1. Monthly archive
  2. May 2001

May 2001

Communications-related Headlines for 5/31/01

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Satellite Firm Inks Deal To Serve Canada's Native Bands (Newsbytes)

INTERNET GOVERNANCE
Report Urges ICANN To Broaden Leadership Ranks (Newsbytes)
New Domain Name Issues Take Center Stage (Reuters)

PRIVACY
A Celebrated Hacker Urges People to Guard Privacy Online (WSJ)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

SATELLITE FIRM INKS DEAL TO SERVE CANADA'S NATIVE BANDS
Issue: Digital Divide
In what they called a "historic" agreement, Telesat Canada and the Assembly
of First Nations (AFN), an umbrella organization representing most of
Canada's native peoples, are preparing to bring high-speed Internet access
and other communications technologies to aboriginal communities across the
country. The organizations have signed a memorandum of understanding with an
eye to connecting all First Nations communities in Canada by early 2004. "By
joining forces with Telesat today, we're taking an important step for First
Nations communities in Canada," Matthew Coon Come, national chief of the
AFN, said in a prepared statement. "Access to advanced communications
services is a fundamental element of economic development."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Steven Bonisteel]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166287.html)

INTERNET GOVERNANCE

REPORT URGES ICANN TO BROADEN LEADERSHIP RANKS
Issue: Internet
A report released today by the NGO & Academic ICANN Study Project (NAIS), an
alliance of non-governmental and academic groups, urged the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to include greater public
participation in its decision-making progress. In ICANN's most recent
election, its members voted to its board of directors only five "at-large"
members to serve as voices of the Internet public. ICANN launched an
internal probe in January to determine the legitimacy of at-large elections,
and the outcome of this study will determine if four more at-large members
will join the board. "Already there is a lot of disagreement about how the
public voice should exist in ICANN, but it is clear that there needs to be
broad public participation if ICANN is to take on this public role it has
assumed for itself," said Alan Davidson of the Center for Democracy and
Technology (CDT), a member of NAIS.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: David McGuire]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166288.html)

NEW DOMAIN NAME ISSUES TAKE CENTER STAGE
Issue: Internet
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers' (ICANN) quarterly
meeting this weekend in Stockholm, Sweden will likely focus on new domain
name suffixes like dot-name that are entering the market and provide
competition for the popular dot-com suffix. At its November meeting, ICANN
selected seven companies to manage the registries of the seven new
suffixes, which include dot-name, dot-biz, dot-info, dot-museum, dot-pro,
dot-coop and dot-aero. The additional domain names were created to allow for
increasing demand from Internet users. Using the dot-name suffix, people
will be able to use their own names as their e-mail and Web site addresses.
The 40-staff company Global Name Registry will take on the powerful role of
managing the dot-name suffix and is expected to make millions from assigning
dot-names to individuals. "This is a decision of immense consequence.
(Global Name) will be given the right to this huge source of information
that it can leverage for other businesses," says law professor Jon Weinberg
at Wayne State University in Detroit, and member of the watchdog group
ICANNwatch.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001-05-30-icann-meeting.htm)

PRIVACY

A CELEBRATED HACKER URGES PEOPLE TO GUARD PRIVACY ONLINE
Issue: Privacy
Software developer and code-cracker Dr. Ian Goldberg of ZeroKnowledge
Systems Inc. warns consumers on the Internet to protect themselves, for
example by installing "firewalls" that blocks thiefs from entering home PCs
and software that foils "cookie" tracking. Goldberg says that stronger
programming and encryption codes are more effective than more stringent laws
at protecting privacy and security. In an interview with Wall Street
Journal, he reveals what Web users need to know to protect their privacy and
security. "One of the big risks could be that people you don't intend are
reading your messages," says Goldberg. "With e-commerce, the privacy issue
is that others can find out what kind of things you like to buy online. But
there's also a security risk: Hopefully, no one will be able to steal money
from you online or fraudulently charge things to you."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal , AUTHOR: Peter Edmonston]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB98770251558583594.htm)

--------------------------------------------------------------

COMMUNICATIONS-RELATED HEADLINES for May 30, 2001

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Congressional Democrats Push For Rural Broadband Rollout (Newsbytes)
Feds Raise Bar for Disabled (Wired)
China's Web Women Boost E-Commerce Outlook (Newsbytes)

INTERNET POLICY
Canadian Copyright Law Review Threatens JumpTV Plans (Newsbytes)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS PUSH FOR RURAL BROADBAND ROLLOUT
Issue: Broadband
Democrats in the House and Senate introduced legislation last week that
would provide the carrot for the deployment of broadband Internet service in
rural parts of the country through a low-interest loan guarantee program.
Sponsors of the bill S. 966 included Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle,
S.D., and Democratic Sens. Byron Dorgan, N.D., Tim Johnson, S.D., Patty
Murray, Wash., and Paul Wellstone, Minn. In the House, Reps. Bart Stupak,
Mich., and Earl Pomeroy, N.D. sponsored an identical bill H.R. 2038. The
legislation would give more power to the Rural Utility Service, along with
the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, to give low
interest loans to high-speed Internet service providers to rural and
underserved areas. Sen. Dorgan remarked that, "Without this program, market
forces will pass by much of America, and that is unacceptable."
[SOURCE: Newsbytes]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166229.html)

FEDS RAISE BAR FOR DISABLED
Issue: Digital Divide
Awareness of providing access to persons with disabilities is rising quickly
with the impending enactment of the federal law "Section 508" on June 21.
Section 508 mandates the U.S. government to purchase computers, software,
and office equipment like fax machines that meet new standards for access by
users with disabilities. Major commercial hardware and software producers in
the private sector and federal government agencies are rushing to comply
with the law, passed in 1998. According to statistics, 54 million people in
the United States are disabled. "Without laws like 508, I don't think the
(software) vendors would have come to a realization that accessibility is an
important issue on their own," said James Gashel, director of governmental
affairs at the National Federation of the Blind. "These laws are crucial."
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Benner]
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,44062,00.html)

