DIGITAL DIVIDE
Filling VA.'s Tech Vacancies (WP)
Business is Saving Schools Not Tainting Them (NYT)
TELEPHONY
With So Much Choice, How Do You Decide? (SJM)
Big Telecom Battle Erupts Deep Inside U.S. Buildings (WSJ)
August 27 SBC/Ameritech Ex Parte (FCC)
INTERNET
Facing Reality -- and the Internet -- Singapore Rethinks
Thought Control (WSJ)
To Professors' Dismay, Ratings by Students Go Online (NYT)
Ad Rates On Web May Be Pay-Per-View (USA)
DIGITAL BROADCASTING
Digital TV Turns off British Consumers (NYT)
Three Systems Signal The Long Transition to Digital Radio (USA)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
FILLING VA.'S TECH VACANCIES
Issue: Digital Divide
A Virginia State Commission has concluded that Federal agencies and
technology companies are worsening the shortage of technology workers
through overly cautious hiring policies. Affected are those with two
year-college degrees and people with little experience. Virginia Technology
Secretary Donald W. Upson estimated 30,000 technology jobs remain unfilled
in Virginia. It appears that Virginia Governor James S. Gilmore will
endorse a recommended tax credit program for companies that offer
internships to technology students and recent graduates. The commission
reported that a two-year degree is considered "worthless." Contributing to
the problem are federal government agencies that often needlessly require
four-year college degrees for jobs. The problem was described as a case of
"credentials creep" by the commission. While the companies want to hire
new graduates, the hiring policies favor those with several years
experience. The governor is scheduled to speak to the 38 member panel today
at George Mason University.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, E9, AUTHOR: Peter Behr]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-09/01/158l-090199-idx.html)
BUSINESS IS SAVING SCHOOLS NOT TAINTING THEM
Issue: Digital Divide
[Op-Ed] Public and private schools are increasingly collaborating with private
corporations to gain access to technology resources their budgets might not
allow. Microsoft, Channel One, Hewlett-Packard and Nike's involvement have
brought personal computers, Internet access, cable connections, athletic
equipment, money and experience to the classroom. Critics charge that such
partnerships commercialize the classroom. The author views the
partnerships between schools and corporations as a way to bridge the digital
divide and equalize school district funding disparities.
[SOURCE: The New York Times, A23, AUTHOR: Peter Weigand, Headmaster St.
Anselm' Abbey School]
(http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/oped/01weig.html)
TELEPHONY
WITH SO MUCH CHOICE, HOW DO YOU DECIDE?
Issue: Competition
"We're in a transition stage right now to a fully competitive environment,"
said Samuel Simon, chairman of the Telecommunications Research & Action
Center in Washington, D.C. "It's at this time when consumers are at the
greatest risk. How do they figure out what will save them the most money
without feeling like they're getting ripped off?" Savings are available for
savvy telecommunications shoppers, but it can take a lot of work to find the
best deal -- even with new comparison tools that are becoming available on
the Web. Indeed, executives, analysts and consumer groups say they all hear
the same lament from people fed up with the complexities. That's one reason
companies are moving to provide "bundles" of services, so a customer can
sign up at one place and get local, long-distance and wireless service,
Internet access and cable or satellite TV on one bill. The article includes
these tips for consumers: 1) avoid long-term contracts, 2) check pricing
plans every few months, 3) when pricing mobile phones and service, be sure
to calculate the total costs, 4) also when buying a wireless phone, make
sure to check which carrier systems the phone works with so you can switch
later, and 5) when offered a bundle of services, ask yourself if you will
use each one.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Chris O'Brien (cobrien( at )sjmercury.com)]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/confus090199.htm)
BIG TELECOM BATTLE ERUPTS DEEP INSIDE U.S. BUILDINGS
Issue: Competition/Regulation
The newest wars in telecom aren't on Capitol Hill -- but in apartment
buildings. Several companies that are trying to compete with incumbent
telecom companies to offer consumers lower prices for services say they're
being denied access to potential customers because landlords have existing
service deals with the regional Bell companies. On the other hand, building
owners say they don't want dozens of these start-up companies traipsing onto
their properties. Landlords are calling this 'forced access' and say that it
is their property and they should decide the terms for access. There are
millions of customers in the nation's 750,000 office buildings and one-third
of the population live in apartments. The issue has just come before the
Federal Communications Commission, which is hearing out both sides. The
