LOBBYING
PC Companies And Bells To Petition U.S. (NYT)
High-Tech Companies Increase Lobbying Efforts (CyberTimes)
Ownership Action On Hold At FCC (B&C)
INTERNET
Patents: Aiming Web Ads More Effectively (NYT)
The Latest Internet Buzzword: Community (CyberTimes)
Push Technology Lets Information Find the User (WP)
The Internet (WSJ Special Section)
Intel Obtains Court Order That Prohibits Sending Mass e-Mail to Its
Employees (WSJ)
TELEPHONE
Mexican Telecom Regulators Take Steps To Curb Telmex, Boost
Fledgling Rivals (WSJ)
BROADCAST
Airwave Avarice (LATimes)
What's Wrong With This Picture? The Price. (WP)
Radio and Television Applications (FCC)
Florida Ponders Limiting Media Contact (B&C)
ACCESS
Speech: Forging A Connected Global Village (NTIA)
The Narrowing College Gates (WP)
PHILANTHROPY
Turner Begins Delivering on U.N. Pledge (NYT)
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LOBBYING
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PC COMPANIES AND BELLS TO PETITION U.S.
Issue: Telephone Regulation/Lobbying
Microsoft, Intel, Compaq, and Gateway will join with the Baby Bells and GTE
in a new lobbying effort to relax telephone regulation. The group intends to
deliver to the Federal Communications Commission ten principles they say
will promote the development od advanced data systems for consumers. "If
adopted, these principles would both promote competition and strengthen the
incentives of the incumbent local telephone companies to promote broadband,"
said Peter Pitsch, communications policy director for Intel Corp. The group
will try to convince the FCC and key Members of Congress to exempt
high-speed data services from resale requirements and to allow the Baby
Bells into log distance. Current FCC Chairman Bill Kennard is expected to be
more sympathetic -- or, at least, less hostile, than predecessor Reed Hundt.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Seth Schiesel]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/12/biztech/articles/07phone-data....
HIGH-TECH COMPANIES INCREASE LOBBYING EFFORTS
Issue: Lobbying
In a new report, the Center for Responsive Politics http://www.crp.org
shows that computer industry players like Microsoft, Sun and Compaq made
dramatic increases in lobbying efforts in the first six months of 1998.
Clausing reports that the 1998 figures represent a coming of age of sorts
for the information technology industry, which found itself on the Hill
fighting for a wide range of legislation, including relaxing export controls
on data-scrambling technology, increasing visas for foreign workers, placing
a moratorium on new Internet taxes and establishing digital copyright
protections. The industry won passage of nearly every item on its
legislative agenda, except attempts to ease export controls on encryption
software. Mike Englehardt, vice president of the Technology Network, a
Silicon Valley political group that arranges meetings between policy makers
and high-tech executives and helps funnel donations to key players on
important issues, said the numbers show a "realization of mutual importance.
Clearly, Washington woke up to the importance of the high-tech industry.
There is immense curiosity coming from that side of the country about what
is going on out here. The industry has known in the past the importance of
Washington, as is evidenced by well-funded trade associations. But it has
never had the attention of the top line CEOs. Now it does," Mr. Englehardt
said.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing jeri( at )nytimes.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/12/cyber/articles/07lobby.html
OWNERSHIP ACTION ON HOLD AT FCC
Issue: Ownership
In the face of fierce opposition from broadcasters and congress on the issue
of ownership rules, FCC Chairman William Kennard postponed plans to review
the item at last week's meeting of Commissioners. Chairman Kennard had
proposed the elimination of Local Marketing Agreements (LMA), which allow
one station to manage another station as a way of circumventing the
one-station-to-a-market ownership rules. Broadcasters claim that a repeal of
these agreements could seriously effect the health of free over-the-air
broadcasting. While industry leaders have convinced some congressmen that
the FCC plans would constitute "direct defiance" of the 1996
Telecommunications Act, Chairman Kennard says that Act gives the Commission
ability to change ownership rules as it sees fit. After a visit to
Washington last week by Disney Chairman Michael Eisner and ABC President Bob
Iger, the new ownership rules no longer appear on the FCC's agenda. A source
close to Chairman Kennard said; "We just need more time to talk to everybody."
