Universal Service
Furchtgott-Roth Criticizes Emphasis on E-Rate (TelecomAM)
FCC Asks Joint Board for Universal Service Recommendations
(TelecomAM)
Universal Service Support for Non-Rural Carriers that
Serve High Cost Areas (FCC)
Some Guiding Principles on the Deployment of
Advanced Telecommunications Capabilities (NTIA)
Infrastructure
Copper may remain king in communications (ChicagoTrib)
FCC to Ease Rules On Local Phone Firms For Data Networks (WSJ)
WorldCom to Announce Opening Today of Its Pan-European
Telecom Network (WSJ)
Electronic Commerce
House Reaches Compromise on Digital Copyright Law (NYT)
Congress Is Challenging State Internet Fees (NYT)
Taxdodge.com (ChiTrib)
The New Synergy (NYT)
Testing to Begin on System to Fight 'Spam' (NYT)
Television & Broadcasting
Talks With USA Show NBC's Expansion Goal (NYT)
Fast Track To Anxiety In TV News (NYT)
FCC: Committed to Diversity (WP)
PAX Net Apologizes for Ad (WP)
Paxson Pitches Diversity Plan (B&C)
Advertising
Madison Ave. Is a Hall of Mirrors (NYT)
Soap and Diaper makers Pitch to masses of Web Women (WSJ)
Antitrust
Debate Grows Over the Role An Operating System Plays (NYT)
Satellites
Bringing Intelsat Back to Earth (NYT)
Books
'Ulysses' at Top As panel Picks 100 Best Novels (NYT)
** Universal Service **
Title: Furchtgott-Roth Criticizes Emphasis on E-Rate
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: The Telecom Act "primarily wanted action for rural America, and
rural America was ignored," FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth told the
International Telecard Foundation. He acknowledged the importance of
education, but said that the "rule of law is more important" and that no
matter how worthy a cause is, "government agencies should follow the laws as
written." The Telecom Act was designed to offer support for services, not
computer equipment like routers and computers, Commissioner Harold
Furchtgott-Roth. Misdirection of the funds could create a billion-dollar
market for computer equipment.
Title: FCC Asks Joint Board for Universal Service Recommendations
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: The Federal Communications Commission has asked the
Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service for recommendations on
universal service support for nonrural carriers serving high-cost regions.
The Commission said that during the next year, it will not change its
methods for determining universal service support levels: "Existing levels
of high cost support will be maintained, and consumers in high cost areas
will continue to enjoy access to affordable telephone service." The issues
referred to by the Joint Board include: 1) How to determine support for high
cost support to non-rural carriers; 2) the extent to which federal support
should be applied to the
intrastate jurisdiction; and 3) how providers should recover contributions
through rates, surcharges and other means. The FCC has asked the Joint Board
for recommendations by November 23. [See FCC item below]
Title: Universal Service Support for Non-Rural Carriers that
Serve High Cost Areas
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/News_Releases/1998/nrcc8048.html
Issue: Universal Service
Description: The FCC has asked the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal
Service for recommendations related to the amount of universal service
support that non-rural telephone companies should receive for serving high
cost areas. This Commission noted that further coordination with state
regulators should provide valuable input that will enhance the development
of universal service and competition policies.
Title: Some Guiding Principles on the Deployment of
Advanced Telecommunications Capabilities
Source: NTIA
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fccfilings/sec706.htm
Author: Larry Irving
Issue: Universal Service & Access
Description: NTIA, on behalf of the Administration, sent a letter to the FCC
offering some guiding principles on a soon to be initiated inquiry, mandated
by section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (1996 Act), into the
deployment of advanced telecommunications capabilities. [See post of entire
letter later today]
** Infrastructure **
Title: Copper may remain king in communications
Source: Chicago Tribune
http://chicagotribune.com/textversion/article/0,1492,SAV-9807200019,00.html
Author: Jon Healey
Issue: Infrastructure
Description: In the mid-90's telco's like PacTel said they would start
building the networks of the future -- fiber optic networks that would
replace existing lines. Now PacTel and others are saying the networks of the
future have been built, but they are not fiber -- they are the existing
copper wires our phones use today. With advances in technology, the industry
now believes high-speed communications and video can be sent offer
traditional phone lines. Some industry analysts think that copper can't keep
up with all the information services flowing to the home.
