INTERNET
Congress Aims to Wrap Up Internet Issues (NYT)
New Twist to Free Email (NYT)
TELEPHONE REGULATION
Access Charge Referendum Makes it to Nebraska November Ballot
(TelecomAM)
LABOR/JOBS
Strike Apparently Settled, Workers Return to US West (NYT)
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INTERNET
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CONGRESS AIMS TO WRAP UP INTERNET ISSUES
Issue: Internet Legislation
A search of the government's online legislative library shows that 324 bills
with the word "Internet" have been filed in the 105th Congress, compared to
just 75 the previous session. While most of these bills will be forgotten
after adjournment in October, on Internet taxes, indecency, junk e-mail,
gambling and copyright protections may be voted on and passed. The final
decisions could come in late-night conference committee meetings or with
bills being quietly attached as amendments to unrelated legislation. "We're
into sausage making at its most gruesome," said Jim Dempsey, senior staff
counsel for the Center for Democracy and Technology, a nonprofit public
interest organization based in Washington, D.C. The Clinton Administration
and industry officials are optimistic about being able to finish work on
three key pieces of legislation: the Internet Tax Freedom Act, the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act and legislation to set national standards for
tamper-resistant digital signatures. "The first two ought to pass," said
Ira C. Magaziner, President Clinton's top Internet adviser. "If we can get
all three, that would be very good." See the article for a run down on the
other pending legislation.
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Jeri Clausing jeri( at )nytimes.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/09/cyber/articles/01congress.html
NEW TWIST TO FREE EMAIL
Issue: Online Services
Web sites that offer free email services are becoming commonplace on the
Internet. Now, a few services aim to add even more portability to the free
e-mail concept, allowing users to retrieve their messages from anywhere they
can pick up a phone. New advertiser-supported services allow phone access to
email -- the e-mail is read in a robotic voice by speech-synthesis software,
and users can dictate a response. For more info see Planetary Motion
http://www.planetarymotion.com/ and CollegeClub http://www.collegeclub.com/
[SOURCE: New York Times (CyberTimes), AUTHOR: Peter Wayner wayner( at )nytimes.com]
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/09/cyber/articles/01voice.html
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TELEPHONE REGULATION
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ACCESS CHARGE REFORM REFERENDUM MAKES IT TO NEBRASKA NOVEMBER BALLOT
Issue: Telephone Regulation
The Committee To Vote Yes For Lower Nebraska Phone Bills said it has enough
signatures to ensure that voters can vote on access charge reform in the
November election. Nebraska's 16-cent per minute intrastate access charge is
the highest in the nation, said the group, and the campaign for reform has
received a tremendous response from the public. The referendum would allow
Nebraska's Public Service Commission to regulate intrastate access charges
of the three largest telcos in the state -- US West, GTE and Aliant -- and
would require that access charges be based on forward-looking costs. The
Committee is sponsored by AT&T.
[SOURCE: Telecom AM]
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
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LABOR/JOBS
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STRIKE APPARENTLY SETTLED, WORKERS RETURN TO US WEST
Issue: Labor/Jobs
US West and the Communications Workers of America (CWA) have reached a
tentative agreement which returned striking members to work. The agreement
means gains in pay and benefits for the workers and allows for a voluntary
pay-for-performance program. The agreement needs to ratified by the 34,000
members of the union. "CWA is probably doing better than any union in the
country," said Gregory Tarpinian, executive director for the Labor Research
Association, a New York consulting company for unions. "They have a
tremendous amount of leverage because most of the telecom companies
downsized in the mid-80s and early '90s. They are left with pretty lean
operations." At US West, the number of employees dropped to 53,000 on
Monday, from 66,000 in 1984, the year of the company's creation. Faced with
a tight labor market and an increasingly competitive business environment,
US West agreed to wage increases of 10.9 percent over three years, slightly
above inflation forecasts.
[SOURCE: New York Times (A17), AUTHOR: James Brooke]
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/uswest-strike.html
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