Communications-related Headlines for 4/10/2000

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Closing the Digital Divide (NTIA)

NEWS AND INFORMATION
A Knack For Controversy Worries ABC News (NYT)
Pick Up a Phone, TellMe Will Surf the Web For You (SJM)
Big News On Little Screens (NYT)
Technology's Frontier: Reinvention of Politics (SJM)
Campaign News Online: Not Much to Look At (WP)
Staid Know-It-All Goes Hip and Online (NYT)
Journal of Commerce Plans to Scrap Daily Edition, Weighs
Moving Offices (WSJ)
Mom Hunts Pedophiles On Internet (WP)

INTERNET
Patents: Historians Take A Longer View Of Net Battles (NYT)
A Leader In Cyberspace, It Seems, Is No Politician (NYT)
Internet Tax (Senate)

TELEVISION
TV Makers to Roll Out Digital-TV Sets Even as Standard Change is
Considered (WSJ)
Religious and Noncommercial Broadcasting (House)
Pearson-Bertelsmann TV Firm Plans for Its US 'Dream' Market (WSJ)

SECURITY/PRIVACY
Intel Plans to Give Away Security Software Via Web (WSJ)
Coalition Challenges PrivacyBot.com Safe Harbor Application (CME)

INFRASTRUCTURE
Old Company Learns New Tricks (USA)
Status of Deployment of Broadband Technologies (House)
Wireless Innovations in Communications Initiative (NTIA)

FCC
Comments Requested in SBC's Sec 271 Application (FCC)
Federal Communications Commission's Annual Performance Report for
Fiscal Year 1999 (FCC)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
Issue: Digital Divide
From Press Release: The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications
and Information Administration (NTIA) announced it has received grant
applications proposing 662 projects that support the innovative use of
advanced technologies to bring the benefits of information technology to
underserved areas of the country. The applications, from 48 states, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, are part of
the public/private sector effort to close the nation's digital divide. In a
July 1998 report, the Commerce Department said the gap between those with
access and those without access to information technology, tools critical
for economic success and
advancement, had widened significantly.
The projects outlined in the applications seek $270 million in federal funds
in Fiscal Year 2000 under the Technology Opportunities Program (TOP), NTIA's
highly-competitive, merit-based program. TOP provides start-up money for
innovative, practical projects that use advanced telecommunications and
information technology. Applicants pledged $430 million in non-federal
matching funds.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/top40700.htm)

NEWS AND INFORMATION

A KNACK FOR CONTROVERSY WORRIES ABC NEWS
Issue: Journalism
ABC News and its president, David Westin, have come under fire of late for
some controversial moves. Infamous former OJ detective Mark Fuhrman was
almost hired as a consultant to Good Morning America. The network broadcast
an interview with 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez. And, now, Westin is deciding on
using footage of teen idol Leonardo DiCaprio interviewing President Clinton
for an Earth Day special. [Did we mention the interview with the sock-puppet
spokesdog for a company Disney is invested in?] "I think in a first-rate
news division of any sort, one has to be moving forward," Mr. Westin said
last week in a telephone interview. "We can't keep programming news programs
just the way we did five or 10 years ago. Society has changed around us; our
competition has changed." "Yes, it's a changed business and we ought to
recognize that," Sam Donaldson said last week. "But we also all have to
recognize that we have to do things according to the standards that will
help us retain our credibility."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Jim Rutenberg]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/abc-divisions.html)

PICK UP A PHONE, TELLME WILL SURF THE WEB FOR YOU
Issue: InfoTech
The telephone is giving a new twist on Internet browsing: voice recognition.
TellMe Networks today launches a voice-recognition service that allows users
to pull information from the Internet by calling a number and speaking into
the phone. The voice commands can retrieve movie listings and reviews,
traffic, weather, sports scores and stock quotes, all without touching a
button. TellMe's software automatically pulls updated data from various Web
sites - much like the way the various movie listing services work.
Eventually, the founders say, the service will allow users to buy and sell
using spoken commands. TellMe is entering a field that, though not fully
populated, is being looked at by several companies with telephone-menu
experience.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Staff Writer]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/front/docs/tellme041000.htm)

BIG NEWS ON LITTLE SCREENS
Issue: InfoTech
"You are entering this story at the moment of maximum hype," says one
technology research executive. From America Online and Microsoft to Reuters
and The Associated Press to The New York Times, E.W. Scripps' Knoxville
News-Sentinel and Knight Ridder's MercuryCenter.com, news and information
organizations are bringing their wares to the diminutive screens of portable
electronic devices. The bet is that people are going to grow used to being
able to get up-to-the-minute data on traffic, movies, sports and news while
they are on the go. Media companies see traditional outlets -- TV, radio --
delivering news in the home; the computer in the office; and hand-held
devices for times spent in between.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Felicity Barringer]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/10palm.html)
See Also:
HAND-HELD SYSTEMS TEMPT NEWS-HUNGRY CITY (London, if you are wondering)
[SOURCE: New York Times (C20), AUTHOR: Andrew Ross Sorkin]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/10euro.html)