CHINA'S WEB WOMEN BOOST E-COMMERCE OUTLOOK
Issue: Digital Divide
According to a study by NetValue released today, more and more Chinese homes
are getting connected to the Internet, and this March women have logged on
the Internet 6.7 percent more than last November. In China's largest cities,
Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, women made up 39.8 percent of
home Internet users. Marketers and e-commerce companies are increasingly
targeting the online activity of women as a result. The survey found that
Chinese women visit community, medical/health, and "everyday life" Web sites
more than men. Instant messaging is more than one-third more popular with
Chinese women than with men, and chat is twice as popular with women than
with men. Women and men tend to stay on the Net the same amount of time and
have the same number of sessions, the study says. The study also found that
that women are more likely to spend money and visit shopping malls on the
Internet than men.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Martin Stone]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166248.html)

INTERNET POLICY

CANADIAN COPYRIGHT LAW REVIEW THREATENS JUMPTV PLANS
Issue: Telecommunications
Canada is undergoing a reconsideration of its copyright law as a result of
rising disputes between television broadcasters and Internet Webcasters. TV
broadcasters cheered the move by the Canadian government, taking the
position that companies that broadcast television content over the Internet
like the new JumpTV should not qualify for tax breaks on licensing available
to other retransmitters like cable and satellite TV companies. Last year
JumpTV's now-defunct predecessor iCraveTV.com was closed down by legal
action in Canada and the U.S. for not controlling content "leaking" out of
Canada. JumpTV claims new technology inhibits content "leaking" and argues
that its services are legal under existing copyright law. Upcoming Canadian
Copyright Board hearings that may set statutory licensing fees for
retransmission of broadcast TV over the Net are facing objection by TV
broadcasters a result of the copyright law review. "JumpTV has always
represented that application of retransmission laws in Canada must be
applied in a technology neutral manner," protested Farrel Miller, CEO of
JumpTV.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Steven Bonisteel]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166224.html)

--------------------------------------------------------------

Communications-related Headlines for 5/29/01

JOURNALISM
At Knight Ridder, Good Journalism vs. the Bottom Line (NYT)
Faint Voices Rise From Cuba (Wired)

CONTENT
Fears of a Website Inquisition (Wired)
No Internet Filtering Is Sex Harassment For Librarians - EEOC
(Newsbytes)

INTERNET
Home Broadband Nearly Doubles In Six Months (Newsbytes)
Federal Online Sales Soar (USA)

JOURNALISM

AT KNIGHT RIDDER, GOOD JOURNALISM VS. THE BOTTOM LINE
Issue: Journalism
The Knight Ridder company, like the rest of the newspaper industry these
days, is grappling with the challenge of practicing journalism in an
economic Maelstrom. Part of the difficulty stems from a fundamental and
still unresolved clash of corporate cultures that has existed since two very
different companies merged nearly 27 years ago. Some of Knight Ridder's
editorial staff question the ability of chief executive, Tony Ridder, to
choose between the mission of quality journalism - the historic heart of
Knight Newspapers - and the relentless pressures of financial performance,
which was the priority of Ridder Publications. "I would still rather work
for Knight Ridder than most of the other newspaper organizations that I know
about," said Jim Houston, a long-time reporter at The Columbus
Ledger-Enquirer. "I just wish it didn't have this nagging question about
commitment to the journalism side."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Felicity Barringer]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/29/business/29PAPE.html)
(requires registration)]

FAINT VOICES RISE FROM CUBA
Issue: Journalism
Many independent reporters in Cuba are looking to the Internet as a way to
practice journalism. More than 100 independent journalists defy government
restrictions by filing their articles on overseas websites, giving the world
a glimpse into alternatives perspectives on life on island. Unfortunately,
few Cubans have access to the Internet, which is basically limited to
communist officials, researchers and tourists. Another problem with the
alternative press in Cuba is that many independent reporters lack experience
and good journalistic models -- the only journalism they know is the
government press, which has its own slant. "A lot of them have never worked
for the free press before," said Charles H. Green, the director of the
International Media Center at Florida International University. "They don't
understand how a free press really works and don't understand the idea of
balance."
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Julia Scheeres]
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,44045,00.html)

CONTENT

FEARS OF A WEBSITE INQUISITION
Issue: Freedom of speech
The proposed "Law of Information Society Services and Electronic Commerce"
(LSSI) in Spain is raising fierce opposition from civil libertarians who
argue the legislation would smother free speech and compared it to the
failed Communications Decency Act in the U.S. The law would require Web
sites to register with the government and mandate Internet Service Providers
to regulate content by reporting suspected illegal activity. Hosting
companies that fail to comply would face fines of up to the equivalent of
$150,000. The Spanish government could also shut down Web sites and seize
their content and activity logs. "If the (law) is passed, freedom of
expression in the Internet will be as limited as it is in countries like
China, Vietnam or Saudi Arabia," said attorney Carlos S

Communications-related Headlines for 5/25/01

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Providers Push For Rural Broadband Bill (Newsbytes)
Congress Urged To Include Rural Areas In Telecom Reform (Newsbytes)

PRIVACY
Sites Let Consumers 'Opt Out' of Net Tracking (WP)

WIRELESS
Wireless Providers Ill-Prepared To Meet FCC Requirements (Newsbytes)

HIGH TECH
Gore Talks High Tech in Washington (NYT)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

PROVIDERS PUSH FOR RURAL BROADBAND BILL
Issue: Digital Divide
Legislation is being considered in the House, introduced by Rep. Phil
English (R-PA), that would provide tax credits to any carriers that acted to
help close the "digital divide" with emphasis on providing access to
broadband Internet service to rural areas. Telecommunications carriers'
executives urged the House small business subcommittees to adopt "technology
neutral" legislation to encourage broadband deployment to rural areas. Small
telecom businesses say that a combination of satellite, wireless, cable, and
telephone technologies is more likely to deliver broadband to rural areas
than one single technology. "I have no preference as to which technology or
provider wins this debate," said Rep. Mike Pence, Chairman of the Small
Business Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Oversight. "My only interest
in the debate over broadband access is ensuring that business in rural
America have the same access to advanced services as businesses in Los
Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C."
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Brian Krebs]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166108.html)

