EDTECH
Education: Government Internet Subsidy Stretched to Its Limits (NTY)
INTERNET & SOCIETY
Growing Invisibility Is Internet's Utility (WP)
INTERNATIONAL
The Power Of Technology To Escape Poverty (Wired)
Iran Clamps down on Internet Cafes (Wired)
EDTECH
EDUCATION: GOVERNMENT INTERNET SUBSIDY STRETCHED TO ITS LIMITS
Issue: EdTech
As school and library requests for discounted Internet connections and
wiring are now far outstripping the resources available for the e-rate
program, federal Communications Commission officials are pondering a rule
change that would give funding priorities this year to schools
and libraries that did not receive funds last year for internal wiring.
Because the e-rate remains so politically sensitive, its supporters are not
pushing for additional money to meet the growing demand for fear they will
upset the program's fragile balance of support. "I don't think there's been
any talking about increasing the cap [on e-rate funds]. It was such a
contentious battle to get what we've got," said Norris Dickard, a senior
associate at the Benton Foundation. "But the demand exceeds the supply." The
e-rate program, created by the 1996 Telecommunications Act, provides
subsidies to schools and libraries to pay for wiring and telephone costs.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Rebecca S. Weiner]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/15/technology/16EDUCATION.html)
(requires registration)
INTERNET & SOCIETY
GROWING INVISIBILITY IS INTERNET'S UTILITY
Issue: Internet and Society
Nearly 60 percent of homes are connected to the Internet, and even more
offices are networked. Over half of everyone with the capability will log on
each day. According to a Nielsen/NetRatings study, people spend an average
of 16 hours a day on line. But according to a survey by the Pew Internet and
Life Project, nearly half the people who are not on-line have no desire to
be. The transformation of the communications through the computer network is
not a smooth high-speed train of progress. It is more analogous to the fits
and starts of laying the interstate highway system, or the building of the
electric industry more than 100 years ago where people are sandwiched and
test subjects in the painful transition. The hope for the future of the
Internet is that it will become an all-purpose personal assistant fulfilling
our every information need from birth to death, what's sometimes called
"pervasive computing." Over the next 4 years, broadband access and
interactive television are among the technologies expected to grow the
fastest. But imagine if when telephones were first installed in homes but
they couldn't be used to call each other. Also, imagine if they didn't work
even if they were networked. That's how digital technology is developing.
Next-generation networks may take the next decade to half a century to be
built.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Leslie Walker]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/washtech/techweek/A26572-2001May14.html)
INTERNATIONAL
THE POWER OF TECHNOLOGY TO ESCAPE POVERTY
Issue: Digital Divide
The poorest in the developing world are starting to use technology that is
becoming increasingly available to them to look for jobs, sell their goods,
communicate, learn skills and better their lives. According to a recent
U.N. report, merely 2 percent of Asians and Latin Americans, and less than 1
percent of Africans are connected to the Internet. "The entrepreneurial
spirit in developing nations is stronger than any other area of the world,"
says Roberto Milk, co-founder and president of Novica.com, a Web site that
sells native crafts from 23 countries. "These people lead a tough life. If
given the tools, incredible things will happen. They will do almost anything
to succeed." Governments, large corporations, small entrepreneurs and
nonprofits are working to bridge the digital and economic divides using
technology. Geekcorps.org is sending tech experts to developing nations
like Ghana to help expand the Internet around the world. In July 2000, seven
industrialized nations commissioned the DOT Force, the Digital Opportunity
Task Force, to make recommendations on how the global digital divide can be
bridged.
[SOURCE: Information Week, AUTHOR: Mary E. Thyfault]
(http://www.informationweek.com/830/dd2.htm)
IRAN CLAMPS DOWN ON INTERNET CAFES
Issue: Freedom of Speech
Hundreds of "cybercafes" were closed in Tehran as part of a state ordered
clampdown, reported Iranian newspapers, because they were offering cheap
long-distance calls over the Internet, violating regulations protecting the
monopoly Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI). Some newspapers and caf