BROADBAND
Open Broadband Access (FCC)
How do AT&T, Excite( at )Home Fit Together? (SJM)
IBM Offers PC with High-Speed 'DSL' Internal Modem (SJM)
INTERNET
BET Plans Site for African Americans (WP)
Energizing the E-Political (WP)
Net Is Expected to Rival Radio in Ad Spending by 2004 (WSJ)
Sprint PCS to Offer Wireless Internet Service (ChiTrib)
How to Spend an Allowance Without Leaving Home (NYT)
MEDIA & SOCIETY
Diverse Is Better, Screen Actors Guild Ads Tell the Networks (WP)
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Broadcast Consortium Threatens to Sue Makers of Personal Video
Recorders (WSJ)
ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFO
Moving ( at ) the Speed of Government (USA)
BROADBAND
OPEN BROADBAND ACCESS
Issue: Broadband
From News Release: Federal Communications Commission Chairman William E.
Kennard yesterday reiterated that the FCC shares the goal of consumers and
local governments -- an open Internet. In a letter to the FCC's Local and
State Government Advisory Committee, Kennard said, "We must pursue the goal
of open access in a manner that encourages investment in the deployment of
[broadband] networks." Kennard stated that the FCC's policy of encouraging
the marketplace to develop has "already produced impressive results across
the country," including:
Increased deployment of cable modem service by cable operators; Increased
rollout of DSL (digital subscriber line) services by local phone companies;
Declining charges for DSL service as competition intensifies; Increased
investments by companies exploring the potential of satellite and wireless
technologies as broadband sources
Kennard noted that although broadband is in its infancy, the FCC is taking
steps to ensure that there are many competitors in the Internet marketplace.
He said that more spectrum has been made available to wireless operators and
that it is easier for emerging competitive local phone companies to connect
into the existing network in order to provide high-speed access to the
Internet using DSL technology. Kennard said that the FCC is conducting a
series of "on-going broadband monitoring sessions" on the subject, with
participants including local government representatives, public interest
groups, investment analysts, cable and phone companies, ISPs, academics and
others. He said the FCC will be seeking further public comment on the issue
this Fall in connection with the study of advanced telecommunications
services conducted pursuant to section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of
1996. The Local and State Advisory Committee
(http://www.fcc.gov/statelocal/) met with FCC staff on July 23, 1999 to
discuss a series of topics, including the open cable issue.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/News_Releases/1999/nrcb9014.html)
HOW DO AT&T, EXCITE( at )HOME FIT TOGETHER?
Issue: Broadband
"We've never been in the content business and we've said we don't want to be
in the content business. We're an access provider," said AT&T spokesman Mark
Siegel. "We want our customers to have all the content they want. We want
the Internet to be rich in content (but) our business is not to generate it
or aggregate it." This quote reveals a "philosophy gap" between AT&T and
Excite( at )Home. AT&T is a major (26%) shareholder in Excite( at )Home, which
concentrates on providing not only high-speed Internet service over cable
networks, but also aggregating content tailored for those fast connections,
such as video and audio clips to go along with news stories. "We think they
fit together quite naturally," said Excite( at )Home CEO Tom Jermoluk. "The
success of AOL I think proves the model. The difference between AOL's growth
rate and general ISPs...shows you that it really matters." With with
high-speed Internet connections like those to offered on AT&T's cable lines,
access and content will change. Traditional dial-up service providers like
AOL and other ISPs discourage customers from staying online around the
clock; Excite( at )Home attempts to keep its users online all the time.
High-speed services could also allow a three-dimensional view of a product
in an online store, for example. This fall, Excite( at )Home plans to unveil a
portal with content designed specifically for high-speed Internet service
consumers. Analysts say this kind of content will be an important source of
revenue for Excite( at )Home, with people paying transaction fees for content
delivered over the Web. And as more and more high-speed services become
available, it is content that will differentiate the various sites, said
Blaik Kirby of Boston-based strategic consulting firm Renaissance Worldwide.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Deborah Kong]
(http://www.sjmercury.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/excite081299.htm)
IBM OFFERS PC WITH HIGH-SPEED 'DSL' INTERNAL MODEM
Issue: InfoTech
In the latest step toward the U.S. moving Internet connections over to
broadband, IBM announced it will build personal computers with built-in
digital modems, which will boost the price of those computers by about $100.
IBM's move represents the first broad rollout of an internal digital modem.