Title: FCC to Ease Rules On Local Phone Firms For Data Networks
Source: Wall Street Journal (A14)
http://wsj.com/
Author: WSJ Staff Reporter
Issue: Infrastructure
Description: The Federal Communications Committee is planning to ease some
competitive requirements on the nation's heavily regulated phone carriers in
an effort to encourage the development of high-speed Internet networks.
Under the new proposal, to be approved probably next month, "new high-speed
data networks won't be subject to those requirements as long as the local
carriers create separate affiliates to provide the service, FCC officials
said." The commission hopes that by requiring these networks to be created
independently, a marketplace will be established where competitors can get
off on equal footing.
Title: WorldCom to Announce Opening Today of Its Pan-European Telecom Network
Source: Wall Street Journal (A10)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Gautam Naik
Issue: Infrastructure
Description: WorldCom Inc. is expected to announce today that its nearly
2,000 mile pan-European telecommunications network, linking London,
Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris and Frankfort, is open for business. "Now a
business customer can have a video-phone on the desk of every executive in
Chicago and Frankfort," says Liam Strong, chief executive officer of
WorldCom's international unit. "We're breaking the mold." WorldCom plans to
stretch its fiber-optic system, dubbed Ulysses, to Milan Zurich and some
regions of France outside Paris.
** Electronic Commerce **
Title: House Reaches Compromise on Digital Copyright Law
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes-7/18)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/07/cyber/articles/18copyright.html
Author: Jeri Clausing
Issue: Copyright
Description: On Friday, the House Commerce Committee passed a bill that
would establish a review process to ensure that new digital prohibitions
don't trample on the "fair use' doctrines of traditional copyright law. Over
the past month the Commerce Committee has struggled to craft a "fair use"
compromise between those interests of movie and record producers and
software makers, and those of schools and libraries, "who feared they could
lose the right to do things as simple as making copies of electronic works."
Early on Friday morning, the two sides struck a deal and the Commerce
Committee, on a 41-to-0 vote, sent that version to the House floor. However,
before the House can vote on the bill, lawmakers must reconcile it with the
earlier version approved by the Judiciary Committee.
Title: Congress Is Challenging State Internet Fees
Source: New York Times (C2)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/20tax.html
Author: David Cay Johnston
Issue: Legislation
Description: The Internet Tax Freedom Act, passed by the House last month
and moving through the Senate, would ban taxes on Internet access in all
states but eight which already collect fees on the service. The eight
states, however, would have to re-enact their legislation after passage of
the Internet Act.Frank Shafroth, policy director for the National League of
Cities, said: "All eight states have Republican governors, and for seven
it's election time this fall. And there is such incredible terror these days
when anyone accuses you of wanting to raise taxes that at most two of these
states will have the courage to re-enact their existing tax law." "That's
not a grandfather clause; that's a dead man's clause," said Eugene Gavin,
the commissioner of the Department of Revenue Services in Connecticut, one
of the eight states. The content of the bill is being heavily influenced by
lobbying by America Online, the nation's largest Internet service provider,
Mr. Shafroth says.
Title: Taxdodge.com
Source: Chicago Tribune (sec 1, p.13)
http://chicago.tribune.com
Author: John McCarron
Issue: Electronic Commerce
Description: In Commentary piece McCarron writes that the press is missing
the story of electronic commerce. If we're at the dawn of an age in which
people use computers to shop "who's going to pay for state and local taxes."
Sales taxes account for 1/3 of the tax revenues in Illinois and 1/5 of
Chicago's. Big savings could draw more and more people to online shopping
and, if it does, what will that mean for property taxes which are supported
mainly by commercial retailers? "In a better world, a national protocol
would be set up so people would pay sales taxes not according to their
method of purchase, but where they live, which is to say, at the level their
elected representatives have determined."