agency is acting on lobbying by the start-ups, who have asked that building
owners be barred from locking them out or charging unreasonable payments for
access, which hurts their ability to offer cheaper service. "This is the
single most important impediment to actually realizing the promise of the
Telecom Act," says William J. Rouhana Jr., chairman and chief executive of
WinStar Communications. WinStar uses base stations with wireless or rooftop
antennae and other gear to provide high-speed Internet access and
traditional phone services. "In the state of Florida alone there are over
250 suppliers. That could wreak havoc if you had a building with 400," says
Jim Arbury, vice president of the National Multifamily Housing Council. He
says building owners should keep the right to choose telecom suppliers just
as they do suppliers of laundry services and athletic equipment.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (B1), AUTHOR: Barbara Martinez]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB936147437906116364.htm)
AUGUST 27 SBC/AMERITECH EX PARTE
Issue: Mergers
SBC and Ameritech have agreed to modify their proposed merger conditions in
light of the comments received by the FCC. In response to the public
comments and FCC Staff input, the companies have made clarifying changes
throughout the document. They have also made changes to address operational
and implementation issues raised by commenters, the FCC Staff, and the
companies themselves. They have also made significant substantive changes to
allay concerns about the proposed conditions that were raised by commenters
and the Commission Staff. The text of the ex parte is available for download
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/Public_Notices/Exparte/1999/expars
bc.doc) or at the URL below.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/Public_Notices/Exparte/1999/expars
bc.txt)
INTERNET
SINGAPORE TO RELAX CENSORSHIP LAWS AS IT SEEKS TO EXPAND INTERNET ACCESS
Issue: International/Censorship
Singapore says the Internet is forcing it to relax some of its strict
censorship laws. In the past, it was easy for Singapore to keep out books,
movies and magazines by simply banning their distribution. The government
still prohibits home satellite dishes, has forbidden key opposition
politicians from delivering outdoor speeches and can take the licenses of
publishers deemed too controversial. But with 20% of Singaporeans connected
to the Web, forbidden items are just a mouse click away. The government
blocks more than 100 pornographic sites, yet acknowledges that
citizens can easily look at thousands of other porn sites. But Singapore's
citizens are still fearful. A bureaucrat told an local Internet service
provider to scan 80,000 e-mail accounts of university researchers for
pornographic material and in April, Singapore's internal-security agency
secretly scanned 200,000 private computers. Many users saw these happenings
as a demonstration of the government's technical capability to pry.
"Singapore Internet users are always fighting the censorship in your own
mind, the perceived fear ... that someone will come knocking on your door,"
says Harish Pillay, who heads Singapore's Internet Society. The government
also hasn't softened its rules for local Internet content providers, which
can be sued under Singapore's laws -- but when it comes to the business
community, the government has been willing to back down. Under a law enacted
last year to help attract foreign investment, Internet service providers are
no longer liable if their customers use their services to visit forbidden
sites. The government plans to look at lifting of a 1997 ban on political
campaigning on Singapore Web sites and strengthening privacy protections for
Internet users.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (A18), AUTHOR: Michelle Levander]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB936129677738516588.htm)
TO PROFESSORS' DISMAY, RATINGS BY STUDENTS GO ONLINE
Issue: EdTech
It's not only the students who get graded at universities these days. It
has become increasingly common for evaluations of professors and courses to
be publicized, either though official university Web sites, or sites run by
individual students or student organizations. Some professors are not so
thrilled about this innovation. "Faculty are suspicious of numerical
evaluations because they reflect popularity and enthusiasm of delivery more
than they reflect the knowledge of the professor or the professor's high
academic standards," said Mark Goor, a special-education professor at
George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. Many students, however, are eager
for tools that can help them make more informed decisions in the
often-overwhelming world of higher education. "I see students being more
empowered," said Griffin Davis, vice president for marketing at
Collegestudent.com, a Web start-up company that provides online course
evaluations. "I see the Internet as being one of the tools that help
students make choices about how they spend their money."
