Benton RSS Feed

Universal Service
TelecomAM: Kennard Defends January 1 Beginning for Universal Service
Support

Education
NYT: U.S. Technology Program May Grow To Include Online Education

Telecommunications
NTIA: Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance
Program
NTIA: Public Telecommunications Facilities Program
WSJ: Williams Re-Enters Wholesale Market For Long-Distance With U S
West Pact
Telecom AM: AT&T, MCI, Sprint and Others File for Stay of Telcom Act
Ruling

Merger
NYT: A Big Western Bell Rides East to Buy Connecticut Phone Company
WP: The Bells' Fastest Operator
WSJ: SBC to Acquire SNET for $4.26 Billion

Cable
B&C: Kids crave cable
B&C: NAB to support 'local into local'

FCC
B&C: Kennard won't grant Tribune a reprieve
B&C: Consumer groups seek revisions in inside wiring rules

Internet
NYT: New Rules on Internet Content Fuel the Battle Over Filters
NYT: FEC Puts Campaign Reports on Web
WP: On-the-Go Troops May Soon Vote Via Internet
WP: What's In a Name? The Future of Rockville Internet Firm

Antitrust
TelecomAM: Markey Wants Antitrust Div. to Take Closer Look at RHCs
WSJ: Microsoft Corp. Seeks to Oust 'Special Master'

Media & Politics
B&C: Media group wants to expand public interest commission
B&C: Government to buy anti-drug time
TelecomAM: New Watergate Tapes Show Nixon Considering Attacks on
Post Licenses

Lifestyle
WP: From War to Art

** Universal Service **

Title: Kennard Defends January 1 Beginning for Universal Service Support
Source: Telecom AM---jan. 6, 1998
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: The universal service programs providing support for schools,
libraries and rural health care began on schedule Jan. 1, despite
congressional calls for delay. Delaying them would have exacerbated "the
troubling gulf between those in our society who have access to advanced,
affordable telecommunications technology and those who do not," FCC Chairman
Kennard said in a Dec. 30 letter. Kennard also said that implementing the
programs as scheduled would "disrupt the plans of beneficiaries and service
providers alike." He said the support programs are not entitlements because
funding doesn't come from the gov't., beneficiaries pay for "a portion, and
many cases a majority" of the supported services, and support can be denied
if funds run out.

** Education **

Title: U.S. Technology Program May Grow To Include Online Education
Source: New York Times/CyberTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/010498education.html
Author: Pamela Mendels
Issue: Education Technology
Description: The Commerce Department is expected to decide early this year
whether to provide funding to learning technology ventures through the
Department's Advanced Technology Program, which has funded such things as
better refrigeration technologies and improved health information systems.
Program manager Richard W. Morris says: "If we migrate to the Web, all of a
sudden
the economies of scale change dramatically. If we do the technology right,
we can re-use and update and integrate the pieces of instruction in almost
an infinite number of ways so all the advantages of the Internet make for a
new economy of learning."

** Telecommunications **

Title: Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program
Source: NTIA
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/98tiiap1.htm
Issue: TIIAP/Funding
Description: NTIA has announced the 1998 round of the Telecommunications and
Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP). For fiscal year 1998,
approximately $17 million in grant funds will be awarded. The deadline for
submitting applications is March 12, 1998. On January 15, NTIA will hold a
short public briefing to introduce the 1998 TIIAP competition. NTIA will
also hold a series of regional "Outreach Workshops and Partnering Events."

Title: Public Telecommunications Facilities Program
Source: NTIA
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/press/98ptfp.htm
Issue: Public Broadcasting
Description: The Public Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP)
announced that FY98 grant applications are available as of January 5.
February 12, 1998 has been established as the deadline for returning
completed applications. Approximately $21 million is available for grant
awards.

Title: Williams Re-Enters Wholesale Market For Long-Distance With U S West Pact
Source: Wall Street Journal (B4)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Terzah Ewing & Stephanie N. Mehta
Issue: Long Distance
Description: Williams Cos., a Tulsa, Okla. natural-gas pipeline company,
re-entered the wholesale long-distance market by reaching a five-year
agreement to provide long-distance transmission and other services to U S
West, as well as additional agreements that will expand its network and its
customer base. The new agreements "lay the groundwork for them to be a major
player" in communications, said Paul Elliott, whose Elco Energy Fund owns
50,000 Williams shares. U S West says the agreement will give it additional
capacity for its burgeoning national data-networking business.

Title: AT&T, MCI, Sprint and Others File for Stay of Telcom Act Ruling
Source: Telecom AM---jan. 6, 1998
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Long Distance
Description: Intervening defendants AT&T, MCI, Sprint, the ALTS, CompTel,
and the Telecommunications Resellers Assoc. filed for a stay of a federal
court judge's ruling that Sections 271-275 of the Telecom Act are
unconstitutional. Because the ruling is likely to be reversed on appeal and
"threatens to derail key parts of one of the most important congressional
enactments in many years, and will convulse national telecommunications
markets, the status quo should be maintained until the Court of Appeals has
had a chance to pass on the matter," the motion said. The SBC said it was
disappointed by the FCC's decision to seek a stay. It said the ruling
"finally leveled the playing field" by allowing it to offer long distance
service in its region and reiterated that its markets are open to competition.

** Merger **

Title: A Big Western Bell Rides East to Buy Connecticut Phone Company
Source: New York Times (D1)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/sbc-snet.html
Author: Seth Schiesel
Issue: Merger/Telecommunications
Description: SBC Communications Inc., the nations largest local telephone
company, announced yesterday that it will acquire the Southern New England
Telecommunications Corporation, the local telephone company for almost every
resident of Connecticut, for $4.4 billion in stock.

Title: The Bells' Fastest Operator
Source: Washington Post (D1,D4)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-01/06/114l-010698-idx.html
Author: Mike Mills
Issue: Telecommunications
Description: Edward Whitacre, Chairman of SBC Communications Inc., has a
growing image of being the nation's most aggressive Bell CEO. The
Telecommunications Act of 1996 was supposed to work as a starting gun for
the entire industry. But no one jumped off the block faster than Whitacre.
Since that time, he engineered SBC's $16.5 billion acquisition of Pacific
Telesis Group, giving it not only California and Nevada but also undersea
access to Asia and land access to Mexican and South American markets,
tantalized Wall Street by holding merger talks with AT&T, maintained
double-digit earnings growth for SBC, pursued a law suit contending that the
1996 telecommunications law violates his company's constitutional rights by
keeping it out of the long-distance market, and as of yesterday announced
SBC's offer to purchase Southern New England Telecommunications Corporation.
Critics of SBC will most likely push to have regulators impose stiff
conditions, such as agreeing to take certain steps to open local markets to
competitors, before approving the company's purchase of SNET.

