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Internet
NYT: Netscape Tries a Nonprofit Approach to Profits
WSJ: Idaho Tribe Uses Loophole to Put Gaming on Web

Merger
NYT: Lycos Buys Tripod for $58 Million

Technology
NYT: IBM and Digital to Report on New Super-Chips

** Internet **

Title: Netscape Tries a Nonprofit Approach to Profits
Source: New York Times (CyberTimes)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/020498netscape.html
Author: Peter Wayner
Issue: Online Services
Description: Netscape's decision to give the source code of its browser away
free has raised eyebrows and prompted cheers throughout the Internet. The
radical move surprised many because most software companies guard source
code much the same way that restaurants protect their secret recipes.
Releasing the source code makes Netscape's Web browser more attractive for
adept programmers because they can customize the product for themselves,
their companies and their friends, but it also brings new problems for
managing the source code and generating revenue.

Title: Idaho Tribe Uses Loophole to Put Gaming on Web
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Thomas E. Weber
Issue: Internet Regulation
Description: The Coeur d'Alene, an Indian tribe in Idaho, believes it has
found a legal loophole to offer a $1 million lottery on the Internet, but
opponents are rallying to get the Web site shut down. Missouri Attorney
General Jay Nixon, who has filed a lawsuit against the tribe, said, "They're
trying to beat the system...it's wrong, it's illegal and we're going to
fight it." The fight is looming as a key case as gambling creeps onto the
World Wide Web. So far, Internet wagering operations have been relegated to
shady-sounding offshore locales. The few U.S.-based ventures that tried to
make a go of it were quickly driven off. But the Coeur D'Alenes are relying
on the same legal foundation that has spawned an explosion of traditional
casinos on tribal land across the U.S. If the Coeur d'Alenes succeed on the
Internet, "I'm sure other tribes would take a look at it," says Shannon
Bybee, executive director of the International Gaming Institute at the Univ.
of Nevada.

** Merger **

Title: Lycos Buys Tripod for $58 Million
Source: New York Times/CyberTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/020498lycos.html
Author: Bloomberg
Issue: Merger
Description: Lycos Inc. announced yesterday that it has purchased Tripod
Inc., based in Williamstown, MA, for $58 million in stock. The acquisition
of Tripod, a Web site that offers members free publishing tools to create
their own Web sites and content on topics, will add an online community to
Lycos' Internet directory service. Bob Davis, Lycos chief executive, said in
a statement, "This new-generation online service is a single place where all
users can communicate, network, play and interact within communities that
meet customers' interests as well as access the most popular free Internet
services today."

** Technology **

Title: IBM and Digital to Report on New Super-Chips
Source: New York Times/CyberTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/020498chip.html
Author: John Markoff
Issue: Technology
Description: At the International Solid State Circuits Conference in San
Francisco today, both IBM and Digital Equipment Corp. will present technical
papers describing experimental chips that operate at more than one billion
cycles a second. The so-called gegahertz speed will run at three times the
speed of today's most powerful personal-computer chips. The chips are not
expected to hit the market until after the turn of the century.
*********

Internet
NYT: U.S. Plans on Internet Names Lacks Support From All Users
WP: The End of an Exclusive Domain
WSJ: Government Plan to Pull Out of Business Of Naming Internet
Addresses
Is Praised
NTIA:Commerce Department Releases proposal To Privatize Internet
Domain Registration NYT: Building 'Internet 2'

Telephony
WSJ: Phone-Industry Revolution Is Foreseen As Internet Poses Pricing
Challenges
FCC: Commission Proposes Streamlined Requirements For BOC Provision of
Information Services
Telecom Digest: Pay-Phone Calls to Get Up-Front Pricing

Television
B&C: FCC Delays DTV Decision
B&C: Digital TV Comes to Computers
B&C: DirecTV/Microsoft Internet Satellite Project in Limbo
B&C: Battle Lines Form Over Free Airtime

Microsoft/Antitrust
WSJ: A Judo Blow Against Microsoft
WSJ: Few Microsoft Foes Dare to Fight Firm in Washington

** Internet **

Title: U.S. Plans on Internet Names Lacks Support From All Users
Source: New York Times (D1,D5)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/020298domain.html
Author: Amy Harmon
Issue: Internet Regulation/Infrastructure
Description: The Clinton Administration released a proposal, developed by
Ira Magaziner, the Administration's top Internet advisor, Friday to
relinquish the Government's control of the Internet's address system to a
competitive market. The Administration is seeking to privatize a crucial
function of the expanding network and formalize a system that currently
relies largely on one company. The plan recommends the creation of a
not-for-profit corporation to direct the expansion of the Internet's domain
system. The corporation, to be based in the U.S. and run by a representative
group of the Internet's users, would also oversee the core computers that
keep track of who lives where in cyberspace. The overall goal is to lower
costs and broaden consumer choice.