CONGRESS URGED TO INCLUDE RURAL AREAS IN TELECOM REFORM
Issue: Rural Internet Access
The National Telephone Cooperative Association (NTCA), a group representing
500 small and rural telecommunications providers, urged Congress to consider
the impact of pending telecom regulations on rural areas. In a letter to
Congress, the NTCA asked legislators to give the Telecommunications Act of
1996 more time to have an impact and refrain from overturning existing
requirements designed to stimulate competition. Pending before the House is
controversial legislation to overturn requirements that incumbent providers
open their markets to local competitors before entering the long distance
data market, and rent phone lines to competitors providing digital
subscriber line (DSL) service. The Senate is considering legislation on tax
credits and rural loan guarantees to encourage the spread of broadband
service. "[W]hile these sectors of the industry vie for quick-fix solutions
to problems for which the Telecom Act has established solutions," the NTCA
letter said, "we must not forget an important fact: Universal Service
preserves the health of all these interests by ensuring that all Americans
are connected."
[SOURCE: Newsbytes]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166120.html)

PRIVACY

SITES LET CONSUMERS 'OPT OUT' OF NET TRACKING
Issue: Privacy
The advertising industry launched two Web sites recently that allow Internet
users to prevent popular commercial Internet sites from collecting and
profiling their personal data. These sites were created in response to
critics who argue that commercial databases, such as profiling done by
bookseller Amazon.com, violate people's right to privacy, since users can't
view or correct their information. Proponents like members of the Network
Advertising Initiative, an advertiser's lobby and trade group, argue that
data collecting on consumers is valuable to electronic commerce, and opposed
legislation in Congress that would have required consumers to select the
option to be profiled. The new privacy protection sites backed by the NAI
allow people to complete a single Web form to "opt-out" of profiling, so
that consumers won't have to request to be "opted-out" on each Web site.
Andrew Shen at the Electronic Privacy Information Center remarked, "It
doesn't necessarily improve the situation at all. Most Internet users still
don't realize that such third party profiling even exists. They're so
invisible to the average Internet user that opt-out really isn't enough."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001-05-24-privacy-site.htm)

WIRELESS

WIRELESS PROVIDERS ILL-PREPARED TO MEET FCC REQUIREMENTS
Issue: Wireless
The wireless industry probably won't meet a government-imposed deadline for
rolling out technology designed to pinpoint the exact physical locations of
individuals who make "911" emergency calls from their wireless phones,
Cingular Wireless Chief Executive Stephen Carter said today. The Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) has imposed an October deadline for the
wireless industry to establish "E-911" capabilities using positioning
technology. "There are very few companies that I know of that believe they
can make the (October 2001) deadline without a waiver," Carter said today.
Carter urged federal regulators to "relax the restrictions, go to a lesser
standard (and) let the technology catch up" with the federal expectations.
Carter argued that the public has not yet expressed enough interest in
location technology to make it a marketable service.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: David McGuire]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166115.html)

HIGH TECH

GORE TALKS HIGH TECH IN WASHINGTON
Issue:
Former Vice President Al Gore told a technology industry gathering on
Thursday that advances in computing power and storage capacity will mean
little unless managers figure out how to harness them. "There is no
technological silver bullet that's going to solve a problem unless it is
used by people who understand its capabilities and are willing to make
changes in their actions," Gore said in a speech at the Communications
Solutions Expo.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-tech-gore-dc.html)
(requires registration)

--------------------------------------------------------------

Communications-related Headlines for 5/24/01

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Wariness Leads to Motivation in Baltimore Free-Computer Experiment
(NYT)
Groups Challenge Descriptive Services For Blind (USA)

POLICY
Tech Issues Should Weather Senate Power Shift Well (Newbytes)

INTERNET
EC Launches Site To Fight Child Porn, Cybercrime (Newbytes)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

WARINESS LEADS TO MOTIVATION IN BALTIMORE FREE-COMPUTER EXPERIMENT
Issue: Digital Divide
The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Housing Authority of
Baltimore have developed a program to give public housing residents free
computers. The $1.7 million program, called Hope VI, was launched when the
highly wired when the Edgar Allan Poe Homes complex opened in 1999, as
federal and city officials vowed to "close the digital divide" between rich
and poor. Residents must take a 20-hour basic course in computing as a
prerequisite for receiving a Dell computer fully installed in their
apartments. While the Department of Housing has established about 800
computer learning centers over the last six years, Poe is the first program
to provide free machines to residents - the computers are actually supplied
as an appliance and do not become the residents' property.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Francis X. Clines]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/24/technology/24BALT.html)
(requires registration)

GROUPS CHALLENGE DESCRIPTIVE SERVICES FOR BLIND
Issue: Television
Federal Communications Commission voted last year to require broadcasters to
offer the nation's 8 million to 12 million visually impaired people the
equivalent of closed-captioning for the deaf. Called descriptive video
service (DVS), it allows a user to turn on a second audio track in which a
narrator describes visual action. TVs made since 1993 have the capability,
also sometimes used for Spanish language dubbing. But recently, the National
Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the Motion Picture Association of America
(MPAA) and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association challenged
the order in court. The groups say the FCC exceeded its authority, and by
compelling speech, violated the First Amendment. Advocates for the blind
disagree. "It equalizes the playing field," says Charles Crawford of the
American Council of the Blind. "You can enjoy TV like anyone else rather
than trying to guess what you saw."
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Paul Davidson]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001-05-23-descriptive-tv.htm)

