INTERNET
California Governor Signs Bill Calling for Moratorium on New
Internet Taxes (NYT)
California Internet Tax Moratorium Signed Into Law (TelecomAM)
Cybergold Claims the Patent Rights to Surveys on Web-Users'
Attention (WSJ)
Notice and Request for Comments on the Enhancement of the .us
Domain Space (NTIA)
Second Firm to Test Internet Postal Metering (WSJ)
LABOR/JOBS
SNET Files Unfair Labor Practices Suit Against CWA (TelecomAM)
US West Resumes Negotiations With CWA Without Reaching Agreement
RADIO
Fill in the Blankety Blank (WP)
JOURNALISM
As The Globe Turns (WP)
WIRELESS
THE NEXT WAVE IN WIRELESS TECHNOLOGIES (NTIA)
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INTERNET
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CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL CALLING FOR MORATORIUM ON NEW INTERNET TAXES
Issue: Internet Use
California Governor Pete Wilson signed a measure yesterday that forbids any
new taxes on Internet activity for the next three years. The bill, called
the California Internet Tax Freedom Act, is intended to assist companies
that are dependent on the Internet create new jobs, products and services.
"It's only fitting that the state that showed America how to surf -- and
surf the Internet -- should also lead the policy debate about how to keep
the Internet a vibrant avenue for growth and opportunity," the governor
said. [...and we'll have fun, fun, fun until the governor takes the measure
away....]
[SOURCE: New York Times (BusTech), AUTHOR: The Associated Press]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/08/biztech/articles/25california....
CALIFORNIA INTERNET TAX MORATORIUM BILL SIGNED INTO LAW
Issue: Legislation/Internet
On August 24 California Gov. Pete Wilson (R) signed into law the California
Internet Tax Freedom Act, which imposes a moratorium until August 2001 on
local government taxation of Internet service providers, Internet usage or
Internet transaction services. The new law bars local taxes applied to
Internet-specific business activity, and prohibits any discriminatory
application of existing local business taxes or fees on Internet services.
[SOURCE: Telecom AM]
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
CYBERGOLD CLAIMS THE PATENT RIGHTS TO SURVEYS ON WEB-USERS' ATTENTION
Issue: Electronic Commerce
CyberGold Inc. is a Web start-up that pays individuals to view Internet
advertisements and then fill out marketing surveys. The company has
announced that a patent issued earlier this month gives it the sole right to
offer such on-line incentives. The patent covers a new concept called
"attention brokerage," the business of buying and selling the attention of
Internet users. This concept is a new business model that developed out of
the interactivity made possible by the Web, and it could become a widespread
marketing practice. Nat Goldhaber, CyberGold's chief executive officer, said
his company will offer its methods to competitors "in the nascent on-line
incentives market," possibly for a per-transaction fee. Netcentives Inc., a
competitor that rewards consumers with frequent-flyer miles and other
incentives for purchasing online, said that it had not yet determined the
impact of the patent. "Our business model in fundamentally different than
our competitors," said West Shell III, Netcentives' chief executive officer.
"It's all about electronic commerce, not about viewing ads." Mr. Goldhaber
says that CyberGold will not charge exorbitant licensing fees that could
stunt the growth of his service, "Our intention is to be reasonable and
inclusive," he says.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: David Bank]
http://wsj.com/
NOTICE AND REQUEST FOR COMMENTS ON THE ENHANCEMENT OF THE .US DOMAIN SPACE
Issue: Internet
On August 4, 1998, the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) published a Notice and Request for Comments on the
Enhancement of the .us Domain Space (Notice), 63 Fed. Reg. 41547 (1998). The
Notice asked for public comments through September 3, 1998. As a result of
numerous requests from the public, the NTIA is extending for 30 days the period
for filing public comments. The comment period for the Notice will now close
on October 5, 1998.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/usrfc/dotusext.htm
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/usrfc/dotusrfc.htm
SECOND FIRM TO TEST INTERNET POSTAL METERING
Issue: Internet Use
Stamp Master Inc., based in Westlake Village, Calif., has announced that it
won approval from the U.S. Postal Service to begin testing technology to
sell postage over the Internet. It will begin testing its personal-computer
postage-metering technology with 21 people and small businesses in the
Washington D.C. area.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B6), AUTHOR: Lisa Bransten]
http://wsj.com/
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LABOR/JOBS
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SNET FILES UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICES SUIT AGAINST CWA
US WEST RESUMES NEGOTIATIONS WITH CWA WITHOUT REACHING AGREEMENT
Issue: Labor/Jobs
First, in the Southern New England Telephone (SNET) case, SNET has charged
the Communications Workers of America (CWA) with the following: 1) failing
to send negotiators with the authority to accept a binding agreement and for
substituting new negotiators to "frustrate" bargaining; 2) withdrawing
agreed-upon proposals and issuing
new demands after issues had been settled; and 3) engaging in "surface
bargaining" and other "bad faith" techniques with no intention of entering a
pact. In the US West case, CWA placed large ads in key newspapers --
including the Wall St. Journal and the Washington Post -- describing the
company as a "bad apple" and a "renegade" among local exchange carriers,
"out of step with progress in the rest of the industry." The ads accused US
West of cutting back on customer service and neglecting maintenance, and
said the company "slashed the work force by 12 percent" even as business
expanded 20 percent.
[SOURCE: Telecom AM]
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
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RADIO
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FILL IN THE BLANKETY BLANK
Issue: Radio/Content
When you turn on the radio it is increasingly likely that you will hear one
of those words with only four letters. It is no longer just Howard Stern and
other shock jocks that throw around questionable language. These days, you
could hear a four-letter word on radio programs devoted to sports or
music. One reason for this growing trend is that station owners know
the Federal Communications Commission is not likely to do anything about it.
While the law clearly prohibits "profane and indecent" language on the
radio, the FCC and the courts have interpreted the law to ban material that
is offensive, "as measured by contemporary standards." "In other words, if
the guys down the dial are getting away with it, you'll get away with it
too."
[SOURCE: Washington Post (C1), AUTHOR: Marc Fisher]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-08/25/051l-082598-idx.html
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JOURNALISM
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AS THE GLOBE TURNS
Issue: Journalism
"I think I'm the unluckiest editor in America," laments Boston Globe editor
Matt Storin. The Boston newspaper has been plagued with one scandal after
another this summer. Two controversial columnist, Michael Barincal and
Patricia Smith, one white and one black, were recently let go as result of
fabrication and shoddy reporting allegations. As with past scandals, the
issue of race became an important factor in the community's reaction to the
firings. The paper was accused of giving differential treatment to Barnical
than Smith because of race. In response to charges of racial bias Matt
Storin says "people who go before television cameras and say the Globe is
racist must really get a few chuckles in the white community, which thinks
the Globe bends over too far in support of the black community." In this
highly divided city, the paper will have to work hard to heal the wounds
form these bitter battles over race and ethics.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (C1), AUTHOR: Howard Kurtz]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-08/25/047l-082598-idx.html
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WIRELESS
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The Next Waves In Wireless Technologies
Issue: Wireless
A speech by Larry Irving to RAWCON '98, the IEEE's Radio and Wireless
Conference: "The title is appropriate because wireless industries are the
"movers and shakers" in the telecommunications arena. Wireless voice
communications have expanded significantly in the last five years. There is
no doubt that wireless is now a viable competitor to wired telephone
service. Wireless technologies also hold the promise for the future of data
transfer. As we are rapidly becoming an Information Society, wireless has
significant potential to serve our information needs - the subject I'd like
to explore this evening."
[SOURCE: NTIA]
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/speeches/rawcon.htm
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