Telephony/Universal Service
Telecom AM: Bear Stearns Analyst Says Access Charges For IP Telephony Still
Possible
Telecom AM: Internet Phone Companies May Pay Universal Service Fee
Telecom AM: Two Commissioners Say FCC Shouldn't Prioritized Fund For Schools
Libraries/Minorities
NYT: Queens Library Links the Multilingual World
Technology
NYT: Studies Explore the Possibilities of E-Mail for Everyone
NYT: Researchers Crack Code In Cell Phones
WP: AT&T High-Speed Data Network Fails
Corporate Philanthropy
WP: Firm to Give Research Schools Super-Fast Computer Services
Microsoft
WSJ: Clearing Microsoft's Path to Digital TV
WSJ: Microsoft Confirms June 25 Release Of Windows 98
Antitrust
NYT: Judge Rules Against Intel in Antitrust Case
International
NYT: Dutch Law Goes Beyond Enabling Wiretapping to Make It a Requirement
** Telephony/Universal Service **
Title: Bear Stearns Analyst Says Access Charges For IP Telephony Still Possible
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Internet Telephony/Universal Service
Description: The FCC has made no decision in its recent Universal Service
Report, but IP telephony providers may have to pay access charges. "We
believe that the FCC might ultimately decide to levy access charges on IP
telephony since it is our view that in the long run it is impossible to have
two services that offer the same functionality that are under different
regulatory cost structures," said James Henry, VP of telecommunications
analysis for Bear Stearns & Company.
Title: Internet Phone Companies May Pay Universal Service Fee
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: The FCC is considering requiring companies that carry "Net
phone calls" to contribute to the universal service fund. The FCC reported
to Congress that Internet protocol networks could be considered telecom
services, but the FCC will make those decisions on a case-by-case basis. The
FCC's report also emphasized its commitment to ensuring that consumers in
rural and other high-cost areas have affordable phone service.
Title: Two Commissioners Say FCC Shouldn't Prioritized Fund For Schools
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: Republican Commissioners, Powell and Furchtgott-Roth, said
they're concerned that the FCC has given too high a priority to hooking
schools and libraries to the Internet, at the expense of the high-cost
universal service fund to subsidize phone service for rural consumers. In
the FCC's report to Congress on Internet telephony, Furchtgott-Roth and
Powell said the schools fund is dangerously out of balance. Furchtgott, who
didn't approve of the report, also said the FCC missed a chance to scale
back the schools program and concentrate on the high-cost fund.
** Libraries/Minorities **
Title: Queens Library Links the Multilingual World
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/04/cyber/articles/12library.html
Author: Pamela Mendels
Issue: Libraries/Minorities
Description: At the Queens Borough Public Library, 15 multilingual
librarians spend five hours a week "combing" through the Internet for
possible sites of interest to immigrants. Their efforts are part of
WorldlinQ, a project launched two years ago, designed to provide speakers of
foreign languages "in this heavily immigrant community with extensive access
to electronic resources." There are almost 2 million people in Queens and
more than 100 languages are spoken. "English is the primary language still
spoken in the borough," said Gary E. Strong, library director. "But Spanish
is not too far behind and not too far behind that is Chinese, and not too
far behind that is Korean." The result of this diversity, Strong said, is
the library's determination to provide members of the community with what he
called an "equity of access" not just to print but to electronic
information. Xuemao Wang, a systems analyst for the Queens library, said,
"Providing multilingual resources is something all libraries should do. They
have a long history of providing multilingual books, why not electronic
resources?"