POLICY

TECH ISSUES SHOULD WEATHER SENATE POWER SHIFT WELL
Issue: Policy
Today, Republican Sen. James Jeffords from Vermont is expected to announce
his decision on whether to leave his party and declare himself an
Independent, a move that would shift the balance of power in the Senate to
the Democrats. A Democratic majority could have an impact on technology
policy decisions, though industry experts are not quick to predict the
outcome. Information Technology Association of America President Harris
Miller said it is too early to call how the Senate will land on technology
legislation and if there will be a major power struggle, but said that
debate in this arena tends to be bipartisan. "Some business groups in town
are probably pulling their hair out, but I'm certainly not uncomfortable
working with Senate chairmen who are Democrats," said Miller. "On the other
hand it is going to make the Senate somewhat unwieldy." Electronic privacy
may change most drastically if Ranking Democrat Ernest "Fritz" Hollings
(D-SC) is promoted to Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee over John
McCain (R-AZ). Hollings supported legislation last year opposed by the tech
industry that would impose more stringent regulations to protect privacy.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Robert MacMillan and David McGuire]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166061.html)

INTERNET

EC LAUNCHES SITE TO FIGHT CHILD PORN, CYBERCRIME
Issue: Internet
The European Commission has launched the Web site saferinternet.org to
protect minors from illegal and objectionable content on the Internet. The
EC Web site is encouraging an "Awareness Exchange" of information and
discussion on how to shield kids from pedophiles, cybercrime and racism on
the Web. The EC is promoting the site as part of its "action plan" to fight
illegal content and activities online. The site offers information on
filtering and ratings software, news from around the world, and hotlines for
reporting illegal Web fraud schemes and child porn, and links for
organizations to apply for EC funding to fight Internet crime.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Staff]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166090.html)

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Communications-related Headlines for 5/23/01

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Finding Free Internet Access for Those Without (NYT)
Retirees, Minorities Flocking To The Web (Newsbytes.com)

INTERNET
Web Sites Inconsistent on Health, Study Finds (NYT)

COMPETITION
Telco Competition Needs No More Gestation Time - Cerf
(Newsbytes.com)

FCC
Testimony of Chairman Powell On FCC Appropriation (FCC)

SECURITY
U.S. to Give Scholarships For Cyber-Security Corps (WSJ)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

FINDING FREE INTERNET ACCESS FOR THOSE WITHOUT
Issue: Digital Divide
A group of nonprofit organizations are working to help get young people
connected to the Internet by building and distributing a directory - in
both English and Spanish - of more than 20,000 locations nationwide that
offer free Internet access. The ConnectNet database, searchable by zip code,
provides information about free Internet access at libraries and other
community technology centers. A toll-free telephone number - (866) 583-1234
- also provide the information to those without Internet access. "This is
really the first site of its kind to plot out community technology centers,"
said Andy Carvin, a senior associate at the Benton Foundation, which houses
the database on it's Digital Divide Network site. The Kaiser Family
Foundation is promoting the effort through a serious of television
advertisements, directed at teenagers, that will air in English and Spanish
throughout the summer.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: REBECCA WEINER]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/23/technology/23EDUCATION.html)
(requires registration)

RETIREES, MINORITIES FLOCKING TO THE WEB
Issue: Digital Divide
A survey on the changing make-up of Internet users reported that the
audience is becoming more diverse in terms of ethnicity, economic status,
education and lifestyle. The report, released by The Media Audit, found that
senior citizens, homemakers and minorities are discovering the Internet and
are making up a large volume of new Net users. Media Audit's co-chairman Bob
Jordan reported that there has been a sharp rise in broadband users,
creating a "two-tier market," at least for now. Jordan predicted that
Internet access will become as essential to providing communications,
information and entertainment by 2010 as the telephone is today. He
projected that Internet penetration in the United States will peak and level
off at 80 percent, similar to trends in the spread of television. The
research found that 44 percent of African Americans are on the Internet, an
increase of 41 percent over the last 3 years, and 42 percent of Hispanics
are online, up 45 percent. Asians have been faster to take advantage of the
Internet than other populations. 63 percent of Asian households were online
in 1998 and 70 percent in 2000 - significantly higher than the 58 percent of
white households in 2000.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes.com, AUTHOR: Sylvia Dennis]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/media/9912-1.html)

INTERNET

WEB SITES INCONSISTENT ON HEALTH, STUDY FINDS
Issue: Internet
A study described in today's Journal of the American Medical Association
found that most of the time, health information on the Internet is hard to
find, hard to read and often incorrect or incomplete, even on the best
sites. The study - sponsored by a philanthropic group, the California Health
Care Foundation, and carried out by researchers affiliated with RAND -
showed that government and university sites did better than commercial ones,
and it concluded that the Internet had the potential "to be a powerful
resource for meeting some of the public's health information needs."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Philip J. Hilts]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/23/health/23NET.html)
(requires registration)

COMPETITION

TELCO COMPETITION NEEDS NO MORE GESTATION TIME - CERF
Issue: Competition
WorldCom executive Vint Cerf disputed Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) Chairman Michael Powell's defense that loosening of regulations
requires more than 5 years to boost competition. WorldCom is a competitor to
the baby Bells, which have historically maintained monopolies in local phone
service markets. Powell said yesterday that half a decade is not enough time
to turn around nearly a century of government-enforced monopoly. Cerf,
however, disagreed, asserting that "We're talking Internet time here."
Powell refrained from endorsing pending legislation in the House that would
overturn part of the requirements of the 1996 Telecommunications Act and
give incumbent carriers the right to offer high-speed data services in the
long-distance market without requiring the incumbent carriers prove that
they have opened their markets. Cerf is against this legislation, pushed by
Representatives W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-LA) and John Dingell (D-MI). "I have
a very negative reaction to that bill right now," he said. "At the very best
it is disingenuous. It makes the assumption that one could distinguish voice
traffic from other kinds of data. There's nothing in the bill that improves
local competition."
[SOURCE: Newsbytes.com, AUTHOR: Robert MacMillan]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/telecom/9962-1.html)

