MERGERS
AOL-AT&T Cable Talks Said to Be Advancing (NYT)
INTERNET
Senate Passes Two-Year Internet Tax Ban (WP)
FCC
Senate Aide Adelstein Nominated For FCC Post (WP)
FCC Acts To Expedite DTV Transition (FCC)
SECURITY
Cyber Security: Private-Sector Efforts Addressing Cyber Threats
(House)
MERGERS
AOL-AT&T CABLE TALKS SAID TO BE ADVANCING
Issue: Cable
AOL Time Warner tentative discussions about acquiring the cable television
business of AT&T have edged forward, with AOL Time Warner signing a
confidentiality agreement that could allow the talks to move to a new stage,
people close to the negotiations said. This is a necessary precursor if AOL
Time Warner is to make a firm bid for AT&T's cable operation, the nation's
biggest, with about 14.4 million subscribers. AOL Time Warner is the No. 2
cable company, with about 12.7 million customers. AT&T has set a Nov. 30
deadline for outside companies to bid on its cable division. Other
interested companies include Comcast, the No. 3 cable operator, with about
8.4 million subscribers. Comcast has already signed a confidentiality deal
with AT&T as it, too, vies to acquire the unit.
[SOURCE: New York Times (), AUTHOR: Seth Schiesel And Andrew Ross Sorkin]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/16/business/media/16CABL.html)
(requires registration)
INTERNET
SENATE PASSES TWO-YEAR INTERNET TAX BAN
Issue: Internet
The U.S. Senate late Thursday approved a two-year extension of the
moratorium on new Internet-specific taxes, and rejected an amendment that
could have led to the state taxation of sales over the Internet. The
language of the legislation approved Thursday was taken directly from a
House-passed extension, and adds two years to the ban on new and
discriminatory Internet taxes that expired on Oct. 21. In 1998, Congress
voted to place a three-year ban on any new state taxes that specifically
target the Internet, such as Internet access charges. At the time, Congress
decided not to address the issue of Internet sales tax out of concern that
imposing a patchwork of several thousand state and local tax jurisdictions
on Internet merchants would stifle the nascent medium. The bill will now be
sent to the White House for the president's signature. The Bush
administration has signaled that the president would sign the measure into
law if passed.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Krebs (Newsbytes.com)]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/13723-1.html)
FCC
SENATE AIDE ADELSTEIN NOMINATED FOR FCC POST
Issue: FCC
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., has nominated his aide Jonathan
Adelstein to fill the vacant Democratic commissioner's seat on the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC). Adelstein, who has been with Daschle since
1995, joins Robert Rowe, a member of the Montana Public Service Commission,
on short-list of nominees to replace ex-FCC Commissioner Gloria Tristani.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Newsbytes.com]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/telecom/13730-1.html)
FCC ACTS TO EXPEDITE DTV TRANSITION AND CLARIFY DTV BUILD-OUT RULES
Issue: DTV
The FCC today modified a number of its Digital Television (DTV) transition
rules in order to enable more broadcasters to get on the air with a digital
signal and to help speed the DTV transition. The changes the Commission
adopted today will permit stations to elect a more graduated approach to
providing DTV service. Broadcasters would be permitted initially to build
lower-powered, and therefore less expensive, DTV facilities, and retain the
right to expand their coverage area as the digital transition continues to
progress.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/News_Releases/2001/nrmm0114.html)
SECURITY
CYBER SECURITY: PRIVATE-SECTOR EFFORTS ADDRESSING CYBER THREATS
Issue: Security
Yesterday, the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection held
a hearing on cyber security. An audio archive of this hearing is available.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://energycommerce.house.gov/107/hearings/11152001Hearing420/hearing.htm
)
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