Telecom Act of 1996 -- Two Years Later
NYT: Schools Can Begin to Apply for Internet Subsidies
FCC: 2nd Anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996
and Priorities for 1998
Internet
WP: White House Favors Privatizing Key Tasks in Running Internet
NTIA: A Proposal to Improve the Technical Management of
Internet Names and Addresses
Telephony
WSJ: Protect Competition, Not Competitors
WSJ: AirTouch to But U S West Media Wireless Assets
WSJ: FCC Adopts Tougher Rules On Pay-Phone Disclosures
WP: Dealer Sues Cellular One Over Digital Service
The Media Will Eat Itself
NYT: Some Journalists Have Met the Enemy, and It Is Them
NYT: The Media in Trouble
Microsoft
WSJ: Microsoft Appeal Charges Judge Erred In Order Restricting Bundled
Software
Philanthropy
CoP: The Packard Way
** Telecom Act of 1996 -- Two Years Later **
Title: Schools Can Begin to Apply for Internet Subsidies
Source: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/013098education.html
Author: Pamela Mendels
Issue: EdTech/Universal Service
Description: "I am incredibly excited. You can feel, in the phone
conversations we've had, how important this is to schools and libraries out
there," said Ira Fishman, chief executive officer of the Schools and
Libraries Corporation (SLC). Beginning today, schools and libraries can
begin applying for discounts on telecommunications services through a
website run by SLC, a nonprofit organization that will administer the new
program for the Federal Communications Commission. "We know this is going to
generate increased access, especially in rural, low-income and hard-to-reach
communities," said Lynne E. Bradley, a lobbyist for the American Library
Association. But there are some critics: "You get back to the old adage of
'If something isn't of value to begin with then having it available at a
lower price doesn't necessarily make it a bargain,'" said William L.
Rukeyser, coordinator of Learning in the Real World, a Woodland, Ca.-based
organization advocating greater skepticism about use of computers in
teaching. [See
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/012498education.html for a
related article on linking these discounts to content restrictions or
http://www.benton.org/Updates/summary.html#snl for a summary of the new
program.]
Title: 2nd Anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and Priorities
for 1998
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/realaudio/index.html
Issue: Telecom Act of 1996
Description: Listen to Chairman Kennard's Press Conference About the Second
Anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and Priorities for 1998 at
11:30 am Live via RealAudio from the FCC Internet Audio Broadcast Home Page
** Internet **
Title: White House Favors Privatizing Key Tasks in Running Internet
Source: Washington Post (A1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Internet Regulation
Description: The Clinton Administration will propose today that control of
some of the Internet's most crucial operations be transferred from federal
research agencies to the private sector over the next two years, according
to White House officials. The administration laid out a new structure for
the global computer network, which has become a fast-growing medium for
communication and commerce. Under the plan, the gov't.'s role in assigning
Internet addresses and maintaining the traffic-directing hardware at the
heart of the network would shift to a not-for-profit corporation. The
corporation would be run and funded by the businesses, people and
institutions that use the Internet.
Title: A Proposal to Improve the Technical Management of
Internet Names and Addresses
Source: NTIA
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/dnsdrft.htm
Issue: Internet Regulation/Infrastructure
Description: A proposed rule of the Department of Commerce. This same
document will be published in the Federal Register in the near future. While
the Department will accept comments on the paper starting today, the Federal
Register publication will establish the official deadline for the acceptance
of public comment on this proposed rule. Comments may be mailed to U.S.
Department of Commerce, NTIA/OIA, 14th and Constitution Avenue, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20230 or sent via electronic mail to dns( at )ntia.doc.gov.
Though it is not intended or expected, should any discrepancy occur between
the document set forth below and that published in the Federal Register, the
Federal Register publication controls. All comments received will be
considered exclusively in the context of issuing a final rule. The paper is
being made available through the Internet solely as a means to facilitate
the public's access to this document and to provide an additional means of
notifying the public of the solicitation of public comment on the proposed
rule.
** Telephony **
Title: Protect Competition, Not Competitors
Source: Wall Street Journal (Op-eds, A15)
http://wsj.com/
Issue: Competition
Description: The FCC recently found out that the cable rates of regulated
cable systems went up 8.5% during the 12 months ending this July 1 and for
unregulated systems by 9.6%. And indications are that the increases since
July 1 nave been even greater. For reasons that Prof. Tom Hazlett has been
setting forth, re-regulation of services, such as cable TV , is simply not a
sensible remedy. But, since some 22 other electric companies across the
country have embarked upon using their rights-of-way and fiber-optic
facilities both for their own internal operations and to compete with local
telephone and cable companies, there is good news for consumers concerning
competition.
Title: AirTouch to But U S West Media Wireless Assets
Source: Wall Street Journal (A3)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Elizabeth Jensen & Leslie Cauley
Issue: Merger/Acquisition
Description: AirTouch Comm. agreed to acquire the domestic wireless
operations of U S West for stock valued at $4.3 billion. The agreement comes
six months after an earlier plan fell apart because of the elimination of a
federal tax loophole. Under the new agreement, AirTouch will pay more for
the U S West operations, but it will end up issuing fewer shares because its
stock price has improved substantially since the original plan. The
long-awaited agreement will make AirTouch the second-largest U.S. wireless
provider behind AT&T.