Title: The End of an Exclusive Domain
Source: Washington Post (Bus 5,6)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-02/02/003l-020298-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Internet Regulation/Infrastructure
Description: Under a plan released Friday by the White House, firms besides
Network Solutions will be allowed to assign domains: .com, .org, and
.net. In addition, the administration plans to create five new, currently
unnamed, top-level domains. Network Solutions does not appear to be too
concerned with the announcement. Gabriel A. Battista, the company's chief
executive, commented that he thinks the competition is a good idea and will
expand Network Solutions business. After their contract with the National
Science Foundation formally ends in March, the company will continue their
monopoly for six more months while a nonprofit company is established to
supervise competition. Once that is completed, Network Solutions will
"continue to manage the database of addresses in its three existing domains,
allowing it to collect a small fee from other firms that want to sell the
.com, .org, and .net addresses." James J. Petit, an analyst with
Hambrecht & Quist in San Francisco said, "At the end of the day, meaningful
competition is probably at least a year out. And once it starts, they're
going to have a big benefit from being in the pole position."

Title: Government Plan to Pull Out of Business Of Naming Internet Addresses
Is Praised
Source: Wall Street Journal (B6)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Rebecca Quick
Issue: Internet Domains
Description: Internet players who felt locked out of an earlier
industry-sponsored effort to control Internet addresses praised the Clinton
Administration's new plan to get the gov't. out of the process. A year ago,
the gov't. announced its intention to turn over control of the Internet
address system to the private sector. But when the administration released
its proposal, it had laid out no specific plans for how for how the
transition would occur. Internet users of all types have raised concern
about how the "domain-name" issue will be handled.

Title: Commerce Department Releases proposal To Privatize Internet Domain
Registration
Source: NTIA
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/new.html
Issue: Internet Regulation/Infrastructure
Description: The Commerce Department released a draft proposal Friday
"suggesting ways to improve the current management of Internet names and
addresses by establishing a private sector policy oversight body and
introducing competition into the domain name registration system." The DNS
Management Discussion Draft is available on the Commerce Dept.'s website at
http://www.ntia.doc.gov.

Title: Building 'Internet 2'
Source: New York Times (D3)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/020298internet.html
Author: Robyn Meredith
Issue: Internet Growth
Description: The University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development is
a nonprofit group that is trying to bring together academia, government and
industry to create Internet 2, as the project is called, and the programs
needed to operate it. Douglas E. Van Houweling, chief executive and
president of the UCAID and one of the creators of the original Internet,
plans to add high-speed lanes to the clogged electronic highway that today's
Internet has become. He envisions Internet 2 as a way for high-end users to
quickly and reliably move huge amounts of data across phone, cable,
satellite or other yet-to-be invented networks. "Today's Internet is like a
single-lane highway with unlimited access points and no traffic control,"
said Mr. Van Howling. "There will never be a red light that will come on and
say you can't use it -- when the traffic gets heavy, things slow down. What
we're trying to do is build a multilane highway. On each of these special
lanes, we can regulate the amount of traffic to guarantee performance, we'll
still have the far-right lane, where everybody can get on." Those involved
in the project say that broad commercial use of Internet 2 is about four
years away. Mr. Van Houweling expects that once Internet 2 is up and
running, discussions for the creation of Internet 3 will begin.

** Telephony **

Title: Phone-Industry Revolution Is Foreseen As Internet Poses Pricing
Challenges
Source: Wall Street Journal (B11B)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Douglas Lavin
Issue: Telephony
Description: The idea that phone networks must evolve into something that
resembles the Internet is something of a revolution in an industry that has
long resisted the Internet. Telephony via the Internet is only the forefront
of a technological revolution that is dramatically reducing the cost of
standard voice telephone services and will eventually remake the telephone
industry. The pricing revolution would come from a broad restructuring of
telephone networks around the world so that they more closely resemble the
Internet. But this could also lead to the early death of the nascent
Internet telephone industry if that can no longer undercut higher-priced
phone networks.

Title: Commission Proposes Streamlined Requirements For BOC Provision of
Information Services
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov
Issue: Competition
Description: The FCC proposed to streamline the safeguards under which the
Bell Operating Companies provide information (or enhanced) services, such as
voice mail and electronic messaging. The safeguards exist to encourage BOC
provision of new technologies and innovative information services, while
ensuring that the BOCs make their networks available for use by competitive
providers of such services. The proposal aims to strike a balance between
the Commission's goal of deregulating where competition has developed, and
its recognition that until full competition is realized, certain safeguards
may still be necessary.