FCC

TESTIMONY OF CHAIRMAN POWELL ON FCC APPROPRIATION
Issue: FCC
The FCC Web Site has a summary of the testimony of chairman Michael k.
Powell before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State and the Judiciary
of the House Committee on Appropriations. Powell requested $248.5 million
for his agency for fiscal 2002.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Powell/Statements/2001/stmkp125.txt)

SECURITY

U.S. TO GIVE SCHOLARSHIPS FOR CYBER-SECURITY CORPS
Issue: Security
The National Science Foundation has selected six universities to participate
in a program to create a "cyber corps" of 200 computer-security students who
would agree to join the government ranks upon graduation. The incentive is
$8.6 million in scholarships, and participants are required to commit to at
least one year for every year of tuition assistance received. The
scholarship is designed to help fill the shortage of computer-security
workers in government. Selected schools include Carnegie Mellon University,
Iowa State University, Purdue University, the University of Idaho, the
University of Tulsa and the Naval Postgraduate School.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB990572871992181459.htm)

--------------------------------------------------------------

Communications-related Headlines for 5/22/01

COMPETITION
Telecom Competition Needs More Than Five Years (NewsBytes)
Bell Rivals Gain Market Share (USA)
EU Watching Internet Monopolies (NYT)
Verizon Blasts Broadband Legislation (NewsBytes)

FREEDOM OF SPEECH
Supreme Court Agrees to Examine Law Protecting Kids From Web Porn
(WSJ)

COMPETITION

TELECOM COMPETITION NEEDS MORE THAN FIVE YEARS
Issue: Competition
At the same time the FCC released a report on the state of local
telecommunications competition, Federal Communications Commission Chairman
Michael Powell dismissed claims that the Telecommunications
Act of 1996 has failed to bring competition to local markets. He said
declaring failure is premature given that the law has had only five years to
overturn nearly a century of government-sponsored monopoly in
telecommunications and create a competitive environment. The FCC report said
that local competition is flourishing, particularly in states where
established carriers like the baby Bells are allowed to offer long distance
high-speed data services. Powell agreed with legislation currently being
pushed in the House by Rep. Fed Upton(R-MI) to raise fines for baby Bells
and other existing carriers that undertake illegal or surreptitious means to
preserve their monopolies. Powell said that the government need not wait
"forever" for broadband and other telecommunications services to become
"ubiquitous," but cautioned that the government should exhibit patience and
allow the market to work at its own pace, stating that "it's important to
keep a hold of ourselves..."
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Robert MacMillan]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/165950.html)

BELL RIVALS GAIN MARKET SHARE
Issue: Competition
According to a report by the Federal Communications Commission, competitive
local exchange carriers saw their market share nearly double in 2000, with
most significant increases in New York and Texas. But consumer advocates and
some industry groups warn that the telecommunications industry and
legislative changes may adversely affect competition soon. Allowing the
incumbent carriers to enter the long-distance market made the difference,
reports Bob Bishop of Verizon, the baby Bell in New York. Critics, such as
Russell Frisby, head of the Competitive Telecommunications Association,
argue that FCC was prompted to allow the baby Bells to offer long-distance
because New York and Texas local phone markets were open, and long-distance
carriers were already competing there. "Competition may disappear," warns
Gene Kimmelman of the Consumers Union, if the FCC makes it easier for the
baby Bells to enter the long-distance market.
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Paul Davidson]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20010522/3338483s.htm)

EU WATCHING INTERNET MONOPOLIES
Issue: Competition
The European Union's top antitrust official, Mario Monti, said Monday he is
watching the market positions of Internet units set up by former national
telecommunications monopolies, including Deutsche Telekom's T-Online
subsidiary. The liberalization of European telecoms has left some former
monopolies and their online units in a particularly strong position, said
Monti in a speech at a conference on competition in Berlin. On May 8th,
Monti's office opened an in-depth probe into a joint venture between
T-Online, leading German tour operators TUI and C&N, and Lufthansa. The
Commission warned at the time that this "powerful and unique" alliance could
leave consumers with less choice for online travel services.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Germany-EU-Internet.html)
(requires registration)

VERIZON BLASTS BROADBAND LEGISLATION
Issue: Broadband
On the eve of a House Judiciary Committee hearing on legislation designed to
beef up state and federal enforcement remedies against local phone
companies, Verizon Communications today held a media briefing to denounce
the measure as an "erroneous application of antitrust law." The Judiciary
committee is expected to hear testimony on a pair of bills, that amend
antitrust laws to allow a state attorney general to prevent Bell operating
companies from offering long distance data services in areas where they
still control more than 85 percent of the market for local phone service.
The two measures are a direct assault on legislation introduced House
Commerce Committee Chairman W. J. "Billy" Tauzin and ranking Democrat John
Dingell, Mich., that would allow former Bell companies such as Verizon and
SBC Communications to enter the long distance data market without having to
comply with regulations forcing them to show they have adequately opened
their local markets to competitors.
[SOURCE: NewsBytes, AUTHOR: Brian Krebs]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/165956.html)

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

SUPREME COURT AGREES TO EXAMINE LAW PROTECTING KIDS FROM WEB PORN
Issue: Filtering
The Supreme Court agreed to consider the 1998 Child Online Protection Act,
which makes it illegal to knowingly place pornography on the Web where a
child could find it. A lower court ruled recently that the law is in
violation of the First Amendment, stating that there may be no way to
protect children from online pornographic material that doesn't violate the
First Amendment, and blocked the Justice Department from enforcing it. The
law requires commercial Web sites to collect a credit-card number or access
code as proof of age before viewing Web material considered "harmful to
minors." Defenders of the law at the Justice Department say that it
effectively targets only material that children should not be viewing, but
free-speech advocates including the American Civil Liberties Union criticize
the law as unconstitutional. The Child Online Protection Act was passed in
1998 after the Supreme Court struck down a previous ban on making
pornography accessible to children, the Communications Decency Act. The
court is expected to consider the law during its term starting in October.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB990455572502406707.htm)

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Communications-related Headlines for 5/21/01

