DIGITAL DIVIDE
The Availability of High-Speed and Advanced Telecommunications
Services (FCC)
FCC Cites a Higher-Speed Digital Divide (WP)
WORKFORCE
Verizon Faces East Coast Strike If Contract Negotiations Falter
(USA)
PRIVACY
Privacy Plan Likely to Kick Off Debate (NYT)
Quicker Review Vowed for Net Wiretap System (WP)
WIRELESS
Wireless Innovations in Communications Initiative (NTIA)
The State of the Wireless Industry (FCC)
Sprint PCS Launches Voice-Activated Service
BROADCASTING
For Indians, Talk Radio Renews a Tradition (WP)
INTERNATIONAL
Microsoft Faces European Antitrust Case (USA)
Speech: European American Business Council (NTIA)
SPECTRUM
Consumer Federation Opposes NextWave Bailout (CFA)
NEWSLETTER
Forum Connection (CRF)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
THE AVAILABILITY OF HIGH-SPEED AND ADVANCED
TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
Issue: Universal Service
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a report concluding
that advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed in a
reasonable and timely fashion overall, although the Commission identified
certain groups of consumers that are particularly vulnerable to not
receiving service in a timely fashion. This is the Commission's second
inquiry, as required by Congress, into whether "advanced telecommunications
capability" is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely
fashion. Advanced telecommunications capability is the availability of
high-speed, switched, broadband telecommunications that enables users to
originate and receive high-quality voice, data, graphics, and video using
any technology. The Commission identified the following groups as being
particularly vulnerable of not having access to advanced services if
deployment is left to market forces alone: 1) rural Americans, particularly
those outside of population centers; 2) inner city consumers; 3) low-income
consumers; 4) minority consumers; and 5) tribal areas. The data in the
report is based largely on the first systematic, nationwide "Broadband
Survey" of subscription to high-speed and advanced services, begun by the
Commission earlier this year. The Commission's nationwide "Broadband Survey"
required any facilities-based company that provided 250 or more broadband
service lines (or wireless channels) in a given state to report basic
information about their service offerings and customers. Much more at URL
below.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/News_Releases/2000/nrcc0040.html)
FCC CITES A HIGHER SPEED DIGITAL DIVIDE
Issue: Digital Divide
An FCC report released yesterday contends that rural, inner-city and tribal
areas lag behind in high-speed Internet connections in spite of the fact
that more Americans than ever have access to broadband. Broadband
telecommunications services allow high-speed transmission of voice, data,
graphics and video over the Internet. The report further posits that
availability of broadband is concentrated in affluent urban and suburban
areas, which some experts say underscores a developing "digital divide"
along lines of income and race. The report found that areas where there is
little high-speed access tend to be those with high concentrations of
minorities, low-income residents such as inner cities, and Native American
tribal areas. FCC Chairman, William Kennard and some independent experts say
that the trends are an outgrowth of natural market phenomena, as service
providers first introduce technologies to areas they believe will be most
profitable. However, Kennard said that government policy should encourage
equal access of the sort that exists with telephone service, which is
available in almost all markets, regardless of income or population density.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E3), AUTHOR: Neil Irwin]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33100-2000Aug3.html)
See Also
ACCESS TO HIGH-SPEED TELECOM SERVICE IS MIXED IN THE U.S., FCC STUDY SHOWS
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B2), AUTHOR: Jerry Guidera]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB96534850176189390.htm)
WORKFORCE
VERIZON FACES EAST COAST STRIKE IF CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS FALTER
Issue: Employment
Nearly 85,000 workers at Verizon Communications, formerly Bell Atlantic and
GTE, say they will strike Sunday if they do not manage to reach an agreement
in contract negotiations. The local phone giant and the Communications
Workers of America remain at odds on a variety of issues including
subcontracting to non-union firms, forced overtime and working conditions
for customer service workers. One of the most contentious issues is union
access to jobs in the fast-growing and largely non-union wireless division.
There have been few major labor disputes in the telecommunications industry.
Bell Atlantic workers struck for two days in 1998 and for four months in
1989.
