DIGITAL DIVIDE
Postwar Iraq will be Thirsty for Technology
Not Just Another World Summit
MPs Speak Out on Digital Divide
JOURNALISM
Television Producers Struggle to Keep Track of War
INTERNET
Will Fax Ruling Settle Spam Fight?
DIGITAL DIVIDE
POSTWAR IRAQ WILL BE THIRSTY FOR TECHNOLOGY
Iraq is a "[resource] rich, educated country with 20 million potential
customers," making it a prime market for computer hardware and software and
providing a potential boon for tech and telecomm companies. According to the
State Department's Future of Iraq Project, made up of Iraqi exiles with
technical expertise, the Iraqi market may be worth $3.5 to $5 billion,
roughly a third of which reflecting the cost of modernizing the country's
voice and data systems. US companies are reluctant to publicly discuss the
post-war market, though WorldCom has suggested that it would be prepared to
contract with the Defense Department as it did in Afghanistan and Kuwait.
Experts note that several "X factors" exist, including potential damage to
current
infrastructure inflicted by Saddam Hussein.
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Jon Swartz]
(http://www.usatoday.com/tech/world/iraq/2003-03-25-rebuild_x.htm)
NOT JUST ANOTHER WORLD SUMMIT
[Commentary] Africans need to hold their own meeting prior to the UN's World
Summit on the Information Society in Geneva in December. Despite
acknowledging that access to information is a key component in the ongoing
process of democratization, little has been done since a 1999 proposal to
create a friendly regulatory environment for new entrants in the telecomm
sector. Fear of the motives of these new entrants, as well as the NGOs that
advocate them, has slowed the pace, and the governments, businesses,
academics and citizens of all African nations must regroup while ensuring
that every citizen is aware of the Geneva summit.
[SOURCE: AllAfrica.com, AUTHOR: Tawana Kupe, Moneyweb (Johannesburg)]
(http://allafrica.com/stories/200303250047.html)
MP'S SPEAK OUT ON DIGITAL DIVIDE
Members of British Parliament have called for the government and British
Telecom to take further steps to facilitate wireless broadband rollout in
rural areas. Some 80 to 90 percent of rural areas currently do not have
affordable access to high-speed Internet. MPs have asked E-Commerce Minister
Stephen Timms to allocate more spectrum, currently used for military and
security purposes, to telecommunications companies. BT has also faced
criticism for not working with broadband activists to build wireless
networks.
[SOURCE: Internet Magazine]
(http://www.internet-magazine.com/news/view.asp)?id=3286)
JOURNALISM
TELEVISION PRODUCERS STRUGGLE TO KEEP TRACK OF WAR
The Pentagon's decision to allow journalists to travel with US troops and
report live from the front lines has posed a conundrum to TV news outlets.
This up-close-and-personal view of the war, including injuries, captures and
casualties along with fierce fighting, has given what broadcasters see is a
contradiction of the positive progress reports provided in Pentagon
briefings. How, then, can they deliver the news fast (and first) without
either under- or over-estimating the challenges at hand? "The process of
trying to get it right is weighing heavily on all of us," said Steve Capus
of NBC Nightly News. "We want to get it right; we don't want to be spun."
Other correspondents blame the military for failing to provide context for
the limited yet astonishing images viewers see.
[SOURCE: The New York Times, AUTHOR: Jim Rutenberg and Bill Carter]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/26/international/worldspecial/26MEDI.html)
INTERNET
WILL FAX RULING SETTLE SPAM FIGHT?
Last week a federal appeals court ruled that the Telecommunications Consumer
Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991 did not violate the First Amendment, eliciting
cheers from the anti-spam movement. As it turns out, citizens have been
successfully trying anti-spam claims in small claims court, which to some
suggests that the "junk fax" law can be used to try bulk emailers in lieu of
specific anti-spam legislation at the state or federal level. Legal
scholars, however, are not so sure. "Some suits against spammers using the
prohibition against junk faxes have succeeded in small claims court, but
such forums don't set precedents in concrete -- or even Jell-O," said Jason
Catlett, founder of anti-spam group Junkbusters. Technological advances may
also obviate the applicability of the TCPA to junk email, and state courts
have ruled differently than the small claims benches in some instances.
[SOURCE: CNET News, AUTHOR: Paul Festa]
(http://news.com.com/2100-1028-994076.html?tag=fd_lede2_hed)
----------------------------------------------------------------------