UNIVERSAL SERVICE/E-RATE
House May Not Vote on Amendment to Kill E-Rate (TelecomAM)
US West Endorses Burns-Tauzin E-Rate Funding Bill (TelecomAM)
Rural Health Care Group Faults FCC's USAC Reorganization (TelecomAM)
EDTECH
How to Get the Most From Computers in the Classroom (NYT)
REGULATION/TELEPHONY
FCC Easing Rules to Build Data Systems (NYT)
Agreement by Local and State Governments and Wireless
Industries on Facilities Siting Issues (FCC)
FCC Plans Better Internet Hookups (WP)
Phone Lines, and Lines and Lines, Keeping Their Appeal (NYT)
In Southern California, Cox Communications Rattles a Baby Bell (WSJ)
LONG DISTANCE
FCC to Propose New Rules for Calls Abroad From U.S. (WSJ)
ADVERTISING
Strong Ad Sales at Stations Lift CBS Profit (NYT)
Filters Let Users Screen Out On-Line Advertising (NYT)
MERGERS/ANTITRUST
Connecticut Regulators Plan to Approve SBC-SNET Merger (TelecomAM)
SNET Workers May Strike Because Contract Differs from SBC (TelecomAM)
Microsoft Says Chicken (Windows) Hatched Before Egg (Netscape) (NYT)
GRASS-ROOTS ACTIVISM
Cameras Empowering Communities (WP)
========================
UNIVERSAL SERVICE/E-RATE
========================
HOUSE MAY NOT VOTE ON AMENDMENT TO KILL E-RATE
Issue: Universal Service
Conflicting reports on Rep Joe Scarborough's (R-FL) amendment to the
Commerce Department's appropriations legislation (HR-4276). Rep
Scarborough's amendment would eliminate funding for the e-rate program. Rep.
Scarborough's staff said that he is "moving forward" with his amendment,
despite some belief among other legislators that the amendment will not be
offered, TelecomAM reports. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), one of the e-rate's
strongest supporters, predicted Rep Scarborough's amendment would lose by a
wide margin. Rep Blumenauer said that as members of Congress head home for
recess, they do not want to be seen as "anti-education, anti-library,
anti-high-tech or anti-kid." He added: "I don't think Congress will adjourn
without having funding in place for e-rate."
[SOURCE: Telecom AM]
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
U S WEST ENDORSES BURNS-TAUZIN E-RATE FUNDING BILL
Issue: Universal Service
US West Vice President Mark Roellig said in a statement that the
company "support[s] the [e-rate] program and encourage[s] Congress and the
FCC to work to improve its implementation and adopt an equitable source for
funding, like using a portion of the existing telephone excise tax." The
bill, sponsored by Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Conrad Burns
(R-MT) and House Telecom Subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-LA) would
eliminate two-thirds of the phone excise tax and use the remaining one-third
to fund the e-rate. But hold on, 'cause Congress loves choice: Ranking House
Commerce Committee Member John Dingell (D-MI) is working on his own version
of excise tax
legislation. Rep Dingell would use half of the excise tax to fund Internet
connections without block grants (which are proposed in the Rep Tauzin
legislation), and with a formula to target the most needy schools and
libraries. Rep Dingell's legislation could be offered as a stand alone bill
or as an amendment to Rep Tauzin's bill.
[SOURCE: Telecom AM]
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
RURAL HEALTH CARE GROUP FAULTS FCC'S USAC REORGANIZATION
Issue: Universal Service
In comments filed August 5, the National Rural Health Association (NRHA)
said it opposes the proposed reorganization of the Universal Service
Administrative Company (USAC). The FCC proposal would create an 18-member
governing board with seven of its members comprising a Rural Health Care
Advisory Committee and seven comprising a Schools and Libraries Advisory
committee. But only one representative of the health care industry is
included, NRHA said. "It is our belief that it will be impossible for a USAC
board that lacks adequate user representation to preserve the unique
interests and appreciate the special circumstances of rural health," NRHA
President Gail Bellamy said.
[SOURCE: Telecom AM]
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
==========
EDTECH
==========
HOW TO GET THE MOST FROM COMPUTERS IN THE CLASSROOM
Issue: Ed Tech
Yarnell writes, "Roughly 80 percent of American schools had Internet access
by last year, according to the United States Department of Education, and
about a quarter of those schools had access directly in the classroom. But
as the novelty of computers has worn off, the demand to use them for
high-quality learning has increased. Reports of costly computers gathering
dust in school storerooms or being used as overpriced typewriters have
contributed to a rising backlash against computer spending by schools.
