ANTITRUST
Justice, FTC Split Duties On Antitrust (WP)
FTC-DoJ Clearance Agreement Will Hurt Consumers (CDD)
BNROADBAND
Bush Tech Advisors Will Tackle Broadband Demand (WP)
Boadband Net Use Exceeds 50% For First Time - NetRatings (WP)
E-GOVERNMNET
European Commission Launches E-Government Network (NewsBytes)
RADIO
Despite Patent, XM Plans No Local Content (WP)
ANTITRUST
JUSTICE, FTC SPLIT DUTIES ON ANTITRUST
Issue: Antitrust
The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a major
shift in federal antitrust oversight that will give the Justice Department
authority over mergers in the Internet, telecommunications, software and
entertainment sectors. Officials at the FTC and Justice Department believe
this clear division of authority will end time-consuming disputes over which
agency should review the transactions. Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.),
chairman of both the Senate Commerce Committee, responsible for overseeing
the FTC, and the Appropriations subcommittee in charge of the Justice
Department's budget has issued a statement calling the restructuring a
"violation of appropriations law which states that we be consulted...They
just moved forward on their own...It's a tricky way to forgo consultation."
Officials at the Justice Department and FTC have responded by saying lawyers
were in touch with Hollings's aides and he is the only lawmaker to disagree
with the new agreement. Numerous consumer advocacy groups are concerned
that removing the independent FTC group could be a sign of easing antitrust
oversight in an area that will be seeing a great deal of cable and media
consolidation.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Caroline E. Maye]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/15499-1.html)
FTC-DoJ CLEARANCE AGREEMENT WILL HURT CONSUMERS
Issue: Antitrust
A new agreement shifting federal oversight of antitrust cases from the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to The Department of Justice (DoJ) has
spurred public criticism from numerous fronts. Center for Digital Democracy,
Executive Director Jeffrey Chester said, "This deal eliminates the critical
role that the FTC has played in overseeing media and Internet-related
mergers. Now all such mergers will be under the supervision of a
presidential appointee. Given the Bush administration's apparent support for
massive media deregulation, one can only surmise that today's announcement
sends a strong signal to big special interests that they will get easy
treatment. Unfortunately, key issues involving free speech, journalism,
media competition, and the fate of a non-gatekeeper controlled Internet are
now likely to get short shrift."
[SOURCE: Center for Digital Democracy, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Chester]
(http://www.democraticmedia.org/news/dojclearance.html)
BROADBAND
BUSH TECH ADVISORS WILL TACKLE BROADBAND DEMAND
Issue: Broadband
White House high-tech advisors hope by June to recommend some "first steps"
that the Bush administration can take to boost demand for broadband Internet
service among U.S. consumers. "It turns out that the access to existing
broadband ... is not being exploited by consumers," President's Council of
Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) Co-chairman John Marburger told
reporters on a conference. The panel will look at what sorts of applications
need to be developed to spur consumer demand for broadband as well as what
obstacles may be standing in the way of broadband adoption, Marburger said.
Among those possible obstacles, the panel will address security concerns,
pricing issues and the extent to which copyright restrictions are preventing
consumers from having access to rich broadband content.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: David McGuire]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/15494-1.html)
BOADBAND NET USE EXCEEDS 50% FOR FIRST TIME - NETRATINGS
Issue: Broadband
Broadband use totaled nearly 1.2 billion hours, or about 51 percent, of the
2.3 billion online hours logged altogether last month, Nielsen//NetRatings
said today.. "Broadband surfers spend as much time online as narrowband
surfers and also comprise a growing proportion of the overall online
population," NetRatings media analyst Jarvis Mak said in a statement.
"Increasingly, online business models will be built and marketed with the
broadband surfer in mind." January's broadband user count grew with time
spent online, as the 21.9 million at-home surfers accessing the Internet via
high-speed hookups represented a 67 percent increase over 2001 and accounts
for 21 percent of the total residential online population.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Dick Kelsey]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/telecom/15490-1.html)
E-GOVERNMENT
EUROPEAN COMMISSION LAUNCHES E-GOVERNMENT NETWORK
Issue: E-Government
On Tuesday the European Commission launched an international network to
encourage the exchange of information among governments. At this time, all
but two European Union countries are connected to the private European
network called TESTA. Current information shared among agencies includes
data about social security, trade licenses, road accidents, communicable
diseases and European job vacancies. The network links directly to the
European Parliament and provides groupware tools to assist in sharing
resources across national borders. TESTA is currently undergoing
certification to comply with recent European security regulations.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Adam Creed]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/govtit/15511-1.html)
RADIO
DESPITE PATENT, XM PLANS NO LOCAL CONTENT
Issue: Radio
XM Satellite Radio, Inc. recently received a patent on technology allowing
them to broadcast local content using "repeaters. The National Association
of Broadcasters has protested the patent stating that it conflicts with
current rules barring XM from competing with local broadcasters. XM
spokesman Charles Robbins has stated that XM is "a national radio service"
and has "... no intention of broadcasting locally." Both XM and competitor
Sirius Satellite Radio, Inc. have been locked in a struggle with local
broadcasters to use the repeater networks. Local radio stations fear the
broad reach of a national competitor will damage their advertising revenues.
The FCC is currently considering whether to give XM and Sirius permanent
access to use the network of repeaters.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Renae Merle]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/media/15500-1.html)
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