INTERNET
Farmer's Internet Use Jumps (SJM)
Some Light Through The Portal (WP)
Keeping Up With All the News Back in Anytown, U.S.A. (NYT)
PRIVACY
Intel To Make Web Sites Add Warnings (SJM)
TELEPHONY
Merger's Reckoning Nears (ChiTrib)
Bell Atlantic's Long-Distance Bid May Spur Local-Phone Rivalry (WSJ)
AT&T Files Complaints with States Accusing U S West of Service
Lapses (WSJ)
ED TECH
Wired on Campus E-Life (USA)
BROADCASTING
Eclectic Little Radio Stations Deserve Spots on the Airwaves (USA)
Media Talk: Channel 2 Sued Over Ad Campaign (ChiTrib)
E-COMMERCE
Ireland Positioning Itself To Be An E-Commerce Hub (SJM)
Fed Approves Plan to Allow Banks To E-Mail Customers' Statements (WSJ)
WIRELESS
Too Many Phones, Too Little Service (NYT)
EMPLOYMENT
McCin Joins In Visa 'Frenzy' (SJM)
INTERNET
FARMER'S INTERNET USE JUMPS
Issue: Internet
Twice as many farmers are on the Internet today than just three years ago.
According to a June survey by the Agriculture Department's Agricultural
Statistics Service, the number of farmers online has jumped from just 13%
in 1997 to 29% in 1999. "Getting information this way is so much easier,"
said farmer Lyle Samuelson. "It's something you can sit and do early in the
morning, and it only takes a few minutes." For many, it is becoming an
important means for sharing and gathering information. "A lot of farmers
out there have e-mail now, and it certainly makes it a very easy and useful
way of exchanging information," said Tim Bryan, a fourth-generation farmer
near the small town of Bowbells. Increasingly, farmers are also using the
Internet for purchasing products ranging from chemicals and fertilizers to
tractors and combines.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: John MacDonald (Associate Press)]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/ap/docs/767501l.htm)
SOME LIGHT THROUGH THE PORTAL
Issue: Internet
With all the talk about Web portals, some people are left wondering "What
exactly is a 'portal'?" Generally a portal is considered an entrance or
gateway to Web -- sites likeYahoo.com that helps people get to where they
are going online. In addition to the general portal sites such as Yahoo,
Lycos and Go, there are now an increasing number of specialty portals that
are focused on a specific topic, audience or geographic location. As the
Internet has grown in size and complexity, so have portals. They started as
Web indexes pointing outward, but have since devoted much of their focus to
trying to get users to stay. Over the past few years, portals have
established countless features - such as free e-mail, chat and stock
portfolios -that are intended to keep viewers longer to generate more
advertising revenue. Some analysts are convinced that the large general
portals' services are becoming indistinguishable from each other and will
soon be ghost towns as people flock to specialty sites that cater to
individual interests. It is possible, however, that like giant department
stores, people will always have a need for the one-stop-shopping offered by
all-purpose portals.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E1), AUTHOR: Leslie Walker]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/feed/a16860-1999aug19.htm)
KEEPING UP WITH ALL THE NEWS BACK IN ANYTOWN, U.S.A.
Issue: Online Newspapers
"We had to stop viewing ourselves as a newspaper company and view ourselves
as an information company," said Mark Hamilton, who publishes the The Iowa
Falls Times-Citizen (www.iafalls.com), a twice-weekly publication with a
circulation of 4,000. The Iowa Falls Times-Citizen went online three years
ago.
"This is important for small towns," said Hamilton. Small community
dailies and weeklies around the country are going online. But with small
staffs and tight budgets, they are doing so cautiously. "Some are making
money, some are losing their shirts, some aren't doing it because they are
afraid they will lose their shirts,"
said an industry consultant. See the URL below for opinions from executives
at small newspapers around the country.
