INTERNET
Online Retailers Could Reap Large Sales Gains This Season (WSJ)
Satellites May Clear Logjams on Net (NYT)
High-speed Net Links Go Wireless With Cisco (USA)
Webcams Focus On Day Care (NYT)
New Version of InterNIC Website to be Launched December 1 (NTIA)
TELEPHONY
U S West Will No Longer Bill Enhanced Services for Firms (WSJ)
AT&T Rides Ad Blitz to N.Y. Local Turf (WP)
DISABILITIES
Building a Second Curb Cut (FCC)
POLICYMAKERS
Meet the Rohde (NTIA)
Technological Advisory Council to Hold Third Meting (FCC)
INTERNET
ONLINE RETAILERS COULD REAP LARGE SALES GAINS THIS SEASON
Issue: E-commerce
Christmas shoppers are expected to spend anywhere from $4 billion to $9
billion buying gifts on the Internet this season -- easily doubling last
year's results. But since last year, the number of online retailers' goods
has exploded. "I think we're going to find some losers" this holiday season,
said Seema Williams, an analyst at research firm Forrester Research.
Williams' believes that the numbers will be high but "it's not going to be
enough to support every single dot-com." She says the lesser known companies
will lose out. Cameron Meierhoefer, an analyst at PC Data, surveyed online
shoppers last week and discovered that "Consumers are faced with the tough
problem of choosing between a large selection of products that are
reasonably priced. The challenge is on the retailer side." Some people
believe that the holiday season is make or break for dot.com companies but
Williams said e-commerce spending will rise to $184 billion in 2004 -- so
there is time to establish an identity.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Christopher Grimes]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB944084139245783127.htm)
SATELLITES MAY CLEAR LOGJAMS ON NET
Issue: Satellites
A look at how satellites can be used to turn the Internet into a video
distribution system. Sending similar Internet files at once is called
multicasting. Doug Humphrey, president of SkyCache, based in Laurel (MD),
said, "A multicast is just a fake broadcast. It's not as good. The one thing
that satellites do better than anything is broadcast. It goes up once and
comes down on every square inch of the country." Companies like SkyCache,
IPPlanet and iBeam send video to local offices of Internet service providers
know as points of presence (POPs), relieving traffic strain on the fiber
backbones of the Internet. Sending 1,000 copies of a music video to viewers
over the fiber backbone would cost about $67, said Tom Gillis, vice
president for marketing at iBeam, but iBeam would be able to deliver the
copies for about one-third of that price using satellites. He also promises
that his system will insert customized advertisements into each stream,
producing even more revenue. "Satellite is the ultimate broadcast medium,"
Gillis said. "We can deliver to thousands if not millions of users at a
fixed cost."
[SOURCE: New York Times (D17), AUTHOR: Peter Wayner]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/12/circuits/articles/02next.html)
HIGH-SPEED NET LINKS GO WIRELESS WITH CISCO
Issue: Broadband/Wireless
On Wednesday, Cisco systems revealed more details about its plans for a
wireless broadband technology that could provide an alternative to DLS and
cable modems. The system, which requires a rooftop dish, a router and a
modem card will be available for consumers for about $500 in about a year.
Cisco claims that their product is a vast improvement over current wireless
technologies that require line-of-sight transmission, which can be easily
blocked by buildings or hills. While Cisco predicts that its wireless
technology will become the standard for the broadband wireless industry, it
faces strong competition from the wireless giants.
[SOURCE: USAToday (B1), AUTHOR: Deborah Solomon]
(http://www.usatoday.com)
WEBCAMS FOCUS ON DAY CARE
Issue: Children & Technology
Now, some parents have the ability to keep an eye on their children, even
when they are working and their kids are in daycare. More and more day
care centers are installing Webcams in their classrooms, allowing parents
to access video pictures of their kids with from their computers. Sharon
Lynn Kagan, a senior associate at the Yale Bush Center, a public policy
institute that studies child care issues, said: "I believe the movement
toward this kind of surveillance is indicative about parental concerns
about safety and quality of child care centers in America." While parents
may initially check in on the day care center to ensure that the providers
are doing their jobs, many parents report they have come to use the Webcam
systems to feel closer to their children when they can be physically with
them. "As a parent, you always have a longing to see your children," said
Lynn Hudak, who logs on to a service called ParentWatch to catch a glimpse
of her 3-year-old daughter at the Kiddie Academy.
