UNIVERSAL ACCESS
FCC To Expand 'E-Rate' Funding (WP)
Telephone Service for Indians on Reservations (FCC)
Impact of 'Digital Divide' Debated (SJ Merc)
INTERNET
Government Asks, How Big Is the Digital Economy? (CyberTimes)
Non-Traditional Teachers More Likely to Use The Net (NYT)
AOL Volunteers Sue for Pay (CyberTimes)
Australia to Vote on Internet Curbs (CyberTimes)
It's About Time and Tech (USA Today)
SATELLITE BROADCASTING
A Phoenix Rises in China (WSJ)
CONVERGENCE
Glitches Hit High-Tech AT&T Network Test (WP)
TELEPHONY/REGULATION
Regulators' Findings Could Boost Cost (SJ Merc)
Truth in Billing (FCC)
CABLE
Cable Deal For $3.6 Billion is Expected (NYT)
FCC
Simulcast of Senate FCC Oversight Hearing (Senate)
UNIVERSAL ACCESS
FCC TO EXPAND 'E-RATE' FUNDING
Issue: E-Rate
The FCC will vote tomorrow to approve a $900 million increase for the "E-rate"
program, which funds Internet and telephone discounts for schools and libraries
nationwide. In its first year, the "E-rate" program was funded with $1.3
billion that phone companies generated by adding fees to phone bills. To cover
the $900 million, the FCC said that phone companies might have to add 10 cents
a month to the average phone bill, adding that consumers will save in the end
due to recently reduced long-distance fees. Telephone companies and
politicians, disapprove of the "E-rate" program's reliance on taxes. W.J.
"Billy" Tauzin (R-LA) has even proposed another bill that would replace the
current universal service fee that telephones companies pay, with a telephone
excise taxes. The FCC will go before the Senate Commerce, Science and
Transportation Committee today to present its arguments. Already, the program
has channeled nearly $500,000 into DC libraries, which has been used to support
their basic telephone services, Internet connections and internal emails.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (p.E1), AUTHOR: John Schwartz]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-05/26/002l-052699-idx.html)
See also:
SUPPORT FOR FULL FUNDING OF E-RATE
Issue: Universal Service/E-rate
FCC Chairman William Kennard has received letters from 33 US Senators,
executives of 14 companies, including eight CEOs, and Wade Henderson and
Dorothy Height, Executive Director and Chairperson of the Leadership
Conference on Civil Rights, which enthusiastically support Chairman
Kennard's call for full funding of the e-rate. [See full list of Senators
and businesses at URL below]
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/News_Releases/1999/nrmc9032.html)
TELEPHONE SERVICE FOR INDIANS ON RESERVATIONS
Issue: Universal Service
The Federal Communications Commission has held two hearings on the subject of
overcoming obstacles to telephone service to Indians on reservations. The first
was held on January 29, 1999 at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. The second was held on March 23, 1999, at the
Sprung River Facility in the Gila River Indian Community in Chandler, Arizona.
In this Public Notice, the Commission extends the period for filing written
comments concerning the oral testimony, written statements, and other materials
received in the Arizona hearing. In a Public Notice, released March 2, 1999,
announcing the Arizona hearing, the FCC stated that it welcomed the filing of
written comments from all interested parties, and requested that those comments
be filed in BO Docket 99-11 on or before May 28, 1999. OCBO now announces that
the May 28, 1999 closing date for the Arizona hearing is extended to July 12,
1999. The Commission believes that this extension is justified for two reasons.
First, members of the Native American community have requested an extension.
Second, it is believed that the extension is justified in order to develop as
complete a factual record as possible. For further information, see the URL
below or contact Eric Jensen, at (202) 418-0990 or via e-mail at
ejensen( at )fcc.gov, at the Office of Communications Business Opportunities;
Belford Lawson at (202) 418-7264, or via e-mail at blawson( at )fcc.gov; or William
Kehoe, at (202) 418-7122 or via e-mail at bkehoe( at )fcc.gov, at the Common Carrier
Bureau.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/Public_Notices/1999/pncc9013.html)
IMPACT OF 'DIGITAL DIVIDE' DEBATED
Issue: Access
Even at this relatively early stage in the Internet's development, one clear
trend has emerged; whites are more likely than non-whites to go online. "The
ramifications are enormous in terms of jobs and where minorities will be in the
new millennium," said B.Keith Fulton, director of technical programs and policy
for the National Urban League. David Ellington, founder the company that runs
the NetNoir -- one of the most popular African-American aimed Web sites -- does
not feel the same cause for concern. "Black folks will embrace the technology
of the Internet as soon as it becomes more relevant to our lives,'' says
Ellington. A government report, entitled "Falling through the Net II'' has
quantified the current racial disparities in technology access. Blacks and
Hispanics are half as likely to own computers as whites, the report found.
