DIGITAL DIVIDE
FCC: Rural Alaskan Residents Can Hook Into Internet Through Schools
(Eschool)
COPYRIGHT
A Call to End Copyright Confusion (WIRED)
OWNERSHIP
Group Urges Public to Protest Further Cable Industry Concentration
(CDD)
ANTITRUST
States Line Up Witnesses Against Microsoft (WP)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
FCC: RURAL ALASKAN RESIDENTS CAN HOOK INTO INTERNET THROUGH SCHOOLS
Issue: Digital Divide
A new ruling by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opens the
possibility for residents in remote rural areas to connect to the Internet
after hours from their local school or library. In a unanimous ruling
released Dec. 3, the FCC approved a petition from the state of Alaska to let
its residents use excess capacity from a school's or library's eRate-funded
internet connection-but only when the school or library is not in session,
and only if this extra use doesn't result in an extra fee. "Allowing
Alaskans in remote communities without toll-free dial-up service to
piggy-back on the Internet access that is already available in schools is a
win-win situation for all of us in terms of distance learning, economic
development, and communication between Alaska's many regions," said Lt. Gov.
Fran Ulmer. Norris Dickard, a senior associate at the Benton Foundation,
said he agrees wholeheartedly with the FCC's decision. "As is common in many
rural areas, the school is the center of the community," Dickard said.
"Residents of Alaska will be able to take advantage of the unused
telecommunications capacity that the eRate has made possible, without the
restriction that it be used solely for education."
[SOURCE: Center for Digital Democracy]
(http:/www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=3379)
COPYRIGHT
A CALL TO END COPYRIGHT CONFUSION
Issue: Copyright
Jack Valenti predicts that Congress will require copy-protection controls in
nearly all consumer electronic devices and PCs. The President of the Motion
Picture Association of America warned technology firms to move quickly to
choose standards for wrapping digital content in uncopyable layers of
encryption or the federal government will do it for them. Valenti's remarks
came during a one-day workshop titled "Understanding Broadband Demand:
Digital Content and Rights Management," organized by the U.S. Commerce
Department. Congress is currently considering legislation to embed digital
rights management in any "interactive digital device," from personal
computers to wristwatches. Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-South Carolina) has
circulated drafts of his bill, the Security Systems Standards and
Certification Act (SSSCA), which is on hold until Congress is done with
spending measures and work related to Sept. 11. Academics and free-speech
groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation are very critical of the
SSSCA.
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Declan McCullagh and Ben Polen]
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,49201,00.html)
OWNERSHIP
GROUP URGES PUBLIC TO PROTEST FURTHER CABLE INDUSTRY CONCENTRATION
Issue: Ownership
The Center for Digital Democracy urged the American public to oppose
proposals by the FCC and the cable industry that would eventually allow two
companies to own all of the nation's cable TV systems. With a January 4,
2002 FCC deadline looming, citizens still have time to file Comments in this
critical proceeding, said Jeff Chester, executive director of CDD.
[SOURCE: Center for Digital Democracy]
(http://www.democraticmedia.org/getinvolved/index.html)
ANTITRUST
STATES LINE UP WITNESSES AGAINST MICROSOFT
Issue: Antitrust
Local Baby Bell giant SBC Communications will be among companies joining
tech heavyweights Sun Microsystems, Red Hat and Novell and others in
testifying on behalf of nine states and the District of Columbia, all of
which have opted out of the proposed Microsoft settlement. The states, which
have declined to participate in a proposed settlement of antitrust charges
against Microsoft, want Microsoft to disclose the source code for its
Internet Explorer Web browser, and sell stripped-down versions of its
Windows operating system that would allow computer manufacturers to
substitute rival browsers, media players and other software applications.
The Justice Department and several other states reached a settlement that
the states and many observers feel is inadequate.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Krebs and Robert MacMillan
(Newsbytes.com)]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/14226-1.html)
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