Title: SBC to Acquire SNET for $4.26 Billion
Source: Wall Street Journal (A3)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Stephanie N. Mehta
Issue: Merger
Description: SBC has agreed to acquire Southern New England
Telecommunications for $4.26 billion in stock in order to become the first
Baby Bell to enter the long-distance business. The acquisition gives SBC a
good foothold in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern service area dominated by
Bell Atlantic. SNET began offering long-distance service 3 years ago in
Connecticut, and has racked up more than $100 million in long-distance
revenue in 1996. SBC expressed confidence that the deal wouldn't run afoul
of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and analysts likewise predicted the
accord would have little difficulty passing muster with federal regulators.

** Cable **

Title: Kids crave cable
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p.18)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Donna Petrozzello
Issue: Cable
Description: Children are watching more kids shows on basic cable and
fewer on the broadcast networks. A survey by BJK&E Media of New York reports
that children 2-11 watched an average of 211 hours of basic cable
programming in 96-97 season. Meanwhile, children watched an average of 48
hours of broadcast TV from fourth quarter 96 through third quarter 97. BJK&E
researchers attribute some of the audience shift to the amount of kids
programming that cable offers. BJK&E estimates that there are 10 times as
many hours on basic cable devoted to kids as there are on broadcast TV.

Title: NAB to support 'local into local'
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p.14)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Paige Albiniak
Issue: Satellites
Description: The NAB plans to adopt a position that would support
satellite retransmission of local TV signals into their markets as long as
satellite broadcasters carry all the signals in those markets, sources say.
Bill Sullivan, VP of Cordillera Communications, said, "I think we want to
support some form of local into local as long as the local stations have the
protection they need." The NAB, although previously reluctant to state an
official position, long has quietly supported satellite carriers' so-called
local-into-local plans. And, if NAB has its way, satellite carriers that
choose to rebroadcast local signals will be subject to must-carry
requirements in those markets as well as to other regulations that now apply
to cable operators.

** FCC **

Title: Kennard won't grant Tribune a reprieve
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p.20)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Chris McConnell
Issue: FCC
Description: FCC Chairman William Kennard is not letting Tribune
Broadcasting out of a requirement that it spin off one of its Miami media
holdings by March 22. Tribune, which is challenging the FCC requirement in
court, has been pushing for a repeal of the cross-ownership restriction. "If
the commission were to waive its ownership rules merely because a biennial
review was ongoing or upcoming...our ownership rules would never be
enforced," Kennard wrote Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain
(R-Ariz.).

Title: Consumer groups seek revisions in inside wiring rules
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p.25)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Issue: FCC
Description: The Media Access Project and the Consumer Federation of
America are two of four groups that have asked the FCC to reconsider parts
of the new "inside wiring" rules they adopted in October. The rules were
aimed at helping new video distributors gain access to the wires inside
apartment buildings, require building owners to give incumbent video
providers 90 days' notice of any plans to terminate access to the building.
The incumbent then has 30 days to decide whether to remove or abandon the
inside wires or sell them to the owner or the provider. The groups say the
new rules fail to provide competition or greater consumer choice.

** Internet **

Title: New Rules on Internet Content Fuel the Battle Over Filters
Source: New York Times/CyberTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/010698standards.html
Author: Jeri Clausing
Issue: Internet Regulation
Description: The Platform for Internet Content Selection Rules (PICSRules),
a set of filtering rules that allow or block access to a Web site, was
endorsed last week by the consortium that sets standards for the World Wide
Web. Their endorsement will make it easier for parents to adjust their
browsers and choose between a variety of filtering software and rating
systems that are being developed for the Internet. However, the Global
Internet Liberty Campaign, a collection of civil liberty and privacy groups,
say the PICSRules go beyond the original concept that many groups endorsed
after that Supreme Court struck down the Communications Decency Act this
past summer. Barry Steinhardt of the American Civil Liberties Union said
that the fear the Campaign has is "that you are turning over to the censors
of the world a censor- friendly architecture of the internet. And it doesn't
take a great leap of the imagination to understand what the Singapore
government, the Chinese government or even the U.S. government will want to
do with the system that allows whole domains to be blocked out, or whole
nations to be blocked out." In reaction to these types of comments, Paul
Resnick, one of the authors of PICSRules said, "PICSRules are about making
it easy for parents to install filtering software. That's important for
parents, not governments."

Title: FEC Puts Campaign Reports on Web
Source: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/010698campaign.html
Author: Associated Press
Issue: Internet Use
Description: The Federal Election Commission has started to post digital
images of campaign finance records on its Web site. This new addition will
allow the public to look up reports on many federal candidates, political
parties and political action committees. You can access the FEC's site at:
http://www.fec.gov/

Title: On-the-Go Troops May Soon Vote Via Internet
Source: Washington Post (A11)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: Colorado Springs Gazette
Issue: Internet Use
Description: The majority of men and women in the military do not live in
the state in which they are registered to vote. Due to this, military
personnel have to vote absentee or not at all. In an effort to make this
process easier on the people defending their country, the Defense Department
is working to develop a system that will allow troops to vote by computer
over the Internet. Their goal is to have the system up and running by the
November elections.

Title: What's In a Name? The Future of Rockville Internet Firm
Source: Washington Post (D1,D3)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-01/06/137l-010698-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Internet
Description: Aetea Information Technology Inc., located in Rockville, MD, is
one of approximately 70 companies worldwide that are selling a new genre of
Internet addresses. Aetea and other firms are members of the Council of
Registrars (Core), a Geneva-based group that offers seven new domains. In
addition to .com, .org, and .net, these domains include: .shop for
retailers, .arts for cultural groups, .info for information services,
and .nom for individuals. For the new addresses to work, Core needs
approval from the US gov't and is waiting for the development of more
complex software. Also, in order for the everyday computer user to have
access to Core address sites, the domains must be included on the network's
"rootservers," machines that function as the Internet's white pages. This
means Core will need to deal with the world's main root server, Network
Solutions Inc., the entity they were formed to compete with. Core's plan
could be pushed forward or held back depending on decisions made by a
federal task force that is looking into the future of Internet addressing.

** Antitrust **

Title: Markey Wants Antitrust Div. to Take Closer Look at RHCs
Source: Telecom AM---jan. 6, 1998
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Rep. Markey (D-Mass.), senior Telecom Subcommittee Democrat,
will ask the Justice Dept. later this week to step up investigations of
antitrust allegations against SBC and RHCs, his staff said. Markey has
strongly criticized SBC Comm. over its suit in U.S. Dist. Court, where a New
Year's Eve decision overturned Sec. 271 of the Telecom Act requiring RHCs to
meet local market-opening conditions before being allowed to enter
long-distance business. Markey believes that suit means the telcos broke a
deal with Congress. As a result, Markey believes that since SBC and U S West
have "decided to take parts of the Telecom Act they like and avoid the whole
procedure," he wants Antitrust Asst. Attorney Gen. Joel Klein to step up
investigations.