Another perspective was offered by David Eisner, vice president for corporate
relations for America Online, who claims that improving Internet content is
essential to bringing more minorities online. He gives the example of the
Benton Foundation, which he says has useful information for wide audience, but
is not easily accessible.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Paul Shepard (Associated Presss)]
http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/ap/docs/478348l.htm
INTERNET
ISSUE: GOVERNMENT ASKS, HOW BIG IS THE DIGITAL ECONOMY?
Issue: Internet/Economy
For two days this week, the Department of Commerce is hosting a summit for
policymakers, academics and industry leaders to address issues regarding the
size and impact of the digital economy. "E-commerce is everywhere, and we want
to do a better job of tracking it in government statistics. We want to better
measure what e-commerce means and doesn't mean to the economy -- so decisions
are not made in a vacuum," secretary of Commerce William M. Daley said in a
keynote address. The conference is part of the Clinton Administration's effort
to better track and report the impact of the Internet on the nation's economy.
"To be frank with you, I don't expect this conference to end with a nice neat
set of conclusions," Daley said. "The questions we raise are too tough. But we
hope to achieve a better understanding of how to proceed from here."
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/05/cyber/articles/26economy.html)
NON-TRADITIONAL TEACHERS MORE LIKELY TO USE THE NET
Issue: EdTech
Teachers who encourage class participation more than lecturing are more likely
to use the Internet in the classroom, said Jay Becker, a professor in the
department of education at the University of California Irvine and author of a
recent study, "Internet Use by Teachers: Conditions of Professional Use and
Teacher-Directed Student Use." Becker's report, which includes statistics on
frequency of use of the Internet, email, word processing and CD-ROMS, surveyed
2,251 teachers in grades four through 12. The study is perhaps the most
in-depth national look to date at the Internet and how teachers perceive and
use it. Among other data, the report found that "65% of those with the
strongest progressive leanings considered the Internet 'essential' to a
classroom, compared to 34% of teachers with the most traditional teaching
styles and views." Becker advocates a progressive method of learning called
'constructivism', where teachers are guides or facilitators to knowledge,
rather than instructors of pre-determined skills and facts, and where students
have more control of their studies than in conventional classrooms. Critic Tom
Loveless, an associate professor who teaches courses in education policy at
Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, believes that
curriculum based on fixed content, rather than through student exploration is
necessary and fears that constructivist teachers using the Internet might just
be wasting kids' time. The Internet is essential in the classroom, he says, but
predicts that the Internet will be a tool that is used occasionally.
[SOURCE: CyberTimes (p.10), AUTHOR: Pamela Mendels]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/05/cyber/education/26education.html)
AUSTRALIA TO VOTE ON INTERNET CURBS
Issue: Internet/ Content
A controversial measure to block children's access to pornography on the
Internet will likely be enacted by Australian legislators latter this week or
next. The legislation would create a new bureau of the Australian Broadcasting
Authority that would be charged with removing objectionable material from
Australian-based Web sites and blocking access to offensive overseas sites.
Critics vocally oppose the bill on grounds that it would be technically
implausible, harmful to the economy and that it lacks community support. Greg
Watson, vice-president of Australia's Internet Society says that major studies
on the issue indicate "the community is more concerned with the Government
imposing a censorship regime than content on the Internet, and that any
regulation should be in the hands of the end user." Ramin Marzbani, chief
executive of the e-commerce research company www.consult, said he feared that
the passage of the bill "would put us out of sync with our major information
economy trading partner, the U.S. Content regulation is effectively the same as
commerce regulation."
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/05/cyber/articles/26australia.html)
AOL VOLUNTEERS SUE FOR PAY
Issue: Employment
Two former volunteers for AOL have filed a suit against the company in order to
gain back wages they say were earned performing a variety of tasks for the
company. Kelly Hallisey and Brian Williams were among the thousands of AOL
"community leaders" who lead chat groups, police bulletin boards and advise
other users in exchange for free service. The plaintiffs say the company is a
different place now than when they began. "It was a situation that used to be
mutually beneficial, and now I see people being taken advantage of," says
Hallisey. This cases raises important issues about how work is defined in the
Information Age. Michael Rubin, an employment lawyer, says that the plaintiffs
must show that the company relied on the volunteers to perform essential
services for the company. "If the economic realities test demonstrates that
they worked as employees, then this is a straightforward case," he said.
"Calling them volunteers does not make them volunteers any more than calling a
tail a leg makes a dog have five legs."
[SOURCE: CyberTimes, AUTHOR: Lisa Napoli]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/05/cyber/articles/26aol.html)
See also:
TWO EX-AOL VOLUNTEERS FILE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/008054.htm)
IT'S ABOUT TIME AND TECH
Issue: Anthropology
Anthropologists are undertaking a ten-year study called the Silicon Valley
Cultures Project (www.sjsu.edu/depts/anthropology/svcp) of how 12 families in
Silicon Valley divide their time between work and family life. They are finding
that the boundaries between the two are disappearing, that technology is what
is holding both areas of life together, and that "outsourcing" grocery shopping
and rides to soccer practices is common. They say "these trends could be
harbingers of things to come for the rest of the country as technology becomes
pervasive and our lives begin to run on hyperfast "Internet time." The
anthropologists are also finding that families are mobile, that they spend
little time together at home,and that every moment of family life is scheduled.
