Lawmaker Speaks Out on Telecom Deal (WP)
JOBS
Bell Canada Workers On Strike (SJM)
INTERNET
Anatomy Of a Web Hoax (WP)
U.S. Still Favors Self-Regulation For Web Privacy (SJ Merc)
Cambodia's First Internet Cafe Opens (SJ Merc)
Gore Site Spawns High-Tech Debate (WP)
TELEVISION
ABC To Rerun Soap Opera On Cable TV (WSJ)
WONK TUTORIALS
Glossary of Telecommunication Terms (NTIA)
NONPROFITS
Nonprofit Groups Ordered To Open Their Books (WSJ)
PUBLIC BROADCASTING
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO TO BOOST FEES TO STATIONS
Issue: Public Broadcasting/Radio
Starting October 1, National Public Radio (NPR) will start charging major
market public radio outlets more -- thousands more -- for popular programs
like All Things Considered, Morning Edition and Car Talk. Stations in small,
rural markets will be charged less. Stations will probably be making new
appeals to listeners soon. "We'll tell our listeners about this next week,"
said Torey Malatia, general manager of Chicago's WBEZ-FM. The fee hike for
the Chicago station will be roughly $200,000-$300,000 -- a roughly 20-30%
hike in the station's annual programming budget of $900,000. "This is an
enormous bite," Malatia said. Stations may add extra week's of fundraising
to help handle the costs. Some worry that stations will now be caught in a
catch-22 -- they will have to tie up resources to the popular national shows
that bring in the most listeners, but they will not have funds to develop
local programming that could bring in local underwriting or national
syndication.
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1), AUTHOR: Tim Jones]
(http://chicagotribune.com/)
UNIVERSAL SERVICE
ACCEPTABLE USE POLICIES
Issue: Universal Service/E-Rate
NTIA filed a letter with the FCC in CC Docket No. 96-45 (Federal-State Joint
Board on Universal Service), encouraging the Commission to adopt a
requirement that all schools and libraries that receive Federal E-rate funds
certify that they will implement acceptable use policies before such funds
are awarded to them. [From Letter]: The E-rate program and other educational
technology initiatives are transforming our nation's classrooms and
libraries. Today, 51 percent of public school classrooms are connected to
the Internet, up from 27 percent in 1997 and 3 percent in 1994. As
increasing numbers of children have access to the Internet from their
schools and neighborhood libraries, we need to address the issue of how best
to ensure that these children have positive, age-appropriate, educational
online experiences. With respect to the issue of children's access to online
material that their parents and teachers deem to be inappropriate for them,
the Administration has advocated a user-empowerment approach. We believe
that empowering parents, teachers, and librarians with a wide range of tools
with which they can protect children in their community in a manner
consistent with their values is ultimately the most effective approach and
one that is most compatible with the First Amendment. The Administration
cares deeply about keeping children safe while they engage in online
learning and discovery. Many parents, teachers, and librarians share our
concerns....The Commission can help promote this policy by adopting a
requirement that all schools and libraries that receive Federal
E-rate funds certify that they will implement acceptable use policies before
such funds are awarded to them. In the second cycle of funding, schools and
libraries have filed nearly 36,500 initial applications for E-rate funds.
Ensuring that these schools and libraries have acceptable use policies in
place would be an important improvement in the program and provide a critical
protection for our children.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fccfilings/acceptableuseltr.htm)
MERGERS
OHIO REGULATORS GIVE OK TO TAKEOVER OF AMERITECH BY SBC
Issue: Mergers
In a 4-1 vote, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio has approved the
takeover of Ameritech Ohio by SBC. The merger is conditioned there: the
combined company must freeze rates 'til 2002, invest at least $1.32 billion
in Ohio over the next three years, and guarantee job levels for two years
after the merger is complete. Illinois is now the only state still reviewing
the deal; FCC Chairman Bill Kennard expressed some doubts about the deal
last week [see story below]. AT&T opposes the deal saying it will not
promote competition -- the company plans to file for a rehearing within the
next month as allowed by Ohio law. The Illinois Commerce Commission has
scheduled oral arguments on the merger for the end of this month; the ICC is
expected to rule in the matter by June.
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1), AUTHOR: Jon Van]
(http://chicagotribune.com/)
See also:
OHIO REGULATOR CLEARS SBC-AMERITECH MERGER
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/reuters/docs/318755l.htm)
KENNARD RESPONSE TO SBC-AMERITECH
Issue: Mergers
[Full text] I'm pleased that Ameritech and SBC have decided to participate
in the process outlined in my letter. I look forward to resolving this
matter expeditiously.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Kennard/Statements/stwek921.html)
NECA reported yesterday:
SBC and Ameritech yesterday accepted the FCC Chairman Kennard's invitation
to discuss whether the agency should impose possible conditions on the
companies' pending merger. Jim Ellis, executive vice president and general
counsel for SBC said: "The fact that the FCC is asking for more information
now -- after eight months of discussions and thousands of pages of
affidavits, white papers and other documents -- is somewhat unusual. But no
one is surprised that possible conditions are being considered." Ellis
added "this merger has been closely examined from every conceivable angle,
and it's passed with flying colors." The merger is still being reviewed by
the FCC and state regulators in Illinois and Ohio.
LAWMAKER SPEAKS OUT ON TELECOM DEAL
Issue: Merger/FCC
The Federal Communications Commission doesn't have the legal authority to
impose conditions on SBC Communications' planned takeover of Ameritech, said
Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA) in a Thursday letter to FCC Chairman Bill Kennard.
