DIGITAL DIVIDE
Clinton works for Net access for Native Americans (USA)
Phone Rate Increase Gives Natives Access (WP)
Microsoft Donating $2.7 Million to Bridge Digital Divide
for Tribes (AP)
Digital divide in East Palo Alto (SJM)
E-Rate to Receive Full Funding (FCC)
BROADCASTING
New Digital Television Proceeding (FCC)
Comparative Standards For Noncommercial Educational Broadcast
Stations (FCC)
Working With National Public Radio on Low Power FM (FCC)
VOA Sexism Was Hidden, Entrenched (WP)
Accessibility of Video Programming to Viewers With Hearing
Disabilities (FCC)
ECOMMERCE
Modern and Tate Team Up for Commercial Web Site (NYT)
E-commerce: A Fresh Spin on 'Affinity Portals' to the Internet (NYT)
INTERNET
2 Companies Take Separate Paths To Speed Delivery of Web pages (NYT)
Analysis Couched in Secrecy (USAToday)
Malone: Cable Firms Must Tune In to Interactive TV (USAToday)
TELEPHONY
U.K.'s Success Prompts Europe To Revise Wireless License Fees (WSJ)
Watch Out Phone Makers, People Are Wearing Wrist Technology (WSJ)
JOURNALISM
Editors Struggle to Increase Ethnic Mix of Newsrooms (NYT)
FCC
A New FCC For The 21st Century (FCC)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
CLINTON WORKS FOR NET ACCESS FOR NATIVE AMERICANS
Issue: Digital Divide
After decades without a single presidential visit to an Indian Reservation,
President Bill Clinton will make his second within a single year. President
Clinton's visit to Shiprock (NM), in the Navajo Nation, is part of a
two-day tour highlighting efforts to bring bridge the divide in
disadvantaged communities. In the Navajo Nation only 22.5% of homes have
phones. The Nation is working with the Gates Foundation, the U.S. Navy and
private companies to boost computer use and technology education. FCC
Chairman William Kennard will also announce today plans to help 300,000
low-income Native American households gain Internet access through a federal
subsidy (see "Phone Rate" below). President Clinton will also visit Plugged
In today in East Palo Alto. (See "Digital Divide" below) There, Gateway
Computers CEO Ted Waitt is expected to announce that Gateway will pay to
train 75,000 teachers nationwide, including 244 in East Palo Alto, to teach
children computer skills.
[SOURCE: USA Today AUTHOR: Jill Lawrence and Richard Benedetto]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000417/2158005s.htm)
PHONE RATE INCREASE GIVES NATIVES ACCESS
Issue: Digital Divide
(04/16/00) All long-distance telephone rates will rise slightly this year to
finance President Clinton's plan to help 300,000 Native Americans maintain
phone service that, among other things, will enable them to join the
computer revolution, administration officials said today. Long-distance
users will see a 0.4 percent rate increase to generate $17 million annually
to subsidize phone service for American Indians, about half of whom lack
telephones in a nation where 94 percent of all homes are wired. About
300,000 Indian households will receive basic phone service, which does not
cover long-distance calls, for $1/month. "I think it is shameful that we
have not, in the 65 years that the FCC has existed," made a better effort to
help Native Americans, stated FCC Chairman Kennard. He said the 0.4 percent
rate increase does not need congressional approval and is considered a fee
rather than a tax. "It's a reinvestment in the [telephone] network," he
said.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A2), AUTHOR: Charles Babington]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26337-2000Apr16.html)
MICROSOFT DONATING $2.7 MILLION TO BRIDGE DIGITAL DIVIDE FOR TRIBES
Issue: Digital Divide
(04/16/00) Microsoft Corp., the Seattle-based computer software giant
announced Sunday it will give a total of $2.5 million worth of software and
$200,000 cash to be divided among eight tribal colleges. Each school will
get a cash share of $25,000, Microsoft spokeswoman Jenny Moede said. The
schools include Dine College in Shiprock, where President Clinton plans to
visit. "With a high level of poverty and geographical isolation, American
Indians are the ethnic group most likely to be caught on the wrong side of
the digital divide," said Jose C' de Baca, executive director of the
American Indian Science and Technology Education Consortium. The colleges
include Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque; Haskell
Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan.; Northwest Indian College in
Bellingham, Wash.; Salish Kootenai College in Pablo, Mont.; Fort Peck
Community College in Poplar, Mont.; Little Big Horn College in Crow Agency,
Mont. and White Earth Tribal and Community College in Minnesota.
