Communications-Related Headlines for 4/02/02

BROADBAND
California PUC Claims Jurisdiction Over DSL Services
Rethinking Access to Public Lands and Rights-of Way

INTERNET
Second-Level Digital Divide: Differences in People's Online Skills
Recycled PCs Head for African Schools
Sex Loses Net Appeal
Basement Bands See Digital Light

COPYRIGHT
The Kazaa Ruling: What it Means

BROADBAND

CALIFORNIA PUC CLAIMS JURISDICTION OVER DSL SERVICES
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has claimed regulatory
power over DSL, the first time any state has done so. The ruling stems from
a complaint filed against Pacific Bell, charging that it discriminates
against independent ISP providers. Mike Jackman, executive director for the
California Internet Service Provider Association, said that "What's
ultimately at stake here is not just competition in broadband access, but
whether Internet users will have a choice in the content and applications
that will become available in the future." Although PacBell's parent company
has argued that the FCC has oversight in DSL transport, the CPUC ruled that
"the FCC has not explicitly barred all state regulation." The CPUC will
limit the case to service issues cited in the complaint and will not DSL
rates and operating speeds.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes; AUTHOR: Dick Kelsey]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/media/15943-1.html)

RETHINKING ACCESS TO PUBLIC LANDS AND RIGHTS-OF-WAY
At the end of March, NTIA Assistant Secretary Nancy J. Victory gave an
address at the third annual James H. Quello Communications Policy and Law
Symposium. She discusses the various issues the Administration has been
focused on in their desire to increase broadband access. Four areas were
identified as places where rights-of-way regulation could impede the
construction of broadband facilities. They included lengthy application
processes, unreasonable fees, duplicative regulations, and discriminatory
treatment. It was also pointed out that local officials have voiced concern
that decreasing regulation could create an anticompetitive environment.
Victory calls for a collaborative effort amongst federal, state, and local
officials to remove impediments to delivering competitive voice, two-way,
high-speed data and video services. She states that the FCC is working with
its Local State Government Advisory Committee to find solutions for
rights-of way access issues. Additionally, the National Association of
Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) has established a committee to
provide recommendations on the rights-of-way issue.
[SOURCE: NTIA, AUTHOR: Nancy J. Victory]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/speeches/2002/quello32602.htm)

INTERNET

SECOND-LEVEL DIGITAL DIVIDE: DIFFERENCES IN PEOPLE'S ONLINE SKILLS
The digital divide has been defined as the gap between those people and
communities with access to information technology and those without it. The
author of this paper, Eszter Hargittai, argues that it is necessary to
expand on this definition by looking at the differences in online skills
among Internet users, not simply whether people do or do not have access.
Using data obtained via in-person observations and interviews with a random
sample of 54 Internet users, the author discusses the differences in how
often people could successfully perform online search tasks. The conclusion
of Hargittai's paper states that while increasing access is important, there
is a second-level digital divide that will require investment in education
and training to ensure those with access understand how to use it.
[SOURCE: First Monday, AUTHOR: Eszter Hargittai]
(http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue7_4/hargittai/index.html)

RECYCLED PCS HEAD FOR AFRICAN SCHOOLS
Dr. Morris Agaba, a researcher at a Scottish university, is setting up a
scheme to collect surplus computers and send them to schools in his native
Uganda. "Most of the computers have been decommissioned because the
institutions which were using them are upgrading," said Dr. Agaba. The first
shipment of computers is destined for a school northeast of the capital,
Kampala. Currently, the school only has one computer which is used for
administrative purposes. The machines will have some basic software, but the
real goal is Internet access. "...if they can get connected to the
Internet,...they will have a door open to the vast amount of information
available there," hopes Dr. Agaba.
[SOURCE: BBC News, AUTHOR: Alfred Hermida]
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1896000/1896552.stm)

SEX LOSING NET APPEAL
A study by Penn State University's School of Information Technology has
found that interest in sex and entertainment sites is waning. Conducted over
five years, the research found that in 1997 approximately one in six web
queries to the Excite search engine was about sex. By 2001 only one in 12
surfers was searching for sex. During the same period, researchers note an
increase of commercial content coinciding with increased user interest in
commerce and travel. Some analysts believe that interest may not actually
have gone down, rather, surfers do not need to use search engines to find
sites. Then again, it could simply be a case of the novelty wearing off.
[SOURCE: BBC News]
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1906000/1906817.stm)

BASEMENT BANDS SEE DIGITAL LIGHT
Inexpensive digital recording software is allowing anyone with technology
skills to produce near-professional quality CDs. The result has been
dramatic growth in the online presence of independent music. Cakewalk is one
of several companies producing products for this less visible but
nonetheless booming piece of the music industry. "The tools are coming out
of the ivory tower and are being put into the hands of the masses, said
Cakewalk's Chris Rice. The company creates products for "high-end
professional musicians to...people who never had any musical training but
wish to express themselves creatively though music." Web sites like MP3.com
act as distribution channels for a lot of homegrown music. Nearly 95% of the
200,000 artists on MP3.com do not have major record label backing.
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Anthony DeBarros]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/2002/2002-04-02-music-tech.htm)

COPYRIGHT

THE KAZAA RULING: WHAT IT MEANS
Kazaa BV, a Dutch company that licenses file-trading software, was recently
exonerated from charges that the company was liable for copyright
infringement occurring through use of Kazaa file-trading software. The
decision of the Dutch appellate court marks the first time a court has sided
with a file-sharing company, setting off a wave of excitement among American
technology companies. But the reality is that the Dutch ruling will not help
American companies much. The Dutch ruling is based on the fact that there
are plenty of non-infringing uses for the software, but American cases have
a different focus, says Matt Oppenheim, senior vice president for the
Recording Industry of America, "...everyone knows that by far the
predominant use of the system is for illegal copying of music and movies.
Obviously, this ruling has no precendent on our case and it's not even
persuasive here." While the Dutch ruling could weaken the overall structure
of international copyright law if other countries follow the Dutch court,
the decision may be irrelevant in the near future by two digital copyright
treaties ratified this year by the World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO). For further information about the treaties, see Wired News story CAN
THE WORLD BE COPYRIGHTED? at
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,50658,00.html).
[SOURCE: Wired News; AUTHOR: Brad King]
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,51457,00.html)

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