DIGITAL DIVIDE
Rural, Blue-Collar Virginia Town Is in Battle Over Broadband Access
(WSJ)
Getting Our Girls Ready for the 21st Century Act HR 1536 (Newsbytes)
Student Writers Try to Duck the Censors by Going Online (NYT)
INTERNET
Coordination And Management Of .Us Top Level Domain (NTIA)
ICANN Watcher Warns Against Delay On Governance (Newsbytes)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
RURAL, BLUE-COLLAR VIRGINIA TOWN IS IN BATTLE OVER BROADBAND ACCESS
Issue: Broadband
The town leaders of Bristol, VA were thrilled when a federal judge in May
overturned a state law that had prevented efforts by the Bristol Utilities
Board to wire the town for commercial-broadband service. The town had spent
$7 million laying a high-speed fiber-optic network when no commercial
carrier was willing to install one. But soon after, the state legislature --
responding to pressure from big telecommunications companies -- passed a law
barring municipalities from providing telecommunications services to anyone
other than themselves. The fight raises questions about the commitment of
the private sector to bridging the so-called digital divide in rural
America, even as it lobbies in Washington for deregulation and other
considerations by promising to extend high-speed networks to remote places.
According to Forrester Research in Cambridge, Mass., about 14% of urban
households with Internet service have broadband, compared with 8% of rural
households.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Mark Wigfield]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB991860790592533441.htm)
(requires subscription)
GETTING OUR GIRLS READY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY ACT HR 1536
Issue: Digital Divide
Getting Our Girls Ready for the 21st Century Act HR 1536 bill can be
followed on the Internet on a Web site hosted by the nonprofit organization
Dads and Daughters. Visitors are encouraged to learn more about the bill and
get involved by contacting their members of Congress. The site announces
that the legislation "would encourage girls to pursue studies and careers in
science, mathematics, engineering, and technology by sparking girls interest
early so that they (and their teachers) are motivated to create more
opportunities."
The site is on the Web at:
http://www.dadsanddaughters.org/Actions/gogirlaction.htm
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166532.html)
INTERNET
STUDENT WRITERS TRY TO DUCK THE CENSORS BY GOING ONLINE
Issue: Internet
Thousands of high school students have flocked to the Internet in recent
years to start underground newspapers, where they may publish articles or
art censored from school-sponsored papers or simply put their thoughts on
Web pages. A fear of school violence has heightened administrators' concern
about underground publications and the controversies they may raise. Some
principals have been quick to suspend or expel students over their online
creations, leading to lawsuits in several states about the reach of school
officials. Several court rulings, however, have found that the Internet is
outside the reach of public school administrators if students post and view
their Web site articles off school grounds.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jeffrey Selingo]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/07/technology/07HIGH.html)
(requires registration)
ICANN WATCHER WARNS AGAINST DELAY ON GOVERNANCE
Issue: Internet
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is raising
eyebrows in the community for not meeting a deadline set by its own bylaws
to report on the controversial election process of at-large members to the
board of directors by the second quarterly meeting in 2001. Lawyer Alan
Davidson of the ICANN watchdog group Center for Democracy and Technology
(CDT) warned that ICANN could be heading for a train wreck when it moves to
elect new leadership next year. Davidson said the delay is an indication of
the ongoing debate over the role of the Internet public in the ICANN system,
highlighted by the recent announcement that ICANN's country-code top-level
domain constituency would pull out of one of its supporting organizations.
The "[country-code top-level domain] (defection) is emblematic of a much
deeper frustration in the bottom-up governance process at ICANN," Davidson
said. "Groups no longer feel like they can get redress through the
supporting organizations."
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: David McGuire]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166558.html)
COORDINATION AND MANAGEMENT OF .US TOP LEVEL DOMAIN
Issue: Internet
The U. S. Department of Commerce (DOC), National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) intends to issue a written solicitation Request for
Quotations for management and coordination of the.us top level domain. The
RFQ will be issued on June 11.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/usrfp/cbd52501.txt)
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