[SOURCE: New York Times (D9), AUTHOR: Debra Nussbaum]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/08/circuits/articles/19pape.html)
PRIVACY
INTEL TO MAKE WEB SITES ADD WARNINGS
Issue: Privacy
Intel, in a move to deter government regulation, has announced that it will
require Internet sites that it advertises on to warn consumers about the
personal details that are being collected about them online. By Jan. 1
2000, the company will require that all of the roughly 200 "Intel Inside"
sites comply with privacy guidelines developed by the Online Privacy
Alliance, a trade group of companies on the Web. The OPA guidelines require
Web sites to tell consumers what information is being collected, keep
private details secure, allow consumers to review their information for
accuracy and correct it, and allow people to ask not to have any
information gathered about them. "Web sites will know they won't get
advertising dollars unless they protect consumers' privacy," said Vicki
Streitfeld, a spokeswoman for the FTC. "It's the kind of thing we hope will
create strong incentives to create their own privacy policies." David
Banisar of the Washington-based Electronic Privacy Information Center,
however, said the OPA guidelines themselves are "virtually worthless"
because they "set up procedural barriers that consumers have to hop over to
have some kind of marginal control over their information."
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Ted Bridis (Associated Press)]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/ap/docs/767772l.htm)
TELEPHONY
MERGER'S RECKONING NEARS
Issue: Mergers
An evaluation of how the vote may pan out on the SBC-Ameritech merger in
Illinois: Two Illinois Commerce Commission commissioners seem ready to vote
to approve the merger, two seem ready to vote against it. Only Chairman
Richard Mathias' vote appears uncertain. The ICC will resume hearings on the
merger this week. Van thinks Chairman Mathias has shown the phone giants the
path to approval, but has not told them how far along they must walk down it
to gain his vote. Last week, ICC hearing examiners proposed an order
approving the merger while boosting the amount Illinois customers would see
in local phone bill reductions. SBC is not pleased: "We appreciate the hard
work by the hearing examiners, and their recommendation that the ICC approve
the merger," said James Ellis, SBC's executive vice president and general
counsel. But he said his company wants the full commission to strip rate
reductions as well as some conditions intended to promote competition from the
final order the. "They act as if you can barter away conditions attached
to the merger in a trade with savings," said Adam Bottner, supervisor of
regulatory affairs for the Cook County state's attorney's office. "State law
provides these protections to consumers, and they can't be bartered away. I
think SBC's stance on what ratepayers are entitled to amounts to gaming the
system." Chairman Mathias has warned that he would vote against the merger
if he finds that SBC has been "gaming the system."
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1), AUTHOR: Jon Van]
(http://chicagotribune.com/tech/news/article/0,2669,ART-33210,FF.html)
BELL ATLANTIC'S LONG-DISTANCE BID MAY SPUR LOCAL-PHONE RIVALRY
Issue: Telephony
Even though local telephone competition hasn't begun to reach the levels
envisioned by lawmakers when they passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996
-- Bell Atlantic is expected to seek permission to offer long-distance
service in New York State next month. If approved, it could make the Bell
Atlantic the first Bell operating company to enter the long-distance
market. Bell Atlantic said it has completed a series of tests that prove
its networks are open to competitors. Some long-distance carriers have
already begun offering local service in New York. MCI Worldcom says it has
been offering local services to its NY residential customers since February
and that it is serving more than 154,000 residents. AT&T is testing local
service in NY and RCN has started service in some areas. But rivals say
Bell Atlantic still hasn't met the conditions for long-distance entry. "We
still don't have parity," an AT&T spokesman said. An MCI WorldCom
spokeswoman said the Bell still doesn't have a process for informing
competitors when it upgrades its systems, causing computer problems for
rivals that need access to its network. The Telecommunications Act of 1996
intended to force open local phone markets by requiring the Bells to make
it easier for rivals to get access to local telephone networks in exchange
for permission to offer long-distance services in their home territories.