TECHNOLOGY'S FRONTIER: REINVENTION OF POLITICS
Issue: Political Discourse
The Internet is already changing how candidates reach voters and raise
money, but the technology may also change what Americans want and get from
their political, parties and government. Technology has become so deeply
embedded in our lives that techno-concerns like online taxation and Internet
child predators will increasingly dominate voters' relationship with their
government. Instant feedback e-mail and a direct, if virtual, wire to
representatives will allow for insurgent candidates to arise. At the same
time, Americans will ask for the traditional consumer protections by
government. Meanwhile the potential of the technology lags behind the
political structures. A ruling last year by the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration that reflected the growing use of home offices and
workplace safety standards was ridiculed and abruptly canceled. The 40-hour
workweek is a relic to workers who log on after dinner and who think 40
hours is part time. Said Rep. James Moran D-VA), "People don't care if
they're working overtime."
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Steve Thomma]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/front/docs/tecpol041000.htm)

CAMPAIGN NEWS ONLINE: NOT MUCH TO LOOK AT
Issue: Political Discourse
A study by the Committee of Concerned Journalists, found that although many
journalists have made use of the Internet this campaign season, they have
not necessarily made good use of it. The study looked at a dozen or so of
the most popular Web sites' coverage of the primary season. It found that
while journalists took good advantage of the speed of the medium, at times
this speed did not necessarily constitute good coverage. For instance, on
Feb. 28, AOL News, which relies on wire services for copy, failed to lead
its site with the speech in which John McCain attacked Pat Robertson and
Jerry Falwell. While the Web has unlimited possibilities for putting news
online, the rush to fill the medium seems to have left out a certain amount
of substance, the report found.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (C1) AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45318-2000Apr9.html)

STAID KNOW-IT-ALL GOES HIP AND ONLINE
Issue: Content
The Oxford English Dictionary is going online (www.oed.com). As part of a
$55 million, 10-year overhaul that will add more than 600,000 new words to
the 20 volume collection of 640,000 words, the new online dictionary will be
available for a subscription fee: $550 for individuals and $795 and up for
institutions. "Clearly, if you've got a print dictionary you're limited in
the way you can look through it: you can either look up something by the
head word, or you can browse serendipitously, opening the book at random for
guidance," said John Simpson, the dictionary's chief editor. But online, he
said, you can summon and compare all the citations that quote Milton or Mark
Twain. [If you're fascinated by words and their history, check out the URL
below.]
[SOURCE: New York Times (B1), AUTHOR: Sarah Lyall]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/books/041000oed-online.html)

JOURNAL OF COMMERCE PLANS TO SCRAP DAILY EDITION, WEIGHTS MOVING OFFICES
Issue: Publishing
It's a sad day for newspaper junkies when the Journal of Commerce, the
nation's oldest business newspaper, announces that it will scrap its daily
edition and replace it with a weekly magazine and a Web version for breaking
news. The Journal of Commerce has been covering trade, transportation and
insurance issues since 1827. It was originally founded by Samuel Morse, the
inventor of Morse Code, and was very popular in the 1940s and 1950s when it
was the only venue available for shippers to publish their schedules. The
change is attributed to internal problems as much as to the Internet. In
1998, the group laid off 14% of its 450 staff as part of a $7 million
restructuring plan to reduce operating costs. The Journal is also
considering moving its offices in the New York World Trade Center to New
Jersey. [Wow, you know you're really in trouble when you gotta move to Jersey]
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B18), AUTHOR: Matthew Rose]
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB955316112516199392.htm

MOM HUNTS PEDOPHILES ON INTERNET
Issue: Content
As the Web becomes more and more a part of lives, several groups have set up
"neighborhood watch" type groups online. The groups patrol online keeping a
particularly sharp lookout for those who would harm children. Lawrence
Sherman, a University of Pennsylvania professor and president of the
International Society of Criminology, said that the scope of the
"neighborhood" has made many people particularly worried. "Instead of your
kid walking out of the house and you worrying what's in the big bad
neighborhood, now people are worrying about the whole world," Sherman said.
The FBI taskforce on online predators, Innocent Images, opened some
1500 cases last year focusing on children on the Internet, many of them
based on tips from parents or online patrol groups such as Internet Watch, a
group run by Nancy Casey, a mother of two who patrols online disguised as
various teenaged girls. Casey is very careful about the work she does
online, never sending the first message, never broaching sexual topics and
never sending images. "I haven't had to testify, which means I'm doing it
right," Casey said. "I get enough information that they can go out and make
a good arrest." Dave Canham, who investigated a recent case that was brought
with Casey's help, praised her, and encourages her to keep at it. "Nancy is
careful," Canham said. "She knows what she's doing."
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A1), AUTHOR: Maria Glod]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45059-2000Apr9.html)

