MERGERS
Three Proposed Telecommunications Mergers Draw Challenges
at an FCC Hearing (NYT)
Hughes to Buy Satellite TV Competitor (NYT)
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Advertising: Internet Is Credit Card Industry's
New Best Friend (NYT)
TIIAP
Speech: Networks for People (NTIA)
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Record Companies Form a Coalition to Combat Music Privacy Via
the Web (WSJ)
ANTITRUST
Witness Says Browser Can Be Safely Deleted (WP)
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MERGERS
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THREE PROPOSED TELECOMMUNICATIONS MERGERS DRAW CHALLENGES AT AN F.C.C. HEARING
Issue: Mergers
Yesterday, the FCC heard testimony challenging three of the largest
telecommunications mergers ever proposed. Consumer advocates and rival
companies both raised questions about the public interest ramifications of
the Ameritech-SBC, Bell Atlantic-GTE, and AT&T-TCI deals. These proposed
mergers come as the latest wave in a growing trend of consolidations
triggered by the deregulation of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. While the
Act was intended to promote competition, several witnesses to the FCC warned
that it could have just the opposite effect. "Think about what happens if
the commission does nothing with these mergers," said Gene Kimmelman, the
co-director of the Washington office of Consumers Union. "This could be the
final nail in the coffin to competition in the local market." It is unlikely
that any of the deals will be blocked altogether, but it is possible that the
FCC will impose conditions on their approval.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C8), AUTHOR: Stephen Labaton]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/12/biztech/articles/15bell.html
HUGHES TO BUY SATELLITE TV COMPETITOR
Issue: Satellite
And then there were three. Hughes Electronics Corporation will pay $1.3
billion in cash and stock for the United States Satellite Broadcasting
Company. The move comes in response to Echostar Communications purchase of
satellite assets from News Corp and MCI WorldCom. Hughes' DirectTV has 4.3
million subscribers and Echostar has 1.8 million. Both picked up 100,000 new
subscribers in November. The third provider is Primestar, a partnership of
several cable television companies, with 2.3 million subscribers; Primestar
added grew at half the rate of the other companies in November. "It's
starting to look like a two-horse race between DirecTV and Echostar," said
Tom Watts, an analyst with Merrill Lynch, who said Primestar was less
competitive because it required a larger antenna.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C12), AUTHOR: Andrew Pollack]
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/hughes-satellite.html
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ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
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ADVERTISING: INTERNET IS CREDIT CARD INDUSTRY'S NEW BEST FRIEND
Issue: Electronic Commerce/Advertising
It is the best thing since plastic. That's how the credit card industry is
approaching the Internet and electronic commerce. "I've been running around
the office rallying the troops, saying 'We've been waiting 40 years for an
opportunity like this,' " said Joseph Vause, vice president of electronic
commerce for Visa USA. This is why you are seeing more joint credit
card/ecommerce website ads on TV. These sites generally pay credit card
companies 2.5% of revenue to handle transaction. With estimates for business
and consumer Internet sales of roughly $40 billion this year, credit card
companies can expect to bring in hundreds of millions. Visa estimates that
1% of its total charge activity will come from the Internet this year -- the
company also estimates that this number will grow to 11% by 2003. Consumers
currently make 80% of their purchases with cash.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C12), AUTHOR: Bob Tedeschi]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/12/cyber/commerce/15commerce.html
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TIIAP
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SPEECH: NETWORKS FOR PEOPLE
Issue: TIIAP
Remarks of NTIA's Larry Irving at the Networks for People Conference: "As
many of you may already know, the first TIIAP grants were awarded in 1994.
TIIAP is part of the vision of President
Clinton and Vice President Gore to ensure that all Americans were part of
the burgeoning Information Society. During these past four years, TIIAP has
been committed to supporting innovative and exemplary projects that help
bring new technologies to underserved areas. These projects serve as models
for using information infrastructure and information technology in the
public and nonprofit sectors....TIIAP is growing and moving, too. And, most
importantly, this movement is community-driven, not Washington-driven.
TIIAP's goal has always been to go beyond simply giving access to basic
information or connecting people to public institutions. TIIAP projects are
designed to weave an intricate web that will result in stronger communities,
better services, and greater opportunity for people across this great
country and beyond."
[SOURCE: NTIA]
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/speeches/tiiap120898.htm
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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
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RECORD COMPANIES FORM A COALITION TO COMBAT MUSIC PRIVACY VIA THE WEB
Issue: Intellectual Property
The recording industry has plans to announce the formation of a new
coalition to help prevent musical piracy on the Web. The introduction of MP3
technology, which allows people to send music via the Internet, has resulted
in a outbreak of digital piracy. Representatives from the world's largest
record companies will work together in trying to curtail the problem. The
industry coalition plans to develop a technological standard that allows
them to take advantage of the Web, while protecting their products.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B12), AUTHOR: Eben Shapiro]
http://www.wsj.com/
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ANTITRUST
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WITNESS SAYS BROWSER CAN BE SAFELY DELETED
Issue: Antitrust
A computer expert from Princeton University testified at the Microsoft
Antitrust trial that the company's Internet browser can be deleted without
harming the Windows operating system. Microsoft has contended that the
operating system will not function properly without the integration of their
Internet Explorer. The Government is trying to prove that Microsoft had
anti-competitive goals in packaging the browser and operating systems together.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (D8), AUTHOR: Rajiv Chandrasekaran]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-12/15/060l-121598-idx.html
See also:
MICROSOFT ACCUSED OF SABOTAGING WITNESS'S COMPUTER PROGRAM
[SOURCE: New York Times (C6), AUTHOR: Joel Brinkley]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/12/biztech/articles/15soft.html
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