Critics question the expense of computers, particularly when schools buy
them with money diverted from programs for the arts, textbooks and
extracurricular activities."
[SOURCE: New York Times (D1), AUTHOR: Louise Yarnell]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/08/circuits/articles/06clas.html
====================
REGULATION/TELEPHONY
====================
FCC EASING RULES TO BUILD DATA SYSTEMS
Issue: Regulation
"The major impediment that the Internet faces in becoming more useful to the
American consumer is bandwidth capacity," said FCC Chairman William E.
Kennard. The Commission is expected to propose new rules that would
accelerate the deployment high-bandwidth services to homes. The rules would
exempt Baby Bells from having to resell capacity on their high-speed data
networks to competitors if the Bells establish separate data subsidiaries.
The proposal will see heaving lobbying efforts by the Bells competitors --
long distance companies and new local carriers -- who want the Bells to be
forced to resell and the Bells who do not want to have to create subsidiaries.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C4), AUTHOR: Seth Schiesel]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/yr/mo/biztech/articles/06data.html
AGREEMENT BY LOCAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS AND WIRELESS INDUSTRIES ON
FACILITIES SITING ISSUES
Issue: Role of Local Government
Chairman William E. Kennard announced a facilities siting agreement between
the Commission's Local and State Government Advisory Committee (LSGAC), the
Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA), the Personal
Communications Industry Association (PCIA), and the American Mobile
Telephone Association (AMTA). The groups presented Chairman Kennard with a
joint agreement involving appropriate guidelines for tower and antennae
siting, as well as an informal dispute resolution process for siting issues.
[SOURCE: FCC]
http://www.fcc.gov/statelocal/agreement.html
FCC PLANS BETTER INTERNET HOOKUPS
Issue: Infrastructure
The Federal Communications Commission is expected to propose giving
incentives today to local phone companies in an effort to encourage them to
build the expensive infrastructure needed for high-speed data connections.
The final plan could be adopted by the end of the year. "Most
Americans...are getting very used to high speed Internet access in the
office. They go home and it's the World Wide Wait and it's very
frustrating," said FCC Chairman Bill Kennard. "We want to bring that same
high bandwidth capacity into every home in America." The FCC is also
exploring ways to give other companies incentives to build faster
connections into the home.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (WashTech), AUTHOR: Jeannine Aversa/AP Writer]
http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WAPO/19980806/V000112-080698-idx...
PHONE LINES, AND LINES AND LINES, KEEPING THEIR APPEAL
Issue: Infrastructure
Households with increasing telecommunications needs are sticking with
regular analog phone lines rather than ISDN or ADSL. The higher bandwidth
services, where available, are more costly and require more costly
equipment. Adding an additional phone line for $20/month is the way most
families are going to handle fax machines, Internet hook-ups, or talkative
teenagers. Sales of second phone lines are booming.
[SOURCE: New York Times (E9), AUTHOR: Sana Siwolop]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/08/circuits/articles/06fone.html
IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, COX COMMUNICATIONS RATTLES A BABY BELL
Issue: Competition
In an effort to sway customers away from Pacific Bell,Cox Communications'
has started to offer some phone rates that undercut PacBell by more than 50
percent. "The fact that phone service is going over as well as it is, as
well as Internet access, on top of our entertainment product and digital TV,
says to me that we are fulfilling our dream of becoming a one-stop service
provider," says Jim Robbins, Cox's chief executive director. PacBell, on the
other hand, says that its customer-service rankings "have never been better"
in California and contends that installation times and prices are continuing
to improve. SBC, PacBell's parent says that Cox is a "formidable" competitor
that has "methodically focused on high-income, high-usage" residential
customers. SBC points out that Cox is able to offer "something we can't" --
a package that includes long-distance and local phone service plus video,
high-speed data transmission and Internet access -- giving Cox an unfair
advantage over the Baby Bell. "What the Cox experience has demonstrated is
that companies that want to compete in the market, can compete," said an SBC
spokesperson. SBC contends that in order to gain equal footing it should be
allowed to provide long-distance service.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A1,A8), AUTHOR: Leslie Cauley]
http://wsj.com/
=============
LONG DISTANCE
=============
FCC TO PROPOSE NEW RULES FOR CALLS ABROAD FROM U.S.