Title: Pay-Phone Calls to Get Up-Front Pricing
Source: Telecom Digest---feb. 2, 1998
http://editor( at )telecom-digest.org/
Author: Tad Cook (tad( at )ssc.com)
Issue: Telephone Rates
Description: Federal phone regulators, in an effort to drive down the cost
of long-distance calls placed from hotels and pay phones, decided to make
telephone companies tell consumers up front how much such calls will cost.
The new rule involves long-distance calls made from a non-residential phone,
where a customer must dial 0 plus the area code and number to make a call.
Charges for these "0-plus" calls are the third-largest source of consumer
complaints to the FCC.

** Television **

Title: FCC Delays DTV Decision
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (pg. 6)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Chris McConnell
Issue: Digital TV
Description: Commissioners had hoped to complete a revised plan for matching
each station with a channel for digital broadcasting, One of the questions
is about which channel will constitute the "core spectrum" into which all
broadcasters will be packed once the industry returns its analog channels to
the gov't. Another issue is whether expanding the core spectrum to 30 mhz
would cut into the revenue the government hopes to reap from its auction of
the returned channels.

Title: Digital TV Comes to Computers
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (pg. 79)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Harry A. Jessell
Issue: Digital TV
Description: Technicians at WETA-TV's offices flipped the switch on computer
with rabbit ears? Making it possible is a computer card slipped into the
back of the off-the-shelf computer alongside other more conventional
computer components. The card is a prototype DTV receiver built by Intel.
Equipped with the card and either rooftop or a set-top TV antenna, the
computer picked up the signal from WETA-TV's experimental DTV transmitter
four miles away and displays it on the computer monitor.

Title: DirecTV/Microsoft Internet Satellite Project in Limbo
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (pg. 82)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Richard Tedesco
Issue: Digital TV/Satellites
Description: One year after it was trumpeted as the next great combination
of data and TV service, the future of DirecTV's PCTV project with Microsoft
is uncertain and DirecTV is working with another software maker and shifting
emphasis to data delivered to TV. The project is in transition, largely
prompted by delays in the release of Microsoft's Windows 98 system, which
will support the PCTV platform for the data delivery scheme.

Title: Battle Lines Form Over Free Airtime
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (pg. 6)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Chris McConnell
Issue: Media & Politics
Description: The day after the President said he would "formally" ask the
commission to move on a free or reduced-cost airtime plan for political
candidates, FCC Chairman Kennard said he plans to do just that. House
Telecom Subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin said the airtime plan would
constitute the worst start ever of any FCC commissioner. Kennard conceded
that the plan will call for state and federal candidates seeking access to
the airwaves. The plan won't apply to cable, but may apply to radio. Kennard
said, "It's clear that the campaign finance system is broken in this
country. I want the FCC to be part of the solution."

** Microsoft/Antitrust **

Title: A Judo Blow Against Microsoft
Source: Wall Street Journal (Op-eds, A22)
http://wsj.com/
Issue: Microsoft/Competition
Description: Netscape announced that it would reveal the source code of its
next-generation browser, Communicator 5.0, on the Internet. Netscape has not
only matched Microsoft, but has raised the stakes by allowing anyone with
the requisite skills to extend, modify, customize, and enhance the program.
What does Netscape hope to gain from this ploy? Well, Microsoft's strength
in providing a uniform operating environment can also be its weakness, one
that Netscape hopes to exploit by providing the opposite: diversity. In the
volatile Internet environment, an application that can mutate rapidly has a
big competitive advantage over an application that changes only when its
manufacturer issues a new release.

Title: Few Microsoft Foes Dare to Fight Firm in Washington
Source: Wall Street Journal (A24)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Michael Schroeder
Issue: Antitrust
Description: As the Justice Dept. has pressed its antitrust case against
Microsoft, two of Washington's best-known lobbying firms have been trying to
assemble a high-profile team of Microsoft rivals to wage open political war
on the software giant.But the campaign hasn't revved up, largely because
most competitors fear retaliation in the marketplace. Privately, some of the
anti-Microsoft lobbyists say they intend to soon unveil a coalition of at
least 10 companies willing to stand up to Microsoft. So far, the number is
only five, and has been tentatively called the Council for a Competitive
Electronic Marketplace.
*********

Internet
WSJ: AOL Will Roll Out Guide for New York To Attract Local Ads
WSJ: Web Sites, Other PC Wonders Draw Crowds of Retirees

Telephony
TelecomAM: FCC Invites Bells To Discuss LD Applications, But Staffer Mentions
Stall Tactics
TelecomAM: Bell Atlantic Asks FCC For Help With Long Distance Application

