BROADBAND
Tight Bandwidth Snarls Web Traffic in Middle East (NYT)=20
"Removing Roadblocks To Broadband Deployment" (NTIA)=20
AT&T Finds Cable TV Bids Unacceptable (NYT)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Reflections of a Peru Web Pioneer (WIRED)=20
Microsoft to Amend Schools Settlement Plan (CNET)
JOURNALISM=20
Pentagon Says It Will Remove Some Obstacles to Covering War (NYT)
BROADBAND
TIGHT BANDWIDTH SNARLS WEB TRAFFIC IN MIDDLE EAST
Issue: Broadband=20
In addition government censorship, access to electronic information in =
the
Arab Middle East is also restricted by severe network bottlenecks. The
Middle East, in fact, may be the only region in the world with a =
bandwidth
shortage. The rapid expansion of fiber optic systems in the late 1990's
resulted in a bandwidth glut in the United States and Europe, forcing =
some
carriers into bankruptcy. But the Arab countries of the Middle East,
including those in North Africa, with a few exceptions, are facing a
different problem, according to a report expected to be released today =
by
Pyramid Research. Part of the problem stems from the reluctance of most
countries in the Middle East to award multiple licenses to companies =
seeking
to operate international Internet gateways, since most prefer to =
maintain
domestic monopolies.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Simon Romero]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/10/technology/10GLUT.html)
(requires registration)
AT&T FINDS CABLE TV BIDS UNACCEPTABLE
Issue: Broadband=20
AT&T has reviewed the three competing bids for its cable television
business, the nation's largest, and found all of them inadequate. =
People
close to the deliberations said it is beginning to seem that AT&T is =
once
again leaning toward a spinoff of its cable business into an =
independent
company. Whatever happens next, there is a good chance that Microsoft =
may
end up with a bigger stake in AT&T's cable business. Microsoft is =
looking to
expand its presence in the cable business - it is already a minority
stakeholder in AT&T, Comcast and Cox - and has offered to contribute =
cash in
support of both the Comcast and Cox bids. And if AT&T decides instead =
to
proceed with a spinoff of the cable business, Microsoft has indicated =
that
it would be willing to pay AT&T billions of dollars directly to =
increase its
stake in the unit, according to people close to the negotiations.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Seth Schiesel And Andrew Ross Sorkin]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/10/technology/ebusiness/10ATT.html)
(requires registration)
"REMOVING ROADBLOCKS TO BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT"=20
Issue: Broadband=20
Nancy J. Victory, Assistant Secretary for Communications and =
Information,
U. S. Department of Commerce spoken on "Removing Roadblocks to =
Broadband
Deployment" before the Competition Policy Institute's Conference =
"Keeping
Telecom Competition on Track," December 6. Full Text of speech can be =
found
at URL below.=20
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/speeches/2001/cpi_120601.htm)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
REFLECTIONS OF A PERU WEB PIONEER
Issue: Digital Divide=20
Jos=E9 Soriano thinks anyone should be able to access the Internet, not =
only
those who can afford a computer. That is why he created the Peruvian
Scientific Net (RCP) in December 1991, just after the creation of the =
World
Wide Web, and gave Web access to half a million Peruvians. Soriano's =
idea
was to build public Internet booths (much like cybercafes), making Net
access cheap. Thousand of these booths, called cabinas p=FAblicas, were =
built
all over Per=FA. "We want to give people tools and knowledge about how =
to use
them, in a way it makes sense to them. That is the only way people will =
get
near technology, use it for their own good and be self-relying," said =
Jos=E9
Soriano recently in Buenos Aires, where he arrived for the opening of a
community center much like the ones he helped build. The model is also =
being
applied in El Salvador.
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Ricardo Sametband]
(http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,48634,00.html)
MICROSOFT TO AMEND SCHOOLS SETTLEMENT PLAN
Issue: EdTech/ Digital Divide
Last month, attorneys for Microsoft and plaintiffs cut a deal agreeing =
to
set up a private foundation to aid needy schools and donate an =
estimated $1
billion in money, software, services and training over five years. Now,
lawyers for both sides plan to announce changes intended to respond to =
some
of the most sharply criticized aspects of the deal: How much choice is
afforded the schools and how funds are to be used for training. Under =
the
refined terms, U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz would determine =
who
would be the members of the foundation's five-member board based on
nominations made by plaintiff attorneys, Microsoft and five educational
associations. Another change would give the foundation complete control =
over
the training component of the settlement, rather than Microsoft. But
training, at $90 million, is paltry, critics charge. "Usually, you can
figure spending about $3 in training for every dollar on software," =
said
Gartner analyst Michael Silver. Using that guideline, training should =
be at
least $1.5 billion, given the $500 million worth of software Microsoft =
plans
to donate. The donations would go to public elementary and secondary =
schools
at which 70 percent of students are eligible for federal meal =
assistance, or
approximately 14 percent of the nation's schools, according to =
Microsoft.=20
[SOURCE: CNet, AUTHOR: Joe Wilcox]
(http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-8122504.html?tag=3Dmn_hd)
See Also:
MICROSOFT'S SETTLEMENT EFFORTS FACE BATTLES IN CONGRESS, BRUSSELS, =
BALTIMORE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal , AUTHOR: John R. Wilke]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB1007754023511218760.htm)
(requires subscription)
JOURNALISM=20
PENTAGON SAYS IT WILL REMOVE SOME OBSTACLES TO COVERING WAR
Issue: Journalism
From the earliest days of the war, journalists have complained about a
severe information drought at the Pentagon. Defense officials would not =
let
reporters accompany troops in the initial overseas military deployment =
after
Sept. 11 and have since based pool reporters at a single United States
operating base in Afghanistan. Officials defended the stringent =
policies by
saying that the often covert nature of the war has made sharing too =
much
with news organizations a risky proposition for United States troops. =
But
news media complaints peaked on Wednesday when reporters stationed at a
front-line base of operations called Rhino were confined in a warehouse =
as
dead and wounded United States troops accidentally struck by an =
American
bomb were returned to the camp. Military officials later said that =
reporters
should have had some access, even if limited. The Pentagon has now said =
that
it would take several steps to assist the news media in Afghanistan,
including setting up public information offices in Bagram and =
Mazar-i-Sharif
and reiterating to commanders in Afghanistan that the stated press =
policy of
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was "maximum coverage, minimum =
hassle."
News executives said they appreciated the sentiment but did not know =
how
much things would change.=20
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jim Rutenberg]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/10/national/10APOL.html )
(requires registration)
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