[Source: AP Wire]
DIGITAL DIVIDE IN EAST PALO ALTO
Issue: Digital Divide
The Divide continues in Silicon Valley. On one side of Highway 101 in Palo
Alto are the business parks of Hewlett Packard, Xerox PARC, ETrade and
AltaVista Co. On the other side, in East Palo Alto, 65
percent of the schoolchildren have trouble with English and 80 percent are
poor enough to qualify for subsidized lunches. Minorities comprise about 85
percent of the population. "When you move here and ask where you should
live, they don't necessarily tell you where you should live. They tell you
where you shouldn't live," and East Palo Alto was one of those places, said
Tamara Nordby, a Palo Alto hair salon manager who recently moved from
Minnesota. About 82 percent of Palo Alto's 62,000 residents are white. The
city has so much money it plans to install high-speed fiber-optic Internet
connections to every home. Now residents have a new fear: that Silicon
Valley's real estate prices will drive out the very people Clinton is trying
to get connected.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Scott Andrews]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/ap/docs/432993l.htm)
E-RATE TO RECEIVE FULL FUNDING
Issue: Universal Service
See statements of commissioners at URLs below.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Kennard/Statements/2000/stwek029.html)
(http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Kennard/Statements/2000/stwek029.html)
BROADCASTING
NEW DIGITAL TELEVISION PROCEEDING
Issue: Digital TV
From Press Release: The FCC began a proceeding to resolve outstanding issues
regarding the compatibility between cable television systems and digital
television receivers, set top boxes and other consumer electronics
equipment. In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the Commission asked for
comments on two unresolved cable compatibility issues: (1) how to label DTV
receivers with different features, including the proper designation for
receivers providing two-way interactive capability; and (2) licensing terms
for copy protection technology.
Action by the Commission by Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, FCC No. 00-137,
Office of Plans and Policy Docket No. 00-67 For more info: Office of Plans
and Policy Contact: Jonathan Levy (202) 418-2030
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/OPP/Notices/fcc00137.doc)
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/News_Releases/2000/nrmc0022.html)
COMPARATIVE STANDARDS FOR NONCOMMERCIAL EDUCATIONAL BROADCAST STATIONS
Issue: Public Broadcasting
The FCC has adopted new procedures and standards it will use to select among
mutually exclusive applicants to construct new noncommercial educational
(NCE) stations. The agency claims that the new process will be faster and
less expensive than the former traditional hearing process, while continuing
to foster the growth of public broadcasting as an expression of diversity
and excellence. Under the new procedures, the commission will select the
best applicants using a point system when it receives mutually exclusive
applications during a filing window.
[SOURCE:
FCC](http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/News_Releases/2000/nrmm0019.html)
WORKING WITH NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO ON LOW POWER FM
Issue: Low-Power Radio
FCC Chairman William Kennard today expressed disappointment that National
Public Radio endorsed H.R. 3439, legislation to curtail Low Power FM Radio.