Television
NYT: F.C.C. Plans to Take Look at Free Political Broadcasts

Jobs:
WP: A Program For Producing Techies

Research & Technology
NYT: U.S. Plans to Extend Tax Credit for Research

Corporate News
WP: Egghead To Close Stores
WSJ: Egghead, Reporting Quarterly Loss, To Close All Stores,
Move to Internet
NYT: Apple Reorganizes Claris Unit, Laying Off 300
WSJ: Cisco and Intermedia Ally With U S West In Networking Push

** Internet **

Title: AOL Will Roll Out Guide for New York To Attract Local Ads
Source: Wall Street Journal (B10)
http://wsj.com/
Issue: Internet
Description: AOL is expected to unveil a New York version of its city-news
and entertainment guides, an effort to capture local advertising dollars.
Digital City New York also will include commentary from well-known New
Yorkers such as journalist Pete Hamill and monologuist Spalding Gray. AOL's
one million New York members, as well as Web users, will be able to
communicate via chat rooms and put up home pages in a special area known as
the Virtual Neighborhood.

Title: Web Sites, Other PC Wonders Draw Crowds of Retirees
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Jim Carlton
Issue: Seniors & the 'Net/Lifestyles
Description: Packard Bell NEC reports that in 1997 customers over age 55
accounted for 14% of retail purchases of its PCs. People aged over 50 use
their PCs 14 days a month, according to the PC Meter tracking system of
Media Metrix, Inc. That's good news for the industry -- which is scrambling
to figure out how to capitalize on it. "The big challenge of marketing to
seniors is they are so diverse," says Hollie Chriss Cronin, senior manager
of desktop products at AST Computer. Packard Bell Electronics officials say
they have only recently begun holding focus groups with older people to
formulate a marketing strategy for them. Packard Bell, along with other
manufacturers, has also been in discussions with Microsoft to devise a
marketing campaign for software that might appeal to the older user.

** Telephony **

Title: FCC Invites Bells To Discuss LD Applications, But Staffer Mentions
Stall Tactics
Source: Telecom AM---Jan. 29, 1998
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Long Distance
Description: The FCC took its first formal step toward the "cooperative
approach" to long distance applications that several commissioners have
suggested recently, by saying it will meet informally with Bell company
officials to discuss their applications. The Common Carrier Bureau announced
that it will hold orderly meetings with the companies in coming weeks to
discuss "general issues" on the applications. The purpose of the meetings
will be to provide the Bells with "informal preliminary guidance" on market
entry, the FCC said.

Title: Bell Atlantic Asks FCC For Help With Long Distance Application
Source: Telecom AM---Jan. 29, 1998
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Long Distance
Description: Bell Atlantic President and COO Ivan Seidenberg said that the
FCC needs to provide a clearer road map for Bell companies to win regulatory
approval to enter the long distance market. "They need to get their rules
straight," he told reporters. Seidenberg also called for deregulation of the
local business and data markets, saying that they are "plenty competitive."
On Jan. 27 the company asked the FCC to use the powers granted in Section
706 of the Telecom Act to permit it to provide high-speed broadband services
without regard to long distance boundaries. He said the filing is a good
chance for the Commission to prove its commitment to common sense regulation
and cooperation with the Bells.

** Television **

Title: F.C.C. Plans to Take Look at Free Political Broadcasts
Source: New York Times (A19)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/washpol/fcc-free-tv-ads.html
Author: Lawrie Mifflin
Issue: Free Time for Candidates/Campaign Finance Reform
Description: William Kennard, chairman of the Federal Communications
Commission, said that he would go ahead and start-up a process to require
broadcast television stations to give political candidates free advertising
time. Kennard said that commission staff members were currently drafting a
free-time proposal and that he would issue a "notice of proposed
rule-making" within two months to solicit debate on the subject with the
intention on formulating an FCC regulation. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who
chairs the Commerce Committee) responded saying that he believed Congress
would try to block any such ruling. "Decisions of that magnitude are made by
the legislative and executive branches, not a regulatory agency," McCain
said Wednesday. Kennard said, "I'd prefer that Congress take the lead on
this and provide a legislative solution but if Congress doesn't do so, the
FCC can and should be prepared to act. We have an obligation to insure that
the public airwaves are operating in a way that serves the public interest.
That's our mandate."

** Jobs **

Title: A Program For Producing Techies
Source: Washington Post (E1,E2)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-01/29/237l-012998-idx.html
Author: Peter Behr
Issue: Jobs
Description: A pilot project in Falls Church, VA, is testing innovative ways
to deal with the region's increasing shortage of technology workers by
enlisting recruits from other work fields. The project is based on an
agreement between the 24 participating students and eight area Washington
employers in dire need of technicians: The students will pay for their first
three months of training. They are then offered paid internships at one of
the eight Washington companies. For the final three months, the students
will combine classroom work with on-the-job training. The project is being
run by the Northern Virginia Community College and financed through a state
grant.

