E-COMMERCE
U.S. Internet Revenue Put at $301 Billion (WP)
On the Internet, Fame Becomes Fortune (NYT)
Encryption Products Found to Grow in Foreign Markets (NYT)
Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (House)
MEDIA & SOCIETY
Hyde Drops Web Provision From Violence Bill (WSJ)
Enforcing Film Ratings (USA)
INTERNET
Federal Sites a Big Hit (WP)
Editor Bashes NIH Plan for Web Launch Of Research (SJM)
Lucent Bets a Packet on Bridging Worlds of Phones and Data (WSJ)
Senate Panel Funds Attack on Online Stock Fraud (WSJ)
EDTECH
Surfing for a Degree on the Internet (USA)
FCC
New FCC for the 21st Century (FCC)
Callers to Call Phones Could Have to Pay
MERGERS/ALIANCES
Cable & Wireless Pays a High Price for Japan Foothold (WSJ)
Motorola and Sun to Build Joint System for Fast Net Access (NYT)
E-COMMERCE
U.S. INTERNET REVENUE PUT AT $301 BILLION
Issue: Internet
With a workforce of 1.2 million people, the Internet industry was more
productive than almost any other last year, generating $301 billion in
revenues. Researchers from the University of Texas Graduate School of Business,
who conducted the study financed by Cisco Systems, found that the Internet
rivaled the automobile ($350 billion) and telecommunications ($270 billion)
industries and that e-commerce was the fastest growing component with $102
billion in revenues. Cisco commissioned the study -- which it intends to repeat
on a quarterly basis -- in order to obtain better data to help gauge the scope
of the Internet industry. The Dept. of Commerce, which is currently gathering
data on e-commerce and will release an updated report on the digital economy
this month or next, cautioned against taking immoderate actions based on these
numbers [such as switching industries] while others were concerned with the
definition of the term online business.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E7), AUTHOR: Leslie Walker]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-06/10/215l-061099-idx.html)
See Also:
NET'S IMPACT REVISED UPWARD
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Deborah Claymon]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/econ061099.htm)
ON THE INTERNET, FAME BECOMES FORTUNE
Issue: E-commerce
[Op-ed] The two hot business words of the time are "brand" and "Internet."
Do one and be successful -- do both and get wealthy. Business 2.0 magazine
recently identified 14 Internet billionaires that weren't billionaires just
three years ago. "A brand, in its simplest form, is a promise to consumers
of consistency and reliability." The Internet has a way of electrifying
existing, yet unprofitable, trusting relationships -- and turning them into
big, big money. See, for example, the initial stock offering for Drkoop.com
which yesterday raised $80 million for the company that has yet to turn a
profit, but has a trusted source, former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop,
dispensing health information.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A31), AUTHOR: Robert Cringely, PBS]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/oped/10crin.html)
ENCRYPTION PRODUCTS FOUND TO GROW IN FOREIGN MARKETS
Issue: Encryption
Computer industry lobbying group Americans for Computer Privacy will present
the results of a new study today to the Senate Commerce Committee. Research
done by George Washington University finds that over the last 18 months,
commercial data-scrambling technology made outside the US has become more
available. "The Government must acknowledge that there are foreign products,
and it must concede that they are of comparable quality to U.S. technology,"
said Bruce Heiman, legislative counsel for Americans for Computer Privacy.
The new data, though, indicate that 805 encryption products are now
available in 35 countries outside the United States -- a 22% increase since
December 1997. Moreover, 167 products are based on encryption algorithms
considered too strong to be cracked by even the most powerful computers. "In
addition to the absolute increase in the number of products, we've also
found that six new countries have companies that are now selling encryption
technology," said Lance Hoffman, director of the Cyberspace Policy Institute
at George Washington University.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C13), AUTHOR: John Markoff]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/06/biztech/articles/10code.html)
ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES IN GLOBAL AND NATIONAL COMMERCE ACT
Issue: Ecommerce
Links to testimony and statements at House Telecommunications Subcommittee
hearing 6/9/99.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://com-notes.house.gov/cchear/hearings106.nsf/Witnesses?OpenView&StartK
ey=CC4042CBAEF9F8FB852567840072AAAD)
MEDIA & SOCIETY
HYDE DROPS WEB PROVISION FROM VIOLENCE BILL
Issue: Privacy/Internet
Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has removed
a provision from his antiviolence bill that would have required Web sites to
post privacy policies. Industry officials reacted very negatively to the
provision and pressured Hyde to drop it from the bill. Web companies say that
they are making progress toward industry privacy standards and do not need
government regulation. On the other hand, privacy advocates who have pushed for
greater governmental protection of consumer privacy online felt that the
privacy measure didn't go far enough.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B10), AUTHOR: John Simons]
(http://wsj.com/)
ENFORCING FILM RATINGS
Issue: Media & Society
New plans to strictly enforce the movie ratings system, which have been harshly
criticized by many, is an important symbolic action which marks a growing
awareness of the impact of culture on today's youth. The theater ID check
program may not make much difference on its own, but combined with other
violence prevention measures this change could help cut down on the "daily dose
of violence" that being feed to our children. It is essential however, that
changes such as these are not just short term answers to pressure, but moves
towards long term solutions.