Title: Microsoft Corp. Seeks to Oust 'Special Master'
Source: Wall Street Journal (B4)
http://wsj.com/
Author: David Bank & Michael Schroeder
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Microsoft is seeking to remove Professor Lawrence Lessig, a
Harvard law professor, from the gov't.'s antitrust case against the company.
They cite that e-mail correspondence between the professor and Netscape
reveals a bias against Microsoft. Professor Lessig was appointed as a
"special master" by Judge Jackson to oversee the evidence against Microsoft.
In a letter, the software giant asked Mr. Lessig to disqualify himself
because of the e-mail exchange. The DOJ rejected Microsoft's arguments,
saying that the assertions were "unfounded and overblown."

** Media & Politics **

Title: Media group wants to expand public interest commission
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p.25)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Issue: Media & Politics
Description: The Media Institute wants to add a few more members to Vice
President Gore's advisory committee on digital TV public interest
obligations. In a letter to President Clinton, Media Institute President
Patrick Maines said the current crew is lacking in four departments: First
Amendment scholarship, economics, journalism and technology. The group asked
that the White House add an expert in each of the four categories. Maines
wrote, "The committee stands a better chance of offering sound and
well-reasoned recommendations...if it has the benefit of a full range of
viewpoints and expertise."

Title: Government to buy anti-drug time
Source: Broadcasting&Cable (p.15)
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/
Author: Paige Albiniak
Issue: Media & Politics
Description: The White house announced a program to boost anti-drug
advertising campaigns to $195 million a year. It expects Congress to
appropriate that amount each year for five years. The administration plans
to place ads on all media, including TV and radio, print, billboards, buses
and the Internet. The White House's Office of Nat'l Drug Control Policy
(ONDCP) says it's specifically targeting 11-13-year-olds, but will also aim
its anti-drug message at 9-17-year-olds and their parents. Once the campaign
gets rolling, the ONDCP plans to negotiate with broadcasters for some
free---as well as paid---time during which to run the ads.

Title: New Watergate Tapes Show Nixon Considering Attacks on Post Licenses
Source: Telecom AM---jan. 6, 1998
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Media & Politics
Description: A new book of transcripts of Watergate tapes released late
last year reveals several instances in which President Nixon and his top
aides considered using the FCC to punish the Washington Post for its
Watergate coverage. In a sequence of discussions about retaliation, on Aug.
9, 1972 Nixon dictates to aide John Ehrlichman that Post publisher Katharine
Graham should be told that his Administration has "an impeccable record" of
not interfering with TV licenses. However, on Oct. 25, Nixon tells aide
Charles Colson: "We're going to screw them...They've got a radio and a
television station, WTOP, a CBS outlet." On Nov. 1, 1972, with his
reelection just days away, Nixon told Ehrlichman about how it wouldn't be
possible to "forgive and forget" after election.

** Lifestyle **

Title: From War to Art
Source: Washington Post (A13)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Author: James K. Glassman
Issue: Lifestyle
Description: According to the Pew Research Center for Politics and the
Press, Americans are "less attentive to the news than at any time in recent
years." James Glassman asks us to question if this is such a bad thing. As
John Adams, our second president, put it in a letter to his wife Abigail, in
1780, "I must study politics and war, that my sons may have liberty to study
mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and
philosophy ... in order to give their children a right to study painting,
poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain." It appears
that Americans today aren't as interested in what the government is doing as
long as it remains rather unobtrusive. Maybe we have reached an era where
we can turn our attention away from war and politics and toward an
engagement with culture and the art of living. Mr. Glassman acknowledges
that there is still "poverty, ignorance and pathology." But he states that
more than ever, "Americans are fruitfully pursuing happiness, the way the
Declaration of Independence intended." [Got that? Now back to work.]
*********

** This is the last Headlines of 1997. (Read: Shoot me if I send you email
after today) Thanks for your continued readership. We wish you an issue-free
(communication or otherwise) holiday season. See you again on Monday,
January 5, 1998. **

Universal Service
CD: Hill Chairmen Challenge FCC On New Universal Service Rates
NYT: Lawmakers Raise Concerns About Internet Subsidies
WSJ: Phone Tax, Continued
TelecomAM: Texas PUC Starts Implementation of New State Universal Fund
TelecomAM: Virginia Increases Lifeline Subsidy, Producing Rates
Low as $1 a Month
TelecomAM: N.C. Rules It Lacks Jurisdiction to Authorize Co-ops
For Universal Service

Telephone
WSJ: Holy Toll Calls: Telecom Companies Now Turn to Heaven
WSJ: Ameritech to Sell Stake in Overseas Carrier
WSJ: MCI Communications Corp.

Internet
WP: Lawsuit Challenges Internet Restrictions At Loudoun Libraries
WP: Slow Start for a High Speed Connection
WP: Cisco Systems to Buy Sterling Tech Firm
TelecomAM: Tel-Save Gains 27,000 customers in AOL Sales Blitz

Microsoft
WSJ: Dole Is Helping Efforts to Curb Microsoft Plans

Holiday-related Headlines
NYT: Hanukkah Celebrated With Web-Cast Menorah Lighting
NYT: PC Gift Idea: Software With a Smile

** Universal Service **

Title: Hill Chairmen Challenge FCC On New Universal Service Rates
Source: Communications Daily
Issue: Universal Service
Description: Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) and House
Telecommunications Subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin said that the Federal
Communications Commission may have violated the Administrative Procedure Act
(APA) by conducting negotiations with long distance carriers that resulted
to changes in universal support for schools and libraries. In a letter to
FCC Chairman Kennard dated 12/19/97, the Chairmen asked for lists of
contacts between FCC and private parties on development of Commission's
universal service order generally and on decisions on whether universal
service-related charges should be listed on long distance bills. The fact
that discussions took place "raise[s] a number of troubling substantive and
procedural issues" as to how order was developed: "The fact that the
Commission and the Administration have apparently engaged in substantive,
nonpublic dealings with selected carriers on long distance rates raises
unavoidable questions about whether the Commission's Dec. 16 actions comply
with the minimum requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act." The
Chairmen said "lack of public notice and participation calls into added
question the reasonableness and other aspects" of FCC order. The letter also
1) asked FCC to identify its authority to regulate carrier billing practices
and relationship between access charge reductions and universal service
support ("Is the
Commission using reductions in interstate access charges as a means to fund
universal service support?"); 2) under what authority FCC can require long
distance carriers to flow through access charge reductions; 3) asked about
administrative expenses for universal service programs; 4) requested
information on relationship between FCC's program and funds being made
available to school systems through Technology Challenge Literacy Fund
(administered through Education Dept.); and 5) asked for list of all other
federally funded programs that help schools and libraries obtain access to
telecom services. A reply was requested by Jan. 12.

Title: Lawmakers Raise Concerns About Internet Subsidies
Source: New York Times/CyberTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/122397fcc.html
Author: Associated Press
Issue: Universal Service
Description: Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Thomas J. Bliley, Jr. (R-VA) are
raising concerns that subsidies for schools, libraries and rural health care
providers to hook up to the Internet were not publicly debated before
regulators adopted them last week. The two politicians have requested that
the Federal Communications Commission provide them with the information
involving communications that lead up to the Dec. 16 decision. The decision
was that the FCC will slow the phasing-in of universal service to these
three areas through an approximate one-third cut in funding. FCC
Commissioner Harold
Furchgott-Roth dissented from the decision last week on the basis that it
wasn't publicly debated. But FCC Chairman William Kennard rejected those
grounds saying that the new subsidies were sufficiently discussed and the
commission received more than 110,000 pages of public comments regarding the
proposed cuts. In a Dec 19 letter to the FCC by the lawmakers, they wrote
"The lack of public notice and participation calls into added question the
reasonableness" of the FCC's decision. The FCC has not commented on the letter.

