Communications-related Headlines for 3/12/02

INTERNET
Global Internet Body Set For Showdown In Ghana (SJM)
Regional Disparities Reveal Gulf In Internet Access (Media
Guardian)
Senator Wants Larger Congressional Role For Music Online (Newsbytes)

BROADBAND
NCTA Study Shows Increase in Broadband Internet Demand (Newsbytes)

FCC
Public Notice Issued on LPFM and Open Commission Meeting Scheduled
(FCC)

INTERNET

GLOBAL INTERNET BODY SET FOR SHOWDOWN IN GHANA
Issue: Internet
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will vote
this week on a controversial proposal that would reduce the number of
user-elected board seats to six, and allow only domain-name owners to vote.
The original ICANN charter required half of the 18-seat board of directors
to be filled by regular Internet users. In addition to this week's
proposal, three weeks ago, ICANN president M. Stuart Lynn proposed a change
that would completely remove regular Internet users from the board. In
Lynn's proposal the board would include five members from national
governments, five from technical and business groups, and five chosen by a
special nominating committee. Lynn says the plan will lead to smoother
decision-making and solve the organizations financial woes. Some ICANN
board members, U.S. lawmakers, and numerous Internet activists have
criticized the plans for giving commercial interests control of the
Internet.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/2839468.htm)

SENATOR WANTS LARGER CONGRESSIONAL ROLE FOR MUSIC ONLINE
Issue: Intellectual Property
Senator Orin Hatch, R-Utah, told a gathering of music retailers that federal
lawmakers need to be more aggressive about shaping the electronic music
distribution market. Senator Hatch said, however, that he does not support
compulsory licensing for digital music distribution. He said that Congress
must remove roadblocks that stand in the way of making online music widely
available. "At this point, I think Congress needs to be more involved in
online music issues to help move the industry toward the vision we have for
the future and to help advance reforms that empower consumers, artists and
creators to exploit it," said Hatch. On the policymaking side, he said that
he supported "changes or updates in the law that facilitate the successful
online deployment of music and entertainment." He did not give details about
what those changes might be.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: David McGuire]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175121.html)

REGIONAL DISPARITIES REVEAL GULF IN INTERNET ACCESS
Issue: Digital Divide
A new report has revealed a growing digital divide in the United with twice
as many Londoners regularly accessing the Internet as Welsh people. Overall
the number of people using interactive technologies has risen to almost 6
out of 10, but the regional disparities could slow down British Prime
Minister Tony Blair's plans to provide Web access to everyone by 2005. In
both email and Internet use, around 56% of people living in the south-east
regularly uses the Internet, compared to 23% in Whales. Overall, there is
evidence that the total number of Web users is growing steadily with
approximately 1million accessing the Internet for the first time between
October and February.
[SOURCE: The Guardian, AUTHOR: MediaGuardian.co.U.K.]
(http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,7496,665708,00.html)

BROADBAND

NCTA STUDY SHOWS INCREASE IN BROADBAND INTERNET DEMAND
Issue: Broadband
In a study released March 11, the National Cable and Telecommunications
Association (NCTA) said that cable companies signed up 875,000 new Internet
subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2001. Currently there are 7.2 million
cable Internet subscribers in the U.S., representing 17 percent of the 70
million households that could connect via cable systems. "Deployment of, and
demand for, advanced broadband services continued to experience growth
during the fourth quarter of 2001, despite general economic uncertainties,
the bankruptcy of Excite At Home and the related conversion of its customers
to cable-provisioned networks," said Robert Sachs, the NCTA's top executive,
in a written statement.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Steven Bonisteel]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175144.html)
See also: The NCTA press release at
(http://www.ncta.com/press/press.cfm?PRid=238&showArticles=ok)

FCC

PUBLIC NOTICE ISSUED ON LPFM AND OPEN COMMISSION MEETING SCHEDULED
Issue: Radio
On March 11, 2002, the FCC released a public notice of acceptance of low
power FM broadcast applications that have been accepted for filing. The
notice may be found at
(http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-220690A1.pdf).
The FCC will hold an open commission meeting on March 14, 2002. The meeting
is scheduled to begin at 9:30 am at 445 12th Street SW, RoomTW-C305,
Washington, DC.
The audio portion of the meeting will be broadcast live via the Internet at
(http://www.fcc.gov/realaudio/). Further information and a full meeting
agenda may be found at URL below.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/Public_Notices/Agenda/2002/agenda.
html).

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