Title: FCC Adopts Tougher Rules On Pay-Phone Disclosures
Source: Wall Street Journal (B6)
http://wsj.com/
Issue: Long Distance/Telephone Rates
Description: The FCC adopted tougher rules to protect people from exorbitant
charges for making long-distance calls from pay phones. The rules require
all companies that provide service to pay phones, hotel phones and other
public phones to disclose price information to callers before calls are
connected. Callers aren't expected to be able to benefit from the new
price-disclosure rules until July, agency officials said.
Title: Long-Distance Pay Phone Rates Must Be Disclosed
Source: Washington Post (G1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: Mike Mills
Issue: Telephone Rates
Description: The FCC required long-distance carriers, beginning July 1, to
notify pay telephone users of their rates before the call is connected. By
simply pressing a button, or staying on the line, callers will be able to
find out the total price of a phone call, including and surcharges. After
getting the information, callers could hang up without incurring any
charges. High prices for pay phone long-distance calls are among the FCC's
biggest source of complaints. The agency has cited complaints upwards of $5
per minute and higher (to WHERE?? - p.h.).
Title: Dealer Sues Cellular One Over Digital Service
Source: Washington Post (G3)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: Mike Mills
Issue: Legal Issues
Description: Cellular Concepts of Fairfax files a lawsuit accusing
Greenbelt-based Cellular One of "inducing" it and other dealers "under false
and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises" into signing
exclusive agreements in November 1995 to carry only Cellular One-brand
wireless phones. The suit contends that Cellular One failed to deliver on a
promise to soon offer an advanced digital phone service that could compete
against long-time rival Bell Atlantic Mobile and newcomers, including Sprint
Spectrum, Nextel, and AT&T Wireless. Cellular One attorney Dan Foley said he
needed time to review the complaint. "I don't think the company has done
anything wrong," he said. "We have a good working relationship with our
dealers. We view them as partners in the provision of our product."
** The Media Will Eat Itself **
Title: Some Journalists Have Met the Enemy, and It Is Them
Source: New York Times (A14)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/politics/013098clinton-media.html
Author: Carey Goldberg
Issue: Journalism
Description: They did it after the OJ case, after Princess Di, now after the
latest round of scandal reporting the media is in "self-flagellation" mode.
Matt Drudge, who first reported Newsweek's scoop on Interngate, has become
the a punching bag for criticism: "You ought to have at least some standards
of decency and some standards of fairness! That's what I object to," said
Jack Nelson of the LA Times on CNN. The ombudsman of the Washington Post has
written that the message from readers is "Restrain yourself!" A CBS News
poll found that 62% of those polled thought that there was too much coverage
of the scandal.
Title: The Media in Trouble
Source: New York Times (A21)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/oped/30bake.html
Author: Russell Baker
Issue: Journalism
Description: In op-ed, Baker takes a look at the coverage of the scandal at
the White House and how the media covered it. If the Right thinks the media
is a bunch of liberals that are soft on the Democrats and now Mrs. Clinton
accuses the press of being part of a right-wing plot to destroy the
President, where are journalists to find shelter? "In the conviction that
they are fulfilling a constitutional obligation to serve the public, that's
where. This they often do, and well. Other times, especially when sex and
celebrity murder are their subjects, a shudder of disgust may run through
the public, set off by suspicion that it is not being served, but having the
creepiest side its nature exploited for profit."
** Microsoft **
Title: Microsoft Appeal Charges Judge Erred In Order Restricting Bundled
Software
Source: Wall Street Journal (B6)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Michael Schroeder & John R. Wilke
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Microsoft said U.S. District Judge Thomas Jackson failed to
give the company a chance to respond, as required under the law, before
ordering it to stop forcing computer makers to bundle its Internet browser
software with its widely used Windows 95. Judge Jackson issued the
preliminary injunction last month to maintain "the status quo" in the market
while a court-appointed expert gathers more evidence. Microsoft called the
injunction "unorthodox" because it went beyond what was sought by Justice
Dept. antitrust enforcers. "The district court gave no notice that it was
considering such extraordinary relief," Microsoft said.
** Philanthropy **
Title: The Packard Way
Source: The Chronicle of Philanthropy (1/29/98, pg. 9)
http://www.philanthropy.com/
Author: Marina Dundjerski & Holly Hall
Issue: Philanthropy
Description: In the 1960s, when David and Lucile Packard held the first
board meetings of their charitable foundation, they weren't sitting in the
spacious, redwood-paneled offices that house their Silicon Valley
philanthropy today. The Packards did not give away millions back then ---
and certainly nothing close to the $286 million the foundation plans to
award this year, when its endowment will more than double to an estimated
$9.1 billion after an infusion of stock from Mr. Packard's estate. But the
couple was able to lay the groundwork for a foundation that reflects their
unpretentious but highly respected style of philanthropy.
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