** Research & Technology **

Title: U.S. Plans to Extend Tax Credit for Research
Source: New York Times (A15)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/012998tax.html
Author: John Markoff
Issue: Technology
Description: In a move that will most certainly be enthusiastically greeted
by Silicon Valley technology companies, Vice president Al Gore will announce
in a speech at Gerentech Corp., a biotechnology company, next week plans to
extend a $2.2 billion research-and-development corporate tax credit for one
year. The tax credit, which was first enacted in 1981, was established to
create an incentive for companies to increase their research and development
work in the United States. Originally, it was intended to expire at the end
of 1985, since then it has been extended eight times. "You wouldn't have a
Silicon Valley unless you have significant research and development
spending," said Douglas Henton, president of Collaborative Economics, an
economics consulting firm in Palo Alto, CA. An administration official
commented, "This is our way of saying, 'This is where the economy is heading
in the future."

** Corporate News **

Title: Egghead To Close Stores
Source: Washington Post (E1,E6)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-01/29/230l-012998-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Corporate Retrenchment
Description: Egghead Inc., one of the first companies to open computer
software stores in shopping centers across the U.S., announced yesterday
that they will be closing all of their real-world retail outlets and begin
to sell their products exclusively over the Internet. Although Egghead's
decision was partially motivated by a lack of sales in its software stores,
analysts call the company's decision to bet its future on the Internet a
bold and farsighted move. "The retail landscape is highly competitive. There
are many entities much larger than us selling products," said George P.
Orban, Egghead's chief executive. "We've asked ourselves some hard questions
and we think the real growth will take place on the Internet." Egghead is
the largest company to transfer over to an Internet-only retail operation.

Title: Egghead, Reporting Quarterly Loss, To Close All Stores, Move to Internet
Source: Wall Street Journal (B4)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Don Clark
Issue: Corporate Retrenchment/Internet Commerce
Description: Egghead is closing all of its stores and moving its business to
the Internet. They said it will close its 80 retail outlets and lay off 800
of its 1,000 workers. The remaining employees will work on the company's
software and hardware business on the Internet. They also said it will
change its name to Egghead.com to reflect the new sales strategy. Analysts
said the online approach stands a better chance, though Egghead's success
is far from assured.

Title: Apple Reorganizes Claris Unit, Laying Off 300
Source: New York Times/CyberTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/012998apple.html
Author: Associated Press
Issue: Corporate Retrenchment
Description: Apple Computer Inc., in an effort to continue to cut costs,
announced that it is reorganizing its Claris software subsidiary and laying
off approximately 300 employees. Claris will concentrate on its FileMaker
Pro database software and change its name to FileMaker Inc. Apple will take
charge of Claris' other products. "As FileMaker Inc., we can now focus all
our energies on our very successful FileMaker business," said Dominique
Goupil, president of Claris. "We are totally committed to growing this
business dramatically during the coming year."

Title: Cisco and Intermedia Ally With U S West In Networking Push
Source: Wall Street Journal (B7)
http://wsj.com/
Issue: Networks/Merger
Description: U S West Comm. announced two strategic alliances to reach big
customers outside its 14-state region. The Baby Bell said it will work with
Cisco systems to develop networked services such as fax over the Internet,
which can save money for corporate customers. U S West also said it has
allied with Intermedia Comm. to extend its data-networking capabilities. The
alliance with Intermedia allow U S West to offer "end-to-end" data and
networking services to businesses in its region, which it can't do now under
telecommunications law. "We can now get really aggressive and better service
the needs of our large business customers nationwide," said Joseph Zell,
president of U S West's data-networking unit.
*********

EdTech
FCC: SLC Announces Opening of Website
WP: School Computer Parity Has High Price in Fairfax

Telephony
WSJ: Supreme Court to Review Parts of Telecom Act
NYT: High Court to Hear Dispute On Opening Phone Markets
WP: Supreme Court Accepts Phone Case Rivalry
TelecomAM: Supreme Court To hear FCC's Appeal Of 8th Circuit Rulings
FCC: WTO Agreement on Basic Telecommunications Services
NYT: AT&T Maps Its Battle Plan For Escalating Phone Wars
WP: AT&T Plans to Cut Up to 18,000 Jobs
WSJ: AT&T Revamping to Trim 18,000 Jobs

Infrastructure
WSJ: Bell Atlantic Seeks Clearance For Network
WSJ: Lucent Innovation Boosts the Capacity Of Fiber Networks

Television
B&C: Kids rules, what kids rules?
B&C: Copyright to Study Local-into-Local
B&C: Broadcasters Concerned about DBS Must-carry

Internet
WP: Web Venture Links Lobbies, Legislation

Privacy
NYT: 'Gay' Sailor's Dismissal Is Blocked
WP: Judge Blocks Navy's Discharge of Gay Sailor
WSJ: When Is a Satellite Photo An Unreasonable Search?