This internal digital modem will make it easier to hook up to your local DSL
technology provider because right now the telephone company has to splice
your telephone wire outside your home as well as hook another external modem
up. This would provide one less step, less hardware and less cost for DSL
installation. DSL connections are 50 to 100 times faster than a standard
telephone connection.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.sjmercury.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/075317.htm)
INTERNET
BET PLANS SITE FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS
Issue: Minorities
BET Holdings Inc. will announce plans today to launch BET.com, a Web site
that will offer electronic mail, instant messaging, news, entertainment,
shopping and other services targeted at African Americans. "We have come
together to ensure that African American consumers are not left out of the
economy," said BET Chairman Robert L. Johnson. Amid growing concern that a
digital divide exists between white, high-income Americans and minority
groups, some believe Web sites geared towards women or minority groups can
succeed on the Internet. "Communities are what the Web is all about," says
Gary Arlen, an Internet analyst. BET.com is banking on its name,
Black Entertainment Television, and its history working with television,
cable and print to make this model a success. It also has the financial
backing of Microsoft, USA Networks Inc, Liberty Media Group and News
America Digital Publishing owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Analysts
say the biggest challenge, however, will be getting minority homes online.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: Shannon Henry]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-08/12/186l-081299-idx.html)
See Also
THE BATTLE TO USHER BLACKS ONTO THE WEB
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: Kara Swisher]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB93440894663591020.htm)
COMPANIES BACK NEW WEB SITE AIMED AT BLACKS
[SOURCE: New York Times (C5), AUTHOR: Saul Hansell]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/08/biztech/articles/12bet.html)
ENERGIZING THE E-POLITICAL
Issue: Internet & Politics
A new occupation is emerging: the cyber-lobbyist. The Communications and
Policy Technology Network (CAPTN, www.captn.org), a coalition of 70
Washington-area groups, is made up of techies who want to know how campaigns
work and policy experts looking for new ways to spread the word online.
Cyber-lobbing is a new occupation not just a strategy, say Daniel Bennett
and Pam Fielding who run Internet lobbying group e-Advocates and plan to
release _The Net Effect: How Cyber-Advocacy is Changing the Political
Landscape_ next month.The release of Kenneth Starr's report last September
gave people an expectation that they should be able to get political
documents online, fast. More and more people feel comfortable using email
and doing research online. And the 2000 election will attract more people to
the Internet. Issues under consideration at CAPTN include 1) how to convince
members of Congress that e-mail is just as good as snail mail, 2) how to
figure out what exactly constitutes an online signature and
3) how to best target Internet constituents on certain issues.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: Shannon Henry]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-08/12/199l-081299-idx.html)
NET IS EXPECTED TO RIVAL RADIO IN AD SPENDING BY 2004
Issue: Advertising/Old vs New Media
Forrester Research, a technology research firm, is releasing a study this
week that says spending for Internet advertising will more than triple in
the next four years -- with the Internet rivaling radio by 2004 as the
fourth-largest advertising medium in the country. The report estimates that
Internet advertising will make up more than 8% of advertisers' total
marketing efforts by 2004, accounting for about $22 billion in spending in
the U.S. The Forrester report is based on interviews with 50 companies, most
of which have a significant Web presence and including companies such as AOL
and Yahoo. Forrester found that marketing executives expect their Internet
spending to jump past the Yellow Pages and magazines by 2004. That would
leave it trailing only television, newspapers and direct mail in popularity
for advertising spending. The one way that the advertising dollars will
significantly change is that most companies will not pay the flat rate for
ads on Web pages as the majority do now -- instead they will go with the
number of people who click on the ad. This could significantly change
advertising structure and monies within the industry over the next few years.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, B12, AUTHOR: Yochi Dreazen]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB934413726207205057.htm)
SPRINT PCS TO OFFER WIRELESS INTERNET SERVICE
Issue: Wireless/Internet
A popular service in Europe and Asia, wireless Internet connections through
cell phones, will be rolled out in the US next month by Sprint. Van reports,
the Sprint service, which will be available for as little as a $10 monthly
fee added to existing wireless voice service, will enable customers to look
at data from popular Internet Web pages directly on their phone's screen. It
will also let them plug a laptop computer into their phone to obtain a
wireless connection to the Internet and to obtain selected information sent
regularly to their phone in the form of short messages. John Garcia, Sprint
senior vp for sales and distribution, says that research shows that a
majority of people who use the Internet also use wireless phones and vice
versa. "We've bundled things customers already use in a way that makes it
easier and simpler for them to use," Garcia said. "We're not trying to sell
a killer application, but rather to build on existing applications." A new,
top-of-the-line phone for the service, with an oversized screen, will sell
for $400, but others designed to send and receive data sell for as little as
$100.
