EDTECH
A New Enterprise Joins Growing Community of Online Schools (NYT)
FCC
Powells' Links With AOL Time Warner Bring Ethics Considerations to
the Fore (WSJ)
FCC May Revise Limits on Spectrum Under the Control of Wireless
Providers (WSJ)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Mexicans Wait More For A Phone (NYT)
BROADBAND
Fixed Wireless Challenges Cable Modem, DSL Net Access (SJM)
EDTECH
A NEW ENTERPRISE JOINS GROWING COMMUNITY OF ONLINE SCHOOLS
Issue: EdTech
104-year-old Calvert School in Baltimore, whose Home Instruction Division
has become "quite a big business," having taught more than 400,000 students
in 50 countries will be joined next fall by K12.com, a new Internet-based
school. K12.com is due to enroll its first students in grades K through 2
this fall and then add three grades each year until they reach a full
K-through-12 audience. The new endeavor is backed with an initial $10
million from Knowledge Universe Learning Group, and will be headed by Former
U.S. Secretary of Education William J. Bennett, an avowed skeptic about the
educational utility of the computer. Critics have said they see some value
to online educational programs, but only as supplements to traditional
classroom programs. Promotional materials from the new venture assert that
they will offer "world-class education to any elementary and secondary
student who is interested -- regardless of...how much money their family
makes."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Margaret W. Goldsborough]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/24/technology/24EDUCATION.html)
(requires registration)
FCC
POWELLS' LINKS WITH AOL TIME WARNER BRING ETHICS CONSIDERATIONS TO THE FORE
Issue: Merger
Michael Powell, chosen by Mr. Bush this week to be chairman of the Federal
Communications Commission, was cleared by FCC lawyers to participate in the
AOL Time Warner merger vote on Jan. 11, despite his father's seat on AOL's
board. Michael Powell is the oldest son of Secretary of State Colin Powell.
"There is definitely an appearance issue with him [Michael Powell] voting on
the merger when his father stood to gain substantially," says Larry Noble of
the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics, an ethics watchdog
organization. Although Colin Powell resigned from AOL's board the day before
his son and the four other FCC commissioners voted to approve the merger, he
left with options to buy 320,000 shares in the company for $8.62 million,
according to financial documents filed with the U.S. Office of Government
Ethics. Charles Lewis of the Center for Public Integrity said Michael Powell
should have recused himself. "I don't care that legally they don't think
there was a conflict," he said. "It looks bad. That, to me, is the
definition of conflict of interest." In one of his first official acts as
president, Mr. Bush set new ethics guidelines for his administration. "We
must remember the high standards that come with high office and it begins
with a careful adherence to the rules," he said. "This means avoiding even
the appearance of a problem."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A4), AUTHOR: Ted Bridis And Jill Carroll]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB980293515369345266.htm)
(requires subscription)
See Also:
AOL TIME WARNER CUTS 2,000 JOBS
[SOURCE: USA Today (B1), AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/invest/2001-01-24-aoltw-job-cuts.htm)
FCC MAY REVISE LIMITS ON SPECTRUM UNDER THE CONTROL OF WIRELESS PROVIDERS
Issue: Wireless
The Federal Communications Commission will consider eliminating or modifying
limits on the amount of valuable spectrum that wireless-telecommunications
providers can control in a given market. The limits were aimed at promoting
competition by ensuring that no single player dominates a market. FCC
officials have said that no carrier appears to have reached its limits in
any given market. The new FCC Chairman Michael Powell has long been a critic
of the limits, as has Harold Furchtgott-Roth, another GOP commissioner. The
commission's two Democrats have generally supported spectrum caps in the
past. President Bush will appoint a third Republican to the five-member
commission. The future of wireless competition could be affected by the
makeup of the antitrust division of the Justice Department in the Bush
administration. Former Clinton antitrust chief Joel Klein blocked
consolidation by forcing merging wireless companies to divest overlapping
spectrum holdings. It isn't clear whether the Bush administration will
follow that policy.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A4), AUTHOR: Mark Wigfield]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB980296246771800820.htm)
(requires subscription)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
MEXICANS WAIT MORE FOR A PHONE
Issue: Digital Divide
People said the only way to get a phone line in Mexico when the telephone
company was run by the government was to wait for a relative to die. In
1990, the state sold the monopoly to Telmex, with a promise to promote
efficiency and a competitive spirit. Mexicans no longer have to inherit a
phone, but they do need a fistful of cash - usually $120, in a country where
an average worker makes $200 a month. As a result, Mexico's ratio of phone
lines to people is among the lowest in Latin America, bested even by
Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. Hopes for more affordable residential
service were raised when Avantel, a major long-distance carrier, said last
week that it was ready to challenge Telmex by offering local service in
Mexico City. But analysts warn it will be large businesses, not ordinary
residents, who benefit from the new competition, following the pattern in
richer nations when competition has been introduced. "If I'm Citibank, I'm
really excited about it. But if I'm Jos