Issue: Long Distance
The Federal Communications Commission will propose new rules today that
would deregulate most of the market for international telephone calls. The
current rules require that all telecommunications carriers in a given
country charge U.S. carriers the same rate when the foreign carriers
transmit U.S. calls. "The agency wants to lift the restrictions on countries
with competitive telecommunications markets." FCC officials said the
proposal would affect more than half of the foreign phone calls from the
U.S., which could translate into lower rates for U.S. consumers who call
overseas.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B7), AUTHOR: John Simons]
http://wsj.com/
===========
ADVERTISING
===========
STRONG AD SALES AT STATIONS LIFT CBS PROFIT
Issue: Television Economics
Advertising growth at CBS television and radio stations led to a fourfold
increase in net income for CBS Corporation. But the performance was not as
strong as analysts predicted and there are lingering questions about the
company. CBS is the number 2 network in prime-time, but can not charge high
advertising rates because its shows appeal to mostly older viewers. CBS may
also be relying too much on ad rates: "If the economy were to weaken, ad
rates would come down," an analyst said.
[SOURCE: New York Times (C5), AUTHOR: Bloomberg News]
http://www.nytimes.com/
FILTERS LET USERS SCREEN OUT ON-LINE ADVERTISING
Issue: Advertising/Internet
In October 1994, Hotwired introduced the Web's first advertisements. Less
than a year later, Web Filter emerged to keep browsers from loading ads. Now
there are many software packages that will help keep you Internet experience
ad free: Intermute www.intermute.com, a "decaf" filter to avoid Java
scripts muffin.doit.org, ( at )Guard, a personalfirewall www.atguard.com. "We
think Web ad filters aren't necessary," said Lyn Chitow Oakes vice president
of marketing at Flycast Communications, an Internet advertising network.
"Web advertising is not very intrusive, it doesn't stop you from getting to
the information you want, and it doesn't break up programming at all." Her
company's ads are designed to load faster than the underlying content.
[SOURCE: New York Times (D2), AUTHOR: Tina Kelly]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/08/circuits/articles/06ugee.html
=================
MERGERS/ANTITRUST
=================
CONNECTICUT REGULATORS PLAN TO APPROVE SBC-SNET MERGER
SNET WORKERS MAY STRIKE BECAUSE CONTRACT DIFFERS FROM SBC
Issue: Mergers
In a draft decision released August 5, regulators in Connecticut plan to
approve the $4.4-billion purchase of Southern New England Telephone (SNET)
by SBC. The state's attorney general had urged regulators to require SBC to
reduce local phone rates to reflect merger synergies, but regulators said
they "scrutinized the law and can find no requirement that rates must be a
consideration" for merger approval. "There is no economic basis on which to
order a rate reduction," they said. Instead, they plan to order SBC to use
"any over earnings" to invest in new equipment and networks "at an
accelerated pace." Connecticut will receive public comment until August 21
and will hear oral arguments August 25. A final vote is set for September 2.
In a related
story, workers at Southern New England Telephone (SNET) may strike by the
end of the week unless there is a new labor agreement. SBC workers have
better retirement benefits than SNET workers.
[SOURCE: Telecom AM]
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Microsoft Says Chicken (Windows) Hatched Before Egg (Netscape)
Issue: Antitrust
In papers that will be filed in the Government's antitrust case, Microsoft
will contend that it began planning an Internet strategy before Netscape
rose to challenge the software giant. As early as April 6, 1994, several
Microsoft employees contend, company strategy was set to include built-in
access to the Internet in the company's mainstay product, the Windows
operating system. A senior Justice Department official said this week that
evidence in the Government's case showed a pattern of anti-competitive
behavior by a company that was "simply hellbent on driving a competitor out
of the market." Microsoft's defense, he says, is a "grand exercise in
revisionist history."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C1), AUTHOR: Steve Lohr]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/08/biztech/articles/06microsoft.html
====================
GRASS-ROOTS ACTIVISM
====================
CAMERAS EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES
Issue: Community Activism
One World Media Center, based in Adams Morgan in Washington DC, is one of
several community film centers across the nation that are taking advantage
of improving technology and falling costs to do grass-roots media work. "As
all these huge mega-media makers are merging, more and more independents or
individuals who have a powerful message to tell get squeezed out of the
process," said Theodore Smith, who co-founded One World in 1994. "Media
activism is trying to empower folks who feel traditionally shut out in
getting their voice heard." The independent producers at One World share
their work with others through film festivals, private screenings and public
access television. These "media activists" working at the media center are
part artist, part political theorists. "For democracy to work, a broad range
of people have to be able to participate in public discourse," said David
Welch, a co-founder of One World. "What happens is that a lot of public
discourse happens on newspaper or television or radio. If it's too
expensive, it starts to limit the range of democracy itself. This is why One
World exists." You can access One World Media Center's Web site at:
http://www.owmc.org
[SOURCE: Washington Post (DC1,DC5), AUTHOR: Jennifer Lee]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-08/06/057l-080698-idx.html
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