RADIO
FCC Heads For Showdown With Congress Over Radio Plan (NYT)
ECOMMERCE
Digital Commerce: Technology Has Made Some People Money,
But Is That All There Is? (NYT)
E-Commerce: Charitable Groups Find Revenue in Web Retailing (NYT)
JOURNALISM
Wall Str. Uses Webcasts to Give Opinions Directly to Investors (NYT)
The Sock Puppet That Roared: Internet Synergy
or a Conflict of Interest? (NYT)
Respect Eludes Net (USA)
BROADBAND
Comcast Hopes to Offer in 2002 Open-Access Policy (WSJ)
Broadband Deployment in Rural Areas (Senate)
Hollywood Greets Online Entrepreneurs (NYT)
INFOTECH
Cisco Takes Internet Phones to Next Stage (NYT)
Two New Systems to Help Deaf and Blind at Movies (NYT)
INTERNET
Court Orders FCC to Reconsider Ruling That Internet Calls
Are Long Distance (WSJ)
Digital Capital (WP)
ACLU joins Battle to Counter Net Filter (USA)
EDTECH
Patents: An Online Classroom That Keeps Students Awake (NYT)
ADVERTISING
Free Air Time Makes Cell Ads Easy to Take (WSJ)
INTERNATIONAL
Deutsche Telekom Mulls Breakup Into Four Operating Divisions (WSJ)
Iceland Warms to the Net From their Rocky Outpost (USA)
ANTITRUST
Microsoft Proposal Likely Will Fall Short (USA)
RADIO
FCC HEADS FOR SHOWDOWN WITH CONGRESS OVER RADIO PLAN
Issue: Radio
Today, the Federal Communications Commission intends to begin the licensing
process for new, low power radio stations by conducting a lottery to
determine which states will be eligible first. The licenses would enable
so-called micro-radio broadcasters to use inexpensive equipment and
relatively small antennas for 100-watt stations that could beam programs
over geographic areas as large as seven miles in diameter. But Congress may
have a different plan. Responding to a powerful lobbying group, the National
Association of Broadcasters, legislation to block low power radio, with 153
co-sponsors in the House and 21 in the Senate, is moving swiftly on Capitol
Hill. Consideration of the bill by the House Commerce Committee is expected
soon and, since Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) support it, a vote on the
House floor may not be too far behind. Broadcasters content that the new
stations will interfere with existing, full-power stations.
"The broadcasters have engaged in a systematic campaign of misinformation
and scare tactics to shut off new voices from coming onto the airwaves,"
said FCC Chairman Bill Kennard. "This is not rocket science. We have studied
the way FM signals propogate around the country. The interference argument
is being used as a smokescreen to mask an historic battle by incumbents who
want to protect their markets. There seems to be this undercurrent that
low-power licensees -- community groups, schools, churches -- are somehow
riff-raff and that's just not fair. My plea to people is they should allow
this to go forward, and once they see that it will not create havoc they
will calm down."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Stephen Labaton]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/fcc-radio.html)
See Also:
SUPPORT OF LOW POWER RADIO
Issue: Radio
The National Association of Broadcasters has been making misguided and
misleading claims about interference that low power radio will cause.
Congress is currently considering legislation that would end the FCC's new
low power radio service. This bill, entitled the "Radio Preservation Act of
1999," would reverse the FCC's decision to establish a low power radio
service and prevent the FCC from considering the issue again in the future.
A mark-up of this legislation is scheduled in the House Commerce Committee
on Tuesday, March 28. Find out more at the URL below.
[SOURCE: Media Access Project]
(http://www.mediaaccess.org/programs/lpfm/urgactn.html)
FCC Lottery Today Determines Order for Accepting Applications for Low Power
FM Radio Station Licenses.
Actual Dates of Filing Windows to be Announced in Later Public Notice.
(http://www.fcc.gov/realaudio/)
Statement of Dale Hatfield, Chief, Office of Engineering and Technology, and
Roy Stewart, Chief, Mass Media Bureau Concerning Low Power FM Engineering
Issues and Responding to Congressional Subcommittee Markup of LPFM Bill.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/News_Releases/2000/nret00
05.html)
ECOMMERCE
DIGITAL COMMERCE: TECHNOLOGY HAS MADE SOME PEOPLE MONEY, BUT IS THAT ALL
THERE IS?