Rep Tauzin, chairman of the House Commerce telecommunications subcommittee,
said, "I am concerned that your desire to craft conditions on this merger go
beyond the commission's legal authority and raise fundamental questions of
fairness to these merging parties." FCC officials claim they have the
authority to impose conditions on mergers to protect consumers and have
placed conditions on previous mergers. SBC and Ameritech on Wednesday
accepted Kennard's offer to discuss possible conditions with FCC staff. [see
above]
[SOURCE: Washington Post (Online), AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WAPO/19990408/V000002-040899-idx.html)
JOBS
BELL CANADA WORKERS ON STRIKE
Issue: Telecommunications/Jobs and Hiring
2,000 members of Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union that represents
operators and technicians of Bell Canada walked off their jobs on Thursday,
union spokesperson, Gary Cwitco said. Workers who take 911 calls have agreed to
stay on the job until managers take over. Cwitco says Bell Canada is open to
talks on the dispute centered around job security, wages and benefits. The
labor dispute can be traced to Bell Canada's recent joint venture (51%) in
Excell Global Services of Arizona. The union complains that the agreement with
Excell Global Services does not include guarantees that their jobs will be
secure if they are transferred to Excell, and the plan calls for a reduction in
Bell Canada workers' benefits. For a broader ownership picture -- Ameritech,
committed last month to buy a 20% stake in Bell Canada. BCE is
Bell Canada's parent company and its largest telecommunications company.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Robert Melnbardis]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/reuters/docs/318757l.htm)
INTERNET
ANATOMY OF A WEB HOAX
Issue: Journalism
On the strength of a single Web page that looked an awful lot like one
produced by Bloomberg News, shares in PairGain Technologies were bid up by
almost a third Wednesday morning. They quickly fell back when the hoax was
exposed. Bloomberg had not put out such a report. Now law enforcement
officials are on the case, trying to track down the perpetrator of the
expensive hoax. For some experts, the incident serves as a useful warning
about he dangers of getting investment advice online; for others, it
underlined the need for a universal system that electronically verifies
whether Web sites are what they claim to be. Michael Bloomberg, founder of
Bloomberg News, said, "You've got to remember that the market for this kind
of news is a bunch of people who are buying and selling stocks based on
total amateurs saying things like, 'It's going to the moon.' The sad thing
is there will be lots more [hoaxes] because all the technology is going in
the direction of making this kind of fraud easier, not more complex. [The
article also includes a primer on spotting bogus Web pages.]
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: John Schwartz]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/feed/biztop923655789811.htm)
See also:
FAKE NEWS ACCOUNT ON WEB SITE SENDS STOCK PRICE SOARING
[SOURCE: NYTimes (A1) 4/8/99, AUTHOR: Edward Wyatt]
WEB HOAX SENDS STOCK OF COMPANY SURGING
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1) 4/8/99, AUTHOR: Los Angeles Times]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-04/08/035l-040899-idx.html)
U.S. STILL FAVORS SELF-REGULATION FOR WEB PRIVACY
Issue: Privacy
A Commerce Department official said industry programs to protect privacy
have not developed as quickly as the Clinton administration anticipated when
it announced it current policy promoting voluntary industry efforts in 1997.
Becky Burr said in a speech Thursday, "We did underestimated the ease with
which private-sector participants could come together." Privacy advocates
and some lawmakers in Congress have said they plan to push for legislation
limiting the ability of Web sites to collect personal data without notifying
the individual. Jason Catlett, president of Junkbusters, said,
"Self-regulation was flawed in concept as well as being an utter failure in
practice." Despite the presence of private sector organizations, such as
TrustE and BBBOnline, which promote disclosure of data-collection practices,
the vast majority of Web sites are not participating in any program.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/070478.htm)
CHANGES IN PHONE SERVICE ARE MIXING UP NET ISSUES IN EUROPE
Issue: International/ Internet
The recent changes in the telecommunications landscape have fueled a
European Internet explosion. "Internet usage has different economics in
Europe, and so do call centers," said Kevin J. Boudreau, who researches
telephony for the Economist Intelligence Unit. "There are greater challenges
because the cost of a local call is tariffed on a per-minute basis, whereas
the same call here is all-you-can-eat." But this is rapidly changing as
competition takes hole of European markets. The are now over a dozen
pan-European carriers that compete in offering Internet and telephone
service, all vying for a role in Europe's Digital Age. "If the consumer
business is two years behind the states, then business-to-business is only
about a year behind," said John Cronin of Ireland's Industrial Development
Agency. Countries like Ireland are scurrying to attract Internet service
providers, build up toll-free help lines and better serve individual
clients, to both promote telephone service and create infrastructure for the
future. "It'll come," says Cronin.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: David Wallace]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/04/cyber/articles/09europe.html)
RULING AGAINST DOMAIN NAME SPECULATOR COULD SET PRECEDENT
Issue: Domain
A ruling in a Virginia state court could set a president effecting the legal
status of domain names. A judge has ruled that Network Solutions Inc. (NSI)
-- the sole registrar for the ".com" domain -- must seize the "umbro.com"
domain name from a Canadian company, 3263851 Canada Inc., and turn it over
to Umbro International, seller of soccer equipment. NSI was also forced
to turn over 27 other domain names owned by the Canadian speculator.
The Virginia verdict gives trademark owners an increased ability to obtain
domain names from speculators. Another implication of the case is the
possibility of states taxing domain names as they do with other forms property.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Carl Kaplan]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/04/cyber/cyberlaw/09law.html)
CAMBODIA'S FIRST INTERNET CAFE OPENS
Issue: Internet
If you happen to be in Phnom Penh and need a quick World Wide Web fix, you
are in luck. The Caf