Title: Phone Tax, Continued
Source: Wall Street Journal (Rvw&Outlk, A14)
http://wsj.com/
Author: WSJ Editorial Staff
Issue: Universal Service
Description: A few years ago Vice President Gore and the FCC decided it
was the Beltway's job to wire the nation's schools and libraries for the
Internet. By the time the project was ready--this year-- half of America's
schools and libraries were already wired. But reality didn't deter Mr. Gore
and the FCC. Their plan was to force phone companies to quietly fork over
$2.2 billion a year to a specially created Schools and Libraries Fund. The
requirement was officially known as the "universal service contribution."
But, with the effort towards deregulation, companies told the FCC they
wouldn't hide the hike in bills. They would treat the "universal service
contribution" like what it was--a tax--and itemize it. [See "The Boy Who
Cried 'Tax,'" Andrew Blau's answer to the "phone tax" hysteria
http://www.benton.org/Blau/taxboy.html]

Title: Texas PUC Starts Implementation of New State Universal Fund
Source: Telecom AM---Dec. 23, 1997
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: The Texas Public Utility Commission will begin a roughly
four-month process to implement a new state universal service fund that will
be consistent with the new federal universal support structure that takes
effect Jan. 1. In addition to low-income customer support and high-cost
telco support, the Texas fund also supports the state's telephone relay
service for the handicapped. The PUC framework for the new fund requires
that contributions be competitively neutral.

Title: Virginia Increases Lifeline Subsidy, Producing Rates Low as $1 a Month
Source: Telecom AM---Dec. 23, 1997
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: The Virginia Corporation Commission is modifying its
Lifeline program to conform to the new federal universal service support
structure that takes effect next month. The commission decided to increase
the lifeline support to the maximum available under the new federal program
by providing matching funds enabling the state to receive the full $5.25
monthly federal low-income subsidy per line. The subsidy will bring the cost
of local dial tone to as little as $1 a month, the commission said.

Title: N.C. Rules It Lacks Jurisdiction to Authorize Co-ops
For Universal Service
Source: Telecom AM---Dec. 23, 1997
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: The North Carolina Utilities Commission has refused to
declare the state's rural telephone cooperatives as eligible
telecommunications carriers qualified to receive funding under the new FCC
universal service support structure, saying it lacks and jurisdiction over
the co-ops. The commission said that the N.C. Rural Electrification
Authority has jurisdiction over the nine co-ops and should be the state
agency that designates them as "ETCs" -- or the companies should petition the
FCC for the ETC designation.

** Telephone **

Title: Holy Toll Calls: Telecom Companies Now Turn to Heaven
Source: Wall Street Journal (A1)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Jon. G. Auerbach
Issue: Wireless Goes to Church
Description: Churches all over Massachusetts, and to a lesser extent
elsewhere, are hammering out deals with wireless carriers to stud their
spires with transmitting equipment. For the companies, arrangements like
these are a great way to get around local zoning bans on constructing
antenna towers. In just the next few years, the carriers need to install
about 70,000 antennae nationwide for their new digital networks. But Rev.
William O'Donnell of St. Joseph the Worker Church in Berkley says that for
churches to help corporations make money is "the greatest scandal" because
Christianity "teaches something very different than making people profit."
Not so, replied the Rev. Lee Woofenden, who recently signed a deal with
Sprint PCS. He says that "Jesus talked a lot about money" and adds, "Doing
business in this world is part of religion."

Title: Ameritech to Sell Stake in Overseas Carrier
Source: Wall Street Journal (B12)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Stephanie N. Mehta
Issue: Anti-mergers
Description: Ameritech said it plans to sell its stake in Telecom Corp.
of New Zealand, valued at $2.2 billion, while its partner in the venture,
Bell Atlantic, indicated it also may shed its holdings in the carrier.
Ameritech says it plans to use the proceeds from the sale to finance
activities such as a foray into the security-monitoring business and a push
into Europe. The company said it plans to sell its stake through a public
offering that would probably occur early next year.

Title: MCI Communications Corp.
Source: Wall Street Journal (B12)
http://wsj.com/
Issue: Telephone Rates
Description: In a filing with federal regulators, MCI said that Bell
Atlantic is charging too much to link up the long-distance carrier to the
Bell's local phone networks. In a formal complaint to the FCC, MCI said Bell
Atlantic had violated one of the conditions of its merger with Nynex Corp,
calling for the local carrier to connect rival carriers to its networks at
"forward-looking" economic costs. Bell dismissed MCI's complaint, saying
that the long-distance carrier had agreed to the rates in many cases and
that some of the prices had been arbitrated by state regulators.

** Internet **

Title: Lawsuit Challenges Internet Restrictions At Loudoun Libraries
Source: Washington Post (B1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-12/23/075l-122397-idx.html
Author: Jennifer Lenhart
Issue: Libraries/First Amendment
Description: Hoping to help resolve an issue facing libraries around the
country, a group of Loudoun County (VA) residents is suing the county
library board's decision to restrict access to sexual explicit Internet
sites through filter software. The suit contends that the decision is a
violation of the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights. "The library board in
Loudoun County is deciding what everyone can see, and that's where you cross
the line into censorship, and it's illegal," said an attorney for People for
the American Way, a national civil liberties watchdog group that is
providing legal assistance to the plaintiffs.

Title: Slow Start for a High Speed Connection
Source: Washington Post (C1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-12/23/087l-122397-idx.html
Author: Paul Farhi
Issue: Cable/Internet
Description: Cable television lines now pass by 90+ percent of American
homes. Although cable modems can provide Internet access at 10 million bits
per second (compared to 28,800 bits per second on a standard telephone line
modem), fewer than 750,000 households now connect to the Net via cable
compared to ~23 million via phone lines. Setting up cable connections to the
Internet are costly ($100) are hard (more than an hour and more than one
cable guy visiting your home). And, for now, there may be little need for
such high-speed connections for any one other than the heavy user.

Title: Cisco Systems to Buy Sterling Tech Firm
Source: Washington Post (C1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-12/23/094l-122397-idx.html
Author: Mark Leibovich
Issue: Mergers
Description: Cisco Systems, Inc announced yesterday that it has agreed to
buy LightSpeed International Inc for $160 million in stock. The acquisition
will give the computer networking company a cutting-edge technology that
connects phone systems over computer networks. [Want to create some demand
for those big pipe cable modems? Can you say Internet telephony?] Cisco is
the largest maker of "the guts of the Internet" -- hubs, routers, and
switches. LightSpeed developed technology that allows voice and data
communications systems to work together in harmony, sharply reducing costs
for both businesses and consumers. Cisco is expected the use LightSpeed
technology to build local area networks that could handle voice traffic in
addition to standard data transmissions.