[SOURCE: USA Today (A12), AUTHOR: USA Today Editorial Staff]
(http://www.usatoday.com/news/comment/edtwof.htm)
INTERNET
FEDERAL SITES A BIG HIT
Issue: Internet
Uncle Sam gets a good share of visits to the Internet, holding its own against
the ".com" sites. According to Media Matrix, an online measurement firm who
conducted a study in April, approximately one-third of the Web's 61 million
users visited a government Web site at least once at that time. The U.S.
Treasury (www.ustreas.gov) was the most visited namely its Internal Revenue
Service page. FedWorld (www.fedworld.gov), the clearinghouse that allows people
to search for information at many federal Web sites and agencies, was second.
The U.S. Postal Service (www.usps.gov) was third, the National Institutes of
Health (www.nih.gov), fourth.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E7), AUTHOR: Leslie Walker]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-06/10/225l-061099-idx.html)
EDITOR BASHES NIH PLAN FOR WEB LAUNCH OF RESEARCH
Issue: Internet
The National Institutes of Health announced earlier this year a plan to publish
all new biomedical research reports on a site called E-biomed. According to
former editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, the plan could
be risky and misleading if implemented. Dr. Arnold Relman said that immediately
publishing clinical research without accompanying expert commentary and
interpretation could lead to mistakes, inaccuracies and misinterpretations.
Such clinical studies attract wide public attention, and patients should
receive feedback on them from physicians he said. It was important that new
findings be thoroughly reviewed, not hastily published. The plan could danger
the livelihood of traditional publishers of scientific research such as the New
England Journal, he added, whose functions could not be adequately replaced by
E-biomed.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/internet/docs/528865l.htm)
LUCENT BETS A PACKET ON BRIDGING WORLDS OF PHONES AND DATA
Issue: Internet Telephony
Lucent Technologies, a spin-off of AT&T that makes traditional telephone gear
(increasingly so to meet Internet demand for phone lines) is convinced that the
future belongs not to the circuit switch but to data packet networks. Which is
why in January, it acquires Alameda (CA)-based Ascend Communications, a maker
of Internet switching equipment, for $20 billion. Though no one has figured out
how to make packet switches as dependable as circuit switches, or to make them
transmit voice messages without losing any part, Lucent and other big
telecom-equipment makers are racing to acquire the new technology, for fear of
missing the boat. They feel the need to become big players in managing the
sophisticated telecommunications network of the future that is forming, albeit
slowly, but forming nonetheless.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A1), AUTHOR: Rebecca Blumenstein]
(http://wsj.com/)
SENATE PANEL FUNDS ATTACK ON ONLINE STOCK FRAUD
Issue: Internet
The Senate Appropriations Committee wants to increase funding to counter online
stock-market fraud and also to give the government greater standing to reclaim
broadcast-spectrum licenses held by bankrupt companies. Yesterday, the panel
approved a $35.3 billion spending bill that includes support for these two
initiatives and provides funding to three cabinet departments --Commerce, State
and Justice-- as well as the Securities and Exchange and Federal Communications
commissions. In a year of otherwise tight budgets, the SEC's budget will
increase 9% to $370.8 million, including a $10 million increase to finance
stepped-up surveillance of securities trading over the Internet. The FCC's
budget would grow to nearly $232 million and the Senate committee would be able
to strengthen its fight over the [ill] fate of wireless-spectrum licenses
auctioned in late 1995 and 1996. After winning bids, some buyers ran into
financial difficulty and, subsequently, never paid the government.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A6), AUTHOR: David Rogers]
(http://wsj.com/)
EDTECH
SURFING FOR A DEGREE ON THE INTERNET
Issue: EdTech
[Op-ed] Despite concerns about information technologies causing a "digital
divide" between poor and rich, the Intent could actually have a great
equalizing effect on educational opportunities predicts Oberg. Distance
learning opportunities offered by the Internet can make it easier for
nontraditional students such as mothers with young children, full time
workers, or the disabled -- to study and get degrees. Oberg claims that the
Internet fits in better with the real life circumstances of many students.
