DIGITAL DIVIDE
Larry Irving: Digital Divide Lives, Few People Care
World Bank approves $50 million To Improve Egypt's Higher Education
INTERNET
Internet Cafes' Phone Service Fills Void
Google to Kill Links to German Site That Gives Instructions on Sabotage
Group: Free Vietnam's Web Critics
BROADBAND
DSL Growth In U.S. Falls Behind Asia-Pacific, Europe
WIRELESS
Iwireless World: Voice Still King of Wireless Sector
PRIVACY
Hollings Pulls Together Net PRivacy Bill
EU Parliament Panel Rejects Restrictions on Use of Cookies
GOVERNMENT
Commerce Secretary Suggest Postponing Spectrum Auctions
Ensuring Content Protection in the Digital Age
DIGITAL DIVIDE
LARRY IRVING: DIGITAL DIVIDE LIVES, FEW PEOPLE CARE
According to former U.S. Commerce Undersecretary Clarence "Larry" Irving,
the federal government and U.S. corporations have abdicated their roles in
bringing the Internet to U.S. citizens. Irving, speaking at the Computers
Freedom and Privacy 2002 conference in San Francisco, said that the current
administration's scaling back of several important programs reveals a lack
of desire to make the Internet a ubiquitous tool in the U.S. "It's one thing
to say that there is a job that should be done and the government shouldn't
do it," said Irving. "It's another to say that...the divide is solved."
While Irving believes that government and corporate need to realize their
role in bridging the divide, he admits that there is no compelling interest
for either group. Corporations are busy serving shareholder interests and
the government is consumed with financing the ongoing war on terrorism. In
response to another conference speaker's assertion that the U.S. should
consider the digital divide as a "glass that's half-full," Irving said,
"Lady, for the folks who don't have access, it is completely empty."
[SOURCE: Newsbytes; AUTHOR: Robert MacMillan]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/176000.html)
WORLD BANK APPROVES $50 MILLION TO IMPROVE EGYPT'S HIGHER EDUCATION
As part of an economic restructuring, Egypt will accept a $50 million loan
from The World Bank to support Egypt's Higher Education Enhancement Project.
The funds will support 11 of 25 education reform projects Egypt is hoping
will increase the quality of the higher education systems and bridge a
growing digital divide.
[SOURCE: Mena Report]
(http://www.menareport.com/story/TheNews.php3?action=story&sid=209648&lang=e
&dir=mena)
INTERNET
INTERNET CAFES' PHONE SERVICE FILLS A VOID
In Latin America and other developing areas, Internet cafes have become the
modern equivalent of the telephone booth. Hondurans, for instance, flock to
Internet cafes to make phone calls that are significantly cheaper than those
made through long-distance telephone providers. In a country where phone
lines are hard to come by, Internet phone service is a lifeline. The story
of Honduras offers an interesting perspective: while the country is falling
behind in adopting older technologies, it is at the leading edge of newer
technologies. "The technology is increasingly empowering people with the
ability to go around the limitations and restrictions of the traditional
telecommunications networks to communicate on a global scale," said William
Drake, visiting senior fellow at the Center for International Development
and Conflict Management at the University of Maryland. According to
forecasts by IDC Corporation, nearly half of cross-border voice traffic will
be carried through Internet services by the year 2006.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes; AUTHOR: Ariana Eunjung Cha]
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175972.html
GOOGLE TO KILL LINKS TO GERMAN SITE THAT GIVES INSTRUCTIONS ON SABOTOGE
At the request of Deutsche Bahn AG, Google has agreed to block links to
information that is illegal in Germany. Over the next few days Google will
block any links to instructions previously published in a banned
magazine,Radikal , describing how to destroy trains and railway equipment.
Search company Alta Vista has also agreed to block the links, but Yahoo has
yet to respond. Christian Schreyer, head of Deutsche Bahn's legal department
for media believes that leftist activists used the information to destroy
railway generators and electrical wires last year while protesting nuclear
waste transport.
[SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Elizabeth Souder]
(http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1019139053369289560,00.html?mod=new%5Fme
dia%5Fprimary%5Fhs)
(Requires subscription)
GROUP: FREE VIETNAM'S WEB CRITICS
Reporters Without Borders, a free speech advocacy group is calling for the
release of three Vietnamese dissidents who posted articles critical of the
current regime. Son Hong Pham, a doctor and sales rep was arrested after
publishing an article called "What is Democracy?" Two other Web dissidents
were arrested for similar activities. While the three men are not
reporters, the Committee to Protect Journalists has also protested the
arrests. They say the men acted as independent reporters in a country where
government controls the media and the nation's six ISPs. In Vietnam, there
are an estimated 150,000 online subscribers out of a total population of 78
million. Nguyen Than Psam, the chairman of the California Vietnam Human
Rights Network said, "You can criticize the government in the street or in
their face, but not online. They don't want you to use mass communication
and influence a lot of people because then they say it's a threat to
national security."
