TELEPHONE
AT&T Uses Cable to Link to the Future
INTERNET
Apple Users' Protest Bears Fruit at Bell Atlantic (WP)
Judge Delays Online Pornography Law (NYT)
Lycos offers easy access to music, bootlegged or not (SJM)
Want to Be an Online Drugstore? Take a Number (CyberTimes)
BUDGET ISSUES
Fact sheet on NTIA's FY 2000 Budget Request (NTIA)
MERGERS
AOL Plans to Acquire MovieFone (WP)
ANTITRUST
Microsoft Video Draws Concessions (WP)
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TELEPHONE
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AT&T USES CABLE TO LINK TO THE FUTURE
Issue: Telephone/Competition
The first step in offering a bundle of communications services is the
ability to offer plain old telephone service. With its proposed merger with
TCI and deal with Time Warner announced Monday, AT&T will have access
through cable systems to 40% of US households. "This deal isn't so much
about sending voice over cable as it is about preparing to win in tomorrow's
marketplace, when voice calls may be as little as 5 percent of the
business," said Jeffrey Kagan, an Atlanta-based telecommunications
consultant. AT&T says it will offer local and long distance phone service at
~20% below current prices. AT&T is already bundling wireless and long
distance. "The wireless-long distance offering was just the first generation
of sticky bundles we'll see from AT&T," Mr. Kagan said. "They talked about
charging $5 for a second phone line with the cable service. Obviously, their
strategy will be to give more discounts when you sign up for more services.
They want you so tied into them, you won't even think of switching to a
competitor."
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (p.1), AUTHOR: Jon Van]
http://chicagotribune.com/news/printedition/article/0,1051,SAV-9902020335,0
0.html
TIME WARNER JOINS WITH AT&T TO SELL LOCAL PHONE SERVICE
[SOURCE: New York Times (A1), AUTHOR: Seth Schiesel]
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/att-time.html
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INTERNET
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APPLE USERS' PROTEST BEARS FRUIT AT BELL ATLANTIC
Issue: Internet Access
Bell Atlantic Corp. will offer Apple users its new Infospeed high-speed
Internet service after all. Last fall, when the company announced the
service, it excluded connections to Apple computers with the exception of
the new iMacs. After complaints from Apple users, Bell Atlantic has reversed
course and will start the new service in mid-February. Bell Atlantic
officials said the original exclusion was made because older Macs could be
harder to connect. They, unlike the new iMacs, do not have a label inside
helping service technicians with information to make the connection. The
Infospeed Digital Subscriber Line service can carry data at up to 7.1
megabits per second, far faster than the current maximum of 56 kbps over
regular phone lines. In another area, Bloomberg News says that Bell Atlantic
today will unveil a venture with IBM to help people link personal computers,
phones and electronics in a home-based local area network. The new
high-quality inside wiring plan is called Home Director.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: Mike Mills]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-02/02/047l-020299-idx.html
JUDGE DELAYS ONLINE PORNOGRAPHY LAW
Issue: Internet Regulation
Implementation of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) was delayed yesterday
by a Judge Lowell A. Reed Jr. of the US District Court of Philadelphia. The
law was signed by President Clinton last October and was immediately challenged
in court by a coalition of businesses and groups led by the American Civil
Liberties Union. Judge Reed blocked the law last fall under a temporary
restraining that expired midnight Monday. Judge Lowell reported regret in the
delay of protecting our children, but added "perhaps we do minors of this
country harm if the First Amendment protections, which they will with age
inherit fully, are chipped away in the name of their protection." COPA would
make it illegal for a website to make sexually explicit material available to
those under 17 years old. Sites with such material gated through credit card
or other mechanisms to verify age would not be in violation of COPA. The ACLU
argues most sites would choose self-censorship rather than age verification
mechanisms. Supporters of COPA say it is aimed at teaser ads and free samples
offered by Web porn sites. Plaintiffs argue that the law is so broad that it
would apply to sites that deal with gynecological issues. Operators of Sexual
Health Network http://www.sexualhealth.com/ a website that offers information
about sexuality to the disabled happily reports they can, "operate business as
usual," at least for now.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A10), AUTHOR: Pamela Mendels]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/02/cyber/articles/02copa.html
See also:
JUDGE BLOCKS INTERNET PORN LAW
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A2), AUTHOR: John Schwartz]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/supcourt/stories/por