Title: Tel-Save Gains 27,000 customers in AOL Sales Blitz
Source: Telecom AM---Dec, 23, 1997
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Advertising/Online Service
Description: Tel-Save gained 27,000 long-distance customers during its
24-hour sales blitz on America OnLine. The company called the day "a huge
success."
The AOL long-distance site received 500,000 hits, which "clearly
demonstrates the strength and marketing power of the AOL advertising
medium," the company said.

** Microsoft **

Title: Dole Is Helping Efforts to Curb Microsoft Plans
Source: Wall Street Journal (A16)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Michael Schroeder & Bryan Gruley
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Bob Dole has been sending letters and calling companies
seeking their support in an expanding campaign by Microsoft's rivals to curb
its entrance into new Internet businesses. Mr. Dole is part of a growing
lobbying effort that goes far beyond issues raised by the Justice Dept.'s
antitrust case. Mr. Dole is representing several companies, including
Netscape and Sun Microsystems. So far, he has recruited more than six firms
to join the campaign, according someone close to Mr. Dole. [Reportedly, Bill
gates has been asking, "Have you ever seen Bob Dole and the Grinch in the
same room together?"]

** Holiday-related Headlines **

Title: Hanukkah Celebrated With Web-Cast Menorah Lighting
Source: New York Times/CyberTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/122397hanukkah.html
Author: Elizabeth Cohen
Issue: Religion
Description: Much of the Jewish world will be able to share the lighting of
the first candle of their menorah with anyone, anywhere on the planet this
year. At 3:30 EST on Dec 23, a globally synchronized lighting will be
available for all to see with a few clicks of a computer mouse. The
"Virtual Chanukah" presentation, choreographed by the Chabad Lubavitch
movement, will feature video footage of menorah lightings from around the
world. It is expected that more than 100,000 people will participate in the
event. The "Virtual Chanukah" site can be found at http://chanukah.chabad.org/

Title: PC Gift Idea: Software With a Smile
Source: New York Times (C2)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/compcol/122397compcol-manes.html
Author: Stephen Manes
Issue: Computer Technology
Description: Computers do not have to make you dull, humdrum and
bah-humbuggy this season. With a little software help you too can become
involved in less work and more play. There are several software programs
available for the holidays that should bring a smile to your face and assist
in the release of any seasonal tension . They range from "I Spy," a program
full of different types of puzzles, to "The Axe," which provides the
want-to-be musician with a variety of backgrounds that they can create their
own artistry to [kind of like Kerioki (sp?) without the stage, out-of-tune
voice, aging frat boys or cheap beer]. But I think my favorite would have
to be "The Simpsons Virtual Springfield." This program has compressed Homer
and Marge's hometown onto one "seedy ROM." It lets you wander through
low-life American environments that include "everything from specialty
magazines like Tub Lover and Pillow Hog to cable's Messiah Watch Channel
('no sign here yet, but we're expecting him anytime'). A stroll along the
deserted pavements of Virtual Springfield might be useful for architects and
city planners with a sense of humor." [How many shopping days left?]
*********
We are outta here! See you in '98!

The Benton Foundation's Headlines team has once again volunteered as back-up
elves at Macy's for the following dates and, therefore, will be unable to
provide you, our dedicated readers, with the headline service from
December 24 to January 2. Headlines will resume on Monday, January 5. We wish
everyone communications-filled holidays!

Arts
NYT: Southerner Is Selected to Head Arts Endowment
WP: White House Taps New Arts Chief

Telephone
TelecomAM: AT&T Won't Assess Residential Callers for Universal Service Costs
TelecomAM: MCI Business Customers Also Will See Universal Service Assessment
WP: AT&T Corp. Halts Efforts to Sell Local Residential Phone Service
WSJ: AT&T Chief Halts Hiring, Shifts Budget
WP: "Cram" and Punishment: Adding Up Mystery Phone Charges

Children's Television
WP: Japan's Cartoon Violence

Antitrust
WP: U.S. Recruits a Top Gun For Microsoft Showdown
WSJ: Antitrust Whiz Joins Justice Team vs. Microsoft
WSJ: Microsoft Seeks Alternative Ways to Comply With Court
NYT: Settlement Reached in Data-Storage Case

Online Services
WSJ: AOL Declares Victory Over Junk E-Mail Firm
NYT: AOL Wins Spam Battle

FCC Round-up
FCC: DTV Ancillary or Supplementary Services Fees
FCC: Commission Adopts Streamlined Auction Rules
TelecomAM: FCC Proposes Rulemaking on Rules for Spectrum Auctions
FCC: Commission Seeks Comment on Proposals to Improve Program Access
Rules
NYT: Freeze Unlikely On Cable Rates
CCB: O building on 19th & M

** Arts **

Title: Southerner Is Selected to Head Arts Endowment
Source: New York Times (A20)
http://www.nytimes.com
Author: Irvin Molotsky
Issue: Arts
Description: The White House announced last night that William Ivey, the
executive director of the Country Music Foundation, has been selected to be
the next chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Mr. Ivey is a
musicologist and folklorist who has served on panels at the NEA since 1976.
As a nominee from the South, it is expected that Mr. Ivey will easily move
through the Senate confirmation process, where much of the opposition to the
endowment comes from Southern members.

Title: White House Taps New Arts Chief
Source: Washington Post (D1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-12/19/062l-121997-idx.html
Author: Jacqueline Trescott
Issue: Arts
Description: The White House has selected the Country Music Foundation's
William Ivey to be the new chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Mr. Ivey is best known in Washington as a proponent for the preservation of
historical recordings. He has also served on the President's Committee on
the Arts and Humanities. The NEA is the largest source of funding for the
arts in the US. Mr. Ivey will face Senate confirmation.

** Telephone **

Title: AT&T Won't Assess Residential Callers for Universal Service Costs
Source: Telecom AM---Dec. 19, 1997
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: AT&T has become the first long-distance carrier to announce
that its customers will not face new charges in the first half of 1998 to
support the carrier's higher universal service contributions. Instead, they
will use
the anticipated reductions in access charges, which it pays to local telcos
to access the local switched network, to offset its contribution. The
company's announcement follows a decision by the FCC to reduce the subsidy
paid to schools, libraries and rural healthcare providers to $675 million
in the first half of 1998. Fees collected from long distance carriers such
as AT&T, MCI, Sprint,
and Worldcom pay for the bulk of the federal fund.

Title: MCI Business Customers Also Will See Universal Service Assessment
Source: Telecom AM---Dec. 19, 1997
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: MCI, like AT&T, plans to assess business customers an
undetermined charge on their bills to help support its contribution to
federal universal fund. MCI, which already has passed on savings from 1997
access charge cuts and anticipated 1998 reductions to customers, said it has
no current plans to raise residential rates but could reevaluate that once
it reviews universal service costs.

