CABLE
Excite to Reach Net Pact (NYT)
High Court Nixes Bid to Revive Limits on Cable-TV Ownership (WSJ)
TELEPHONY
Speech: Michael Powell to the Association for Local
Telecommunications Services (FCC)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Networks for the People (NTIA)
CABLE
EXCITE TO REACH NET PACT
Issue: Broadband
Excite( at )Home reached a tentative agreement yesterday with a group of cable
companies, including Cox Communications and the Comcast Corporation, to keep
their customers connected to Excite's high-speed Internet service, according
to several people involved in the negotiations. But not all of the creditors
of Excite, which has filed for bankruptcy protection, have decided whether
to support the agreement. That means it may not be clear for days whether
2.7 million people in North America will have their cable Internet service
cut off. About 850,000 customers of AT&T, the nation's largest cable
company, were cut off by Excite early Saturday morning after AT&T said it
would not pay the price Excite demanded to keep them connected.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Saul Hansell]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/03/technology/ebusiness/03EXCI.html)
(requires registration)
HIGH COURT NIXES BID TO REVIVE LIMITS ON CABLE-TV OWNERSHIP
Issue: Cable/Ownership
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away an appeal by consumer groups
fighting to revive Federal Communications Commission rules that limited the
reach of cable-TV operators. Without comment, the justices left intact a
March ruling from a federal appeals court here that set aside regulations
barring cable systems from serving more than 30% of the nation's pay-TV
subscribers. The lower court ordered the agency to aside the limits on First
Amendment grounds, ordering them to better justify the cap. The FCC isn't
challenging that decision and is expected to ease the limit in coming
months. But groups like the Consumer Federation of America and Consumers, in
their high-court appeal, argued that continued consolidation in the industry
threatens to make it harder for new and diverse programming to reach the
nearly 90 million cable and satellite-TV viewers. The National Association
of Broadcasters filed a friend-of-the-court brief backing the appeal.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Scott Ritter]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB1007392584645081160.htm)
(requires subscription)
TELEPHONY
SPEECH: MICHAEL K. POWELL TO THE ASSOCIATION FOR LOCAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS
SERVICES
Issue: Telephony
Michael K. Powell, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
spoke to the Association for Local Telecommunications Services on November
30. He emphasized the FCC is commitment to stimulating competition in local
telecommunication markets. The entire text of his speech can be found at the
URL below.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Powell/2001/spmkp111.html)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
NETWORKS FOR THE PEOPLE
Issue: Digital Divide
The NTIA Technology Opportunities Program (TOP) annual Networks for People
Conference will be held this year on December 6 and 7 in Washington, DC.
This year, the conference will focus on RESULTS - TOP projects that are
making a lasting impact and continuing to work in their communities. The
second day of the conference will feature a grant writing and technical
assistance workshop for organizations interested in applying for a TOP grant
during the FY 2002 grant round.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/new.html)
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