Today, business customers in major markets typically have a choice of local
telephone carriers, but residential customers remain largely connected by
incumbent telephone carriers. New York State utilities regulators will hold
a meeting August 31st to hear final comments on the company's
market-opening initiatives.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, B6, AUTHOR: Stephanie N. Mehta]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB935022118102679735.htm)
AT&T FILES COMPLAINTS WITH STATES ACCUSING U S WEST OF SERVICE LAPSES
Issue: Telephony
AT&T Wednesday called on state regulators in Arizona, Colorado, Minnesota,
New Mexico and Washington to require U S West to provide "adequate
service." In filings with the five state utilities commissions, AT&T
accused US West of letting its core telecommunications network go downhill
in favor of investing in high-speed Internet services. These filings come
just weeks after U S West agreed to merge with AT&T long-distance rival
Qwest Communications International. AT&T and U S West are competing in
several markets to deliver broadband services to consumers -- AT&T through
its newly acquired cable-television lines and U S West through digital
subscriber line, or DSL, technology, which uses traditional copper wires. U
S West acknowledged continuing service challenges on Wednesday, but said
service continues to improve -- not worsen. AT&T is "clearly desperate to
divert attention from the growing firestorm that is building over AT&T's
refusal to open its closed cable monopoly," said Mark Roellig, a U S West
executive vice president.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, B10, AUTHOR: Stephanie N. Mehta]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB935021923209390708.htm)
ED TECH
WIRED ON CAMPUS E-LIFE
Issue: Ed Tech
Today's college student has one more thing to factor into their decision
about which school to attend: who is the most connected? Yahoo! now
publishes a list of the most connected schools. That's one of the reasons
Adam Grauer, a 21 year old communications major chose Case Western Reserve
University in Cleveland. The school was ranked number one on Yahoo!'s
Most-wired college list this year. College students use the Web for things
like furniture purchases, food, crib notes, research, books, software and
computer purchases. Myles Brand, president of Indiana University said, "In
the future, the leading universities will be those who are leaders in
information technology. The computer isn't just a study tool. It has become
totally integrated in the lives of our students."
[SOURCE: USA Today, 1B, AUTHOR: Bruce Horovitz]
(http://www.usatoday.com/hphoto.htm)
BROADCASTING
ECLECTIC LITTLE RADIO STATIONS DESERVE SPOTS ON THE AIRWAVES
Issue: Radio
Samantha Kors talks about the Federal Communications Commission's ban on
low-powered radio stations in communities that would like to offer local
programming. People in communities that would like to offer different
material over a low powered station cannot because the FCC is not taking up
the issues of the stations' rare interference with other stations and the
right of communities to free speech on the airwaves, according to Kors. She
stated, "In reality, the ban protects the politically powerful commercial
and public radio lobbies from competition from local stations. When the ban
was enacted, technological advances were making it increasingly cheaper to
run small stations. Numerous 'micro-radio' stations began to crop up in
defiance of the FCC ban. Because almost none of them interfered with other
signals, the FCC at first largely ignored them. Recently, however, the FCC
began to crack down on these broadcasters, shutting down their stations,
confiscating their equipment -- and stifling entrepreneurship and diversity
in the broadcasting industry. Eclectic, community-based radio stations are
being forced off the air in favor of more powerful and more homogeneous
stations. The low-power stations often give a voice to underrepresented
groups and, as a result, are beloved in their communities. Some stations
create jobs and wealth in struggling neighborhoods. Yet all of these
stations face significant penalties if discovered by the FCC." Kors sited
examples saying, "La Nueva Radio Musical is the only Spanish-language
station in the New Haven, Connecticut area broadcasting news, music,
religious services, community programming and commercials for Hispanic
businesses. More than 6,000 listeners, including the mayor and several
state legislators, signed a petition asking the FCC to allow it to continue
broadcasting, but the FCC said no. The station's cofounder, Hipolito
Cuevas, now is in court fighting an FCC lawsuit to take La Nueva Radio
Musical off the air."
[SOURCE: USA Today, 13A, AUTHOR: (Samantha Kors is a research associate at
the Institute for Justice which represents Roy Neset in the FCC case.)]
(http://www.usatoday.com)
MEDIA TALK: CHANNEL 2 SUED OVER AD CAMPAIGN
Issue: Journalism/Advertising
Chicago's CBS affiliate and one of the investigative reporters on the local
news team are being sued for defamation -- not for a story the station ran,
but for a promotional campaign. The central question appears to be: is
broadcasting the promotion news or is it done solely for the station's
commercial benefit. [Is there a difference in local TV news?] The original
story ran more than a year ago and the plaintiff did not sue at that time.