Issue: Ecommerce
Caruso suggests that perhaps the present means in the "dot com" world --
poor business practices, rejection of even sensible government oversight and
early profit-taking -- do not justify the ends -- getting hit by the money
truck. "We're moving toward the toxic extreme of capitalism," said Silicon
Valley player Randy Komisar recently. A focus on money, to the exclusion of
substance and human relationships, he said, will ultimately fail, perhaps
spectacularly. Indeed, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the
"digital divide," which lately has been given a lot of lip service but not
much else, Caruso writes, does not involve only the issue of which people
have computers and which people do not. It also has to do with the attitude
of those who hit the jackpot in our new casino economy and who are
completely comfortable with pressing their advantage -- behaving with
staggering hubris because they believe that merely having money entitles
them to do so. "In the 60s it was all about 'wait until the revolution
comes,'" Komisar said. "Well, guess what? If you take your billions and
flaunt them in front of people who don't have enough to eat, ultimately you
will get your revolution. You can't keep that toxic edge. It's not
sustainable." Some are beginning to encourage executives to move from
"mercenary" to :missionary:" to think about starting companies and building
products that they believe will change the world, rather than merely
amassing wealth.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C4), AUTHOR: Denise Caruso in her last Digital
Commerce column. Caruso is starting her own nonprofit research venture.]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/articles/27digi.html)
E-COMMERCE: CHARITABLE GROUPS FIND REVENUE IN WEB RETAILING
Issue: Ecommerce
Nonprofits such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Rifle
Association and Save the Children, now sell goods online, while institutions
like the Pew Charitable Trusts use the Internet to skim inefficiency from
the paper-intensive grant process. The groups are both finding new revenue
streams and better using the funds they do have. Of the $102 billion raised
by nonprofits last year, $18 billion came from selling products online and
through the mail -- $2 billion more than in 1998 and $5 billion more than in
'96. "Nonprofits are finding that the Internet makes niche marketing even
more palatable and profitable than direct mail," said H. Robert Wientzen,
chief executive of the Direct Marketing Association, many of whose members
are nonprofit organizations.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C11), AUTHOR: Bob Tedeschi]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/cyber/commerce/27commerce.html)
JOURNALISM
WALL STR. USES WEBCASTS TO GIVE OPINIONS DIRECTLY TO INVESTORS
Issue: Broadband/Journalism
Using video streaming video technology, large brokerage companies are
bypassing traditional media outlets are providing interviews of analysts
directly to investors. Essentially broadcasting over the Internet with daily
programs that resemble half-hour newscats, the development further blurs the
line between financial service companies and traditional media -- a process
that began years ago when some of the big brokerage firms started sending
television stations recorded interviews with analysts and video news
packages featuring the firms' big clients. Wall Street webcasts are an
example of how "the walls that have separated e-commerce from the media are
coming down," said Mark A. Thalhimer, director of the Future of News project
at the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation. "What's happening now
is that the news provider, to a much greater degree than before, has a
financial stake in the transaction that is being presented to the public,"
Thalhimer said. "I wonder how consumers will view that, and how they will
make the distinction between the news and someone so closely associated with
selling something."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Anthony DePalma]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/articles/27wall.html)
THE SOCK PUPPET THAT ROARED: INTERNET SYNERGY OR A CONFLICT OF INTEREST?
Issue: Journalism/Mergers
As ABC's "Good Morning America" hosts Charles Gibson and Diane Sawyer
chatted with their guest, a charming sock puppet, on February 23, they made
no mention of the ethical ambiguities the puppet brought along to the studio
that morning. The guest, who insisted on being called by its full name
"Pets.com sock puppet," makes its living as a spokespuppet for Pets.com, an
Internet pet supply company. While the puppet at no time made mention of any
of the various products Pets.com offers on its Web site; neither was any
mention made of the fact that Go.com, the Internet arm of the Walt Disney
Company, ABC's parent company, had bought 5 percent of the site not a month
earlier. The incident is a prime example of the trouble facing the news
divisions of media companies as they try to avoid conflict of interest, even
as their parent companies rush to merge or trade equity in start-ups for
advertising time. "As we move on, things are becoming more and more
complicated," said Eileen Murphy, the spokeswoman for ABC News.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Leslie Kaufman]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/media-mergers.html)
RESPECT ELUDES NET MEDIA REPORTERS FIGHT FOR RECOGNITION IN GROWING POOL
Issue: Journalism
Many online journalists say they are being discriminated against, especially
when it comes to big
news events. Gene Gibbons, managing editor of Stateline.org, says
Stateline's 19 journalists have been denied congressional press credentials
and have to apply separately before each congressional event they want to
cover. ''This just doesn't make sense.'' Carrie Borzillo, a former editor at
Billboard magazine, was denied access to this year's Grammy Awards as the
managing editor of CDnow.com's Allstar news. "No media area has ever had as
many entities or grown as fast. How do you know which is some guy at home
doing it or a big corporation doing it?" said Paul Shefrin, who handled
publicity for the awards show. ''There is no way that any of us have the
time to investigate every one of these.'' Internet journalists say they
realize press credentials at many events are limited, but Net sites should
be represented along with other media. ''We feel this is a very important
issue of disclosure for the public at large. We think selectively choosing
members of the media is selective disclosure,'' says Jonathan Krim, editor
of TheStreet.com .