[SOURCE: Broadcasting and Cable (p4), AUTHOR: Paige Albiniak]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
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INTERNET
========
PATENTS: AIMING WEB ADS MORE EFFECTIVELY
Issue: Electronic Commerce
Be Free Inc, a Marlborough (MA) start-up, is expecting a patent this week
for a method of passively collecting behavioral profiles and psychographic
data (information about attitudes and lifestyles) for individual computer
users, storing this information in a huge database and then using it to
decide what consumers should see which advertisements. The company contends
that the method is no threat to consumer privacy. "We don't collect data
that can be used in any way to match this profile with a real-world person,"
said one founder. "We create a firewall between this rich behavioral
information and the living, breathing human being behind it."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C9), AUTHOR: Teresa Riordan]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/12/biztech/articles/07patents.html
THE LATEST INTERNET BUZZWORD: COMMUNITY
Issue: Internet
"Push," "personalized" and "portal" are passe. The new Internet buzzword
appears to be "community;" services that offer Internet users the ability to
create their own online communities are cropping up all over the Web. Why?
"It's like a virtual gold rush. Everybody's searching for the magic bullet
that's going to make them money with this amorphous Internet," said Carey
Earle, an independent marketing consultant. With the success of one company
that focused on online community, others soon followed. Site operators are
learning that they are more attractive to advertisers when visitors return
often. The way to ensure "stickiness," industry jargon for the ability to
keep visitors coming back, is to give people places to convene --
comfortably, enjoyably and around topics of common interest, Napoli reports.
These groups become attractive targets for advertisers. See eGroups
http://www.egroups.com/, Neighborhood Link
http://www.neighborhoodlink.com/, and The Globe.com
http://www.theglobe.com/.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Lisa Napoli napoli( at )nytimes.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/12/cyber/articles/06community.html
PUSH TECHNOLOGY LETS INFORMATION FIND THE USER
Issue: Information Technology
Shannon considers the state of push technology and determines that it is
alive and well. The terms "push technology" are not used as much as they
were two years ago when PointCast arrived and the online community agreed
that the approach was inevitable. PointCast, which recently discontinued
support for the MacIntosh, apparently has about 400,000 users and scores of
content sources. BackWeb Technologies is another big channel purveyor
dealing mostly with businesses, including Compaq Computer Corp. which uses
it to push out software updates and service and support information. Other
mutations of push technology are growing. One is the increasing distribution
of information from services that e-mail groups their news and updates
[things like Communications-Related Headlines]. Another is the customizable
newspage which a number of services, like CNN and Yahoo, are offering.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (F21), AUTHOR: Victoria Shannon]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-12/07/034l-120798-idx.html
THE INTERNET
Issue: Internet
The Wall Street Journal today presents a special section devoted to the
Internet. In 17 articles on 32 pages the section centers mainly on
electronic commerce. An Editor's Note states, "Here you'll find how some
companies are using the Web as an invaluable selling tool-and why some other
companies have tried and failed." The section is devoted to an overview
story, 6 stories on "Buying the Goods," 9 stories on "Making the Sale," and
finally an interview with John Hagel III, a leader in global electronic
commerce who says "Follow the data." The section is a joint venture with The
Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition and is also located at the Web site
in an expanded format. For information on reprints, contact
anita.deragon( at )dowjones.com.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Section R), AUTHOR: Various]
http://www.wsj.com/
INTEL OBTAINS COURT ORDER THAT PROHIBITS SENDING MASS E-MAIL TO ITS EMPLOYEES
Issue: E-Mail/First Amendment
Intel has obtained a temporary court order against a former employee and his
company to keep him from sending electronic mail to 29,000 Intel employees.