But the station started using clips of the story in January to tout the
effectiveness of its investigative reporting. After the plaintiff filed a
complaint, the promotions stopped, but earlier this month, the station began
running new promotions using story clips.
[SOURCE: Chicago Tribune (Sec 3, p.1), AUTHOR: Jim Kirk]
(http://chicagotribune.com/news/printedition/)
E-COMMERCE
IRELAND POSITIONING ITSELF TO BE AN E-COMMERCE HUB
Issue: E-Commerce
Ireland, the world's second largest software exporter, has hopes of
becoming an International e-commerce center as well. While the U.S.
currently controls almost 80% of the globe's e-commerce, the Irish
government is developing plans to lure some of that business across the
Atlantic. Strategies include liberalizing the country's telecommunications
market and laying high-speed cables. Prime Minister Bertie Ahern has
announced plans for an $80 million high-capacity connection to the republic
by mid-2000 and a 70 million punt domestic infrastructure plan. "We in
Ireland fully recognizes the critical importance of an e-commerce friendly
environment if we are to retain existing overseas investment," said Ahern.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/080087.htm)
FED APPROVES PLAN TO ALLOW BANKS TO E-MAIL CUSTOMERS' STATEMENTS
Issue: E-Commerce
The Federal Reserve Board voted 5-0 on a plan that could put an end to the
monthly statements that banks mail to customers in favor of an electronic
substitute. The Fed's plan will allow banks to send periodic
customer-account statements electronically and for other customer
information to be similarly delivered. The switch to electronic statements
would be voluntary for customers. The interim rule, which takes effect
later this summer, broadens the authority of banks to electronically
deliver routine periodic account statements. Previously, electronic
delivery had been limited to electronic-fund transfers. Other, less routine
transactions, such as account-opening notices and change-in-terms notices,
will be addressed by the Feds Wednesday. Under the proposal, banks could
deliver information by sending it to an e-mail address specified by the
customer or by making it available on the bank's Web site. Consumers signed
up for electronic delivery would be able to respond quickly. For example,
customers could give notice of an error in their account via e-mail,
instead of sending a paper notice.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, A2, AUTHOR: Jonathan Nicholson]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB935016675631263010.htm)
EMPOLYMENT
MCCAIN JOINS IN VISA `FRENZY'
Issue: Employment
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) has plans to introduce a bill to increase the
annual limit of high-tech visa to 175,000. Current law sets the limit at
115,000 H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers and will reduce the
number to 65,000 in 2002. McCain proposes that the U.S. secretary of labor
should be allowed to raise the cap if worker shortages still exist. "On an
annual basis you determine how many jobs you need so you're not caught
short like you are this year, or you don't realize the fears of labor and
others that you're now depriving American citizens of these jobs," he said
in an interview with the Mercury News. In a campaign tour in California,
McCain also called for a permanent ban on Internet taxation, citing a study
showing that sales taxes have increased during the first year of the
current three-year moratorium on Net taxes.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Mary Anne Ostrom]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/mccain081999.htm)
WIRELESS
TOO MANY PHONES, TOO LITTLE SERVICE
Issue: Wireless
As successful as wireless phone companies have been in attracting
subscribers, what are they doing to keep them happy? The Cellular
Telecommunications Industry Association estimates that there are 77 million
cell
phone users in the U.S. and more than 37,500 people sign up for wireless
service each day. In areas where cell phone use is highest -- New York, Los
Angeles, Seattle -- incomplete or disconnected calls often occur because
there are too many conversations on the limited amount of channels on a
carrier's network. The solution is to build more cell sites -- the antennas
and base station equipment that send and receive calls. CTIA estimates that
there were more than 65,000 cell sites in December 1998, a 28% increase over
the previous year. Tom Wheeler, president and chief executive of the
Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association says, "It took 75 years
before wire line phone service had the same kind of coverage that the
wireless carriers have achieved in a much shorter period. It's not where it
should be, but it's moving at lightning speed and improving every day."
[SOURCE: New York Times (D1), AUTHOR: Catherine Greenman]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/08/circuits/articles/19cell.html)
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