** EdTech **

Title: SLC Announces Opening of Website
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Common_Carrier/Public_Notices/1998/da980129.html
Issue: Universal Service/EdTech
Description: The Schools and Libraries Corporation (SLC) has announced that
the website on which completed applications will be posted for competitive
bidding will open on Friday, January 30, 1998. The website address is
www.slcfund.org. The website will operate every day from 5:00 a.m. to
midnight Eastern Time. The opening of the website triggers the beginning of
the 75 day initial filing window, during which all applications (FCC Forms
470 and 471) will be treated as if filed simultaneously. The 75 day window
will begin and schools and libraries may begin to submit applications,
therefore, on Friday, January 30, 1998. For further information, contact the
Schools and Libraries Corporation's Client Service Bureau at its toll-free
telephone number (1-888-203-8100) or by fax (1-888-276-8736).

Title: School Computer Parity Has High Price in Fairfax
Source: Washington Post (B5)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-01/27/077l-012798-idx.html
Author: Victoria Benning
Issue: EdTech
Description: A new report prepared by Fairfax (VA) school administrators,
says it
would cost at least $150 million over the next four years to close the gaps
in student access to computers in Fairfax County. The average cost of $37.5
million a year is almost twice the amount of what the district receives in
its annual technology budget of $20 million. In order to maintain and
upgrade equipment and to provide computer training to school staff members
following the four year catch-up period, the district would also need to
spend about $43 million annually. The administrators who prepared the report
acknowledge that there will not be enough money to obtain that goal but that
the estimates provide the School Board with a clearer picture of how far the
district is from providing equal access to classroom computers at every school.

** Telephony **

Title: Supreme Court to Review Parts of Telecom Act
Source: Wall Street Journal (A4)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Eva M. Rodriguez
Issue: Telephone Regulation/Telecom Act
Description: The Supreme Court agreed to review parts of the 1996 Telecom
Act, leaving communications companies in limbo until next year when the
court is expected to issue its decision. The case consolidates a cluster of
appeals centering on the law which was intended to deregulate the
multibillion-dollar telephone industry and spur competition in both local
and long-distance service. Specifically, the justices will review whether
the FCC has the authority to regulate the prices that regional Bell
companies charge long distance companies and others to connect to their
networks or buy access to parts of it.

Title: High Court to Hear Dispute On Opening Phone Markets
Source: New York Times (D2)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/scotus-phones.html
Author: Linda Greenhouse
Issue: Telephone Regulation/Telecom Act
Description: Following a warning by the Federal Communications Commission
that the future of local telephone competition was at stake, the Supreme
Court agreed yesterday to review a decision that limited the Commission's
role in opening up the $100 billion market for local telephone service to
new players. The appeal, which the justices will not hear until their next
term beginning in October, was brought by a broad coalition of long distance
telephone companies, including AT&T, MCI and Sprint, and the FCC. "The
companies are trying to break the long-standing monopolies and offer local
telephone service nationwide, under provisions of the Telecommunications Act
of 1996." On the other side are the incumbent providers of local telephone
service who have allied themselves with state regulators. The incumbents
have won a series of notable legal victories in an effort to preserve their
current dominance in local markets. The FCC's role in interpreting and
carrying out the mandate for competition under the Telecommunications Act
is at issue in the case the Supreme Court accepted.

Title: Supreme Court Accepts Phone Case Rivalry
Source: Washington Post (D1,D4)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-01/27/117l-012798-idx.html
Author: Joan Biskupic and Mike Mills
Issue: Telephone Regulation/Telecom Act
Description: "The Supreme Court announced yesterday that it will resolve a
dispute over federal regulations intended to bring greater competition, and
potentially lower consumer prices, to the nation's $110 billion local
telephone markets. The justices will hear a challenge brought by the Clinton
administration and long-distance companies to a lower-court ruling that
sharply curtailed the ability of federal regulators to set terms on the
prices that competitors must pay to connect local phone networks."

Title: Supreme Court To hear FCC's Appeal Of 8th Circuit Rulings
Source: Telecom AM---jan. 27, 1998
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Telephone Regulation/Telecom Act
Description: The U.S. Supreme Court will hear appeals of the Eighth U.S.
Appeals Court, St. Louis, rulings that overturned key parts of the FCC's
interconnection order. The court decided to take up the case during a
closed-door meeting, but left the telecom industry in limbo over the
weekend. The decision to hear the case is considered a major victory for the
FCC, long distance carriers and new competitive phone companies because it
means that the court will most likely hear the case before the court's
current term ends this summer.