[SOURCE: USA Today (4B), AUTHOR: Keith L. Alexander]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000327/2075178s.htm)
BROADBAND
COMCAST HOPES TO OFFER IN 2002 OPEN-ACCESS POLICY
Issue: Broadband
Comcast joined with AOL and AT&T in pledging that it will open its cable
pipes to rival Internet Service providers in 2002, after Comcast's exclusive
agreement with cable ISP Excite( at )Home ends. AT&T and AOL have argued that the
open access issue can be resolved by the marketplace, and signed agreements
in principle pledging to open their cable lines to rival ISPs. But the
openNet Coalition, which represents 900 ISPs, said it would continue to
press Congress and regulators to guarantee open access. AOL originally led
the openNet coalition, until AOL announced in January its planned merger
with Time Warner.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A42), AUTHOR: Kathy Chen]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954109854769135281.htm)
BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT IN RURAL AREAS
Issue: Broadband/Universal Service
Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation, announced the following Committee hearing:
Broadband Deployment in Rural Areas: Communications Subcommittee hearing
scheduled for Tuesday, March 28, at 9:30 a.m. in room 253 of the Russell
Senate Office Building. Members will examine the current state of
deployment of hi-speed Internet technologies, especially in rural areas.
Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT), Chairman of the Subcommittee, will preside.
Witnesses will be announced at a later time.
[SOURCE: US Senate]
(http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/press/106-144.html)
HOLLYWOOD GREETS ONLINE ENTREPRENEURS
Issue: Broadband
For two days last week, the Yahoo Internet Life Online Film Festival sought
to bring Hollywood together with the Internet industry in a bizarre mix of
traditional entertainment companies and online upstarts. While it is not the
first, or only festival dedicated to online filmmaking and distribution, the
Yahoo festival, provided a venue for the two industries to come together,
get to know each other, and, most importantly, make deals. For example,
Shockwave announced that the director David Lynch would join "South Park
creators," Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and the filmmakers Tim Burton and
James L. Brooks in creating films exclusively for its site. Also, Universal
Pictures announced that it would invest in Reelshort.com in hopes of
"providing an online exhibition platform for cutting-edge creative work."
"All revolutions are great unless they kill you," Peter Guber of Mandalay
Films, said. "This is a potentially lethal time. But daring times require
bold actions. Blazing a trail to the future is hazardous duty."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C13), AUTHOR: Rick Lyman]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/articles/27yaho.html)
INFOTECH
CISCO TAKES INTERNET PHONES TO NEXT STAGE
Issue: InfoTech
The Internet's final frontier: Cisco will announce an office phone based on
Internet technology today. Although many communications companies have been
touting Internet telephony, the technologies and systems needed to reliably
transmit high-quality calls have not been on place. But since office
networks tend to be more stable than the public Internet, they may be more
amenable to early Internet telephony efforts. Many offices no maintain
separate networks for phones and computers -- run by separate staffs.
Cisco's vision is to combine the two, reducing cost and adding features to
the telephone. "The networks that can't do data, voice and video are
dinosaurs," said Cisco CEO John Chambers. "We're going to see open standards
for any new telecommunications or computer product to connect to one
network. This is the first gauntlet thrown down in that direction."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C4), AUTHOR: Seth Schiesel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/articles/27phon.html)
TWO NEW SYSTEMS TO HELP DEAF AND BLIND AT MOVIES
Issue: Accessibility
Last month, citing the Americans With Disabilities Act, eight
hearing-impaired Oregonians filed a lawsuit against several national theater
chains, complaining of insufficient access to first-run movies. Two new
technologies could help make these entertainments more accessible. Both are
being experimented with at General Cinema theaters in the New York City
area. 1) The National Center for Accessible Media, a joint effort of the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Boston's WGBH, has developed a new
technology that allows the deaf to view subtitles that are not visible to
those in the movie audience able to hear the dialogue and soundtrack. With
the text-display system, called rear-window captioning, subtitles are
displayed, in mirror reverse, on a 7-foot-wide, 16-inch-tall
light-emitting-diode screen at the rear of the theater. People watch the
film through a small smoked plexiglass panel, which reflects the subtitles
behind them while allowing them to also see the movie screen at the front of
the theater. The panel, 4 inches by 12 inches, is attached to a gooseneck
extension that fits into the cup holder on the armrest of the theater seat.