[SOURCE: Wired News, AUTHOR: Julia Scheeres]
(http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,51960,00.html)
BROADBAND
DSL GROWTH IN U.S. FALLS BEHIND ASIA-PACIFIC, EUROPE
Analysts tracking world DSL growth say that U.S. hookups to DSL are lagging
behind the rest of the world thanks to the baby Bells' firm grip on the
market and the government's failure to encourage broadband development. In
just one year, the U.S. has fallen from 5th to 10th place in terms of DSL
connections per 100 people. In the same period, Asia-Pacific and Europe
recorded much faster gains, according to the DSL Worldwide Retail Directory
published by Point Topic Ltd. this week. Fast growth in other countries has
been spurred through government involvement, said Point Topic publisher Tim
Johnson. In the U.S., however, DSL growth has slowed down, in part due to
lax enforcement of the open competition required by the Telecommunications
Act of 1996. Johnson said another factor may be that "the new government
seems to be very big-company-friendly, so that the attitude is 'let the
incumbents do what they want.'"
[SOURCE: Newsbytes; AUTHOR: Dick Kelsey]
WIRELESS
IWIRELESS WORLD: VOICE STILL KING OF WIRELESS SECTOR
The consensus of a panel at the iWireless World trade show was that voice
will be the only application drawing in large investments. Discussion
moderator Rajeev Chand of Rutberg & Co. said that while many venture
capitalists agree that wireless is a great idea, "It is a great way to lose
a lot of money, quickly." Panel participants discussed many possible
applications for wireless, but did not agree on what future path wireless
applications would take. They did, however, agree that it is difficult to
separate the myth, hype and reality about wireless. Careful assessment of
consumer desires and a close eye on technology development are two keys for
wireless investment in the near future.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes; AUTHOR: Michael Bartlett]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175999.html)
PRIVACY
HOLLINGS PULLS TOGETHER NET PRIVACY BILL
Senator Ernst "Fritz" Hollings (D-S.C.) on Thursday introduced an online
privacy bill that would force companies to obtain explicit permission from
individuals beforecollecting and sharing information about them. The
proposed bill divides personal information into two camps: sensitive and
nonsensitive information. To collect sensitive information (such as
financial, medical, ethnic affiliation, or religious affiliation) companies
would be required to offer "opt-in" options to individuals. Nonsensitive
information, on the other hand, could be collected as long as the company
provides an "opt-out" option to individuals. Most importantly, the bill
includes liability provisions for companies that violate online privacy
laws. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce does not believe that inclusion of such
provisions will ensure privacy protection, saying that instead of
protecting, the bill would hinder online commerce and open the door to
countless class-action lawsuits.
[SOURCE: CNET News; AUTHOR: Gwendolyn Mariano]
(http://news.com.com/2100-1023-886679.html)
EU PARLIAMENT PANEL REJECTS RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF 'COOKIES'
A European Union parliamentary committee struck down a proposal that would
have forced online retailers to gain prior consent from consumers for the
use of cookies before logging onto their sites. Cookies, which keep track of
user names, passwords, language preferences and other data, allow Web sites
to identify users and to provide customized pages. European governments
feared site operators would use cookies to acquire credit card information
and addresses from users without their knowledge. The parliamentary
committee, however, agreed with businesses that the new rule would have made
it more cumbersome for consumers to make online purchases.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal; AUTHOR: Matthew Newman]
(http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1019210632715679720,00.html?mod=europe%5
Ftechnology%5Fprimary%5Fhs)
GOVERNMENT
COMMERCE SECRETARY SUGGESTS POSTPONING SPECTRUM AUCTIONS Auctions of the
Upper and Lower 700MHz bands had been scheduled for June 19, 2002. In a
letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell,
Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans wrote, "too much uncertainty remains to
move forward with the auctioning of this spectrum." He goes on to urge that
the Commission postpone the auction of Upper and Lower 700MHz bands saying
to move forward would, "be premature and contrary to public interest." The
Administration has proposed postponing the auctions of upper 700MHz bands
until 2004, and for lower 700MHz bands until 2006.
[SOURCE: National Telecommunications and Information Administration, AUTHOR:
Don L. Evans]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fccfilings/2002/700auction_41702.htm)
ENSURING CONTENT PROTECTION IN THE DIGITAL AGE
The House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet will hold a
hearing on April 25, 12:30pm in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office
Building. The hearing, Ensuring Content Protection in the Digital Age, will
also be broadcast via Internet.
[SOURCE: The Committee on Energy and Commerce]
(http://energycommerce.house.gov/107/hearings/04252002Hearing542/hearing.htm
)
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