** Technology **
Title: Studies Explore the Possibilities of E-Mail for Everyone
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/04/cyber/articles/11email.html
Author: Rebecca Fairley Raney
Issue: E-Mail
Description: The John & Mary R. Markle Foundation, a philanthropic
organization in New York, is investing millions to explore the possibilities
of a society that provides email for everyone. Since 1994, the foundation
has explored related issues by funding major studies at Rand, Bellcore,
Carnegie Mellon Univ., and the Brookings Institute, and through the use of
surveys and roundtable discussions. Some of the issues explored include: the
foundation of friendships in cyberspace, community development online, and
the obstacles and benefits of computer literacy becoming part of the school
curriculum. "The objective is to create a national dialogue about universal
email access, an idea predicted by findings of a Rand study that said
universal access will not happen without social intervention." "The goal is
not to predict what will happen, but to encourage uses to enhance a
democratic society. Why be passive? We're hoping to have people thoughtfully
inspire uses," said Zoe Baird, the president of the Markle Foundation. The
thinking behind the Markle Foundation's initiative goes "that if the
government and corporate sectors provide better services online, the gap
between 'haves' and 'have-nots' will be more likely to close." Catherine
Gay, a principal in the International Advisory Group in New York, a
publishing company that is coordinating roundtables and publicity for the
foundation's thinking, said, "They're trying to prevent a society with an
underclass."
Title: Researchers Crack Code In Cell Phones
Source: New York Times (D1,D5)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/04/biztech/articles/14phone.html
Author: John Markoff
Issue: Encryption
Description: A group of Univ. of California computer researchers announced
Monday that they had successfully cracked the world's most widely used
encryption code that is designed to prevent the cloning of digital cellular
phones. The researchers believe that the system, known as Group Speciale
Mobile standard, or GSM, was deliberately weakened to permit government
surveillance. GSM is used in about 80 million cellular phones around the
world and in about 2 million phones in the U.S. The researchers broke the
code by "using a computer to determine a secret identity number stored in
the Subscriber Identity Module, or SIM, a credit cardlike device inside the
phone." But what was even more interesting than the security threat, was
that "the cracking code yielded a tantalizing hint that a digital key used
by GSM may have been intentionally weakened
during the design process to permit government agencies to eavesdrop on
cellular telephone conversations." Both the researchers and officials from
cellular phone companies said yesterday that the threat of cloning was
"extremely remote" in comparison to the vulnerability of analog cellular phones.
Title: AT&T High-Speed Data Network Fails
Source: Washington Post (C1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-04/14/120l-041498-idx.html
Author: Mike Mills
Issue: Technology
Description: AT&T's "frame relay" network crashed yesterday at 3 p.m. and
sent banks, stores, and gov't. agencies scrambling to backup systems. Most
managed the changeover with minor disruption, but the American Red Cross
experienced significant slowdowns because their backup data system was
designed for only regional outages, according to Greg Hamil, senior director
of wide-area networking and computer operations. The failure underlined a
risk of the emerging information age: as society becomes more linked by
low-cost communication systems it becomes more vulnerable when they fail.
AT&T officials could not explain the shut down. AT&T spokeswoman Ruth Lynn
Newell, said, "We are working aggressively to identify, isolate, and fix the
problem."
** Corporate Philanthropy **
Title: Firm to Give Research Schools Super-Fast Computer Services
Source: Washington Post (C5)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-04/14/078l-041498-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Corporate Philanthropy
Description: Qwest Communications will provide $500 million worth of
transmission services to a computer network that is to connect a consortium
of research universities working on a project called "Internet2" at 1,000
times faster than commercial Internet, according to senior White House and
academic officials familiar with the plan. The consortium's project is a
component of the Clinton administration's Next Generation Internet
Initiative, which aims to connect several national labs and universities
with a super-fast network by the year 2000. Qwest said it has completed a
third of a $1.8 billion, 16,000-mile national data network on which it will
carry
commercial customers and Internet2.
** Microsoft **
Title: Clearing Microsoft's Path to Digital TV
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1)
http://wsj.com/
Author: David Bank
Issue: Digital TV
Description: Craig Mundie is Microsoft's "digital TV point man" for the
company's vision of digital broadcasting. The software giant has in mind a
technology in which the 'Net would meld with TV to form one interactive
information and entertainment medium. But, about a year ago, Mr. Mundie's
crusade seemed stalled when he announced a $425 million acquisition for
Microsoft's digital-TV strategy that conventioneers at the National Assoc.
of Broadcasters dismissed as a latecomer's move. This year, however, Mundie
gained an ally in Tele-Communications Inc. when they adopted Microsoft
software for its digital set-top boxes that it plans to distribute to cable
customers later this year. Mundie also recently got Sony to work with
Microsoft even though they have backed different digital-TV formats. Some of
Microsoft's new allies are trying to keep their distance, though ABC refused
to formalize the alliance with financing for production of
programming in Microsoft's favored format.