Barriers such as expensive technological infrastructure, marketing, and
copyright issues can make it difficult to establish successful Cybercampuses,
but the potential benefits are enormous. "The technology is not driving
education, " said Jim Ryan, vice president out outreach at Penn State
University. "It's enabling it."
[SOURCE: USA Today (A12), AUTHOR: Alcestis "Cooky" Oberg]
(http://www.usatoday.com/news/comment/ncguest2.htm)
MERGERS/ALLIANCES
ABLE & WIRELESS PAYS A HIGH PRICE FOR JAPAN FOOTHOLD
Issue: Merger
In hopes that deregulation in Japan will produce a boom in the local
telecommunications market, the London-based Cable & Wireless PLC company paid a
high price for a small Japanese telecom carrier, International Digital
Communications, that barely turned a profit last year. "It's a good time for
doing business in Japanese telecoms," said Larry Stone, senior vice president
of British Telecommunications PLC's Japan affiliate. "The Japanese government
is interested in globalization of the telecoms industry," he said. Obstacles
for future investments are expected to endure, however, in a country where
battles for companies are almost unheard of and resisted. Japan is the
second-largest telecommunications market in the world, after the U.S. This is
the first time a foreign company has taken over a Japanese carrier.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A19), AUTHOR: Peter Landers]
(http://wsj.com/)
See also:
CABLE AND WIRELESS WINS FIGHT FOR JAPAN PHONE CARRIER
[SOURCE: New York Times (C4), AUTHOR: Stephanie Strom]
(http://www.nytimes.com/)
MOTOROLA AND SUN TO BUILD JOINT SYSTEM FOR FAST NET ACCESS
Issue: Internet Infrastructure
Sun Microsystems will join the joint venture with Motorola and Cisco to
create a new wireless network to provide high-speed Internet access. The
group hopes to have the new platform ready by 2001. "Essentially what we're
creating is the next generation telecommunications architecture," said
Christopher Galvin, chief executive of Motorola. "We're building a wireless
infrastructure for computer applications, so that a day trader can make
trades wherever they are, and so that you can have wireless electronic
commerce and A.T.M.'s." Some analysts are cautions, however: "In general,
wireless infrastructure has been a very difficult thing to deploy," said
Michael Slater, an analyst at Cahners Microdesign Research. "There's a huge
amount of infrastructure that is needed to make this stuff happen."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C7), AUTHOR: David Barboza]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/06/biztech/articles/10motorola.html)
FCC
NEW FCC FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
Issue: FCC Reform
Academic and organizational experts will participate in a public forum to
discuss the future of the Federal Communications Commission in the 21st
Century on Friday, June 11, 1999, from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. The purpose of
the forum is to assist Chairman Kennard in preparing a five-year strategic
plan that will outline a timetable for restructuring and streamlining FCC
functions and management. This will be the third in a series of three public
forums. Participants will include: Rob Atkinson - Progressive Policy
Institute, Patricia Aufderheide - American University, Nolan Bowie - Harvard
JFK School, Barbara Cherry - Northwestern University, Peter Cramton -
University of Maryland, Jannette Dates - Black College Communication
Association, Jeff Eisenach - Progress and Freedom Foundation, Al Hammond -
University of Santa Clara School of Law, Judy Harkins - School of
Communication, Gallaudet University, Thomas Hazlett - University of
California at Davis and Resident Scholar, AEI, Robert Litan - Brookings
Institute, Paul J. McGeady - National Obscenity Law Center, Division of
Morality in Media, Phil Napoli - Department of Communications, Rutgers
University, W. Russell Neuman - Annenberg School for Communication, Eli Noam
- Columbia University, Peter Pitsch - Intel, Steve Pociask - Joel Popkin &
Company Economic Consulting, Michael Riordan - Boston University, Gregg
Rosston - Stanford University, Jorge Schement - Penn State University,
Marvin Sirbu - Carnegie Mellon, Larry Spiwak - Phoenix Center for Advanced
Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies, Jonathon Weinberg - University of
Michigan, Patricia Worthy - Howard Law School
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/Public_Notices/1999/pnmc9045.html)
CALLERS TO CELL PHONES COULD HAVE TO PAY
Issue: Wireless
The Federal Communications Commission is considering rules that would give
wireless subscribers an option to have incoming calls charged to the
originating numbers. Currently, American wireless owners pay for both incoming
and outgoing calls, but many in other countries customers have a choice.
"Here's an opportunity to use wireless carriers phones more and have more
mobility, while giving you the ability to control your costs," said Tom
Wheeler, head of the Cellular Telecommunications Association. The FCC is
expected to propose new wireless billing rules at its monthly meeting today.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B8), AUTHOR: Kathy Chen]
(http://wsj.com/)
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