REGULATION
Busy High-Tech Session for Congress (CyberTimes)
U.S. Firm May Sidestep Rules On Encryption (WSJ)
EDTECH
Universities Embrace Technology, But Distance
Learning Faces Controversy (CyberTimes)
CABLE
WETA, Media Group To Team Up on Cable
MERGERS/ALLIANCES
Lockheed To Buy An Equity Stake In Asia Cellular (WSJ)
Top British Wireless Carrier Joins Battle To Acquire Airtouch (NYT)
AT&T Wins At Home Deal and a Foothold as a Data Carrier (NYT)
ANTITRUST
Microsoft Trial Focuses on Question of Monopoly (WP)
COMPUTERS
Modem Pioneer Hayes Ends Operations, Fires Staff After Long Slide
(WSJ)
===========
REGULATION
===========
BUSY HIGH-TECH SESSION FOR CONGRESS
Issue: Legislation
As the 106th Congress convenes, high-tech interests are gearing up for a
full legislative agenda. Issue #1 is export controls on encryption software.
Expect new legislation to be introduced early in the session; sponsors will
likely include Representatives Bob W.Goodlatte (R-VA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)
and Senators Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT), John Ashcroft (R-MO), and Conrad
Burns(R-MT). Other issues include online privacy, regulation of junk e-mail,
increasing network bandwidth and providing more incentives for companies and
government to get their computers ready for the Year 2000. New bills to
require content filters on school computers and ban online gambling are also
likely. In the oversight arena, the Federal Communications Commission may
come under intense scrutiny by Republican leaders; the review could also
lead to a reopening of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which some fear
could result in increased regulation of the Internet.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing jeri( at )nytimes.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/01/cyber/articles/06congress.html
U.S. FIRM MAY SIDESTEP RULES ON ENCRYPTION
Issue: Security
RSA Data Security Inc. plans to market encryption software through an
Australian subsidiary in what appears to be a legal ploy to sidestep U.S.
export regulations. The company developed one of the best-known encryption
techniques. Today RSA is expected to announce plans to join a new RSA
company in Australia and market a compatible technology developed in
Australia. A spokeswoman for the Commerce Department said the agency worked
with RSA to make sure the Australian venture didn't violate U.S. law. The
Australian government also could choose to regulate the RSA operation.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B4), AUTHOR: Don Clark]
http://www.wsj.com/
=======
EDTECH
=======
UNIVERSITIES EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY, BUT DISTANCE LEARNING FACES CONTROVERSY
Issue: EdTech
1998 saw increased distance learning opportunities at the university level,
but also increased skepticism on the part of faculty. 1999 should see more
of the same. The Campus Computing Project http://www.campuscomputing.net/
reports that 44% of courses use e-mail in some way; that number is up from
8% just four years ago. But some professors are asking whether distance
education can ever match the quality of the classroom experience, whether
attrition is higher online, and whether virtual students feel more isolated
than their traditional counterparts. See also Noble's Digital Diploma Mills
http://firstmonday.dk/issues/issue3_1/noble/.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Pamela Mendels
mendels( at )nytimes.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/01/cyber/education/06education.html
======
CABLE
======
WETA, MEDIA GROUP TO TEAM UP ON CABLE
Issue: Cable
Washington DC pubcaster WETA is teaming up with the Freedom Forum to provide
a new public affairs channel in the DC area. The channel will be heavy on
DC's biggest product: talk. "It's going to appeal to a small audience," said
Ed Turner, the former CNN executive who is president of the new venture.
"It's not 'Roseanne' or 'Seinfeld.' But it's going to be an important
audience -- the people who run Washington." "The challenge for us is not to
be just more talking heads," said Freedom Forum Chairman Charles Overby,
whose organization will produce the daily fare. "We think there can be some
creative programming, some niche programming, that's not being done now."