They intend to ask the ban be made permanent. An Intel attorney said that
Kourosh Kenneth Hamidi sent at least six mass mailings to Intel employees
after being fired by Intel and ignored Intel's requests to stop. The
Sacramento County Superior Court judge said Hamidi's action amounted to
illegal trespass into Intel's computer system. Hamidi denies it and says it
was not the "trespass" which concerned Intel but the content of his
messages. The ruling troubles free speech advocates who worry that Intel
targeted Hamidi because of his opinions and that the decision could become a
precedent for curbing electronic forms of speech.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B14), AUTHOR: Scott Thurm]
http://www.wsj.com/
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TELEPHONE
==========
MEXICAN TELECOM REGULATORS TAKE STEPS TO CURB TELMEX, BOOST FLEDGLING RIVALS
Issue: Telephone/International
Mexico's Federal Telecommunications Commission (Cofetel) has issued new
measures to further control the hegemony of Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex).
Analysts said the moves give shape to a regulatory landscape that makes room
for Telmex's fledgling rivals. Cofetel said it would cut interconnection
fees on long distance companies by more than half. The agency also said it
was scrapping a 58% surcharge long distance companies pay Telmex on
"settlement rates." Cofetel also laid the groundwork to give mobile phone
subscribers an option of "calling party pays" billing. FCC Chairman William
Kennard said he was "pleased that Mexico has begun to resolve some of the
outstanding issues that have impeded telecom competition."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B7C), AUTHOR: Elliot Spagat]
http://www.wsj.com/
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BROADCAST
==========
WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? THE PRICE.
Issue: Digital TV
Josh Bernoff's report for Forrester Research Inc. says high-definition
television will be a bust. The report, to be released today, says HDTV sets
will take a decade to fall from $7000 to approximately $3500 and consumers
will not pay the price. He points out that only five percent of US consumers
now spend more than $1500 on televisions. They will not pay the extra money
for HDTV receivers. Bernoff says the consumer decisions will relegate HDTV
to "a footnote in the history of television." Margita White, president of
the Association for Maximum Service Television, disagrees and says the "Wow!
factor" will drive the market. That association estimates 30 percent of all
homes will have HDTV by 2006.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (F20), AUTHOR: Robert O'Harrow Jr.]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-12/07/032l-120798-idx.html
RADIO AND TELEVISION APPLICATIONS
Issue: Broadcast Regulation
FCC Releases New Procedures to Streamline Radio and Television Applications;
Require Electronic Filing; Institute Random Audit Enforcement; and Improve
Ownership Data Collection. (FCC 98-281, MM Dockets 98-43, 91-140, 94-149)
From the News Release: The FCC adopted new procedures to streamline the
radio and television application process by adopting electronic filing for
15 key application and reporting forms; substituting certifications for
narrative exhibit submissions; requiring ownership reports to be filed every
two years instead of annually; and revising requirements for extending the
construction periods of broadcast stations and selling unbuilt construction
permits. In a Report and Order, the Commission said its goals are to: 1)
create a customer-friendly environment; 2) promote more efficient and speedy
Commission operations; 3) reduce regulatory burdens on applicants,
permittees and licensees; and 4) further the Commission's long-standing
commitment to utilizing new information technologies to enhance service to
the public.
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/News_Releases/1998/nrmm8034.html
FLORIDA PONDERS LIMITING MEDIA CONTACT
Issue: Journalism
While many Americans are concerned about the media's lack of restraint, the
Florida legislature might actually pass a law that would require journalist
to use more restraint in certain situations. Prompted by an incident last
May in which reporters attempted to interview a killer and kidnapper as he
held a person hostage. Florida Senator Ginny Brown has proposed legislation
that would make it illegal to broadcast live tactical law enforcement
operations or to initiate contact with a suspect during pursuit. "This would
impede my ability to cover the news; it would override my obligation to the
community," says Steve Majors, new director of a Tampa area TV station.