[SOURCE: New York Times (), AUTHOR: Bonnie Rothman Morris]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/12/circuits/articles/02chil.html)
NEW VERSION OF INTERNIC WEBSITE TO BE LAUNCHED DECEMBER 1
Issue: Internet
A new version of the InterNIC website will be launched on December 1, at
www.internic.net. The new site will provide the public with information
regarding domain name registration and a directory of domain name registrars
accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN) that are currently taking registrations in the .com, .net and .org
domains.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/internicpr113099.htm)
TELEPHONY
U S WEST WILL NO LONGER BILL ENHANCED SERVICES FOR FIRMS
Issue: Cramming
Yesterday, US West announced new policies as the company said it will no
longer bill for enhanced services, such as the Internet, caller
identification and paging. The company said the measure is aimed at
preventing "cramming," a practice where customers are charged on their phone
bills for services or products they don't want. Internet service and other
companies have relied on the Baby Bells for billing services and described
the move as anticompetitive. Aaron Smith, U S West's director of information
and billing services, said, "It's not a competitive issue. It's a
customer-service issue." The Federal Communications Commission deregulated
billing services years ago and the Bells haven't been required to provide
billing services for other companies. But this is not a good move for
customers who generally prefer one monthly bill. Cramming has increased
because of consolidated bills. FCC Deputy Telecommunications Chief Robert
Atkinson stated at an FCC round table on the issue Tuesday, "If phone
companies aren't interested in billing for ancillary services, perhaps
another company will step forward and make a business out of it."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Kathy Chen]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB944089110306278160.htm)
AT&T RIDES AD BLITZ TO N.Y. LOCAL TURF
Issue: Competition/Advertising
This weekend AT&T will begin advertising for local phone service in New York
on radio and television. Since the Federal Communications Commission will
probably decide before Christmas whether or not Bell Atlantic can begin to
offer long distance services, the competition is getting into full gear. MCI
Worldcom claims about 200,000 local customers in NY and AT&T only has
50,000. AT&T and other companies still say the FCC should not approve Bell
Atlantic's request to offer long distance as they do not process customers
orders to change service quickly enough, customers sometimes have to wait
several days or weeks. Bell Atlantic said that AT&T beginning advertising
for local service in NY is a clear indication that there is local
competition there.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, (E3), AUTHOR: Peter S. Goodman]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/feed/a6156-1999dec2.htm)
See Also:
AT&T TAPS BACK INTO RESIDENTIAL PHONE MARKET
[SOURCE: USAToday (B1), AUTHOR: Deborah Solomon]
(http://www.usatoday.com)
DISABILITIES
BUILDING A SECOND CURB CUT
Issue: Disabilities
Chairman Kennard's Remarks for United Nations International Day of Disabled
Persons: Twenty, 30 years ago, some of you began talking a lot more about
disability rights. You began knocking on doors, writing articles, making
phone calls, doing the little things that put the movement on its tracks.
You took an issue once thought marginal by the public and placed it at the
fore of the national agenda. You altered attitudes and opened people's minds
to an issue unknown to many. You helped win passage of the Americans with
Disabilities Act and enshrine into law the notion of disability rights. You
achieved access to the nation's public institutions and private buildings
for 54 million Americans with disabilities. And you inspired passage of
Section 255 of the Telecommunications Act--the ADA for the Information Age.
What I like about Section 255 is that it recognizes the importance of
technology to this country's future. The law is based on the idea that in
the next century technology is becoming fundamental to everything we do. It
acknowledges that information technology accounts for nearly a quarter of
the economy and that technology is changing the way Americans work and shop
and interact with friends and family. And it says that all Americans must
have access to these critical work tools and products: access to the phone
network, the basic services that run over it, and to the equipment that
connects to it.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Kennard/spwek942.html)
POLICYMAKERS
MEET THE ROHDE
Issue: NTIA
Members of the Press are invited to meet with Gregory L. Rohde, Assistant
Secretary for Communications and Information and Administrator of NTIA.
Rohde's appointment to the Commerce Department post was confirmed by the
Senate on November 10. He was sworn in by Commerce Secretary William M.
Daley on November 22. The purpose of the meeting is to introduce Assistant
Secretary Rohde to the media and to discuss his role as Administrator of
NTIA. Thursday, December 2, 1999 at 11:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m. At the U.S.
Department of Commerce Room 4898 (Greg Rohde's Office)
Call (202) 482-7002 for more info.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/rohde113099.htm)
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVISORY COUNCIL TO HOLD THIRD MEETING
Issue: FCC
From the Public Notice: The FCC's Technological Advisory Council, a Federal
Advisory Committee comprised of a broad array of well-known technologists
and chaired by Dr. Robert Lucky, Corporate Vice President, Telcordia, will
hold its third meeting Monday, December 13, 1999 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00
p.m. in the Commission's meeting room at 445 12th St. S.W., Washington, D.C.
Members of the general public may attend the meeting. The Federal
Communications Commission will attempt to accommodate as many persons as
possible. However, admittance will be limited to the seating available.
There will be no public oral participation, but the public may submit
written comments before the meeting. For further information, contact Kent
Nilsson at 202-418-0845 voice, 202-418-2989 tty, 202-418-1918 fax,
knilsson( at )fcc.gov. RealAudio access to the meeting and other information
about the Technological Advisory Council may be obtained through the
Commission's TAC web site (http://www.fcc.gov/oet/tac/)
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/Public_Notices/1999/pnet9
027.html)
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