2) DVS Theatrical delivers a spoken interpretation of the visual elements of
a film to special headsets.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C13), AUTHOR: Thomas Holcomb]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/articles/27scre.html)
INTERNET
COURT ORDERS FCC TO RECONSIDER RULING THAT INTERNET CALLS ARE LONG DISTANCE
Issue: Internet Regulation
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ordered the
Federal Communications Commission to reconsider a ruling that all Internet
calls should be considered long distance. Under the complicated policy of
"reciprocal compensation," phone companies must pay each other for handing
off local calls. The policy had originally allowed independent carriers to
collect hundreds of millions of dollars from the Baby Bells for linking
calls from Bell customers to Internet service providers. But the FCC said in
February 1999 that Internet calls are long distance, not local, and
therefore not subject to such compensation. At the same time, the FCC also
gave state regulators authority to determine compensation arrangements
between the Bells and rival carriers; 35 states have already ruled that the
Bells must compensate rival carriers to pass calls on to ISPs. In its
decision, the court upheld the right of states to negotiate terms of
compensation between the two sides. Larry Strickling, head of the FCC's
telecommunications bureau, said he doesn't expect the court decision to have
much practical impact on the market, since state regulators are now largely
overseeing the issue.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal Interactive, AUTHOR: Kathy Chen]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954109894531014717.htm)
SEE ALSO:
Court Sends Back Internet Connection Rules
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/024002.htm)
DIGITAL CAPITAL
Issue: Lobbying
With the selection of the next president still months away, a small
Washington think tank is sending all the candidates information about the
internet in an effort to make sure that the winner of November's election is
Internet savvy, regardless of party affiliation. The Internet Policy
Institute gets its funding from such groups as America Online Inc., MCI
WorldCom Inc. and The Washington Post, all of whom have kindly agreed to
stay out of the institute's way as it produces its reports. The IPI has
already published the beginnings of a series of 12 papers on its Web site,
and hopes to meet with the candidates and their staffs to brief them on the
"state of the Internet." "It's designed to give the next president of the
United States--and policymakers, business people and voters as
well--information on the key issues that will govern the development of the
Internet in the 21st century," said Kimberly Jenkins, president of
Institute.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post (F5), AUTHOR: Shannon Henry]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20982-2000Mar26.html)
ACLU JOINS BATTLE TO COUNTER NET FILTER
Issue: Filtering
The American Civil Liberties Union is getting involved in a legal battle
pitting civil libertarians against Net filtering company Cyber Patrol, owned
by Mattel.
The ACLU is taking up the cause of three hackers, who say they were fighting
censorship when they created a program that allows owners of the Cyber
Patrol software to look at its list of blocked sites and gives users a way
to circumvent the program. Spokeswoman Sydney Rubin says Cyber Patrol's list
of blocked sites is competitive information that is protected by copyright
law, something the ACLU and the defendants dispute. The ACLU says they were
making political statements about ''censorware." Cyber Patrol says the
hackers and those who copied their program on Web sites were violating
copyright. The three were among dozens of recipients of email subpoenas
telling them that the program was illegally posted.
[SOURCE: USA Today (6D), AUTHOR: Janet Kornblum]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000327/2075318s.htm)
See Also:
EPIC Joins ACLU to Challenge Censorware Injunction (EPIC)
Issue:
EPIC is joining the ACLU as counsel to three U.S. websites that have been
ordered to remove copies of "cphack," a program that decodes the filtering
program Cyber Patrol. Created by filtering critics in Canada and Sweden, the
program discloses the list of sites that Cyber Patrol blocks and reveals the
password used to enable the software. Microsystems Software Inc., which
sells Cyber Patrol, filed suit against the program creators on March 15, and
a federal judge in Boston issued a temporary restraining order against
distribution of the program. Microsystems lawyers are also seeking to
identify individuals who downloaded the program and have also issued
subpoenas to individuals who linked to the "cphack" code. A motion to quash
the subpoenas and an opposition to Microsystems' motion for a preliminary
injunction have been filed and will be argued in U.S. District Court in
Boston on March 27. See the ACLU press release
(http://www.epic.org/free_speech/censorware/cyberpatrol_suit_pr.html) for
more details.