Title: AT&T Corp. Halts Efforts to Sell Local Residential Phone Service
Source: Washington Post (G1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-12/19/125l-121997-idx.html
Author: Mike Mills
Issue: Competition
Description: After investing $3-$4 billion dollars over the last three years
on resale of local phone service, AT&T has formally halted all spending on
efforts to sell local service. The company only receives $65 million in
annual revenue from local service and loses $1.50 - $2 per local phone
subscriber monthly through resale of local service. A high-level AT&T
official said, "The courts better figure out how to define an economically
viable way to provide local service [to residential customers] or nobody's
going to invest in it." AT&T's new chairman, C. Michael Armstrong, is
expected to announce sweeping changes in the company next month. [For more
on competition in the local phone market see
http://www.benton.org/Policy/96act/#phone]

Title: AT&T Chief Halts Hiring, Shifts Budget
Source: Wall Street Journal (A3)
http://wsj.com/
Author: John J. Keller
Issue: Corporate Retrenchment
Description: AT&T Chairman C. Michael Armstrong has frozen all hiring,
set stringent new compensation guidelines and redirected more than $2
billion in local-phone services spending. He hopes to plow much of the
savings into new networks and services that should correct AT&T's paltry
revenue growth. The redirected funding resulted in the sale of AT&T's
Universal Card unit to Citicorp for $4 billion. The hiring freeze could lead
to work-force cuts larger than the 17,000 planned 2 years ago,
according to people familiar with the company's plans. Mr. Armstrong is also
trying to cut expenses, which are currently more than $45 billion a year. To
do this, AT&T plans to find alternatives to the regional Bell companies to
cut local carrier fees; maybe even build their own systems.

Title: "Cram" and Punishment: Adding Up Mystery Phone Charges
Source: Washington Post (G1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-12/19/142l-121997-idx.html
Author: Cindy Skrzycki
Issue: Telephone Regulation
Description: In "The Regulators" column, a look at the mystery phone charges
that are starting to appear on customers' bills in the "Wild West of the
telecommunications industry." The deregulation of telecommunications
industry is causing a proliferation of providers and carriers -- some that
may add charges to your bill even if they are not legitimate. The Federal
Communications Commission is dealing with consumer complaints about
receiving bills for services -- Internet access, paging, etc -- customers
never ordered and do not want. The bad guys use a variety of ploys
including: running a contest, getting people to fill out entry cards that
include phone numbers and automatically sign people up for calling cards
with monthly fees.

** Children's Television **

Title: Japan's Cartoon Violence
Source: Washington Post (D1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-12/19/059l-121997-idx.html
Author: Lloyd Rose
Issue: Children's Television
Description: "Is there really such a thing a killer cartoon?" Nearly 700
people were taken to the hospital with seizures, convulsions or loss of
vision after watching a popular television cartoon in Japan on Tuesday. Some
200 victims -- mostly children -- remained hospitalized yesterday. Outraged
mothers are saying that the television networks are putting ratings before
children's health and are calling for the introduction of an electronic
screening device like the American V-chip. The show in question --
"Pokemon," or "Pocket Monsters" -- was developed by Nintendo which also
makes video games.

** Antitrust **

Title: U.S. Recruits a Top Gun For Microsoft Showdown
Source: Washington Post (G1)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-12/19/130l-121997-idx.html
Author: David Segal
Issue: Antitrust
Description: The Justice Department -- the biggest law firm in the world --
has a staff of 340 antitrust lawyers, but has hired New York
"super-litigator" (he briefs, he files, he bills by the hour) David Boies to
handle the Microsoft case. Mr. Boies has been working for DOJ for about a
week and a half and is only charging half of his normal fee -- $550/hr (Gee,
Mom, you were right after all. What was I thinking when I majored in
English?) Tapping Mr. Boies signals "a stop-at-nothing eagerness to prevail
in its high-stakes fight over the marketing practices of the Redmond,
Wash.-based software giant."

Title: Antitrust Whiz Joins Justice Team vs. Microsoft
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Paul M. Barrett & John R. Wilke
Issue: Antitrust
Description: The Justice Dept. has fortified their ranks by hiring David
Boies, one of the nation's best-known antitrust litigators, to assist them
in their war with Microsoft. Mr. Boies said that one assignment he may take
on is helping the gov't. try to broaden its case beyond the allegation of
monopoly. He may also appear in court for the Justice Dept., he added, but
his precise role hasn't been determined. Mr. Boies impressive credentials
include the time when he helped IBM with a successful defense against a
massive governmental antitrust suit. Mr. Boies also said that he's still
"trying to understand what the facts are," but that ultimately he will help
determine whether Microsoft's behavior might be grounds for new claims under
the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Title: Microsoft Seeks Alternative Ways to Comply With Court
Source: Wall Street Journal (B4)
http://wsj.com/
Author: David Bank & Dean Takahashi
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Microsoft said it has considered alternative ways of
complying with a federal judge's preliminary injunction, implying it has a
fallback position for settling an escalating dispute with the Justice Dept.
The company said it would give PC makers 3 choices: 1) the integrated
operating system, 2) one without the browser that will not work properly, or
3) a
two-year-old version of Windows 95 that does not share files with the browser.
This response infuriated the DOJ and the agency asked Judge Jackson to fine the
company $1 million a day for alleged noncompliance with his order. Microsoft
VP, Brad Chase, said the judge's order meant "we're damned if we do, we're
damned if we don't." He admitted there are simple ways to deactivate
Internet Explorer, but asserted that they wouldn't comply with a literal
interpretation of the judge's order. "Competitors and the Justice Department
are trying to manipulate the situation to make it look like we are being
unreasonable," Mr. Chase said.

Title: Settlement Reached in Data-Storage Case
Source: New York Times/CyberTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/121997ibm.html
Author: Associated Press
Issue: Antitrust
Description: The IBM Corp. and Storage Technology Corp. reached a tentative
agreement with the U.S. Justice Department yesterday to resolve an
investigation of antitrust activities in the mainframe computer market. The
two corporations agreed to modify a 1996 agreement that would free Storage
Technology to sell its computer data storage systems to other channels. "As
a result of this case, StorgeTek will once again be able to compete
vigorously in the mainframe disk storage system market," said Joel Klein,
assistant Attorney General for antitrust. [no need to rub your eyes - this
antitrust story, believe it or not, REALLY isn't about Microsoft!]

** Online Services **

Title: AOL Declares Victory Over Junk E-Mail Firm
Source: Wall Street Journal (B6)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Jared Sandberg
Issue: Online Services
Description: AOL proclaimed a major victory in federal court against Over
the Air Equipment, a sex-oriented junk e-mail company. "Over the Air" agreed
to pay undisclosed damages and cease sending unsolicited e-mail messages,
known as spam, to AOL members. The "victorious" announcement is part of a
public relations campaign to show that AOL, which receives as much
as 2.5 million pieces of spam a day, is aggressively targeting spammers. But
many observers are skeptical that success in the courts will bring success
against spam. The issue of junk sex mail is particularly nettlesome for
AOL, which has the largest concentration of child users in cyberspace.

