INTERNET
Time Warner Makes Access Deal With Earthlink (NYT)
British Telecom Will Back Web Programs (WSJ)
Study by FBI is Confident in 'Carnivore' (WSJ)
Yahoo! Ordered to Bar the French from Nazi Items (WSJ)
Gemstar, Barnes & Noble Talk E-Books (WSJ)
COMPETITION
For Local Phone Users, Choice Isn't an Option (NYT)
WIRELESS
Spectrum for News Wireless Services (FCC)
JOURNALISM
All Channels Tuned to Courtroom Drama in Florida (NYT)
INTERNET
TIME WARNER MAKES ACCESS DEAL WITH EARTHLINK
Issue: Cable/Open Access
To win regulatory approval for its proposed merger with America Online,
Time Warner agreed to allow Earthlink, the country's #2 Internet service
provider, to offer high-speed Internet access over Time Warner cable
television systems. "Time Warner in good faith has come forward with an
arrangement that we think can be a model for others," said Earthlink's CEO
Garry Betty. "We have no objections to their deal going forward." Preston
Padden, an executive vice president at Disney, a major opponent to the
deal, said the agreement "looks like a giant step in the right direction."
Disney was pleased that the deal allowed Earthlink to offer certain forms
of interactive television. Disney has long feared that AOL Time Warner
could block it from offering interactive services linked to its ABC and
ESPN television networks. AOL and Time Warner had hoped to complete their
merger, announced January 10, this fall. Because the merger review has
taken longer than they expected, they have now targeted early 2001.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Saul Hansell]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/21/technology/21TIME.html)
(requires registration)
See Also
TIME WARNER, EARTHLINK REACH DEAL
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E01), AUTHOR: Alec Klein]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46686-2000Nov20.html)
TIME WARNER, EARTHLINK CUT NET DEAL
[SOURCE: USAToday (1B), AUTHOR: Paul Davidson and David Lieberman]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20001121/2854899s.htm)
BRITISH TELECOM WILL BACK WEB PROGRAMS
Issue: Content
British Telecom plans to work with entertainment firms to develop original
programming for its high-speed Internet service. The enterprise of both
creating and owning entertainment content is an unusual enterprise for a
telecommunications company. The initiative will be carried out by
BTopenworld, the company's Internet service provider unit. John Raczka,
senior vice president for content at BTopenworld, said it doesn't yet know
how much it will invest as it works with production companies or movie
studios to develop the programs. "Ultimately, technology becomes a commodity
as the industry matures," Mr. Raczka said. "So content will be one of the
biggest points of differentiation between broadband providers." The
offerings would include reality programming, game-show style episodes or
comedy, he said.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: Anna Wilde Matthews]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB974759618999820127.htm)
Subscription Required
STUDY BY FBI IS CONFIDENT IN 'CARNIVORE'
Issue: Privacy
A draft review of "Carnivore," the FBI's email sniffing and Internet
surveillance system, expresses confidence overall in the government's
continued use of the eavesdropping software, but recommended these changes:
1) Change the software's interface so that the more important choices
require confirmation 2) Concerns about the invasion of privacy should also
be directed at commercial "sniffer" software 3) More auditing functions to
detect tampering. 4) Make default settings collect less information 5) FBI
should allow outside review of future versions of Carnivore.