Title: The New Synergy
Source: New York Times (C3)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/digicom/20digicom.html
Author: Denise Caruso
Issue: Electronic Commerce
Description: "Synergy" is an 80's word making a strong comeback in the
digital 90's. "Boiled down, what the term describes is parking old content
in a new garage: If you liked the movie, then you'll love the TV show, the
book, the magazine piece, the video game, the soundtrack, the action
figures, the desk accessories and -- au courant! -- the Web site." The New
Synergy is about creating cross-over hits -- like a computer game spawning a
TV show and book star (i.e. Carmen Sandiego) or a video game leading to a
book and a movie and 2,000 Web sites (Lara Croft, Tomb Raider).
Title: Testing to Begin on System to Fight 'Spam'
Source: New York Times (C8)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/20spam.html
Author: John Markoff
Issue: Internet/Email
Description: Bright Light Technologies www.brightlight.com will release a
test version of a system aimed at combating unsolicited, commercial email --
known affectionately as Spam. On some networks, Spam makes up more than 50%
of all electronic mail. Special decoy email accounts will collect spam and
copies of the messages will be blocked by a "spam wall" installed on mail
servers.
** Television & Broadcasting **
Title: Talks With USA Show NBC's Expansion Goal
Source: New York Times (C7)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/media-talk.html
Author: Bill Carter
Issue: Television Economics
Description: NBC's parent, General Electric, may want out of the volatile
television network business. Reports that GE has been in talks with cable
channel USA Networks has reignited speculation. Warren Littlefield, the
president of NBC Entertainment said that while the talks with USA did not
result in a deal "something is going to happen....whether that is a spinoff
or a joint venture or a merger of some kind, it's clear that we're going to
try to do something in the future with some other entity." The process is
the result of a goal articulated by NBC's president Robert Wright: finding
an entertainment cable channel that could provide a secondary revenue source
for programming owned by the network.
Title: Fast Track To Anxiety In TV News
Source: New York Times (C1)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/tv-producers-media.html
Author: Doreen Carvajal
Issue: Journalism
Description: The CNN/Vietnam nerve gas story has rattled television news
producers who argue that experienced correspondents preside over stories
like tough editors. The producers of the CNN story were dismissed while
veteran correspondent Peter Arnett maintained that he was simply a "face"
with minimal involvement. "Producers are the journalists who track down
impossible facts with the cunning of hunters -- booking the camera crew,
searching for sources, finding the location, writing the script, editing the
material -- and all for salaries that are usually 10 times less than what
correspondents make," Carvajal reports
Title: FCC: Committed to Diversity
Source: Washington Post (A16)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-07/20/005l-072098-idx.h...
Author: William E. Kennard (Chairman, Federal Communications Commission)
Issue: Minorities/Employment
Description: Chairman Kennard responds to a recent letter concerning the
D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision in which FCC's equal opportunity
employment recruiting policy to be unconstitutional. He argues that minority
employment in broadcasting has almost doubled since the 1971 implementation
of the minority outreach and recruitment policies recently overturned by the
court. "This is not about 'racial tastes,'" suggests Kennard, "it is about
inclusion, opportunity and merit." He adds, "In a nation whose strength is
the diversity of its people, broadcasting's viability depends, in part, on
its connection to all Americans."
Title: PAX Net Apologizes for Ad
Source: Washington Post (C7)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Issue: Advertising
Description: A new television service, PAX Net, that plans to offer only
non-offensive programs has already offended some people with its first print
ads. PAX Net's president Jeff Sagansky has vehemently apologized for what
many perceived homophobic wording that accused "so-called creative people
using what was once the family hour to peddle every kind of alternative
language and lifestyle to our kids."
Title: Paxson Pitches Diversity Plan
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p6)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Chris McConnell and Paige Albiniak
Issue: Diversity
Description: Last week, FCC Chairman William Kennard received at least one
suggestion from the broadcast industry on how to promote ownership
diversity. The suggestion came from broadcaster Bud Paxson who asked
commissioners for "some ownership relief in exchange for helping both
minorities and nonminorities to build new stations from unused construction
permits." Paxson's plan calls for allowing financial backers, such as his
company, to own up to 33 percent of the new broadcasters without having that
interest count toward national ownership limits. It also proposes allowing
the new entrant's station to overlap signals with a partner's station,
provided they are in different markets. The plan calls for deals among
programmers, entrants and financiers to be stuck by Dec. 1 and suggests
requiring new stations to be on the air within 12 months.