Title: AOL Wins Spam Battle
Source: New York Times/CyberTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/121997spam.html
Author: Matt Richtel
Issue: Online Services
Description: In the first settlement of its kind, a company sending out bulk
email has agreed to pay damages to an Internet service provider. The ruling
is in response to a lawsuit filed by America Online this past October
against Over the Air Equipment Inc. for spamming AOL users with its
advertisements. While the settlement does not itself make law, it does
build onto an emerging picture of what bulk emailing practices will be allowed.

** FCC Round-up **

Title: DTV Ancillary or Supplementary Services Fees
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/News_Releases/1997/nrmm7021.html
Issue: Digital TV
Description: Commission Seeks Comments on Fee Alternatives for Ancillary or
Supplementary Services Offered by Digital Television Broadcasters.

Title: FCC Adopts Streamlined Auction Rules
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Wireless/News_Releases/1997/nrwl7047.html
Issue: Spectrum
Description: "The Commission adopted comprehensive and streamlined rules for
all auctionable services, replacing rules adopted in 1994 which require the
Commission to adopt separate rules for each auction. The Commission also
sought further comment on the use of installment payments and other
financial incentives for small businesses, women, minorities, and rural
telephone companies."

Title: FCC Proposes Rulemaking on Rules for Spectrum Auctions
Source: Telecom AM---Dec. 19, 1997
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Spectrum
Description: The FCC adopted a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on its
spectrum rules, emphasizing the need for simplification and greater
efficiency. Chairman Kennard called the rulemaking "the culmination of a lot
of learning." Specific proposals included: 1) Bringing all auctions under
uniform rules; 2) Suspending installment payments until the Commission gets
authority to revoke licenses for nonpayment; 3) Tightening anti-collusion
rules; 4) Mandating minimum opening bids; and 5) Bidding in real time.
Commissioner Furchtgott-Roth said the plan "makes the Commission a banker"
without having the necessary expertise.

Title: Commission Seeks Comment on Proposals to Improve Program Access Rules
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/News_Releases/1997/nrcb7024.html
Issue: Cable
Description: "In order to ensure that all providers of multichannel video
services have a reasonable opportunity to secure the programming they need
to satisfy viewers, the Commission has adopted a notice seeking comment on
revisions to its program access rules. In enacting the program access
provisions of the 1992 Cable Act, Congress expressed its concern that
potential competitors to incumbent cable operators were unable to gain
access to the programming needed to provide a viable and competitive
multichannel alternative to cable. "

Title: Freeze Unlikely On Cable Rates
Source: New York Times (C2)
http://www.nytimes.com/
Author: Reuters
Issue: Cable
Description: Consumer groups and some politicians want the Federal
Communications Commission to impose a rate freeze on cable companies.
Commissioner Susan
Ness said, "regulation of rates is an absolute,
absolute last resort." William Kennard, FCC chairman, also said that
regulation should be a last resort but added, "I'm not ready to rule
anything out." The commission has proposed tightening rules that require
cable operators to share more lucrative programs with satellite-TV
companies and others selling rival video services and telephone carriers.

Thanks to the Washington Post for printing this new song coined by the FCC's
Common Carrier Bureau about the long proposed move of the Commission to The
Portals, a new building in Washington's southwest district:

(set to tune of "O Little Town of Bethlehem)

O building on 19th & M,
how we will miss thee;
Even though the date we move,
is still a mystery.

We will miss your ecru walls,
and oft waxed floors;
Not to mention ATMs,
and the convenient stores...

*********
...and we are outta here! Don't spend too much time in the malls and we'll
see you Monday.

Telephone
TelecomAM: FCC Announces Slower Ramp-Up for Universal Service
NYT: Crossed Wires In South Africa

Microsoft & Monopoly
NYT: Microsoft's Legal Problems Grow As States Join in
Antitrust Effort
WSJ: Officials of as Many as Nine States Met To Coordinate
Action Against Microsoft
WP: Programmers Say Microsoft, US Exaggerate
NYT: Administration Seeks Counsel on Domain Names

Cable & Satellite TV
WSJ: TCI Is Close To Announcing NextLevel Pact
WSJ: FCC Balks At Freezing Cable Rates
FCC: Commission Releases Report on Cable Industry Prices
WSJ: A Massive Investment In British Cable TV Sours for U.S. Firms
WSJ: DirecTV Seeks New Partners, Fresh Programs

The Wonders of Telecom & InfoTech
NYT: Edison Project Reports Measurable Progress in Reading and Math
at Its Schools
NYT: Limits on the Work-at-Home Life
WSJ: Silicon Graphics, Microsoft to Unveil Alliance on
Three-Dimensional Displays

Civic Participation
WP: Beyond "Bowling Alone"

Radio/Media & Politics
WP: Md. Grant to Radio Firm Approved

FCC
FCC: Commissioner Michael Powell Supports Flexible, Timely
Pro-Competitive Telecommunications Policies

** Telephone **

Title: FCC Announces Slower Ramp-Up for Universal Service
Source: Telecom AM
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service
Description: After days of rumors that long distance carriers were urging
the Federal Communications Commission to "rethink its original figures," FCC
Chairman William Kennard has announced an approximate one-third cut in
universal service funding for schools, libraries, and rural health care
providers. Chairman Kennard said that there is not enough demand to justify
the full amount announced in may. He also said the new plan, coupled with
reductions in access charges, should allow long distance carriers to
continue to reduce rates. Schools and libraries will be allotted $300
million in the first quarter of 1998 and $325 in the second quarter; rural
health care providers will receive $25 million in each quarter. If demand
reaches the original cap of $2.65 billion for the two programs, the FCC will
find a way to meet the demand that "doesn't result in rate shock for
consumers," Chairman Kennard said. He is adamant that universal service
funding should not force long distance carriers to increase their rates --
mainly because of access charge reductions. [Update from ALA to follow]

Title: Crossed Wires In South Africa
Source: New York Times (D1, D8)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/safrica-phone.html
Author: Donald G. McNeil, Jr.
Issue: International
Description: Over the years SA Telkom had become known for its high prices,
slow service, a bloated work force, and a network engineered for white
neighborhoods. After two years of debate, the South African government
decided that it would be better to open the market up to competition, hoping
that the new entrants would wire the neglected black areas. Last year,
South Africa put 30 percent of SA Telkom up for sale. In March it was bought
in a joint bid by SBC Communications International and Telekom Malaysia.
Now, six months later, the company is making huge strides. Company
officials said that Telkom has installed 171,000 new lines -- almost triple
the pace of before -- with over 115,000 of them going "into previously
neglected areas." Telkom now fixes "57 percent of all home phone problems
within 24 hours, up from 42 percent in April." It promises to have 35
percent black managers within five years and plans to have the whole network
digital by 1999. Jay Naidoo, the Posts and Telecommunications Minister,
said he is "philosophically very satisfied" with the monopoly-for-investment
deal.