[SOURCE: USAToday B9), AUTHOR: Shawn Young]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000804/2521591s.htm)
PRIVACY
PRIVACY PLAN LIKELY TO KICK OFF DEBATE
Issue: Privacy
By announcing a plan to provide cable-borne email and wireless mobile phone
messages the same safeguards against government snooping that now apply to
telephone calls, the Clinton administration has threatened to weaken the
existing privacy protections currently applied to cable. John Podesta,
President Clinton's chief of staff, announced the plan intended to harmonize
the nation's patchwork of privacy rules while extending the protections to
email. But, privacy advocates are concerned about a rollback of cable
protections mentioned in Podesta's speech that will weaken the protections
many believe already apply to Internet communications over cable modems and
networks. The administration has often used telephone wiretaps and the
process needed to obtain and implement wiretaps as the proper model for
Internet and e-mail privacy protection. But, the laws governing the cable
television industry, the Cable Act of 1984 and the related sections of the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 have stronger privacy protections for cable
subscribers than the current telephone wiretap protections. Specifically,
the Cable Act would require "clear and convincing evidence" to secure a
court-ordered wiretap, while the telephone tap requires only "probable
cause." "The question here is whether to harmonize up or down," said Marc
Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. "This is
the first time the government is arguing that a privacy law currently in
place is too strong and needs to be lowered." The FCC has not issued a
ruling on whether the Cable Act applies to cable-based Internet activities -
it is scheduled to address the issue in the fall.
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/08/cyber/cyberlaw/04law.html
(SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Carl S. Kaplan]
QUICKER REVIEW VOWED FOR NET WIRETAP SYSTEM
Issue: Privacy
Attorney General Janet Reno said yesterday that the Justice Department's
review of Carnivore, the FBI's controversial Internet wiretap system, is
moving too slowly and vowed to take immediate action to speed things up. She
also said that she the FBI alone to oversee the review. Instead, the
attorney general said a panel of outside experts will be chosen jointly by
Justice Department and FBI officials for the review. Reno has asked the
Justice Department to work with the FBI in selecting an "independent entity"
to review Carnivore's source code and then to report back to her. "I don't
know that I can satisfy all the privacy advocates, but I want to try to do
everything I can," Reno said. Reno declined to comment on a federal court
ruling Wednesday directing the Justice Department to quickly review a formal
request from the Electronic Privacy Information Center for data about
Carnivore and its potential uses.
[SOURCE: Washington Post A27, AUTHOR: David A. Vise]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34253-2000Aug3.html)
WIRELESS
WIRELESS INNOVATIONS IN COMMUNICATIONS INITIATIVE
Issue: Wireless
The Wireless Innovations in Communications Initiative (WICI) Committee will
hold a meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 8, to hear representatives from the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) make a presentation on telecommunications
technologies that support FEMA's all-hazards mission. ITS America (in
conjunction with the Department of Transportation) and COMCare Alliance will
make presentations on public safety and the integration of emergency systems
in the transportation arena.
[SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/wici/advisory080800.htm)
THE STATE OF THE WIRELESS INDUSTRY
Issue: Wireless
The Federal Communications Commission has adopted its Fifth Annual Report on
the state of competition in the commercial mobile radio services (CMRS)
marketplace. The Fifth Report concludes that during the past year consumers
have continued to benefit from the effects of increased competition in the
wireless industry. Increased competition has resulted in lower prices and a
wider array of wireless service offerings.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Wireless/News_Releases/2000/nrwl0026.html)
SPRINT PCS LAUNCHES VOICE-ACTIVATED SERVICE
Issue:
Sprint PCS has become the first wireless carrier to offer nationwide
voice-activated dialing. According to the company, customers can now say a
number, person or place they would like to reach and be immediately
connected from wireless phones using Sprint's service. Users will be able to
manage their call preferences on a personal Web page hosted by Sprint PCS
that can hold up to 500 entries, with as many as five phone numbers for each
contact in the caller's database instead of typing numbers into their
cell-phone keypad. Once the user saves the database online, he can start the
service simply by pressing the star key and then the "talk" button on a
Sprint PCS keypad. Sprint hopes that voice dialing on the company's unified
network may "stimulate usage" of cell phones because it allows callers to
access several numbers for each contact. "It's a bit of a hassle if you
don't have a number readily available," said John Garcia, Sprint PCS's
senior vice president of sales and distribution. "People just don't make the
call." Sprint says that the capabilities of speech-recognition with the
Internet are inevitable, setting a tone of further improvement in this
field.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Interactive), AUTHOR: Sharon Cleary]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB965338228477594473.htm)
BROADCASTING
FOR INDIANS, TALK RADIO RENEWS A TRADITION
Issue: Broadcasting
A radio show called "Native America Calling" is an effort to expand the
ancient Indian tradition of the talking circle, in which people communicate
as equals. After five years on the air, "Native America Calling" is the
Nation's longest-running talk show that focuses on American Indian issues.
