DIGITAL DIVIDE
Digital-Divide Disconnect
Jackson Continues Push For Tech Diversity
BROADBAND
Bypassing the Carriers, a Burg Goes Broadband
Broadband Revolutionizing Media Distribution - Taplin
Lawmakers Move to Block Spectrum Auction
MERGERS
AOL's $50-Billion Loss Is One From the Books
FTC/DOJ Hearings on Antitrust and Intellectual Property Law and
Policy
DIGITAL DIVIDE
DIGITAL-DIVIDE DISCONNECT
[Commentary] The Bush administration's proposed 2003 budget calls for the
elimination of two critical digital-opportunity programs: the U.S.
Department of Education's Community Technology Centers Program and the U.S.
Department of Commerce's Technology Opportunities Program. Norris Dickard,
Senior Associate at the Benton Foundation, agues that these small programs
have a big impact. He cites both research and reports from the field testify
to the value of these federal efforts in helping to narrow the gap between
technology haves and have-nots. With waning private-sector investments
because of the recession and state budgets under the biggest crunch in
years, Dickard says that the need for smart public-private partnerships to
bridge the digital divide is more important than ever.
[SOURCE: EDWeek, AUTHOR: Norris Dickard (Senior Associate at the Benton
Foundation)]
(http://www.edweek.org/ew/newstory.cfm?slug=32dickard.h21)
JACKSON CONTINUES PUSH FOR TECH DIVERSITY
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, speaking at the third annual Rainbow/PUSH Silicon
Valley Project conference Wednesday, said that Silicon Valley corporate
boards are no more diverse than when his non-profit first raised the issue
three years ago. Jackson said the group's goals have ``evolved'' to issues
such as expanding opportunities for minority-owned firms to do business with
large corporations, increasing access to capital for minorities and women
and bridging the digital divide in poor communities. Though some large
corporate interests were represented at the conference, they did not discuss
the importance of diversity at their corporations or outlined company
programs that encourage diversity in hiring or supplier relationships.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: K. Oanh Ha]
(http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/3132349.htm)
BROADBAND
bypassing the Carriers, a Burg Goes Broadband
After years of waiting for the phone company (Verizon) to offer high-speed
Internet service, the local government of Cumberland, Maryland is ready to
take matters into its own hands. Cumberland, population 21,000, is facing a
quandary familiar to much of rural America: the cost of upgrading the
telephone system's wires to offer high-speed data service (DSL) is
prohibitively expensive. As a result, phone companies prefer to invest where
the population density guarantees a return on their upgrade investment. As a
result, many local governments are making the leap into providing DSL
services for their communities, in essence, going into competition with the
phone companies. Small cities and towns who have rolled out their own
broadband systems are finding themselves in legal battles with
telecommunications companies. Jim Baller, a Washington-based lawyer who
represents the American Public Power Association, an alliance of more than
2,000 community-owned utilities, sides with the local government broadband
initiatives. Says Baller, "If local governments are not free to fill some of
these gaps, what we'll see happening is what happened in the electric power
industry." Electrification, he said, took government initiative in the most
rural areas.
[SOURCE: New York Times; AUTHOR: Peter Wayner]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/25/technology/circuits/25BROA.html)
BROADBAND REVOLUTIONIZING MEDIA DISTRIBUTION - TAPLIN
Jonathan Taplin, CEO of video on demand Web site Intertainer.com, is sending
the message that broadband streaming will fundamentally change the way
people get their entertainment. Taplin says the entertainment industry is
"on the verge of a new revolution, a media of incredible richness." Taplin
cautions, however, that "media companies will do whatever it takes to
protect themselves from the broadband revolution" rather than watch their
cash cow walk out the door. Broadband turns the whole distribution and
marketing system on its head and Taplin is attempting to tap into the
possibilities. One such attempt of Intertainer.com, called Film Marketplace,
is designed for independent filmmakers to get their movies to the public and
to earn money. Taplin believes that alternative distribution models will
work for film because he sees an end to American cultural dominance. "This
dominance has been built on scarcity, which is disappearing," he said. "IT
was thought for many years that only the American market was big enough to
support the entertainment industry. All of that is about to change."
[SOURCE: Newsbytes; AUTHOR: Michael Bartlett]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/176120.html)
Lawmakers Move to Block Spectrum Auction
More than 50 influential members of Congress from both parties have
co-sponsored legislation that would block the FCC's planned auction of a
valuable swath of airwave spectrum. The legislation, spearheaded by W.J.
"Billy" Tauzin (R-La.) and John Dingell (D-Mich.) would indefinitely
postpone the auction. Tauzin spokesman Ken Johnson said that the auction was
premature. "This auction is not ready for prime time. The FCC has no
(third-generation wireless) plan in place, they have no (high-definition
television) plan in place and most importantly, they have no spectrum
management plan in place." The FCC is scheduled to begin the auction on June
19, in compliance with a congressionally mandated September 2002 deadline.
FCC Chairman Michael Powell said he would feel uncomfortable postponing the
auction unless he received a directive from Congress to do so.
[SOURCE: Washington Post ; AUTHOR: David McGuire]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42737-2002Apr24.html)
MERGERS
AOL'S $50-BILLION LOSS IS ONE FROM THE BOOKS
Today, AOL Time Warner Inc. is expected to post the largest loss of any
company in U.S. corporate history. With a quarterly loss exceeding $50
billion, in one fell swoop the world's biggest media company will lose more
than the annual gross domestic product of some countries. The loss--which is
largely on paper and reflects new accounting rules--essentially acknowledges
that the merger between Internet giant America Online Inc. and media
conglomerate Time Warner Inc. has fallen dramatically short of expectations.
The company's shares have fallen 41% this year, partly because of the
slowdown in advertising that is hurting its properties.
[SOURCE: LA Times, AUTHOR: James Bates]
(http://www.latimes.com/business/la-042402losses.story)
FTC/DOJ HEARINGS ON ANTITRUST AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW AND POLICY
The Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of
Justice today announced times, location, and participants for the May 2,
2002 session in their joint hearings on "Competition and Intellectual
Property Law and Policy in the Knowledge-Based Economy." This session will
explore the efficiencies and competitive concerns that patent settlements
may generate in a variety of industries and factual settings. The general
public and press are invited to attend.
[SOURCE: FTC]
(http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2002/04/iplaw3.htm)
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*Note: Due to an all staff retreat tomorrow, there will be no Headlines for
Friday April 26. Have a nice weekend. See you bright and early Monday.*