COMPETITION
Competition in the Multi-Channel Video Programming Distribution
Marketplace (HOUSE)
9 States to Ask for More Limits on Microsoft (NYT)
MEDIA & SOCIETY
Ftc Review: Hollywood Is Doing Better (USA)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
HP Digital Village to Stimulate Economic Growth (AA)
BROADBAND
Bill Gates: Broadband Woes Hobble Net Advertising (WP)
COMPETITION
COMPETITION IN THE MULTI-CHANNEL VIDEO PROGRAMMING DISTRIBUTION MARKETPLACE
Issue: Competition
On December 4, the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet held
a hearing to examine important changes taking place in the multi-channel
video programming (MVPD) marketplace. The major issue addressed was the
proposed merger of Echostar and DIRECTV, which combine the nation's two DBS
providers. An audio archive of the hearing and prepared testimony from all
witnesses are available at the URL below.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://energycommerce.house.gov/107/hearings/12042001Hearing433/hearing.htm
)
9 STATES TO ASK FOR MORE LIMITS ON MICROSOFT
Issue: Antitrust
The nine states that have refused to sign the Bush administration's proposed
antitrust settlement with Microsoft will ask a Federal judge to impose
tougher enforcement sanctions and eliminate a long list of loopholes from
the agreement, state officials involved in the case said today. The states
say such loopholes would give the company latitude to discriminate and
retaliate against computer makers and software rivals. But in their proposed
remedies, to be filed with a Federal District Court here on Friday, the
states will not ask the judge to limit the architecture of Microsoft's
software. In particular, they will not seek barriers to keep the company
from integrating software applications into its Windows operating system or
force the company to license its software source code to rivals.
[SOURCE: New York Times , AUTHOR: Stephen Labaton]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/06/technology/06SOFT.html)
(requires registration)
MEDIA & SOCIETY
FTC REVIEW: HOLLYWOOD IS DOING BETTER
Issue: Media & Society
The Federal Trade Commission, which criticized the entertainment industry
last year for marketing adult-oriented and violent products to children,
heaped praise Wednesday on Hollywood and the video-game industry for
changing their policies -- but the panel renewed its criticism of the
recording industry, as well as video-game and record stores. The commission
conducted what it called an ''undercover mystery shopper survey'' in which
13- to 16-year-olds attempted to buy tickets to R-rated movies as well as
explicit-content recordings and ''Mature''-rated video games. Nearly half of
the theaters (48%) sold tickets to R-rated movies to the underage
moviegoers, while a whopping 90% of the music retailers sold
explicit-content recordings to underage shoppers. While representatives of
the owners of movie theaters and video-game stores pledged continued
cooperation, recording industry and record store representatives were less
moved by the FTC's accusations. Rap impresario Russell Simmons and Rep.
Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., blasted the report for focusing primarily on hip-hop
artists. Said Towns: ''This music reveals many truths about the social and
political realities facing the African-American community today.''
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Andy Seiler]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20011206/3677960s.htm)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
HP DIGITAL VILLAGE TO STIMULATE ECONOMIC GROWTH
Issue: Digital Divide
A state of the art digital village project led by Hewlett Packard (HP) and
Computer Information Systems (CIS) in Ghana to help students, teachers and
the population as a whole to harness Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) has been launched in Kumasi. The initiative centers on
building a comprehensive IT infrastructure for Kwame Nkrumah University of
Science and Technology (KNUST) to enable Ghana's foremost science and
technology institution to increase the general levels of IT education in the
country. A network infrastructure, which will include technology solutions
and services from HP and high speed digital subscriber line communication
links from Ghana Telecom, will be deployed at KNUST by the end of December
this year. The HP Regional Sales Manager for English-Speaking African
countries, Mr. Thierry Boulanger said, "Ghana faces some serious
socio-economic challenges. Using the digital village we aim to help build a
workforce that is skilled in the critical areas of ICT." A series of
computer resource centers providing Internet access and equipping Ghanaians
with IT education and skills will be established and linked to the
infrastructure over the next two years.
[SOURCE: allAfrica.Com, AUTHOR: Kent Mensah]
(http://allafrica.com/stories/200112020088.html)
BROADBAND
BILL GATES: BROADBAND WOES HOBBLE NET ADVERTISING
Issue: Broadband
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said on Thursday the Internet's role as an
important mass medium for advertisers was hobbled by the slow rollout of
high-speed broadband service and was still years away. Gates said broadband
Internet is important to the growth of online advertising in that it allows
for near-television quality streamed media, the kind of ad formats that many
major advertisers prefer to promote their brands. Internet advertising
revenues have fallen precipitously since the second half of 2000 just as the
technology bubble began to burst and a number of dotcoms went bust. Gates
added it should become a priority for political and corporate leaders to
make broadband access products more available to home users. On the fourth
day of a European tour addressing technology and business leaders, Gates has
made the broadband topic one of the principal points on his agenda.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Bernhard Warner (Reuters)]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/software/14058-1.html)
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