DIGITAL DIVIDE
IT Rejuvenating the Reservation (WIRED)
Modernization May Be More Blessing Than Curse in the Brazilian
Outback (WSJ)

INTERNET
E-Commerce: Has the Web's Audience Peaked? (NYT)
Commerce Oks Verisign Dot-Com Deal (NewsBytes)

ACCESS TO INFORMATION
Schools Get Tool to Track Students' Internet Use (NYT)
Civil Liberties Groups Oppose 'Stealth' Web Blocking (NewsBytes)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

IT REJUVENATING THE RESERVATION
Issue: Digital Divide
An organization of 18 American Indian tribes in the San Diego, California
area, the Southern California Tribal Chairmen's Association, was recently
awarded a $5 million grant from Hewlett-Packard to build what they call
a "Digital Village" in Southern California. Technology groups like HP, the
University of California-San Diego, and the San Diego Supercomputer Center
have partnered with the association to help them decide
where to use the money to build a technology infrastructure that meets each
tribe's needs. The opportunity will allow Indians to remain on the
reservation to make a living, find jobs, preserve their culture, educate
their children and build community. Three of the 18 tribes are already
linked to the high-speed wireless Internet connection provided by the
university, and this project will extend the network to the other tribes.
"This is one of the ways for the Indian tribes to maintain their
sovereignty," said Jack Ward, director of the Digital Village.
"They need to be able to compete with any other nation."
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Katie Dean]
(http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,43718,00.html)

MODERNIZATION MAY BE MORE BLESSING THAN CURSE IN THE BRAZILIAN OUTBACK
Issue: Digital Divide
In the isolated Amazonian Indian village of Sao Gabriel Da Cachoeira,
Brazil, globalization is encroaching its population of 40,000 with the
installation of a radar tower and the approach of telephone and Internet
service. Villagers hope that they can learn from the mistakes of more
modernized regions suffering from environmental and cultural trauma. A local
phone company is installing pay phones and has donated 10 computers and a
satellite Internet connection to the region's school. Orlando Jose de
Oliveira, president of the nonprofit Rio Negro Indigenous People's
Federation, is excited by the access to information that the Internet will
provide Indians about the outside world, but warns that it could have a
similar paralyzing effect to television access, where Indians stopped
working to watch TV. "If globalization means what's happening with mad cow
and foot-and-mouth disease, we don't want it," says Braz de Oliveira Franca,
the region's first indigenous candidate for mayor. "But Indians have become
dependent on white culture, so we have to define a way of maintaining our
culture in the globalized world."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB990387615944586433.htm)

INTERNET

COMMERCE OKS VERISIGN DOT-COM DEAL
Issue: Internet
The Internet gatekeeper VeriSign convinced the Commerce Department on Friday
to approve an agreement that gives the company continued control over the
"dot-com" Internet registry until 2007 - and beyond. In the
agreement, VeriSign will let go of it's control over the "dot-net" and
"dot-org" domains, and has agreed to follow regulations to allow for
competition in the Internet addressing space. Only three significant changes
were made to a draft agreement between ICANN and VeriSign drawn earlier this
year, said a Commerce Department official on Friday. VeriSign will give up
the "dot-net" domain in 2005, 6 months sooner than
agreed in the draft, and if competition doesn't grow in the Internet
addressing industry subject to Commerce Department scrutiny, it could be
forced to open it up to competitive bidding by aspiring registry operators
early as 2003. "I'm perfectly expecting to be absolutely appalled" by the
decision, said Karl Auerbach, one of three ICANN board of directors who
voted against the deal. "I think the Internet community loses badly by it. I
think that VeriSign wins mightily by it."
[SOURCE: Newsbytes.com, AUTHOR: David McGuire]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/9881-1.html)

E-COMMERCE: HAS THE WEB'S AUDIENCE PEAKED?
Issue: Internet
A recent report by Telecommunications Reports International, a Washington
research firm, said the number of residential Internet customers declined
0.3 percent last quarter, to 68.5 million. It was the first such decline
since the company began tracking online use in 1980, when it monitored users
of the Source and MicroNet, a predecessor of CompuServe. The
report's author, Gary H. Arlen, who is also president of Arlen
Communications, wrote that last quarter's decline was "a statistical
aberration," stemming from the demise of free Internet providers like.
Forrester Research, predicts that the total number of United States
households connected to the Internet wont start to level off until 2004, at
70 million, or about two-thirds of the homes in the nation.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Bob Tedeschi]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/21/technology/21ECOMMERCE.html)
(requires registration)

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

SCHOOLS GET TOOLS TO TRACK STUDENTS' INTERNET USE
Issue: EdTech
eSniff Solution, a software program that alerts school administrators when
their students access forbidden material Internet, is now available to
schools across the country. A federal law passed in December requires
schools and libraries to install a "technology protection measure" to
protect minors from inappropriate online materials, or risk losing
Internet financial support from the federal e-Rate program. The virtue of
products like eSniff, say its supporters, is that it effectively keeps
students on the straight-and-narrow path without actually preventing them
from going anywhere online. David L. Sobel, general counsel for the
Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, however,
said the eSniff software raised serious privacy concerns. "It sort of
becomes a Hobson's choice - whether we are going to sacrifice free speech,
or privacy, when attempting to regulate what students access in schools," he
said.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: John Schwartz]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/21/technology/21SNIF.html)
(requires registration)

CIVIL LIBERTIES GROUPS OPPOSE 'STEALTH' WEB BLOCKING
Issue: Web filtering
Civil liberties groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the
Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Electronic Frontier
Foundation, released a statement denouncing the practice of some Internet
service providers of secretly blocking Internet users from viewing certain
Web sites. Peacefire.org, a Web-based organization that opposes mandatory
Internet filtering, led the statement against two large Internet
backbone providers AboveNet and Teleglobe that close certain Web sites from
their customers, including smaller ISPs, that in turn do not notify their
individual customers that their access is restricted. The filtering
was implemented by the backbone ISPs to block spammers identified on the
mail abuse prevention system (MAPS). "If people want to block themselves
voluntarily, that's up to them, but hardly anybody who is
downstream from these blocking ISPs realize that's what's going on," said
Peacefire.org's Web manager Bennett Haselton.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes.com, AUTHOR: David McGuire]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/165895.html)