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.3), AUTHOR: Jon Van]
(http://chicagotribune.com/business/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-99081203
63,FF.html)
See Also:
SPRINT PCS PLANS WIRELESS DATA NET, LINKING CELL PHONES, ACCESS TO INTERNET
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, B8, AUTHOR: Nicole Harris]
(http://www.wsj.com)
HOW TO SPEND AN ALLOWANCE WITHOUT LEAVING HOME
Issue: Ecommerce
Jupiter Communications predicts that by 2002, children ages 5 to 18 will
spend $1.3 billion online. So, companies like J. Crew, Toys R Us, Kaybee Toy
and Hobby Stores and Barnes & Noble are rushing to introduce Web sites
designed to encourage children to buy from online retailers. "This is a
natural evolution, because today's kids are sophisticated and already are
comfortable using the Internet for other things," said Anya Sacharow, an
analyst at Jupiter Communications, the Internet research firm. "The main
thing that was stopping them from buying online was that they didn't have
their own credit cards." Psychologists and financial planners question
whether it is a good idea to make it easier for kids to spend. "Parents
feel guilty about their children, and they try to make it up to them by
buying things," said Carol Seefeldt, a professor at the University of
Maryland's Institute for Child Studies. "I see a lot of parents who do not
want their children to ever delay gratification, but that's the wrong
approach. Saving and investing gives kids an important sense of self-control
over their lives. We want to teach them to take care of themselves rather
than to expect people to take care of them." See also Learning to Budget and
Spend on the Web
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/08/circuits/articles/12ssho.html)
[and chalk one up for the Consumer Nation].
[SOURCE: New York Times (D1), AUTHOR: Michelle Slatalla]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/08/circuits/articles/12shop.html)
See Also:
WHAT CAN MAKE A MARKETER BROOD? TARGETING TEENS
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1), AUTHOR: Susan Chandler]
(http://chicagotribune.com/business/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-99081203
53,FF.html)
MEDIA & SOCIETY
DIVERSE IS BETTER, SCREEN ACTORS GUILD ADS TELL THE NETWORKS
Issue: Media & Society
"You have a demand. We have a supply," reads an ad run by The Screen Actors
Guild in Los Angeles to convince entertainment industry execs that diverse
casting is the right thing to do and makes good business sense. Guild
President Richard Masur said the SAG wants to "challenge" the myth that
there aren't enough qualified performers among groups that are
underrepresented on television and to tell them that diversity can improve
their bottom line. The first ad ran in the Hollywood Reporter, the next ad
will run Aug. 31 in the Daily Variety. Both magazines target entertainment
executives.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (C7), AUTHOR: Lisa de Moraes]
(http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-08/12/173l-081299-idx.html)
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
BROADCAST CONSORTIUM THREATENS TO SUE MAKERS OF PERSONAL VIDEO RECORDERS
Issue: Intellectual Property
The Advanced Television Copyright Coalition (ATCC), a consortium of media
companies including CBS, Time Warner, Walt Disney, News Corp and Discovery
Communications, will announce that start-up companies, such as TiVo and
Replay Networks of California, must be subject to negotiations similar to
the way studios license shows to networks or cable channels grant carriage
to local cable systems. The broadcasting companies are threatening to sue
makers of personal video recorders (PRVs) unless the manufacturers agree to
obtain license agreements for use of the networks' programming. Personal
video recorders are advanced videocassette recorders that use digital
technology to store TV programming on a hard-disk drive that can store up
to 14 hours of content. TiVo and Replay Networks make PVRs that allow users to
customize their TV viewing by recording only the shows they want to watch
-- but unlike traditional VCRs, PVRs easily allow viewers to instantly
rewind and fast forward the shows they watch, thereby enabling users to
skip commercials. The concern among the network owners is that the PVR
records shows off live television, organizes them according to the viewer's
preferences, and also has the ability to substitute the network's
commercials for their own. The ATCC is worried that the PVR could radically
alter the habits of viewers once they achieve sufficient penetration by
essentially empowering viewers to set their own program schedules and how
they want to watch TV. That, in turn, could further drive down audience
levels for the networks, which already have lost large numbers of viewers in
recent years as more channels and alternative media outlets have joined the
competition.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, B10, AUTHOR: John Lippman]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB934415502283259272.htm)
ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFO
MOVING ( at ) THE SPEED OF GOVERNMENT
Issue: Internet
[Op-ed] "Armed with electronic "smart cards," citizens of Spain are tapping
into
their unemployment and disability benefits through the Internet. In
Belgium, small companies are registering for business licenses online. On
the other side of the globe, Singaporeans access electronic government
services ranging from getting a marriage license to applying for
citizenship, while would-be college students are required to apply to
college on the Web." Stephen J. Rohleder and Martin I. Cole go on to
emphasize that "government in the United States continues to move at, well,
the speed of government." "By harnessing the Web, government can deliver
better services without raising taxes, because electronic government is
cheaper," they write. "The U.S. Commerce Department, for
example, is planning for electronic applications for export licenses. Dade
County, Florida -- home of the nation's fourth-largest traffic court system
-- schedules cases and delivers documents electronically to attorneys and
judges. Missouri's courts are being networked to allow citizens to monitor
cases via the Internet. An electronic job network in Ohio is helping match
job seekers and employers." But in the end Rohleder and Cole emphasize that
the U.S. government must follow the business world to wipe out bureaucracy.
[SOURCE: USA Today, 13A, AUTHOR: (Stephen J. Rohleder is a managing partner
of Andersen Consulting America's Federal Government Practice and Martin I.
Cole is managing partner of the firm's America's State and Local Government
Practive.)]
(http://www.usatoday.com/news/comment/ncguest.htm)
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