Title: WTO Agreement on Basic Telecommunications Services
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/International/News_Releases/1998/nrin8001.html
Issue: International/Telephone
Description: FCC Chairman William Kennard hailed the decision reached in
Geneva today on entry into force of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
Agreement on Basic Telecommunications Services. WTO Members agreed that the
pact would become effective on February 5, just one year after the agreement
was concluded. Chairman Kennard said, "This agreement allows
telecommunications consumers worldwide to enjoy the benefits of improved
competition in basic and advanced telecommunications services. It will
increase investment and competition in the United States, leading to lower
prices, enhanced innovation and better service. At the same time, market
access commitments from major trading partners will provide U.S. service
suppliers opportunities to expand abroad."

Title: AT&T Maps Its Battle Plan For Escalating Phone Wars
Source: New York Times (D1,D4)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/att-restructure.html
Author: Seth Schiesel
Issue: Corporate Retrenchment
Description: In the first time he has publicly outlined his plan for
revitalizing the AT&T Corporation, the company's new chairman, C. Michael
Armstrong, said yesterday that he will not only reduce AT&T's work force by
up to 14 percent but also will offer a variety of new services, including
wireless phones that will receive calls free, and cheap phone calls via the
Internet. The company also plans to spend billions of dollars to upgrade its
national communications network and to introduce a new type of wireless
phone made by Nokia of Finland with a battery that lasts up to eight days --
much longer than that battery life of today's mobile phones. The cuts, which
will come in the form of layoffs and voluntary buyouts, were described by
analysts and Mr. Armstrong as being "important medicine" for AT&T as it
works to "return to vigor amid the sweeping changes in the
telecommunications landscape.'

Title: AT&T Plans to Cut Up to 18,000 Jobs
Source: Washington Post (D1,D4)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-01/27/108l-012798-idx.html
Author: Mike Mills
Issue: Corporate Retrenchment
Description: C. Michael Armstrong, AT&T's new chairman, outlines his plans
yesterday to overhaul the huge communications company. His plans include
eliminating 15,000 too 18,000 jobs, launching a new Internet telephone
service and renewing focus on he local telephone and business communications
markets. "We beat the street on the earnings and we need to grow more on the
revenue," Armstrong said. "We have more to do to achieve a competitive cost
position and invest for growth."

Title: AT&T Revamping to Trim 18,000 Jobs
Source: Wall Street Journal (A3)
http://wsj.com/
Author: John J. Keller
Issue: Corporate Retrenchment
Description: AT&T's Chairman C. Michael Armstrong unveiled a top-to-bottom
revamping that will entail as many as 18, 000 new job cuts, as much as $1.2
billion in charges against earnings in the first half and aggressive new
investments to revitalize the telecommunications giant. Armstrong laid out a
sweeping plan to make AT&T more competitive as it tries to expand into local
Internet and wireless services and stave off newcomers in long-distance
service. The plan is only a first step, though. Mr. Armstrong must still
figure out how to differentiate what AT&T sells from a raft of rival
offerings if it is to meet its most crucial long-term challenge: revenue growth.

** Infrastructure **

Title: Bell Atlantic Seeks Clearance For Network
Source: Wall Street Journal (B5)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Stephanie N. Mehta
Issue: Infrastructure
Description: Bell Atlantic is expected to file a petition with the FCC
asking for regulatory relief for a high-speed network it aims to build. The
Baby Bell said it wants to build an Internet "backbone" to relieve
data-traffic congestion in its territory, which stretches from Maine to
Virginia. The carrier said it plans to ask the FCC to exempt that data
network from the same pricing rules and regulations that govern the Bell's
voice network. "The company is interested in making a substantial
infrastructure investment," said Tom Tauke, Bell Atlantic's senior VP for
government relations. "But we see barriers in the regulatory arena." Those
barriers include a restriction that prohibits Bell companies from carrying
calls between certain local-area boundaries within their regions.

Title: Lucent Innovation Boosts the Capacity Of Fiber Networks
Source: Wall Street Journal (B6)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Stephanie N. Mehta
Issue: Infrastructure
Description: Lucent Technologies said it has developed a system that can
transmit as many as 400 billion bits of data per second over a single strand
of fiber. The system, which delivers five times the bandwidth of current
systems, raises the standards for such systems, which use a technology known
as dense wavelength division multiplexing. AT&T said it plans to deploy
Lucent's system to double the capacity of its 40,000-mile fiber optic
network by year's end. Wavelength division multiplexing increases the amount
of data a fiber can carry by dividing the strand into multiple channels of
light. Lucent's new system can split certain fibers into 80 channels as
opposed to the commercially available systems that can only split fibers
into 16 channels.