INTERNET

PATENTS: HISTORIANS TAKE A LONGER VIEW OF NET BATTLES
Issue: Intellectual Property
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is coming under fire for awarding
technology patents that are extremely broad. Critics are raising questions
of whether the USPTO staff understands the technologies it is evaluating.
Critics of Internet patents contend that the software components are not
original [and, therefore, not patent-able], but instead build on existing
innovations. The office recently awarded a patent to Amazon.com for
one-click online shopping. America Online has at least fourteen patents; one
of which is for a system that will "search all resources on the Internet
with one search command." Yet historians of technology and communications
are taking a broader view. They say the patent battles looming on the
Internet have historical precedent in similar battles that arose over the
telegraph, telephone, radio and television. "I don't see the development of
the Internet as being significantly different from the development of other
communications technologies since the 1840s," said Brian Winston, the head
of the School of Communication, Design and Media at the University of
Westminster in London. "The creation of the Internet falls into a pattern.
It's part of that pattern that there will always be a terrible row over
patents." Morse was an innovator for his "software" the Morse code.
Historical precedents aside, critics are still charging that the most
fundamental question is whether business models should be patented at all.
"Are people going to look back a hundred years from now and think that
one-click ordering was a revolutionary model?" said Paul Ceruzzi, a
historian at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum and
the author of "A History of Modern Computing." "We don't know," he said. "We
have to wait for the dust to settle."
Patents may be viewed at www.uspto.gov on the Web or may be ordered through
the mail, by patent number, for $3 from the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office, Washington 20231.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Teresa Riordan]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/10pate.html)

A LEADER IN CYBERSPACE, IT SEEMS, IS NO POLITICIAN
Issue: Policymakers
A profile of Esther Dyson, chairwoman of Icann. She's criticized for running
Icann meetings "with a mix of impatience, frustration and condescension" --
in short, of being a bad politician. But a different reading of Ms Dyson
could celebrate her intolerance for having her time wasted and for stupidity.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/10dyso.html)

INTERNET TAX
Issue: Ecommerce
Full Senate Commerce Committee hearing set for Wednesday, April 12, at 9:30
a.m. in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building. Senator McCain will
preside. Members will examine S.2255, a bill to extend the moratorium for
five years. Witness list will be announced.
[SOURCE: US Senate]
(http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/press/106-150.html)

TELEVISION

TV MAKERS TO ROLL OUT DIGITAL-TV SETS EVEN AS STANDARD CHANGE IS CONSIDERED
Issue: Digital Television
Television manufacturers will proceed with their planned release of digital
television sets next year, despite the chance that broadcasters will change
the standard by which digital television signals will be transmitted.
Broadcasters lobbied the Advanced Television Systems Committee to consider a
modification, in the standard, saying the existing digital-signal technique
can't be picked up in some urban areas. Eight large manufacturers of
televisions believe the likelihood of such a change is small enough that
they are willing to take the risk and move forward with their rollout.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B2), AUTHOR: Evan Ramstad]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB955314658165711397.htm)

PEARSON-BERTELSMANN TV FIRM PLANS FOR ITS US 'DREAM' MARKET
Issue: Television
The new company created out of the merger of Britain's Pearson television
unit with Bertelsmann's broadcasting arm has created an entity, "big enough
to start businesses in the US," said Bertelsmann's Chairman and Chief
Executive Thomas Middlehoff. The new company, as yet unnamed, is considering
an equity position in a major US television network, a move that would first
require the US to change rules that restrict foreign ownership of TV
stations to about 25%. Without being able to control the stations, it would
make little sense for the new company to buy a network. "The Americans now
know that there is a pan-European leader that could be of interest to them,"
said Mr. Middlehoff.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A26), AUTHOR: Charles Goldsmith]
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB955311604283433883.htm

RELIGIOUS AND NONCOMMERCIAL BROADCASTING
Issue: Broadcasting
Thursday, April 13, 2000 Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and
Consumer Protection hearing focusing on H.R. 3525, the Religious
Broadcasting Freedom Act and H.R. 4201, the Noncommercial Broadcasting
Freedom of Expression Act of 2000.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://www.house.gov/commerce/)