"I am disappointed at this announcement by National Public Radio," Kennard
said. "Rather than continuing the process of finding common ground and
resolving differences, NPR walked away from the table and endorsed the
legislation." He noted that FCC and NPR staff and engineers have been
engaged in extensive discussions this week exploring ways to allay NPR's
concerns about the new service. Among other things, the Chairman in his
discussions with NPR executives, had made a commitment that Low Power FM
would not harm Radio Reading Services. Kennard said, "NPR's action today
will block access to the nation's airwaves for thousands of churches, civic
groups, schools and community groups. "
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/News_Releases/2000/nrmc0018.html)
VOA SEXISM WAS HIDDEN, ENTRENCHED
Issue: Discrimination
A settlement reached late last month ended a 23-year-old lawsuit against
the Federal Government charging that women were routinely denied
advancement at the U.S. Information Agency and it's radio station, the
Voice of America. The settlement will pay 1,100 women who worked as
broadcasters, technicians, writers and editors between 1974 and 1984
more than half a billion dollars. While the terms of the settlement do
not require the government to acknowledge any wrongdoing, the plaintiffs
in the case say that they were the victims of a sexism that was
ingrained into the structure of the radio network and nearly invisible
to those who were its victims. The managers of various services and
departments of the agency routinely engaged in practices such as
lowering employment test scores, and altering personnel files in efforts
to benefit their cronies and, in effect, keep women out of choice
positions. The case took such a long time to settle, in part because the
government was convinced that there was no wrongdoing, according to VOA
spokeswoman, Letitia King. "At the beginning of the lawsuit the agency
felt it was innocent and then felt vindicated because the judge ruled in
1979 in its favor," King said.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A19), AUTHOR: Michael A. Fletcher]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26838-2000Apr16.html)
ACCESSIBILITY OF VIDEO PROGRAMMING TO VIEWERS WITH HEARING DISABILITIES
Issue: Disabilities
From Press Release: The FCC adopted rules to require broadcasters, cable
operators, and other multichannel video programming distributors to make
local emergency information that they provide to viewers accessible to
persons with hearing disabilities. The FCC concluded that critical aural
information that affects the safety of viewers must be made available to
persons with hearing disabilities. This action further implements Section
713 of the Communications Act, added by the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Pursuant to Section 713, the Commission previously adopted rules and
implementation schedules to ensure that video programming is accessible via
closed captioning to persons with hearing disabilities. Because the closed
captioning requirement will be phased in over a number of years, today's
action ensures that people with hearing disabilities will receive critical
emergency information in an accessible format, even before the phase-in of
closed captioning is complete.
In a Second Report and Order, the Commission said that emergency information
not provided through closed captioning must be provided through some other
method of visual presentation, such as open captioning, crawls or scrolls.
These rules will apply regardless of whether the provision of information
regarding an emergency occurs during a regularly scheduled newscast, an
unscheduled break during regular programming, as part of continuing coverage
of a situation, or in any other fashion.
Cable Services Bureau contact: Marcia Glauberman 202-418-7046, TTY 202-
418-7172 Consumer Information Bureau, Disability Rights Office contact:
Meryl S. Icove 202-418-2372, TTY 202-418-1169
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/News_Releases/2000/nrcb0009.html)
ECOMMERCE
MODERN AND TATE TEAM UP FOR COMMERCIAL WEB SITE
Issue: Ecommerce/Arts
The Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan and the Tate Gallery with branches in
Britain have formed a partnership to create an Internet business for art,
culture and design. The company will operate a Web site, sell commissioned
design products and offer educational programs such as live Webcasts of
lectures and concerts. Profits will go to help meet the escalating operating
expenses of the museums. "We both realized that to have a steady stream of
income to ensure a strong future is crucial," said Glenn D. Lowry, director
of the Modern. "This company will have long-term value for both of us."
Eventually, Lowry added, the company could go public.
[SOURCE: New York Times (B1), AUTHOR: Carol Vogel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/arts/041700moma-tate-web.html)
E-COMMERCE: A FRESH SPIN ON 'AFFINITY PORTALS' TO THE INTERNET
Issue: Ecommerce
First there were giant, one-size-fits-all portals, like Yahoo, then
there were smaller, so-called affinity portals that sought to attract
members of various groups. Now, there are portals that are designed with
the groups already in place. For example the company iBelong, has
created some 41 portals for organizations that already exist, like the
AFL-CIO and the National Association of Underwater Instructors. In the
case of the AFL-CIO, iBelong acts as the group's Internet service
provider, offering cheap access. It also developed Web sites for the
umbrella organization, as well as the individual unions the AFL
represents. Additionally, the company built a portal for each
organization's members. The portal offers many of the same services as
other, more generic, portals, but its content is tailored to be of
particular interest to the members of that particular union. For
instance, the portal for the Teamsters Union covers sports, like many
portals, but last week, in addition to the regular sports news, it
includes sports-related labor disputes, like the story of a $50 million
lawsuit brought against ABC by a sportscaster, Donna deVarona. It also
offers online shopping at companies who run union shops. So far the idea
has promise. Leslie Tolf, assistant to the president of the AFL-CIO,
said the union's iBelong portals will serve primarily as a means of
communication,. "Ideally, we'd like to get activists interested in a
much deeper level of involvement through this," Tolf said. "This would
be great for things like organizing, political campaigns and spreading
the word about bargaining agreements." Analysts seem to agree.
