A service of the Benton Foundation (http://www.benton.org)
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*** NOTE: A story appearing in Wednesday's Headlines was incorrectly
attributed to the Center for Democracy and Technology. The piece, entitled
"Comcast Sues San Jose," should have been credited to the Center for Digital
Democracy. Headlines staff apologizes for the error. ***
BROADBAND
BellSouth Extends High-Speed Internet Service Statewide
WI-FI
U.N. Wants Poor Nations to Use Wireless Internet
Is Wi-Fi Good for Developing Nations?
New Policy Paper: "Breaking the Chains"
INTERNET
Adults Skip School for Education Talk
StreamCast Vows Peer-to-Peer Protest
BROADBAND
BELLSOUTH EXTENDS HIGH-SPEED INTERNET SERVICE STATEWIDE
BellSouth announced plans to extend its broadband Internet service to the
entire state of Mississippi yesterday. The move makes BellSouth the first
company to act on the state's new tax incentive package for ISPs. Passed
earlier this year, the Mississippi Broadband Technology Development Act
provides tax credits between 5-10% and sales tax exemptions from 50-100% to
companies who expand their high-speed Internet capabilities to less populous
areas of the state. "In Mississippi, we are truly closing the digital
divide," said Gov. Ronnie Musgrove. BellSouth will invest $10 million to
complete the project by the end of this year, a decision they say is a
direct result of the new law.
SOURCE: USA Today; AUTHOR: Associated Press
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-06-26-miss-bellsouth_x.htm
WI-FI
U.N. WANTS POOR NATIONS TO USE WIRELESS INTERNET
Wi-Fi technology can assist poor nations along their path to economic
development, said U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday. Annan
delivered his message to a meeting organized by Boston's Wireless Internet
Institute, which assembled 200 IT professionals and policymakers bent on
bridging the gap between the information society and the developing world.
"It is precisely in places where no infrastructure exists that Wi-Fi can be
particularly effective, helping countries to leapfrog generations of
telecommunications technology and infrastructure and empower their people,"
Annan noted. The tech industry is excited by the prospect of expanding the
market, noting that developing nations are the fastest-growing sector in
terms of PC ownership. Mohsen Khalil, the World Bank director of information
and communications technology, warned that build-out and adoption of Wi-Fi
networks would take quite a bit of work.
SOURCE: The Washington Post; AUTHOR: Irwin Arieff
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39715-2003Jun27.html
IS WI-FI GOOD FOR DEVELOPING NATIONS?
[Commentary] This week's United Nations conference on wireless Internet
opportunities gave technology giants such as Intel a forum to discuss the
best way to get Wi-Fi to the developing world. Advocates of Wi-Fi argue for
unregulated, unlicensed and uncontrolled access to the radio spectrum so
that they can innovate and make money. BBC commentator Bill Thompson warns
of the dangers in this model of development, one that fits the commercial
interests of Wi-Fi companies rather than the interests of the developing
country. He compares the new Wi-Fi movement with other failed development
efforts, such as technologically intensive farming and cash crops for
subsistence farmers and genetically modified foods. Thompson predicts that
attempts to manage radio spectrum in the wider interest of society will be
criticized as socialist or even blocked by free trade advocates. He writes
that bridging the digital divide requires more than free enterprise; it
requires attention to the real needs and interests of people in developing
countries. "Sadly, it seems that the UN has already been hijacked by the
Wi-Fi lobby, and the results are unlikely to be what Africa and the rest of
the developing world needs," he writes.
SOURCE: BBC News; AUTHOR: Bill Thompson
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3025490.stm
NEW POLICY PAPER: "BREAKING THE CHAINS"
The New America Foundation's Spectrum Policy Program has released a Working
Paper and Issue Brief summary describing the policy implications arising
from the success of Wi-Fi and other novel uses of license-exempt spectrum to
provide affordable, last-mile broadband connections to homes, schools, farms
and small businesses. The authors, NAF Senior Research Fellow J.H. Snider
and telecommunications attorney and author, James H. Johnston, widen the
last-mile debate by calling for a revised spectrum policy to account for the
technological and entrepreneurial successes occurring in the unlicensed
bands. The paper profiles Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) and
Community Access Networks (CANs), which have already connected tens of
thousands of homes. These successes demonstrate how unlicensed spectrum is
jumpstarting and transforming the broadband debate by providing an
affordable and faster alternative to wireline technologies.
SOURCE: New America Foundation
"Breaking the Chains: Unlicensed Spectrum as a Last-Mile Broadband Solution"
by James H. Johnston and J.H. Snider
Issue Brief #11: http://www.newamerica.net/index.cfm?pg=article&pubID=1258
Working Paper #7: http://www.newamerica.net/index.cfm?pg=article&pubID=1250
INTERNET
ADULTS SKIP SCHOOL FOR EDUCATION TALK
A growing number of parents are going online to share data, advice, ideas
and gripes about public education. In addition to websites, many use free
e-mail groups, such as those offered by Yahoo!, to discuss topics including
Board of Education reform, redistricting, home-schooling and PTA actions.
Howard County, Maryland has about 20 such groups, the most popular being
"Howardpubliced." Deborah Wessner, president of the county's PTA Council,
said the online groups are invaluable: "I use it to learn about things that
are going on that may have been overlooked and also to understand some
people's points of view that we may not have heard." Kelli Nelson,
co-director of the Special Education Leadership Project, helps counties
create Internet discussion groups. "For the most part, they're very well
used," she said. "But people feel very passionate about many of the issues,
and it can get hostile." Lawyer Allen Dyer is largely against limiting
interaction on the Internet. "I believe in a public forum where everyone
has the opportunity to say what they think and what they believe and then
they're forced to defend it," he said.
SOURCE: The Baltimore Sun; AUTHOR: Tricia Bishop
http://www.sunspot.net/news/education/bal-te.ho.internet27jun27,0,699885...
ory?coll=bal-education-top
STREAMCAST VOWS PEER-TO-PEER PROTEST
StreamCast Networks, distributors of the popular file-sharing software
Morpheus, announced yesterday its intention to form a peer-to-peer lobby
campaign in Congress. "The record industry called (peer-to-peer) users
pirates, but what these people are hundreds of millions of voters," said
StreamCast CEO Michael Weiss, who intends to "mobilize P2P users.". Weiss is
no stranger to such battles. Decades ago, he fought along side the home
video industry against the Motion Picture Association of America's efforts
to block video rentals. The Recording Industry of America's showdown with
file swappers is no different in Weiss' eyes. "History keeps repeating
itself and has shown that you cannot stop technological innovation. ... The
sooner they get onto it (technology), the sooner they will profit from it."
The RIAA recently said that it plans to identify and sue individuals with a
significant number of files available for sharing on P2P networks.
SOURCE: CNET News; AUTHOR: Reuters
http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-1021641.html?tag=fd_top
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