** Advertising **
Title: Madison Ave. Is a Hall of Mirrors
Source: New York Times (C1)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/recycled-ad-column.html
Author: Stuart Elliott
Issue: Advertising
Description: "Advertising is often described as holding a mirror to society.
Now more than ever, the mirror is reflecting back images of advertising,"
Stuart begins. Hoping that self-deprecation softens sales pitches,
advertising about advertising has made a big comeback in the 90's. "The idea
is to try to create a bond between the advertiser and the audience that
declares 'We're all in this together,' " said Larry Adelman, a critic of
consumer culture who is co-director of California Newsreel, a documentary
center in San Francisco. "But we keep buying. It's a hip, ironic way to
co-opt a growing public backlash against advertising's ubiquity and undercut
any impulse to think critically about it."
Title: Soap and Diaper makers Pitch to masses of Web Women
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1,B2)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Vanessa O'Connell
Issue: Online Advertising
Description: As more and more women log onto the Web, consumer-marketing
giants are hot on their heels. For example, Unilever, a firm whose brands
included Close-Up toothpaste, Lipton tea and Ragu sauce, recently struck the
largest online advertising deal ever, where it has agreed to spend at least
$50 million over the next three years promoting its products on America
Online and Microsoft's collection of sites. Also, rival Proctor & Gamble has
increased its presence on the Web by doubling to 10 the number of brands it
promotes on the Internet and spending $3 million in the second quarter on
cyberspace advertising. Ventures like these are consumer-products
manufacturers' first real efforts to sell directly to consumers on a mass
scale and, in particular, the 22 million women who now surf the World Wide Web.
Over the past two years, Web traffic by women has more than doubled and
women now account for more than 43 percent of the online population,
according to Forrester Research. "Any new medium that can help us deepen our
bonds with families and offer them new benefits is, by definition, of
tremendous interest to us," observed Denis F. Beausejour, P&G's vice
president for world-wide advertising, in a recent speech. Katherine
Borsecnik, AOL's vice president, network programming points out that "Women
have an enormous amount of purchasing power and influence, and clearly our
advertisers are focused on that."
** Antitrust **
Title: Debate Grows Over the Role An Operating System Plays
Source: New York Times (C1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/07/biztech/articles/20microsoft.html
Author: Andrew Pollack
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Technology may be advancing too quick for anyone to predict the
future of operating systems. But "[t]he nature of the operating system, the
master program that breathes life into computer hardware, is at the heart of
the Justice Department's lawsuit accusing Microsoft Corp. of antitrust
violations," Pollack writes. Last week, Sun Microsystems announced a new
operating system called Jini which employs distributed computing to control
computer, its peripherals and other gadgets as a community of devices all
working together as a single virtual machine. The wheels of justice may be
trying to operate on a beast that evolves into a new species on the
operating table.
** Satellites **
Title: Bringing Intelsat Back to Earth
Source: Washington Post (F5, F6)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-07/20/019l-072098-idx.html
Author: Mike Mills
Issue: Satellites
Description: Conny Kulluman, recently elected director-general of Intelsat,
is eagerly planning for the privatization of the thirty-four year old global
satellite consortium. His vision includes Intelsate's transformation into a
private, publicly traded satellite company with a separate treaty
organization that would facilitate the availability of satellite service to
underdeveloped countries. While unwilling to disclose exact plans for full
privatization, Kulhman says he has goals for Intelsate's demise by 2001.
** Books **
Title: 'Ulysses' at Top As panel Picks 100 Best Novels
Source: New York Times (B1)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/books/072098best-novels.html
Author: Paul Lewis
Issue: Publishing
Description: Like Letterman's Top 10? Well, here's a list of the Top 100
books written in English this century. Top five are: 1) "Ulysses," James
Joyce, 2) "The Great Gatsby," F. Scott Fitzgerald 3) "A Portrait of the
Artist as a Young Man," James Joyce 4) "Lolita," Vladimir Nabokovan 5)
"Brave New World," Aldous Huxley. List was picked by the editorial board of
Modern Library, a division of Random House. Betsy, Rachel and I will be
comparing notes on which books 1) we have read, 2) we were supposed to read
but didn't and wrote papers on anyway and 3) (horror of horrors) we only
read the Cliff Notes version.
*********