[SOURCE: Washington Post (C1), AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-01/06/092l-010699-idx.html
WETA TO LAUNCH CABLE-TV NETWORK WITH FREEDOM FORUM
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (C19), AUTHOR: Staff Reporter]
http://wsj.com/
==================
MERGERS/ALLIANCES
==================
LOCKHEED TO BUY AN EQUITY STAKE IN ASIA CELLULAR
Issue: Merger
Lockheed Martin Corp. will pay nearly $150 million to acquire a 30% stake in
Asia Cellular Satellite. Asia Cellular is a five-year-old partnership of
three telecommunications companies representing Indonesia, Philippines and
Thailand that has licenses to provide low-cost wireless phone service in
several Asia-Pacific countries. Lockheed is building the first satellite
for the system with a launch date in June. Satellite service is expected to
begin in late 1999. The Asian economic crisis wiped out some of the debt
financing for the project. Officials say Lockheed stepped in and "bit the
bullet" to protect its investment in the construction of the satellite. The
investment also gives work to Lockheed's new global telecommunications unit
which plans acquisitions and form business alliances.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (C16), AUTHOR: Bruce Orwall]
http://www.wsj.com/
TOP BRITISH WIRELESS CARRIER JOINS BATTLE TO ACQUIRE AIRTOUCH
Issue: Wireless/Mergers`
Amidst merger talks between AirTouch, the largest American all-wireless
carrier, and Bell Atlantic, Britain's Vodafone announced it's intentions to
acquire the company. Britain's number one wireless carrier has long been
interested in paring with the American company and is reportedly willing to
pay more than the $45 billion offered by Bell Atlantic. Some analysts,
however, have suggested that Vadafone and Bell Atlantic might attempt to
pair up in acquiring the wireless company. GTE's takeover by Bell Atlantic,
which is currently pending regulator approval, could be negatively effected
by the local carrier's attempt to also purchase AirTouch.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Laura M. Holson]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/01/biztech/articles/06bell.html
See also:
VODAFONE CONFIRMS OFFER FOR AIRTOUCH
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A3), AUTHOR: Stephanie Mehta, Steven Green,
and Charles Goldsmith]
http://www.wsj.com/
AT&T WINS AT HOME DEAL AND A FOOTHOLD AS A DATA CARRIER
Issue: Bandwidth
AT&T has just moved closer to its goal of being a major carrier of Internet
data. The long distance company will announce a deal to provide the fiber
optic backbone for the At Home Corporation. As the nation's largest provider
of cable modem services, At Home offers subscribers high-speed Internet
access through their home cable systems. The company will now have access to
AT&T's 15,000-mile optic network to transmit data to cable systems around
the country. At Home, whose largest shareholder is TCI, says that AT&T
pending acquisition of TCI had nothing to do with the selection of AT&T as
their backbone provider.
SOURCE: New York Times (C3), AUTHOR: Seth Schesel]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/01/biztech/articles/06data.html
See also:
AT HOME CHOOSES AT&T TO HELP BUILD AN INTERNET BACKBONE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B4), AUTHOR: Wall Street Journal Staff Writers]
http://www.wsj.com/
==========
ANTITRUST
==========
MICROSOFT TRIAL FOCUSES ON QUESTION OF MONOPOLY
Issue: Antitrust
In written testimony released yesterday in the Microsoft antitrust trial, a
Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor painstakingly outlined why
he believes Microsoft has "monopoly power" in the operating system market
and has applied that clout in a host of anticompetitive acts. Franklin M.
Fisher is the government's final witness. Later this month, Microsoft's
first witness, another MIT professor, will argue that the company possesses
no such control over the PC industry. The trial continues to revolve around
whether Micosoft has monopoly power. Fisher argued yesterday that the
answers to two key questions which indicate monopoly are both "yes": Does
the company have power to raise prices, and are there barriers to
competitors entering the market? Microsoft contends that Fisher's analysis
is flawed, that the company cannot charge high prices because of competition
from rival operating systems, such as Linux and BeOS.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (F1), AUTHOR: Rajiv Chandrasekaran]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/microsoft/micro.htm
See also:
FINAL GOVERNMENT WITNESS TESTIFIES AGAINST MICROSOFT IN ANTITRUST TRIAL
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B4), AUTHOR: John R. Wilke & Keith Perine]
http://www.wsj.com/
===========
COMPUTERS
===========
MODEM PIONEER HAYES ENDS OPERATIONS, FIRES STAFF AFTER LONG SLIDE
Issue: Merger
Hayes Corp., once a leader in modem manufacturing, is ceasing operations
after a long, painful slide. Virtually all of its 250 employees were laid
off Monday, and the company will sell its assets. In October the company
filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Dennis Hayes, who founded the company in
1978, resigned as Chairman in October. The company was once a leader in
analog modems.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B10), AUTHOR: WSJ Staff Reporter]
http://www.wsj.com/
*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*