MERGERS
Ameritech to Sell Half of Wireless Business to GTE (NYT)
America Online Buys When Inc., an Internet Calendar Provider (NYT)
MCI To Hold Talks On Acquiring Nextel (WSJ)
INTERNET
Capital Dispatch (CyberTimes)
Online Aliases No Shield From Law (SJ Merc)
Report To Re-Ignite Net Privacy Debate (SJ Merc)
Microsoft, Net Group Kick-Start New Privacy Technology (SJ Merc)
Dispensing of Drugs on Internet Stirs Debate (CyberTimes)
Prodigy Plans Internet Service For Spanish Speakers In The US (WSJ)
SPECTRUM
International Spectrum Management Seminar (NTIA)
MERGERS
AMERITECH TO SELL HALF OF WIRELESS BUSINESS TO GTE
Issue: Mergers
Ameritech will sell roughly half of its wireless telephone business to a
venture led by GTE for ~$3.3 billion in cash. Analysts see the move as a way
to help along the proposed SBC-Ameritech merger as 1) the two companies have
wireless units in Chicago and St Louis and a combined company can only have
one wireless operation in each market and 2) the GTE-backed venture is
headed by a black and therefore supposed to appeal to FCC Chairman Bill
Kennard. In a statement, SBC said: "Creating more diversity within the
telecommunications industry is an important goal for a number of parties,
not the least of which is the FCC, which has repeatedly urged the industry
to identify these opportunities. Since we announced the SBC-Ameritech merger
last May, we recognized that the sale of the overlapping wireless properties
would create an opportunity for us to do well by our shareowners and good by
achieving the goal of expanding diversity within the ranks of industry
ownership."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Seth Schiesel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/04/biztech/articles/06wire.html)
See also:
GTE BUYING AMERITECH CELLULAR PHONE BUSINESS
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1), AUTHOR: Jon Van]
(http://chicagotribune.com/textversion/article/0,1492,ART-26572,00.html)
AMERITECH SELLS CELLULAR UNTIS
(http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WAPO/19990405/V000647-040599-idx...)
AMERICA ONLINE BUYS WHEN INC., AN INTERNET CALENDAR PROVIDER
Issue: Mergers
America Online announced that it has purchased When Inc, for an undisclosed
amount of its stock. The company offers a popular Web-based calendar service
know as When.com (www.when.com). The service allows users to keep track of
personal schedules and coordinate events with other users. "Once individuals
and groups begin to use When.com's calendar to schedule and share their
personal events, being online will become an even more important part of
people's daily lives," America Online's president, Robert W. Pittman, said
in statement. The service is seen as another way to keep customers online
and to increase the value of Internet audiences to advertisers.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C6), AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/04/biztech/articles/06aol.html)
MCI TO HOLD TALKS ON ACQUIRING NEXTEL
Issue: Mergers
With the pending merger between AirTouch Communications and Vodafone, Nextel
is the last independent US wireless company. This may not last long as MCI
WorldCom is considering buying the company. Nextel and MCIWorldCom have not
yet reached a deal and people close to the negotiations say a deal may never be
reached. With AT&T's Digital One Rate wireless service, more and more people
are subscribing, putting pressure on WorldComm to go wireless. Bernard Ebbers,
chairman of MCI WorldCom, is leery of a deal that would dilute earnings, but may
be persuaded by Nextel's focus on business subscribers as it would like to move
into this market. Nextel boasts competitive technology, offering a
walkie-talkie button on the side of the phone that allow groups of 10 to
communicate. Nextel covers 70% of the US. A deterrent for MCI WorldCom may be
Nextel's large debt and the fact that it operates in a small space of broadcast
spectrum.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A3), AUTHOR: Steve Lipin, Nicole Harris, and
Rebecca Blumenstein]
(http://wsj.com/)
INTERNET
CAPITAL DISPATCH
Issue: Privacy
A review of current hot policy issues that include: 1) two competing
encryption bills and the split they may cause between the information
technology industry and privacy advocates, 2) the seven Internet-related
bills (http://www.state.va.us/governor/newsre/web0330.htm) signed into law
last week in Virginia covering junk email, privacy the public's right to
information, and creates a Secretary of Technology, 3) the April 8 deadline
for companies to submit applications to ICANN (http://www.icann.org) to
enter the business of registering top-level domain names, and 4) the annual
Computers, Freedom and Privacy Conference (http://www.cfp99.org) in DC this
week.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing (jeri( at )nytimes.com)]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/04/cyber/articles/06capital.html)
ONLINE ALIASES NO SHIELD FROM LAW
Issue: Privacy
Yes, people on the Internet can grumble in the anonymity of chat rooms or
electronic message boards. And one of their favorite targets is the boss.