Title: Microsoft Confirms June 25 Release Of Windows 98
Source: Wall Street Journal (B8)
http://wsj.com/
Author: David Bank
Issue: Microsoft
Description: Windows 98 will be available June 25, at a retail list price of
$109, the same price of Windows 95. This release has been closely watched,
of course, due to the antitrust case the Justice Dept. has against the
company. The Dept. is considering a requirement that the company release a
version of the program without IE 4.0.Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft's director of
Windows marketing, estimated that there are 35 million home and
small-business computers equipped to run Windows 98. Windows 98 will also be
marketed more to home and small business users by stressing its
entertainment features. The new OS more tightly integrate Internet-style
features into its basic functions. Mr. Mehdi also demonstrated that it is
possible to delete the icon for IE 4.0 and run another Web browser, like
Netscape, in its place.
** Antitrust **
Title: Judge Rules Against Intel in Antitrust Case
Source: New York Times (D2)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/04/biztech/articles/14intel.html
Author: Lawrence M. Fisher
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Federal Judge Edwin L. Nelson, of the U.S. District Court in
Birmingham, AL, found in a preliminary ruling that the Intel Corp. "likely"
violated antitrust law in its enforcement of nondisclosure agreements with
customers. The case arose after Intergraph, a maker of computer work
stations and technical software, based in Huntsville, AL, "asserted patent
rights with a number of computer makers using Intel chips, which then sought
indemnification from Intel." Jim Meadlock, Intergraph's chief executive,
said in a statement, "We believe the court is sending an unmistakable clear
and far-reaching message to Intel that there's no place for coercive,
monopolistic conduct in the computer industry." Chuck Mulloy, an Intel
spokesman, said the ruling would have little impact on the company because
Intel had not discontinued or threatened to discontinue shipping chips to
Intergraph. "We're disappointed," he said. "We're in the process of
evaluating all of our options, up to and including appeal."
** International **
Title: Dutch Law Goes Beyond Enabling Wiretapping to Make It a Requirement
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/04/cyber/eurobytes/14euro.html
Author: Bruno Giussani
Issue: International
Description: With the continued liberalization of the European
telecommunications market, gov'ts are beginning to feel that they're "losing
a grip" on telecommunications. Their response to this lack of control is
more and extended wiretapping. The Netherlands set a controversial benchmark
for "snooping" on all forms of communication on April 2, when the Second
Chamber of the Dutch Parliament approved a new Telecommunications Act. The
act includes a chapter which, among other things, is intended to force cable
operators ("many of which are preparing to sell phone services") and
Internet service providers (ISPs) "to make their networks tappable by the
police and intelligence services." The act was designed to mainly implement
"recent decisions by the European Union concerning market deregulation and
interconnection of telecommunication networks. Legal experts and privacy
watchdogs have warned that the new law provides insufficient guarantees for
the protection of privacy; they also point out the already generous use of
telephone taps in this country." Henrik Kaspersen, a professor at the
Institute for Informatics and Law of the Free Univ. in Amsterdam, questions
whether simply expanding the principle of "lawful interception" to cover the
new services and networks without a close evaluation is the correct way to
go. Guikje Roethof, a liberal member of the Parliament, said, "There are
numerous differences between the old phone networks and the information
highways...The authorities are oversimplifying the question when they argue
that since they've always tapped the phone, extending this practice to the
new networks and services is a no-brainer." The Telecommunications Act has
been approved by 121 of the 150 members of the Second Chamber, opposed only
by the D-66 and Green Party. The dissenting parties could obtain "a separate
resolution giving ISPs an additional delay in setting up the technical
facilities that make the tapping of Internet protocol traffic possible."
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