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Communications-related Headlines for 5/18/01

INTERNET
Libraries Win Net Filtering Delay (USA)

BROADBAND
Lawmaker Wants Baby Bell Fines On Dereg Bill (Newsbytes)
Canadian Satellite Firm Aims To Boost Two-Way Broadband (Newsbytes)

COPYRIGHT
House Subcommittee Questions Need For Compulsory License (Newsbytes)

Music Execs Find New Target (WIRED)

INTERNET

LIBRARIES WIN NET FILTERING DELAY
Issue: Internet
A U.S. District Court agreement was made over lawsuits challenging the
Children's Internet Protection Act that gives public libraries until July
2002 to certify that they are utilizing Internet filtering required by the
law. The new federal law passed last year required libraries and schools to
install software on computers by July 31 that filters out Web material
considered "obscene," "harmful to minors," or "child pornography." The
American Civil Liberties Union and the American Library Association pressed
lawsuits against the regulation challenging that, with respect to libraries,
the law violates freedom of speech.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001-05-16-net-filter-delay.htm)

BROADBAND

LAWMAKER WANTS BABY BELL FINES ON DEREG BILL
Issue: Broadband
House Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee Chairman Fred Upton,
(R-MI), has introduced a measure that would increase fines for Bell
telephone companies that violate state and federal competition laws. Upton
wants to attach the bill as an amendment to "The Internet Freedom and
Broadband Deployment Act," which would remove requirements that force baby
Bell companies to lease their local lines to competing providers of
broadband Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) services. The bill would allow
former Bell companies to enter the long distance data market without having
to comply with regulations forcing them to show they have adequately opened
their local markets to competitors. Oppents of the broadband bill say it
would kill competition for local telephone service and put competitive local
exchange carriers and competing DSL companies out of business.
[SOURCE: NewsBytes, AUTHOR: Brian Krebs]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/165850.html)

CANADIAN SATELLITE FIRM AIMS TO BOOST TWO-WAY BROADBAND
Issue: Broadband
Canada's satellite operator, Telesat, announced that it will soon begin
testing faster two-way broadband Internet connections via satellite that
cost less in order to provide wider access to schools, businesses,
telecommuters and businesses, and to remote parts of the country. Satellite
Internet service typically uploads much slower than it downloads data, in
the range of kilobits per second, but Telesat will offer bandwidth of up to
2 megabits per second for uploading with less expensive equipment required.
Costly equipment could be connected to a community network in a high density
area, or use an inexpensive antenna system right at individual homes or
organizations, says Paul Bush, vice president of Telesat. Satellite
Internet connections serve approximately 10 percent of the 16,500 schools in
Canada. "So, as a means of connecting Canada's schools, satellites are a
very important component," Bush said. "The next step is to provide a
high-speed links from the schools back to the network."
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Steven Bonisteel]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/165846.html)

COPYRIGHT

HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE QUESTIONS NEED FOR COMPULSORY LICENSE
Issue: Copyright
Seeking to impress lawmakers with their newfound friendship and a brand new
technology, digital music providers and record companies asked a House
subcommittee to consider a compulsory licensing regime, under which the
government would set royalty rates to be paid to either the copyright holder
or deposited into a government account and redistributed to the various
copyright owners. Music publishers and at least one notable artist, however,
chafed at the prospect. Singer/songwriter Lyle Lovett - said he and the
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) believe
compulsory licenses would unfairly take away the copyright owner' right to
negotiate licenses on their own terms.
[SOURCE: NewsBytes, AUTHOR: Brian Krebs]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/165848.html)

MUSIC EXECS FIND NEW TARGET
Issue: Copyright
Yesterday, the Digital Music Industry told the House Internet and
Intellectual Property Subcommittee of the Judiciary Committee that national
copyright laws needed to be overhauled in order for an online music industry
to grow and prosper. Songwriters and music publishers who are paid through
royalty payments criticized the statement. "Music publishing issues stand
out as the most significant potential impediment to launching great
subscription services," said RealNetworks Inc. CEO Rob Glaser, who
demonstrated the distribution service MusicNet in the wake of royalty-free
Napster's demise. MP3.com's president Robin Richards is required by law to
get permission from thousands of musicians before archiving their music on
its Web site, and as an alternative, is asking Congress to legislate a flat
pay-per-song royalty rate.
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.wired.com/news/mp3/0,1285,43898,00.html)

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Communications-related Headlines for 5/17/01

EDTECH
Bill Takes On Ads At School (Wired)
Teens With Start-Ups In Their Eyes (WP)

OWNERSHIP
FCC Changes Dual Network Rule (FCC)

INTERNET
He-Mails, She-Mails: Where Sender Meets Gender (NYT)
Congress Getting a Preview of Online Music Service (NYT)
US Share Of World's Net Users Drops - Survey (Newsbytes)

MOVIES
Studios Discuss Plan To Spur The Spread Of Digital Cinema (WSJ)

EDTECH

BILL TAKES ON ADS AT SCHOOL
Issue: Privacy
An amendment proposed by Senators Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Chris Dodd
(D-CT) to the omnibus education bill now before the Senate would require
schools to get parental consent before marketers can collect information on
children at school. The amendment surpasses the Children's Online Privacy
and Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998 in that it would regulate collecting both
personal and aggregate data such as surfing habits, rather than just
personal data such as names and addresses under current law. It also
applies to children up to 17 years old instead of COPPA's limit at age 13.
Critics like Bruce Hunter, lobbyist for the American Association of School
Administrators (AASA) support the current law as sufficient to protect kids'
privacy and say the amendment would just add to paperwork for teachers, and
could prevent kids from researching on the Web. Many nonprofits, however,
are joining the fight against the commercialization of schools. "This is a
no-brainer," said Jim Metrock, president of the nonprofit Obligation. "When
a child is forced to give up valuable and private information, parents need
to know about it," he said. "Children ought to be offered an alternative to
giving information in order to use the facilities of the schools."
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Benner]
(http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,43847,00.html)

