MEDIA OWNERSHIP
Deregulation Plans Assailed
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Uganda Telecom Offers 'Freenet'
Development's False Divide
Asia to Bridge Digital Divide in the Region
MEDIA OWNERSHIP
DEREGULATION PLANS ASSAILED
Statements made yesterday by FCC Chairman Michael Powell were met with
skepticism from the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and
Transportation. Powell faced criticism for his desire to relax rules
requiring local telephone companies opening up their networks to
competitors, a decision the FCC must reach by February 20th. In a related
topic, testimony revealed that Powell did not have the majority vote
necessary to adopt regulations that would reduce the role of state
regulators in setting the prices phone companies can charge for leasing
elements of their networks; Commissioner Kevin Martin disagrees with the
Chairman on this issue. Committee members were also clearly concerned about
proposed relaxation of media ownership rules, with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR)
noting that just five companies control the current media landscape. Powell
dismissed the widespread public concern as "melodramatic," adding that the
FCC has lost four recent cases in which it was unable to empirically justify
the rules.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, AUTHOR: Christopher Stern]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57299-2003Jan14.html)
SEE ALSO:
STATE OF COMPETITION IN TELECOM INDUSTRY HEARING
(Transcripts of opening statements by ranking members and the five FCC
Commissioners)
[SOURCE: Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation]
(http://hollings.senate.gov/~commerce/press/03/2003113311.html)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
UGANDA TELECOM OFFERS 'FREENET'
Telecommunications provider Uganda Telecom has introduced a product that
enables its phone subscribers to use the Internet without additional
subscriptions or fees. The company's "freenet" service requires no contract
and is available 24 hours a day. Customers simply set the computer modem to
dial an access number and enter a username and freenet password. "Freenet is
a service that enables every Uganda Telecom landline to immediately access
the Internet without a registration or the payment of subscription fees,"
said Askan Schmeisser, marketing and sales manager at Rwenzori Courts in
Kampala.
[SOURCE: AllAfrica.com, AUTHOR: Davis Weddi, New Vision (Kampala)]
(http://allafrica.com/stories/200301150102.html)
DEVELOPMENT'S FALSE DIVIDE
(Commentary) "The best of motives may drive a concern to equalize global
Internet access, but not the strongest of logic." So argues World Bank
economist Charles Kenny, who believes that the benefits of providing
Internet access in developing countries do not exceed or even meet the high
cost associated with doing so. He discusses the challenge of providing
access to rural areas of Costa Rica, where the per capita public expenditure
on Internet access would exponentially exceed the per capita subsidies for
health care and discretionary spending for primary education. Kenny also
notes that the digital divide is more than just a lack of physical access:
cultural differences, language barriers and skills development are also
barriers to effective utilization of the Web in developing countries. Kenny
concludes that while communications technologies in general provide
significant opportunities to obtain wealth, the Internet itself does not
necessarily, and that the globalization of Web access should be abandoned in
favor of more limited, targeted subsidy programs.
[SOURCE: Foreign Policy, AUTHOR: Charles Kenny]
(http://www.foreignpolicy.com/issue_janfeb_2003/kenny.html)
ASIA TO BRIDGE DIGITAL DIVIDE IN THE REGION
Representatives from 48 Asian countries, along with business and
nongovernmental groups, wrapped up a three-day meeting Wednesday in which
they agreed to eradicate inequalities in Internet growth in that region. The
meeting was held in preparation for the World Summit on the Information
Society, a UN summit to be held in Geneva in December. "High-quality access
attainable through broadband has great potential to help better deliver
essential services required to meet basic human needs," the Tokyo
Declaration stated in part. The document did not prescribe specific measures
to meet its goals -- a duty left up to the Geneva conference.
[SOURCE: CNN, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://asia.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/01/14/asia.information.ap/)
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