Holiday Surfing
NYT: A Real Turkey of a Web Site
EdTech
TelecomAM: New Hampshire Launches Statewide School/Library
Internet Access Initiative
WP: Virginia Buys Calculators For Students
FCC
WP: Static Over Decision in Airwaves Dispute
WSJ: FCC Agrees to Open U.S. to Competition By Telecom Firms
Internet
WSJ: Ericsson Plans Technology To Speed Internet Access
TelecomAM: Online Subscribers Increase 5.6% In Third Quarter
Corporate Retrenchment
NYT: AT&T Unit Is Said to Be Up for Sale
** Holiday Surfing **
Title: A Real Turkey of a Web Site
Source: New York Times/CyberTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/112397turkey.html
Author: Anthony Ramirez
Issue: Thanksgiving Hype
Description: The online staff for Kaplan Education Centers usually spends
their time developing Web pages for high school students taking Kaplan prep
courses for the SAT. But when holidays are near, the staff takes a 'study
break' to work on more light-hearted subjects. For the third year in a row,
this wacky group has surfed the Internet "free-associating about turkeys,
family and postprandial bloat" to create "Turkey on the Web." You can find
the site that "Hunter S. Thompson and the Adams family might love" at
http://www.kaplan.com/holiday/turkey.html. Other Thanksgiving sites can
be found at the end of the CyberTimes article.
** Educational Technology **
Title: New Hampshire Launches Statewide School/Library Internet Access
Initiative
Source: Telecom AM
http://capitol.cappubs.com/am/
Issue: Ed Tech
Description: The New Hampshire Governor's office, the state Dept of
Education, Bell Atlantic New England, and Cabletron have announced a $5
million initiative to connect K-12 schools and libraries to the Internet.
Bell Atlantic committed $3 million to offer each school and library a new
business telephone line or a high-capacity 56k frame relay circuit at no
charge for two years starting March 1, 1998. Cabletron will provide $2
million in networking equipment and developing technology plans. The
University of New Hampshire (home of the WildCats) will work with all
parties and will provide supplemental wide area network management and
Internet access.
Title: Virginia Buys Calculators For Students
Source: Washington Post (A1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-11/26/046l-112697-idx.html
Author: Victoria Benning
Issue: EdTech
Description: Virginia officials have purchased 200,000 graphing calculators
-- one for every 9th- and 10th-grader and 40% of the 8th-graders in the
state. The $20 million expenditure cam out of a fund earmarked to help
students meet Virginia's new curriculum standards. The calculators can
perform some of the same functions as computers and are used in algebra and
other upper-level math classes.
** FCC **
Title: Static Over Decision in Airwaves Dispute
Source: Washington Post (C11)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-11/26/055l-112697-idx.html
Author: Mike Mills
Issue: Spectrum
Description: In March 1997, the Federal Communications Commission resolved a
spectrum dispute between Teledesic -- backed by billionaires Bill Gates and
Craig McCaw -- and Associated Communications (now Teligent) -- backed by the
Singh and Berkman families and run by former AT&T president Alex Mandl.
Claiming national security reasons, the FCC reassigned spectrum allocated to
Associated, giving it to Teledesic and giving Associated four times the
spectrum for the inconvenience of moving. The FCC claimed that Associated's
licenses would interfere with Department of Defense satellites. Teledesic
and Associated appear to be competitors in delivering wireless high-speed
data and telephony services. BellSouth, DirecTV and other competitors want
to see a review of the case.
Title: FCC Agrees to Open U.S. to Competition By Telecom Firms
Source: Wall Street Journal (B8)
http://wsj.com/
Issue: International
Description: The FCC, hoping to bolster prospects for U.S. companies
abroad, agreed to make it easier for overseas telephone carriers and
satellite operators to compete in the U.S. The move brings the U.S. into
compliance with a landmark World Trade Organization accord that seeks to
open telecom markets around the globe. The U.S. was the first to implement
the pact. FCC Commissioner Susan Ness said, "The significance of this
agreement is staggering." The 69 countries that signed the pact represent
more than 90% of world telecom revenue, she said. The FCC's action scrapped
rules that barred foreign telecom companies from competing in the U.S.
unless their home country offered U.S.-based carriers similar competitive
opportunities.
** Internet **
Title: Ericsson Plans Technology To Speed Internet Access
Source: Wall Street Journal (B8)
http://wsj.com/
Issue: Internet
Description: Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson said it has found a way to provide
simultaneous telephone service and Internet access over the same regular
phone line. The new technology will quadruple the average speed for home
Internet access. It will also give telecom companies a leg up in the fight
for Internet customers, allowing them to offer attractive new packages of
services and helping them relieve their overcrowded phone lines. The
technology even eliminates the need to subscribe to an Internet provider;
rather than dialing up a connection, users would be able to "switch" their
'Net connection on and off. The Swedish telecom group plans for commercial
roll out in the first quarter of 1998.
Title: Online Subscribers Increase 5.6% In Third Quarter
Source: Telecom A.M.---Nov. 25, 1997
http://capitol( at )cappubs.com/
Issue: Online Services/Internet Demographics
Description: Online subscribers increased 5.6% to 25.3 million for the
third quarter ended Sept. 30 from the second quarter, according to a survey
by Electronic Information Reports. The report said consumer subscribers
were up to 5.5% to 20.2 million, led by AOL's 9.3% increase to 9.4 million.
** Corporate Retrenchment **
Title: AT&T Unit Is Said to Be Up for Sale
Source: New York Times (D1, D7)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/att-refocus.html
Author: Seth Schiesel
Issue: Corporate Retrenchment
Description: AT&T executives announced yesterday plans to sell off its
paging unit. This move is part of a continued effort to shed low-growth
operations that are not vital to AT&T's central telecommunications business.
AT&T hopes to get around $450 million for the unit.
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Reminder: Friday is Buy Nothing Day see http://www.adbusters.org/main2.html.
We'll be back on Monday, December 1.