Simulated on 36 radio stations and the Web, the show attracts about 125,000
listeners each week according to the show's distributor, American Indian
Radio on Satellite. "We come from a very strong oral tradition. We need to
keep with that strength," said Bernadette Chato, who produces a weekly
health show for "Native America Calling" from Anchorage. "So many Indian
traditions have been pushed aside with the tribal governments." Chato says
that the talk show has created a forum for Indians to speak out on issues
that are not addressed on or off the reservations.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (A4), AUTHOR Andres YBarra (Associated Press)]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32974-2000Aug3.html)
INTERNATIONAL
MICROSOFT FACES EUROPEAN ANTITRUST CASE GIANT CHARGED WITH USING WINDOWS'
DOMINANCE TO MUSCLE IN ON SERVERS
Issue: Antitrust
On the heels of a U.S. judge's order in June that would break Microsoft into
smaller companies and impose temporary curbs on its conduct, the European
Commission has charged the software giant with using its clout in personal
computer software to help it expand into the exploding server software
market. "If the U.S. case stumbles, the European case becomes a vital
fallback," says William Kovacic of George Washington University Law School.
The EC case is based on a 1998 complaint by Sun Microsystems, which alleged
that Microsoft refused to share technical information that would enable
Sun's servers to work with Microsoft's Windows operating systems. While
according Kovacic, European courts "tend to be more suspicious of dominant
firms, and the rules they apply are tougher," the EC virtually never splits
up companies as has been ordered the U.S. court. The case is likely to drag
on for two to three years.
[SOURCE: USAToday (9B), AUTHOR: Paul Davidson]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20000804/2521590s.htm)
See Also
EU OPENS ANTITRUST INVESTIGATION OVER MICROSOFT'S SERVER SOFTWARE
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Interactive), AUTHOR: Dow Jones Newswires]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB965300938452163340.htm)
SPEECH: EUROPEAN AMERICAN BUSINESS COUNCIL
Issue: Digital Divide
Yesterday, in a speech to the European American Business Council, NTIA
director Gregory L. Rhode outlined America's digital divide problem,
addressed its solutions and reiterated the fact that digital divide is much
more than a domestic problem. Rhode stated, "Statistics show that Internet
penetration is happening unevenly around the world, unevenly even throughout
Europe. According to statistics from May, there are about 108 million
Internet users in Europe, for a penetration rate of 34%. That figure varies
from 65.2% in Sweden to 45.6% in the U.K., 31.6% in France and 11.4% in
Portugal. Worldwide, we see even greater disparities. According to the
Computer Industry Almanac report from last November, there were 57.5
Internet users per 1,000 people on a worldwide average. That ranged from a
high of 492 Internet users per 1,000 people in North America, to 7.88 users
per 1,000 people in the Middle East and Africa. This is the global Digital
Divide. President Clinton and the other leaders dedicated themselves to help
remedy the situation. There will be a Digital Opportunity Task Force to help
coordinate government efforts. The Overseas Private Investment Corporation
will have a new $200 million line of credit for e-commerce and Digital
Divide projects. The private sector, including America Online and Cisco,
will contribute as well through new projects. As we saw in Okinawa, the U.S.
Administration is dedicated to closing the digital divide worldwide. With
the same dedication of effort that we in the U.S. are applying to move from
Digital Divide to Digital Inclusion, we expect that other countries will do
the same. The result will be a better system for all of us." [SOURCE: NTIA]
(http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/speeches/2000/eabc80300.htm)
SPECTRUM
CONSUMER FEDERATION OPPOSES NEXTWAVE BAILOUT
Issue: Spectrum
From Press Release: The Consumer Federation of America (CFA) today urged
Congress to reject efforts by a bankrupt cellular telephone company to keep
spectrum licenses for which it could not pay. NextWave Personal
Communications has launched a high-profile campaign to persuade Congress to
overturn a court decision allowing the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) to reauction licenses originally granted to the bankrupt company for
$4.7 billion. Those licenses are now estimated to be worth between $8 and
$12 billion. "The airwaves are controlled by the public, not by companies
like NextWave that are temporarily allowed to use this spectrum," said
Travis Plunkett, CFA's legislative director. "A spectrum license isn't a
piece of property that NextWave owns and the FCC isn't a mere creditor. In
attempting to quickly
redistribute licenses that NextWave couldn't pay for, the FCC is fostering
telecommunications access, competition and diversity, while ensuring that
taxpayers are compensated for a limited public resource."
[SOURCE: Consumer Federation of America]
(http://www.consumerfed.org/airwave.pdf)
NEWSLETTER
FORUM CONNECTION
CRF's monthly newsletter covers these issues in August: TV Content and the
Law; Media Content: It's Impact on Youth; Minority Media Ownership: The
Struggle Continues; Communications Access for the Disabled; Supreme Court
Declines to Hear Phone Privacy Case; George W. Bush's Record on Issues of
Importance to the Civil Rights Forum; Senate Explores Using Low Power
Television to Deliver High Speed Internet Access to Rural Areas.
[SOURCE: Civil Rights Forum on Communications Policy]
(http://www.civilrightsforum.org/connectionaugust2000.html)
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