[SOURCE: New York Times (C18 ), AUTHOR: Ian Zack]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/09/biztech/articles/01eval.html)
AD RATES ON WEB MAY BE PAY-PER-VIEW
Issue: Advertising
A new study from Forrester Research predicts that in the next four years
online advertising will switch using the current model of cost per thousand
impressions to a pay-for-performance standard. The switch in advertising
models means that Web publishers will have to earn their profits. "Instead
of a handoff of ad dollars, the media site has to become a marketing site,"
Jim Nail, senior analyst at Forrester said. The pay-for-performance model
could translate into cost based on the number of Internet users to click on
an ad, number of leads or number of sales. There is a hybrid ad model
currently in use on the Internet, a combination of cost per thousand
impressions model and pay-for-performance model, which is used in about
half of the advertisements on the Web. For example, an advertiser may
receive a discount on a publisher's cost per thousand impressions rate
while the publisher receive a percentage of sales traceable to the banner
ad. While pay-for-performance is favored for its accountability, the cost
per thousand impressions model it is not expected to fall into disuse,
since such a move might stifle volume. Web advertising is expected to grow
to $22 billion by 2004 from 42.8 billion in 1999.
[SOURCE: USA Today p. 1B, AUTHOR: Greg Farrell]
(http://www.usatoday.com/money/mds8.htm)
DIGITAL BROADCASTING
DIGITAL TV TURNS OFF BRITISH CONSUMERS
Issue: DTV/ International
Despite the hundreds of millions of pounds that British broadcasters have
spent on marketing campaigns to promote the latest video technologies,
viewers do not seem very excited about the promise of digital television
services. Recent research shows that less thaN 40% of Britons have any
interest in subscribing to the host of new digital programming and
services available via satellite dishes, cable systems and terrestrial
platforms. With the marked indifference audiences have shown toward digital
commercial pay-TV, the publicly-funded BBC is looking to secure extra
funding to develop more appealing digital offerings. Commercial
broadcasters, however, are fighting the BBC's attempt to collect additional
license fees intended
to help fund digital programming. Some broadcasters have suggested that
extra funds for the BBC would actually stunt multi-channel growth and leave
consumers with fewer choices. In response to this argument, deputy director
of television at the BBC David Docherty, said: "The sound of commercial
cartels talking public interest is high flying humbug."
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/040326.htm)
THREE SYSTEMS SIGNAL THE LONG TRANSITION TO DIGITAL RADIO
Issue: Radio
The use of digital signals to transmit AM and FM radio rather than
traditional analog signals marks radio's entry into the digital age. The
technology used to turn analog signals into digital signals is called
In-Band On-Channel (IBOC). This technology allows the transmission of
digital signals within the analog AM and FM channels currently in use.
Analogue signal transmission is expected to be phased-out over the next 15
to 25 years. Three companies are currently designing and testing IBOC
technology including Lucent Digital Radio, USA Digital Radio and Digital
Radio Express. Each company's system will be demonstrated this week at the
National Association of Broadcasters' Radio Show. The benefits of digital
radio are better sound quality and interference-free radio signals. AM
signals would improve to sound like current FM signals and FM signals would
approach CD-quality. The average cost incurred by radio stations wanting to
upgrade to digital is $200,000 while radio listens will need to spend $75
to $100 to buy a new radio capable of receiving digital signals.
[SOURCE: USA Today p. 5D, AUTHOR: Mike Snider]
(http://www.usatoday.com)
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