"We found that the system does not overcollect, and that it basically does
what it's represented to do," says Henry Perritt Jr., head of the review
panel and dean of the Chicago-Kent College of Law. "Some of the larger
concerns were way, way overblown." The institute turned over its draft last
week to the Justice Department for editing, as required under its $172,559
federal contract.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A4), AUTHOR: Ted Bridis]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB97476300551344446.htm)
Subscription Required
YAHOO! ORDERED TO BAR THE FRENCH FROM NAZI ITEMS
Issue: Media & Society
A ruling by French Judge Jean-Jacques Gomez means that Yahoo! must block
French users from accessing Nazi memorabilia on its U.S.-based Web site and
establishes a precedent that Web companies operating on the global Internet
can be required to tailor their practices to the laws of individual
countries. "This French court ruling has disastrous implications for free
expression around the world," said Alan Davidson, staff counsel for the
Center for Democracy and Technology. Web companies ranging from portals to
electronic retailers might have to curtail their activities to comply with
the statutes of nations like France. The ruling could also embolden other
countries to hold independent Web site publishers or large corporations
outside their borders responsible for contents that are illegal under their
nations' laws.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: Mangalinden & Delaney]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB974734994696716115.htm)
(Subscription Required)
See Also:
YAHOO DISPUTES FRENCH JUDGE'S RULING
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Sam Diaz]
(http://www0.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/front/docs/yahoo112100.htm)
GEMSTAR, BARNES & NOBLE TALK E-BOOKS
Issue: e-Publishing
Gemstar-TV Guide International, which has become a leading promoter of
electronic-books, is engaged in preliminary talks with bookseller Barnes &
Noble about combining their businesses. The talks signal the growing
importance of e-book technologies to the structure of the publishing
industry. Barnes & Noble may be particularly interested in a partnership
with Gemstar because of the threat posed a by e-publishers selling directly
to consumers through nonbook-selling Web sites such as fan clubs. There is a
good chance, however, that the two companies will not reach a deal.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B8), AUTHOR: Rose & Deogun]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB974765974210883310.htm)
(Subscription Required)
COMPETITION
FOR LOCAL PHONE USERS, CHOICE ISN'T AN OPTION
Issue: Competition
Four years after the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was supposed to usher
in a new era of consumer choice, only about 3 percent of household and
small-business telephone lines are served by a competitor to the
longstanding local phone company. Analysts think just 1 in 10 households
even has a real choice. AT&T's plan to break itself up has many experts
worried that the company is pulling back from an aggressive national effort
to provide a bundle of services (local, long distance, cable, Internet,
wireless) to consumers. "Certainly less than 10 percent of consumers have
any meaningful choice of local service," said Gene Kimmelman at the
Washington office of Consumers Union. "There were lots of overblown
promises from telecommunications executives that they would provide
competition, and it's not happening." In the wake of the 1996 Act, local
phone giants consolidated prompting new competitors to focus on business
customers instead of residential consumers. Recently, revenues in the long
distance market have dried up which could mean that Bell companies'
enthusiasm for entering that field -- and opening their local markets to
competition to do it -- is reduced.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Seth Schiesel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/21/business/21PHON.html)
(requires registration)
WIRELESS
SPECTRUM FOR NEW WIRELESS SERVICES
Issue: Wireless
From Press Release: The Federal Communications Commission adopted a Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking (Notice) that proposes to reallocate 27 megahertz of
spectrum transferred from Federal Government use for non-Government
services. The Notice proposes reallocation of a number of small spectrum
blocks transferred pursuant to the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of
1993 and the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. These actions and proposals will
benefit consumers by permitting and encouraging the introduction of new
wireless technologies.
This proceeding continues the implementation of the FCC's recent Spectrum
Policy Statement, which, among other things, identified a preliminary
allocation plan for this spectrum, and articulated a number of goals for
efficient spectrum management. The Commission has received several
suggestions for use of this spectrum including: (1) pairing some of the
bands and assigning licenses to band managers through competitive bidding,
while proposing traditional site-licensed approaches in other bands for use
by industrial and public safety operations; (2) using of a portion of this
spectrum for satellite feeder links; (3) using a portion of this spectrum
for utility telemetry to support automated meter reading; and (4) requests
have also been made for using a portion of this spectrum for personal
location services. This Notice examines these recommendations and
identifies several other options for making use of these bands to provide
valuable services to the public.
Staff Contact: Tom Mooring at (202) 418-2450, e-mail: tmooring( at )fcc.gov
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/News_Releases/2000/nret00
13.html)
JOURNALISM
ALL CHANNELS TUNED TO COURTROOM DRAMA IN FLORIDA
Issue: Journalism
Eight major networks, from the three broadcast giants, ABC, NBC and CBS, to
the news- oriented niche channels on cable like C-Span and Court TV, went
live to Tallahassee at 2 p.m. yesterday and stayed with the proceedings
from the Florida Supreme Court for the full two and a half hours. Not since
the impeachment hearings and trial had there been such full-court coverage
of a political event. For a recap of the spectacle and how it was covered,
see the URL below.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A15), AUTHOR: Peter Marks]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/21/politics/21MEDI.html)
(requires registration)
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