[SOURCE: Broadcasting and Cable (p28), AUTHOR: Dan Trigoboff]
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
AIRWAVE AVARICE
Issue: Digital TV
[Commentary] In 1996 Congress essentially gave each television broadcaster
frequency space for digital broadcasting in return for some new public
interest obligations. The so-called Gore Commission assigned the job of
determining the new obligations is circulating the proposed final draft of
its report. It will be a national scandal. The report's drafters chose to
not even ask that broadcasters use their new channels to provide some free
air time to political candidates. Such a requirement would go a long way
toward eliminating the legalized bribery that's at the heart of corruption
in American politics. The Gore report, far from requiring free air time,
actually has the gall to say the FCC should eliminate rules requiring
broadcasters to charge political candidates their "lowest unit rate" for
campaign ads. Broadcasters could offset the higher prices, says the report,
by agreeing to provide "some free time" of their own choosing to
candidates-say, two minutes after 3 a.m. The report fails to stand up for
the public in numerous other ways. If broadcasters are unwilling to give
something back to society in return for using the public airwaves, then the
Clinton administration and Congress should take those airwaves back and do
what they should have done in 1996: auction them off and use the money for
the public good.
[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times (Special to Headlines Today), AUTHOR: Editorial
Staff of the Los Angeles Times]
http://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/COMMENT/t000111686.html
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ACCESS
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SPEECH: FORGING A CONNECTED GLOBAL VILLAGE
Issue: Access
Forging A Connected Global Village, remarks by Larry Irving at the
NTCA-World Bank's First International Conference on Rural
Telecommunications. "This...describes what the world would look like if it
were reduced to a village of 1,000 people....One of the most striking
features of this global village is how few would be connected by either
telephone or computer. While many developed nations enjoy varied forms of
telecommunications, the vast majority of the world - particularly in remote
and rural areas - still has no access to any means of communications.
According to the latest reports from the International Telecommunication
Union, 80 percent of the world's 600 telephones are located in just 25
countries. This means that the remaining 20 percent of the world's
telephones are spread among approximately 9/10 of the countries of the
world. Given these figures, it is not surprising, although it is
disappointing, to note that one-half of the world's population -- or three
billion people -- has never made a phone call. Our challenge as
telecommunications officials, industry executives, and policy experts, is to
find ways to close the gap between telecommunications-rich nations and those
that lack means of communications. Today, there are still vast regions that
don't have basic telephone service. While the United States has 63 telephone
lines for every 100 people, China has only two lines and India has only 1.5
for every 100 people. The African continent, which contains 55 countries and
one-eighth of the world's population, holds only 2% of the world's telephone
lines. The city of Tokyo alone has more phones than the entire continent of
Africa!"
[SOURCE: NTIA]
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/speeches/ntca120198.htm
THE NARROWING COLLEGE GATES
Issue: Education
[Editorial] A recent report from the Institute of Higher Education shows
that families' ability to pay for college has dropped dramatically over the
past twenty years. The report notes that from 1976 to 1996 the cost of
college rose 49%, while family income only rose 10%. In addition to the
raising price of education, government helpe has also diminished -- the
average Pell grant has dropped 23% in the same time period. The authors
offer these numbers as "counterweight to the frequently heard assurances
that, although fewer students can go to the most selective schools,
everybody can go somewhere."
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A24), AUTHOR: Washington Post Editorial Staff]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-12/07/007l-120798-idx.html
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PHILANTHROPY
=============
TURNER BEGINS DELIVERING ON U.N. PLEDGE
Issue: PHILANTHROPY
Atlanta media mogul Ted Turner has pledged $1 billion over 10 years to the
United Nations. In the year since he's made the pledge, he has given the UN
~$75 million. Both Mr. Turner and the UN had to set up independent
foundations to transact the pledge; the process has moved slower than
expected, but Mr. Turner is expected in accelerate his rate of giving. At
the time of the pledge, Mr. Turner owned stocks valued at $3.2 billion;
although he now has less stock, his holdings are now worth $5.72 billion
(the reward for honest, clean living). The UN has used the funds to fight
polio and slowing the spread of HIV.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C8), AUTHOR: Geraldine Fabrikant]
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/tedturner-un-pledge.html
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