"IBelong's whole approach makes a lot of sense," said Charlene Li,
analyst with Forrester Research, which does Internet research. Since
these affiliated groups already exist, she said, "you don't have to go
out and create them."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C16), AUTHOR: Bob Tedeschi]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/cyber/commerce/17commerce.html)
INTERNET
2 COMPANIES TAKE SEPARATE PATHS TO SPEED DELIVERY OF WEB PAGES
Issue: Internet
Everyone wants Web pages to load faster. But, as with everything else in
the world, there is more than one opinion on how best to do this. There
are two major companies working on how best to speed up surfing.
California based Inktomi, which has America Online as a major customer,
works to improve performance by caching the most popular data on servers
located nearest to those people who request it. For example, last year
when basically every single AOL user requested the Starr report, there
were no problems, because instead of going to a government server, AOL
users were directed to one of many Inktomi servers located around the
country. On the other hand, Massachusetts -based Akamai, has Yahoo as a
client, uses a technique called content distribution to add efficiency.
This works like this: Say a user in Helsinki wants to get to a poplar
Yahoo page. Using content distribution, only the first request goes to
the Yahoo server in Palo Alto, Calif.. The rest of the page is
downloaded from servers in Finland somewhere. The Web performance
industry, already valued at $4.5 billion is expected to grow to an
astounding $25 billion in the next three years. So, needless to say,
competition is fierce, with new companies coming online all the time.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Lawrence Fisher]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/04/biztech/articles/17web.html)
ANALYSIS COUCHED IN SECRECY
Issue: Lifestyles
An increasing number of anthropologists and sociologist are going online to
research human behavior. That's because "it's where the people are," says
David Jacobson, a Brandeis University anthropology professor who studies
relationships in cyberspace. Interactions on the Internet provide social
scientists with a unique environment. "For the first time, researchers don't
have to sneak around with cameras and tape recorders and clipboards, trying
to watch people act naturally," said Joseph Walther, editor of the Journal
of Online Behavior. "That makes this an interesting way to study human
behavior in all its forms." One question is whether researchers have a
responsibility to tell people they are being studied? While professional
anthropology, sociology and psychology associations all have ethical
guidelines for research, there are no federal guildelines to address Net
research.
[SOURCE: USA Today (D3), AUTHOR: Dru Sefton]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000417/2157951s.htm)
MALONE: CABLE FIRMS MUST TUNE IN TO INTERACTIVE TV
Issue: Cable/DTV
John Malone, president and CEO of Liberty Media, recently discussed the
future of digital media in front of a large crowd in New York City. He spoke
of the rapid approach of interactive TV. Malone urged cable operators to
move fast to put digital set-top boxes into people's homes -- providing more
channels, clearer pictures and two-way communication. The payoff will come
from what Liberty calls ''a world of walled gardens'' -- the e-commerce
opportunities available on interactive TV. ''We're still in the evolving
stage,'' says Bruce Leichtman, vice president of Media and Internet
Strategies at the Yankee Group. ''I worry about overexpectations.''
Interactive TV will take time, he says, because cable operators likely won't
be able to flood the market with digital boxes.
[SOURCE: USA Today (10B), AUTHOR: David Lieberman]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000417/2157816s.htm)
TELEPHONY
UK'S SUCCESS PROMPTS EUROPE TO REVISE WIRELESS LICENSE FEES
Issue: Auctions
As bids for the United Kingdom's five third-generation wireless
licenses passed 20 billion pounds ($31.58 billion), almost seven times the
amount the U.K. Treasury had expected, other European countries are deciding
to revise their licensing fees. France is running a "beauty contest",
selecting candidates by their business plans instead of how much money they
are offering. The government is weighing a system where operators pay
upfront licensing fees and then a percentage of their Universal Mobile
Telecommunications System (UMTS) revenue each year. Italy has set a price
range for the licenses of 350 billion lire to 550 billion lire, but is
reconsidering, "I think that given the prices we're seeing in other
countries, a reasonable increase of the price range here should be
considered," said a senior Italian official. Finland, Norway and Denmark
though are avoiding the auction process altogether and have decided to award
licenses to operators who promise the fastest and most extensive rollout.