[SOURCE: Electronic Privacy Information Center]
(http://www.epic.org/)
EDTECH
PATENTS: AN ONLINE CLASSROOM THAT KEEPS STUDENTS AWAKE
Issue: EdTech
Online learning, so much the rage, has one major strike against it. All too
often lectures given over the Internet are indistinguishable from lectures
offered over television, and are just as interactive. But two entrepreneurs
have developed a system to allow a computerized professor to teach by the
Socratic method, give pop quizzes and even send a disruptive out of the
"room." The pair, Peter Tong and Chi Fai Ho, received their 10th such patent
last month, for a system that monitors and responds to the learning of
students in a virtual classroom, both individually and as a group. Tong and
Ho are basing their company, ProfessorQ, on natural-language search engine.
The engine "allows you to learn through questioning," Tong said. "Based on
your answers, the computer knows your level of understanding -- whether you
need to review material or move on."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C10), AUTHOR: Teresa Riordan]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/03/biztech/articles/27pate.html)
ADVERTING
FREE AIR TIME MAKES CELL ADS EASY TO TAKE
Issue: Advertising
Consumers in Hong Kong have found a way to cut their mobile phone bill by
50% to 60%. All they have to do is agree to listen to a 10-second
commercial in exchange for a minute of free airtime. Since the average
length of a mobile call in Japan is only 1.7 minutes, that adds up to
significant savings. The service is optional and in great demand among the
16 to 29-year old crowd, for whom the high cost of mobile phone service can
be prohibitive. "Consumers are showing a fair amount of acceptance of using
advertising to subsidize the cost of a conversation - so long as their phone
conversation isn't interrupted every few minutes with an ad," says Joe
Laszlo, an analyst with Jupiter Communications.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A13A), AUTHOR: Jennifer Rewick]
(http://interactive.wsj.com)
INTERNATIONAL
DEUTSCHE TELEKOM MULLS BREAKUP INTO FOUR OPERATING DIVISIONS
Issue: International
Deutsche Telekom is considering a broad restructuring that would break the
company into a holding company and four independent, publicly listed
operating units. The four units would be: T-Mobile International AG,
T-Online International AG, T-System Information, and T-Net. The company's
breakup would make its activities more transparent to investors and
accelerate the global expansion of the company's main business. No formal
decision has been reached yet but senior management expects the
restructuring to occur, possibly this year.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A24), AUTHOR: William Boston]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB954107417164709257.htm)
ICELAND WARMS TO THE NET FROM THEIR ROCKY OUTPOST
Issue: International
Nowhere is the Net's power in better evidence than in Iceland, world's
per-capita leader of Internet connectivity. The icebound nation of 270,000
inhabitants boasts about 200 information-technology companies in the past
five years, accounting for 4,000
jobs. Nearly 70% of Icelanders tap into the Net from home, work or school,
compared with only 55% in the USA. The high level of connectivity can be
explained by the populations high level of education and high standard of
living said Skuli Mogensen, CEO of Icelandic software developer Oz.com.
''Besides, we have nothing better to do here,'' he says jokingly. ''It's an
island.'' One hundred years ago, ''we lived in bad houses in small villages
mostly isolated from one another,'' says Gudbjorg Sigurdardottir, head of
the government's Information Society task force. ''At the start of the 21st
century, we are a nation in touch with each other and the world. Something
important has happened here.''
[SOURCE: USA Today (6D), AUTHOR: Marco R. della Cava]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000327/2075317s.htm)
ANTITRUST
MICROSOFT PROPOSAL WILL FALL SHORT
Issue: Antitrust
Microsoft has submitted a wide-ranging proposal that could lead to the
settlement of the landmark antitrust case against the software giant. The
offer could result in the first face-to-face meeting between the two sides
since settlement talks began four months ago. Microsoft was eager to make
concessions before a ruling expected Tuesday from Judge Thomas Penfield
Jackson. A decision against Microsoft might help plaintiffs in the numerous
class-action lawsuits it faces. In the roughly 9-page proposal, sent to
government lawyers Thursday night, Microsoft says it would: give personal
computer makers some ability to remove its Internet browser from its Windows
operating system; charge all makers the same price for Windows, except for
volume-based discounts; and more fully disclose the technical inner
workings of Windows so software developers can make their products work well
with the system. People familiar with the matter,
however, say that the proposed agreement falls short of government demands.
[SOURCE: USA Today (3A), AUTHOR:
Paul Davidson]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000327/2075386s.htm)
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