n020299.htm
The actual opinion from the court case
http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/opinions/99D0078P.HTM
LYCOS OFFERS EASY ACCESS TO MUSIC, BOOTLEGGED OR NOT
Issue: Online Services
Lycos search engines are looking for MP3 files which makes some music
industry companies uneasy. Lycos announced Monday it is starting a new
search service that offers easy access to a half-million high quality
recordings. Web users simply will type in the name of an artist and Lycos
will find MP3 files for that artist on the Web. Music industry officials
are worried that many of the songs are online illegally. Lycos' product
manager for multimedia, Brian Kalinowski, said "Lycos as a company is
obviously very concerned about copyright protection. It's certainly not our
goal to support the unauthorized distribution of music." Lycos said "MP3"
are among the five most frequent search phrases asked for on two search
engine sites which they operate. In December, the recording industry
announced the Secure Digital Music Initiative with plans to try to stem the
flow of pirated music online. The new Lycos MP3 search engine is at
mp3.lycos.com.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury/Mercury Center, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/036455.htm
WANT TO BE AN ONLINE DRUGSTORE? TAKE A NUMBER
Issue: E-Commerce
With American's spending four times as much money on over-the-counter and
prescription medications as they do on books each year, one might expect
there to be fierce competition for online pharmacies. As of yet, however,
there is only one major full service pharmacy in cyberspace - Soma. Two
other drug stores have plans to open shop online within the next few months,
and it is only a matter of time before the major brick-and-mortar chains
follow. While there are billions of dollars to be made in sale of drugs and
beauty aids, there are still some obstacles to moving pharmacies on to the
Internet. One major question is - will insurance providers reimburse online
purchases?
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Bob Tedeschi]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/02/cyber/commerce/02commerce.html
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BUDGET ISSUES
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FACT SHEET ON NTIA'S FY 2000 BUDGET REQUEST
Issue: Budget Issues
See outline of NTIA's proposed budget and limited narrative on Information
Infrastructure Grants; Public Telecommunications Facilities, Planning and
Construction; Salaries and Expenses; and Spectrum Management Reimbursements.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/budget20199.htm
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MERGERS
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AOL PLANS TO ACQUIRE MOVIEFONE
Issue: Merger
America Online Inc. is acquiring Moviefone Inc., the country's largest movie
listing and ticketing service, for $388 million in stock. Moviefone has
listings for about 17,000 screens in 42 US cities. While much of its work
is done by its movie telephone lines in the various cities, it also does
business at its website www.moviefone.com. "We're looking for
applications in the offline world that we can bring to the online world,"
said Barry Schuler, president of AOL Interactive Services. AOL intends to
use Moviefone as a source of electronic commerce revenue and to promote AOL.
Taking over Moviefone's 100 million annual customers is a key move in AOL's
attempt to decrease its reliance on subscription fees.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: Shannon Henry]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/daily/feb99/aol2.htm
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ANTITRUST
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MICROSOFT VIDEO DRAWS CONCESSIONS
Issue: Antitrust
The Microsoft antitrust trial Monday revolved around the question of whether
the Internet Explorer browser needed to be integrated with the Windows 98
operating system. Microsoft Corp. lawyers used the videocassette player in
court to demonstrate the seamless integration of the two. After the
demonstration Justice Department attorney David Boies replayed feature after
feature and asked Microsoft's Senior Vice President James Allchin, " If
someone combined the retail version of Windows 95 and the retail version of
Internet Explorer 4.0, would they get the same feature?" Grudgingly, Allchin
conceded they would, although he added that Internet Explorer was not simply
running atop Windows 95, but replacing "core operating system files." The
Justice Department and 19 states are claiming that Windows and Internet
Explorer are separate products that Microsoft united illegally in an effort
to crush rival browser maker Netscape Communications Corp. Microsoft
contends that the browser and the operating system are legally integrated
and technologically inseparable.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E3), AUTHOR: Rajiv Chandrasekaran]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/longterm/microsoft/micro.htm
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