TEENS WITH START-UPS IN THEIR EYES
Issue: EdTech
The next generation of techies is carrying on the digital culture in
Washington, D.C. Kidz Online, a nonprofit organization that matches up
teenage techies with other less experienced peers to share their tech
knowledge. Kidz Online was founded by the Cruver family with their 11-year
old son Wes now the organization's Webmaster. As part of its strategy
supported by a grant from public TV station WNVT to broadcast some of its
educational content on TV and online, Kidz Online recently moved to an
eclectic new space in Herndon, VA, where teens make multimedia productions
in its high-tech studio. WNVT will begin using digital broadcasting
technology in about a year on a new interactive channel. In spite of the
economic downturn in the tech sector, Wes Carver says, "It's pretty obvious
that [technology] is not going to go away. It is in a little recession
technology-wise, but it's definitely going to go up again."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Cynthia L. Webb]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37167-2001May16.html)

OWNERSHIP

FCC CHANGES DUAL NETWORK RULE
Issue: Ownership
Today, the FCC amended the "dual network" rule to permit one of the four
major television networks - ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC - to own, operate,
maintain or control the UPN and/or the WB television network.
In a Report and Order (R&O) adopted today, the FCC eliminated that part of
the dual network rule that prohibits mergers between a major network and
emerging networks UPN and WB. FCC argues that the economics of the broadcast
television network industry have changed to the point that retention of the
rule in its current form is no longer in the public interest.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/News_Releases/2001/nrmm0105.html)

INTERNET

US SHARE OF WORLD'S NET USERS DROPS - SURVEY
Issue: Digital Divide
According to an annual survey by the research firm Ipsos-Reid called "The
Face of the Web," the US share of global use of the Web fell from 40 percent
to 36 percent over the last year. The study found that the Internet is
entering a "post-revolutionary" phase where the US hyper-growth rate seems
to be leveling off and other industrialized nations show solid annual gains
in the use of the Web. Americans continue to use the Web more than other
nations, but Western Europe, Australia, Canada, South Africa and the United
Kingdom present a competitive bloc in the market, and Sweden and Canada
surpass the US in sheer numbers of Internet users. In other areas of the
world like China, India and Russia, however, one-quarter to one-third of
urban dwellers have yet to hear of the Internet. "While the Web still
affords a window on the larger world," says Gus Schattenberg, an author of
the report, "users are increasingly able to find what they need in their own
language on local sites." The number of Web users around the world grew 13
percent annually, and now reaches 350 million, and the number of women using
the 'Net is up to 44 percent from 41 percent in 1999. The study found that
South Korea and Singapore respectively have 45 and 46 percent usage rates,
and rival major European markets such as Germany at 37 percent, Belgium at
36 percent, and the UK at 35 percent.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes.com, AUTHOR: Martin Stone]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/netarch/9772-1.html)

HE-MAILS, SHE-MAILS: WHERE SENDER MEETS GENDER
Issue: Internet
As communication researchers are beginning to study the e-mail behavior of
men and women, they are finding real differences. In general, they say, the
differences seem to reflect the different ways women and women talk.
According to researchers, men, in both speech and text, incline toward a
briefer, more utilitarian style, while women are chattier and more open both
online and off. Researchers have also detected another, more surprising
trend -- that e-mail has a disinhibiting effect, enabling some men to convey
thoughts and feelings that they would find nearly impossible to say aloud.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Joyce Cohen]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/17/technology/17TALK.html)
(requires registration)

CONGRESS GETTING A PREVIEW OF ONLINE MUSIC SERVICE
Issue: Internet
Music fans are expected to get their first glimpse of a major, and legal,
online music subscription service today, as Congress convenes its third set
of hearings in less than a year on the future of digital music. Rob Glaser,
the acting chief executive of MusicNet, a joint venture of RealNetworks,
and AOL Time Warner, Bertelsmann and the EMI Group -- plans to demonstrate
MusicNet, which is scheduled to be offered to consumers in the late summer.
Although the pricing and packaging arrangements are still in flux, Mr.
Glaser said a typical $10
monthly subscription might include the ability to download or listen to 75
songs. "There's always a trade-off between ease of use for the consumer
standpoint and the needs of the rights holders," Mr. Glaser said. "We think
we've struck a good balance."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Amy Harmon]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/17/technology/17MUSI.html)
(requires registration)

MOVIES

STUDIOS DISCUSS PLAN TO SPUR THE SPREAD OF DIGITAL CINEMA
Issue: Movies
Four major film studios, and maybe more, are considering founding a
nonprofit organization that would help bring digital technology to the film
industry. A nonprofit organization, in the view of the studios, would
provide the means to settle long-standing differences over who in the
cash-strapped industry would pay for digital movie systems and equipment,
and would set quality standards for consistent color and picture resolution.
Walt Disney Co. is heading up the effort, with Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures
Entertainment, AOL Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. and Viacom Inc.'s
Paramount Pictures. Theater owners are fearful that new high-tech
distribution of digital technology would allow one company to monopolize as
gatekeeper over the technology, have too much control over their operations,
and might threaten security of the films themselves by beaming them over
cable or by satellite. Those studios participating in the deal would bear
the cost of the new digital equipment by contributing to a money pool in
return for stakes in the profits. Skeptics such as Michael Bennet, vice
president of Anschutz Investment Co., says the firm has no "master plan"
related to digital cinema and adds, "Like other exhibitors, we still need to
be convinced that digital projection is not simply a technological solution
in search of a problem, but that it in fact can enhance the cash flow of the
theaters."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHORS: Anna Wilde Mathews And Bruce Orwall]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB990045232145661795.htm)

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