Applicants there need only pay a participation fee of 100,000 Swedish
kronor. Bidding for the licenses is so competitive because UMTS technology
will make possible much higher-speed wireless Internet services, which are
seen as do-or-die for carriers with significant aspirations domestically and
internationally.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal Interactive, AUTHOR: Staff Reporter]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB955919640364457424.htm)
WATCH OUT PHONE MAKERS, PEOPLE ARE WEARING WRIST TECHNOLOGY
Issue: InfoTech
For all of you that lusted after Dick Tracy's wrist watch, your time has
come. Swatch is just one of the companies building a watch that uses the
European-wide GSM mobile-phone standard. "I bet with you: If I take Italy,
where we have 51% market share with Swatch in volume, if you are sitting in
a cafe wearing a nice Swatch and it rings and you say 'Ciao!' well, the
moment people see it, they will want one too." said Nick Hayek Jr.,
president of Swatch watches. Other companies have plans to offer watches
with MP3 music players and even crude Internet access devices, presenting a
challenge to makers of mobile phones. "Sony, Swatch, Nintendo are all
becoming competitors to the Ericssons and Lucents of the world,... they have
much more experience making accessories for the masses and they know how to
bring a commodity to the market fast." said Gerald Maguire, professor of
communication technology at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
Casio plans to begin selling its wrist MP3 player in May. The wrist MP3
player comes with headphones and a cable to connect with a computer and can
download 33 minutes of CD-quality sound. Swatch is hinting that it will
unveil its watch phone, with two hours speaking time and a rechargeable
battery good for 18 to 24 hours, at the Sydney Olympics in September. Among
these other offerings, both products also promise to tell time.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal Interactive, AUTHOR: Alfred Kueppers and Almar
Latour]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB95590707585131772.htm)
JOURNALISM
EDITORS STRUGGLE TO INCREASE ETHNIC MIX OF NEWSROOMS
Issue: Journalism/Philanthropy
The Freedom Forum and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation are
underwriting at least $5.5 million of new efforts to widen the pipeline of
black, Asian-American, Native American and Latino journalists entering the
profession. The Freedom Forum has helped place 128 young minority
journalists in summer intern positions around the country, paying the
$350/week salary for 33 of them. The Knight Foundation has pledged $500,000
-- and may give as much as $4.5 more -- to design programs to reinvigorate
high school journalism. The efforts are meant to "increase the pipeline" and
help create new minority journalists as well as to help high school
newspapers which have been fading away.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C2), AUTHOR: Felicity Barringer]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/news-minorities.html)
FCC
A NEW FCC FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
Issue: FCC
From Press Release: A public forum to discuss the status of the initiatives
announced last August in Chairman Kennard's strategic plan, "A New FCC for
the 21st Century," will be held Friday, April 28, from 10 am to noon. The
draft plan is available on the FCC website at (www.fcc.gov/21st_century).
The forum will be held in the Commission Meeting Room at 445 12th Street,
SW, Washington, DC. It will be open to the public and seating will be
available on a first come, first served basis.
FCC Chief of Staff Kathryn Brown will give an overview of the status of the
Draft Strategic Plan as detailed in the implementation "Report Card," which
was delivered to Congress on March 21. Also, there will be presentations on
the status of the initiatives under the plan's four primary goals to
successfully carry out the transition from a market regulator to a market
facilitator. Those goals are to (1) create a model agency for the digital
age; (2) promote competition in all communications markets; (3) promote
opportunities for all Americans to benefit from the communications
revolution; and (4) manage the electromagnetic spectrum (the Nation's
airwaves) in the public interest.
The forum will be closed captioned and will be carried live on the Internet
through RealAudio from the FCC website at: (http://www.fcc.gov/realaudio/).
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/Public_Notices/2000/pnmc0005.html)
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