[SOURCE: USA Today (p.1D), AUTHOR: Elizabeth Weise] (www.usatoday.com)
See Also: COMPANIES LEARN VALUE OF GRASS ROOTS [SOURCE: USA Today (p.4D),
AUTHOR: Elizabeth Weise] (www.usatoday.com)
SATELLITE BROADCASTING
A PHOENIX RISES IN CHINA
Issue: Satellite Broadcasting
Rupert Murdoch's Phoenix Satellite Television Station, an affiliate of News
Corp, is thriving in China; proving to be a "victory of marketing over memory"
in a country where foreign satellite broadcasts have been illegal for years.
Phoenix has the farthest reach of any foreign channel in the country -- mainly
among upscale urban viewers -- and has a blue-chip base of advertisers that
have helped push ad sales up more than 40% a year. The millions of Chinese who
receive the broadcasts do so by way of News Corp's Star TV based in Hong-Kong.
Murdoch's station is the only competition to Chinese state television and is
expected to reach 130 million viewers by next month when a crackdown by the
government is anticipated. The government occasionally cracks down on foreign
satellite broadcasting and industry specialists say the measure is aimed at
programming originating in Taiwan, or may be timed for next month's 10th
anniversary of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy demonstrations. The foreign
satellite company is not concerned, saying it has "ridden out the twists and
turns of state policy before." The company has also proven its success with its
business model, and Chinese officials might soon be more open to Murdoch's
idea: That the "media can be a business like any other."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: Leslie Chang]
(http://wsj.com/)
CONVERGENCE
GLITCHES HIT HIGH-TECH AT&T NETWORK TEST
Issue: Convergence
AT&T 's original plans to implement a $90 billion voice, digital TV and
high-speed Internet network will be slightly altered to fix some technological
difficulties that were discovered durring a test of the system in Fremont (CA).
Though AT&T denies there have been any problems in Freemont, they will test
solutions in Salt Lake City (UT) that include increasing "call clarity" and
making sure that the phones and wires inside homes can be remotely monitored in
case of emergencies. Instead of running fiber-optic cable to neighborhoods with
600 people, it will run the cable to clusters of 50-75 homes, increasing
capacity tenfold. It also plans to develop a central network power system to
eliminate the use of batteries that power the phones. AT&T's plan is the "most
ambitious and adventurous in the history of Corporate America". AT&Ts is not
concerned with the size or cost of the project saying that much of the increase
will be offset because the network will be cheaper to run. When finished the
new services will reach one-fourth of the 103 million U.S. homes.
[SOURCE: USA Today (p.3B), AUTHOR: Steve Rosenbush)
(www.usatoday.com)
TELEPHONY/REGULATION
REGULATORS' FINDINGS COULD BOOST COST
Issue: Internet
The California Utilities Commission is considering proposal that could change
the fees the Internet service providers and local phone companies pay one
another to carry each other's calls. Currently, calls to Internet service
providers are considered local calls. But soon, state regulators might view
such calls as long-distance, which would result in higher fees. Consumer groups
fear that increased charges for ISPs would mean greater expense for consumers
and drive some providers out of business.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Los Angeles Times]
http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/internet26.htm
TRUTH IN BILLING
Issue: Telephone Regulation
In a dissenting statement, Commissioner Furchtgott-Roth expresses his concerns
about the FCC's direct involvement in commercial billing issues: I. The Legal
Authority for These Billing Requirements Is Questionable, And The Order's
Underlying Assumptions Contradict The Telecommunications Act's Deregulatory
Mandate; II. The "Truth-in-Billing" Order is Internally Inconsistent,
Arbitrary, and Misleading; III. The History of the Universal Service Program
and "Truth-In-Billing"; and IV. The Standardized Labeling Requirements for
Universal Service Charges Raise Grave First Amendment
Questions.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Furchtgott_Roth/Statements/sthfr921.html)
CABLE
CABLE DEAL FOR $3.6 BILLION IS EXPECTED
Issue: Mergers
Charter Communications is expected to buy Falcon Cable Holding of Los Angeles
in a stock swap valued at $3.6 billion. Charter is owned by Microsoft
co-founder Paul Allen who may be buying two other smaller cable companies as
well. Charter has committed itself to $3.7 billion in cable purchases this year
including $845 million for Avalon Cable Television.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Laura Holson]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/allen-deal.html)
FCC
SIMULCAST OF SENATE FCC OVERSIGHT HEARING
Issue: FCC
Today's 2:00pm (eastern) Senate Commerce Committee on FCC oversight can be
followed on the Web with RealAudio at
(pnm://video.srt.net/~srs_live/commerce052699.rm). All five FCC Commissioners
are expected to testify.
[SOURCE: US Senate]
(http://www.senate.gov/~commerce/press/106-69.htm)
--------------------------------------------------------------