The courts take a different view of your right to remain safely behind an
alias or screen name if they feel what is being said could be illegal or a
violation of a contract. In a current breach of contract case Yahoo had to
provide Raytheon Co. with all the personal information it had on 21
defendants for a case alleging they disclosed "certain Raytheon proprietary
and confidential information on the Internet" via anonymous postings on a
Yahoo electronic message board. Two Raytheon employees have already
resigned. Experts say the requirement to give up information is not that
unusual. Last week America Online did much the same when it gave law
enforcement officials evidence to track suspected "Melissa" virus author
David L. Smith. The Raytheon case, however, offers a clear lesson to users
of electronic messaging systems and other online services: It is important
to examine carefully the rules under which online pseudonyms can be
revealed. Yahoo, for one, requires users to read and agree to its policy
before they can use the free service.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Deborah Claymon]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/rayth040699.htm)
REPORT TO RE-IGNITE NET PRIVACY DEBATE
Issue: Privacy
The Federal Trade Commission is warning that it will regulate Internet sites
unless there is evidence they are publishing clear policies on how personal
data are used. The FTC wants Internet companies to inform their customers
about the information they collect and what they do with it. Right now
Internet marketing groups are collecting and storing complete "clickstream"
data about a user's every move. Some companies are beginning to offer
technological solutions in the debate over who should have information and
how much should they have. Privaseek's Persona service will allow people to
volunteer information and then stipulate how it is to be used. The company
will then deny access to this information to any site that does not meet its
privacy standards. Lumeria's Superprofile aims to give the Internet user
control over both volunteered personal data and the "clickstream" data
collected from Internet movements. Zero Knowledge proposed to encrypt a
user's communications across the Internet. As a result, even Internet
service providers will have no knowledge of the individual's online activities.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Financial Times]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/priv040699.htm)
MICROSOFT, NET GROUP KICK-START NEW PRIVACY TECHNOLOGY
Issue: Privacy
The Electronic Frontier Foundation and Microsoft are expected to offer a
free digital tool kit today that eventually can be used to allow consumers
to use next-generation computer software to restrict what personal details
Web sites collect about them. The announcement comes as an important privacy
conference kicks off in Washington. The technology, called the platform for
privacy preferences or P3P, can be used by Internet merchants to write
electronic privacy promises that can automatically be interpreted by a Web
browser or other software. For consumers their Internet browsers could
review a company's privacy promises electronically and issue a warning only
if it can't find a privacy statement or if the Web site wants more
information than a customer has indicated a willingness to disclose. Use of
the technology would mean new browser software and is at least months from
implementation. Intermind Corp. holds a key patent for P3P and, although it
has expressed a willingness to license it, is likely to be engaged in a
legal battle and could slow implementation further. The tool kit will be
available at (http://privacy.linkexchange.com).
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/004032.htm)
DISPENSING OF DRUGS ON INTERNET STIRS DEBATE
Issue: E-Commerce
A look at the distribution of prescription drugs over the Internet.
Typically, drugs are approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration,
prescribed by doctors who are licensed by state medical boards, and
dispensed by pharmacies licensed by state pharmaceutical boards. Using the
borderless Internet, however, people purchase drugs from sources not
licensed by these agencies. In some areas, for example, it is unlawful to
prescribe drugs without an examination (it is also against the American
Medical Association's code). But these laws were written before the Internet
and do not factor in the questions raised by the medium. Some people also
"swap" drugs using the Internet. Reform of policy could take awhile. Last
month, the House Commerce Committee commissioned the General Accounting
Office to conduct a study on the scope of the prescription drug trade online.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Lisa Napoli]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/040699sci-online-pharmac...)
PRODIGY PLANS INTERNET SERVICE FOR SPANISH SPEAKERS IN THE US
Issue: Internet Content
"Es tuyo el Internet." "The Internet -- it's yours," is the message Prodigy is
sending out today as part of its ad campaign for a Spanish language Internet
service, being offered in the US. While Yahoo and Star Media Network offer
Spanish language content, and AOL launched Internet service in Mexico and
Argentina in December, Prodigy is unique in launching Spanish language Internet
service first in the US. The service includes software to be downloaded from
the Internet, 24 hour technical support, and content from Prodigy partners
(including CNN en Espanol, Yahoo en Espanol, The Wall Street Journal Americas)
-- all in Spanish. The cost is the same as English speaking service -- $19.95
per month for unlimited surfing. "No one is really focused on the US Hispanic
Internet market," says Andrea Williams, an Internet analyst, while 27% of the
Spanish speaking population in the U.S. own a personal computer and only 11%
have Internet service.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: Andrea Petersen]
(http://wsj.com/)
SPECTRUM
INTERNATIONAL SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT SEMINAR
Issue: Spectrum
For the 17th consecutive year, the U.S. Commerce Department's National
Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA) and the United States Telecommunications
Training Institute (USTTI) will provide extensive radio spectrum management
training to leading regulators and communications professionals from diverse
parts of the world. The course, being held April 12-23, 1999, involves 20
participants from 16 developing countries, including Laos, Cyprus, Ukraine,
Ghana, Guyana, Papua New Guinea, Zambia, and the People's Republic of China.
The training will be provided by NTIA's Office of Spectrum Management, with
assistance from officials of Comsearch and Motorola, a USTTI Corporate Board
Member. Held at the Department of Commerce, the training course will address
various elements of spectrum management principles, engineering analysis,
and computer-aided spectrum management techniques. In the previous 16 years,
NTIA has trained 370 individuals from 105 countries on radio spectrum
management. For more information about the USTTI, please contact Brit
Blakeney or Elizabeth Hogan at USTTI at 202-785-7373 or Fred Matos, NTIA's
Office of Spectrum Management, at (202) 482-6493.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/ustiipr50499.htm)
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