SECURITY/PRIVACY

INTEL PLANS TO GIVE AWAY SECURITY SOFTWARE VIA WEB
Issue: Security
Intel is expected to announce tomorrow that it plans to distribute an "open
source" version of its advanced security software that implements a set of
security functions known as the Common Data Security Architecture (CDSA), an
industry-wide security standard first established just over two years ago.
The move is designed to bolster Intel's growing support for the free Linux
operating system. Intel plans to release the "open source" version over the
Internet, making it accessible to software developers world-wide. The first
CDSA programs, which will be available for downloading on May 15th, will run
on Linux and be optimized to run on Intel processors. Intel stands to
benefit from anything that makes encryption and other computation-intensive
security technology more widespread, since such activities tend to drive
demand for Intel's high-end microprocessors. Intel's efforts show an
increasing divergence from its longtime partnership with Microsoft, which
also offers encryption and similar security functions - but only when used
with its Windows operating system.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B10), AUTHOR: David Hamilton]
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB955313014887504684.htm

COALITION CHALLENGES PRIVACYBOT.COM SAFE HARBOR APPLICATION
Issue: Privacy
From Press Release: A coalition of child advocacy, health, and consumer
groups called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to deny approval of
PrivacyBot.com's proposed guidelines for "safe harbor" status. Calling
PrivacyBot's proposed guidelines "inadequate," the comments said that FTC
approval "would set a dangerous precedent that undermines the goal of
protecting children's information in the online environment." PrivacyBot, a
fee-based privacy seal program, is the first to submit guidelines for
approval under the "safe harbor" program included in the FTC Rule
implementing the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Safe harbor is designed for industry groups or others who want to create
self-regulatory programs to govern Web site operators' compliance with the
FTC Rule. The Rule, which goes into effect on April 21, 2000, requires
commercial Web sites that collect personal information from children under
age 13 to have a clearly posted privacy policy, obtain verifiable parental
consent before collecting and using personal information, and provide
parents the option to review and delete their child's personal information.
The coalition questions whether PrivacyBot has sufficient resources to
enforce its guidelines and to make sure member Web sites stay in compliance
with COPPA. The coalition is particularly concerned that PrivacyBot's method
of handling consumer complaints is flawed.
The full text of the coalition's comments are available online
(http://www.cme.org/press/000406_comments.pdf)
[SOURCE: Center For Media Education]
(http://www.cme.org/press/000406pr.html)

INFRASTRUCTURE

OLD COMPANY LEARNS NEW TRICKS
Issue: Infrastructure
Corning, a company founded before the Civil War and best known for the
cookware it stopped making, has transformed itself into a high-tech
innovator. Having always been a maker of glass products, Corning has shed
its old-economy structure and emerged as the world's largest maker of
optical fiber. The company employs 1,500 scientists and engineers who apply
for nearly a patent a day. The transformation has not been easy. While the
demand for ever-greater bandwidth continues to march on, a reduction in
fiber demand due to the Asian economic crisis of 1998/1999 dropped the share
price below $25. And now, in its new form, Corning makes a product with a
commercial life of less than one year. Corning Ware, the company's old
glass-ceramic dishes could withstand housefires. The jitters are offset by a
solid core of employees. Corning has hired 700 more people with Ph.D.s in
the past three years, mostly in optical physics, electronics, software and
materials.
[SOURCE: USA Today (B1), AUTHOR: Josh Chetwynd]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000410/2128095s.htm)

STATUS OF DEPLOYMENT OF BROADBAND TECHNOLOGIES
Issue: Broadband
Tuesday, April 11, 2000 10:00 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building.
Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection oversight
hearing on the Status of Deployment of Broadband technologies.
[SOURCE: House of Representatives]
(http://www.house.gov/commerce/)

WIRELESS INNOVATIONS IN COMMUNICATIONS INITIATIVE
Issue: Wireless
From Media Advisory: The Commerce Department's National Telecommunications
and Information Administration (NTIA) will host the first meeting under the
Wireless Innovations in Communications Initiative (WICI), a new NTIA
initiative to enable the federal government to promote more actively
innovation in the development and use of new communications technologies.
The WICI Committee, established as an ad hoc committee of the
Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee, is composed of senior experts from
various federal government agencies. The WICI will include a series of
meetings in which representatives from federal agencies will discuss their
communications requirements and industry representatives will be invited to
present new technology developments to Committee members that might respond
to these needs.
This first joint meeting will focus on software radio developments in the
Department of Defense. A detailed information brief will be provided by
representatives from the Department of Defense on the Joint Tactical Radio
System (JTRS). The JTRS is a family of high-capacity tactical radios capable
of operating across the 2 MHz to 2 GHz for command, control, communications,
computers, and intelligence functions. Dynamic bandwidth management and
software re-programmability are key features of these radios. Attendees to
the meeting from other federal agencies and industry are invited to join in
the discussion of this major federal program.
Online registration for industry representatives is required. Instructions
for registration are provided on the NTIA web site at
www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/wici
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/wici/advisory1.htm)

FCC

COMMENTS REQUESTED IN SBC'S SEC 271 APPLICATION
Issue: Long Distance
On April 5, 2000, SBC Communications filed an application for authorization
to provide in-region, interLATA service in the State of Texas, pursuant to
section 271 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the Act), 47
U.S.C.