** Television **

Title: Kids rules, what kids rules?
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (pg.36)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Barry Garron
Issue: Children's TV
Description: New federal regulations requiring educational programs for
children have had virtually no effect, according to members of a NATPE panel on
children's programming. "I don't think more people are watching us, and I
don't think fewer people are watching us," said Carol Monroe, Fox Kids
Network senior VP of program services. What matters isn't whether or not the
program is educational but whether it's good, said John Claster, president
of Claster Television. Cyma Zarghami of Nickelodeon said it is possible to
do great educational programs for preschoolers but difficult to make them
attractive to older children.

Title: Copyright to Study Local-into-Local
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (pg.24)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Paige Albiniak
Issue: Satellites/Copyright
Description: The U.S. Copyright Office will examine whether current law
allows direct broadcast satellite companies to offer local broadcast signals
in certain local markets. EchoStar Comm. wants to offer local broadcast
signals to all viewers in the top 20 TV markets, but needs a change in the
law to do so legally. EchoStar asked the Copyright Office to rule that the
law does allow satellite companies to rebroadcast local signals in local
markets. The Copyright Office said that it would open an inquiry.

Title: Broadcasters Concerned about DBS Must-carry
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (pg.24)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Chris McConnell
Issue: Satellites
Description: Broadcasters pressed policymakers on whether they plan to
impose must-carry obligations on EchoStar. "There's some trade-off here",
Commerce Dept. Assistant Secretary Larry Irving said. He added that the
administration wants to promote the ability of DBS companies to compete with
cable, but also wants to protect local broadcasters. Worried broadcasters
voiced fears about a renewed court battle over the rule requiring cable
systems to carry the signals of local broadcasters. Others were concerned
that stations not affiliated with one of the four major networks will be
left out of the satellite service.

** Internet **

Title: Web Venture Links Lobbies, Legislation
Source: Washington Post (A15)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-01/27/033l-012798-idx.html
Author: Bill McAllister
Issue: Internet
Description: A new web site http://www.incongress.com, that developers say
may presage the electronic way to lobbying on Capitol Hill, will debut this
week as Congress reconvenes. The site brings together texts of proposed
legislation and the policy positions that various interest groups have
issued on the proposals, as well as links to governmental and congressional
sites. Although Congress and other groups have their own Web sites,
InCongress creators say their site is different because it brings all the
information together in one place.

** Privacy **

Title: 'Gay' Sailor's Dismissal Is Blocked
Source: New York Times (A8)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/012798navy.html
Author: Philip Shenon
Issue: Privacy
Description: In a decision hailed by gay rights groups and advocated of
electronic privacy, a Federal judge ordered the Navy yesterday to halt its
efforts to dismiss a highly decorated sailor because he posted a message on
an on-line server that described his marital status as gay. Federal District
Court Judge Stanley Sporkin said, "Although Officer McVeigh did not publicly
announce his sexual orientation, the Navy nonetheless impermissibly embarked on
a search and 'outing' mission." Judge Sporkin added that he "cannot
understand why the Navy would seek to discharge an officer who has served
his country in a distinguished manner just because he might be gay."

Title: Judge Blocks Navy's Discharge of Gay Sailor
Source: Washington Post (A6)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-01/27/047l-012798-idx.html
Author: Bradley Graham
Issue: Privacy
Description: A federal judge blocked the navy from discharging Senior Chief
Petty Officer, Timothy McVeigh, for homosexuality yesterday. U.S. District
Judge, Stanley Sporkin, castigated military officials for "launching a
search and destroy" mission against the sailor based on information they
received from an online computer service. Judge Sporkin also said that the
Navy had violated not only Pentagon guidelines for investigating suspected
homosexuals but also federal statutes set in place to protect the privacy of
Internet users.

Title: When Is a Satellite Photo An Unreasonable Search?
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Ross Kerber
Issue: Privacy
Description: Does taking satellite photos of private citizens and their
property -- generally without ther knowledge -- violate the Constitution's
Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches? The American Bar
Assoc. has organized a task force to explore that question. Because U.S.
Justice Dept. officials are on the task force, the recommendations are
expected to influence how law enforcement authorities and civil agencies use
the new images and at what point they require warrants. "It certainly has a
'Big Brother Is Watching You' flavor to it," says Larry Griggers, a director
at the Georgia Dept. of Revenue. "But it prevents us from having to spend
money for other types of enforcement." (I bet it does.... -p.h.)
*********