** Microsoft **

Title: Microsoft's Legal Problems Grow As States Join in Antitrust Effort
Source: New York Times (A1,D3)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/121797microsoft.html
Author: John Markoff
Issue: Antitrust
Description: While a Federal district judge was ruling on the antitrust suit
brought against Microsoft by the Justice Department, "attorneys general from
some of the nation's most populous states were concluding a secret three-day
meeting in Chicago to assess their own strategy for a possible antitrust
action against Microsoft's marketing practices." At this time, California,
Connecticut, Massachusetts and Oregon have each opened their own
investigations into Microsoft's business practices. Texas is already suing
the company due to an inquiry in their state over policies and nine states
have subpoenaed information from Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rasati in Palo
CA, the firm that represents a number of Microsoft competitors. Couple this
with government investigations that are underway in Europe and Asia and
Microsoft could soon find that it has become a "Gulliver enmeshed in
Lilliputian legal entanglements around the globe."

Title: Officials of as Many as Nine States Met To Coordinate
Action Against Microsoft
Source: Wall Street Journal (A6)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Don Clark & David Bank
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Representatives from nine states met in Chicago to
coordinate possible antitrust enforcement actions against Microsoft. This
could signal more vigorous efforts to restrain Microsoft's marketing
practices, which are under scrutiny by the Department of Justice and
antitrust regulators in
Europe and Asia. Microsoft filed an expedited appeal of a federal court
order affecting its Internet software, arguing that the ruling and resulting
doubts about their Windows 98 operating system could harm significant parts
of the U.S. economy.

Title: Programmers Say Microsoft, US Exaggerate
Source: Washington Post (C15)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-12/17/088l-121797-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Antitrust
Description: Implementing Judge Jackson's order to make a version of Windows
95 available without Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser software will not
be the Herculean effort the software giant claims it will be nor is it a
task that can be completed in days as the Justice Department contends.
Microsoft claims that Windows 95 will be inoperable without the Explorer files.

Title: Administration Seeks Counsel on Domain Names
Source: New York Times/CyberTimes
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/121797domain.html
Author: Jeri Clausing
Issue: Internet
Description: A month and a half after the Clinton Administration promised
Congress a report on the Internet address and registration system, top
Internet adviser Ira Magaziner is convening a series of meetings with
Internet groups and telecommunications companies to break the gridlock on
the matter. [ok, breathe] "It's a very complicated and difficult issue, and
stability of the Internet has got to be our No. 1 concern," says Becky Burr,
a senior Commerce Department adviser who has been leading an interagency
task force on the matter and who has been selected by Assistant Commerce
Secretary Larry Irving to write the report. The lack of consensus within the
Administration mirrors that of the Internet community. Most industry and
trade groups support a plan to open the system to competition -- but they
can't agree on how to transition.

** Cable & Satellite TV **

Title: TCI Is Close To Announcing NextLevel Pact
Source: Wall Street Journal (B6)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Leslie Cauley
Issue: Set-Top Boxes
Description: TCI and other big cable operators are close to announcing an
agreement for NextLevel Systems to build as many as 25 million advanced
digital-TV set-top devices for the cable industry during the next 3 to 5
years. The selection of NextLevel is the first step in the cable industry's
campaign to equip the nation's TV sets with gizmos smaller than VCRs that
improve on today's set-top boxes by adding high-resolution movies, e-mail,
and easy Internet access. Still to be decided is which companies will get
which slice of the various technologies -- Microsoft and Intel are
fighting with various rivals for business. [Gizmo...is that a technical term?]

Title: FCC Balks At Freezing Cable Rates
Source: Wall Street Journal (A3)
http://wsj.com/
Author: John R. Wilke & Leslie Cauley
Issue: Cable
Description: The FCC is balking at freezing cable rates despite reports
that show stiff rate increases around the nation. The commission is expected
to propose stiffer rules to encourage cable competition. These include
measures that force cable companies to share programming with competitors
such as direct-broadcast satellites and phone companies. The commission
hopes these new measures can head off a need for rate regulation.
Commissioner Susan Ness said, "We're hearing reports of double-digit rate
increases in some cities, and we're not going to tolerate that...rate
regulation is a last resort."

Title: Commission Releases Report on Cable Industry Prices
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/Reports/fcc97409.html
Issue: Cable
Description: "The Commission has released the results of a survey of cable
industry prices covering the period from July 1, 1995 to July 1, 1997. The
survey (FCC 97-409) is mandated by section 623(k) of the Communications Act
of 1934 and reflects information gathered from cable operators. Beyond
reporting on the level of price increases, the survey compares subscriber
rates in competitive service areas and noncompetitive service areas."

Title: A Massive Investment In British Cable TV Sours for U.S. Firms
Source: Wall Street Journal (A1)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Robert Frank & Matthew Rose
Issue: International
Description: Betting that British viewers would want their MTV and CNN
just like Americans, U.S. phone and cable companies built one of the most
advanced communications networks in the world: more than 40,000 miles of
fiber-optic lines that could carry everything from "Seinfeld" and
pay-per-view movies to local phone calls and e-mail. But U S West
hasn't reached half of the predicted 45% of British cable TV customers.
Telewest Comm. PLC reported a loss of $450 million last year. Other U.S.
Bell companies have packed up and gone home. Stephen Davidson, Telewest's
chief exec, said, "Five years age, [Britons] watched four channels, and now
most of them still only watch four channels. The growth has been much less
than we anticipated."

Title: DirecTV Seeks New Partners, Fresh Programs
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Frederic M. Biddle & Leslie Cauley
Issue: Satellite
Description: DirecTV, the market leader for direct
satellite broadcasting, is aggressively looking for new ways to attract
subscribers. A number of Baby Bells, including Bell Atlantic and SBC, are
currently negotiating with DirecTV to become its agents within their
respective territories. DirecTV also signed a $200 million deal for eight
prime-time action-adventure series produced by Francis Ford Coppola and
others. They also announced an agreement with Time Warner's pay-TV unit to
produce a new half-hour weekly music series exclusively for DirecTV's
subscribers. The company said the move into programming is a natural way to
stay ahead and expects to sign more deals.

** The Wonders of Telecom & InfoTech **

Title: Edison Project Reports Measurable Progress in Reading and Math
at Its Schools
Source: New York Times (A30)
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/edison-project-educ.html
Author: Jacques Steinberg
Issue: Education
Description: The Edison Project, started in 1995, is an ambitious for-profit
educational plan designed to develop a revolutionary model for overhauling
schools. After two years, the project, which includes everything from
longer school years to placing computers in every student's home, shows
measurable gains in students reading and math scores. Project leaders hail
these findings as exceeding their expectations and providing solid evidence
that public school systems can be improved through outside intervention.
However, officials acknowledge that these gains need to be sustained for an
extended period of time in order for the project to be considered
substantially persuasive.

Title: Limits on the Work-at-Home Life
Source: New York Times (A31)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/121797telecommute.html
Author: Kirk Johnson
Issue: Telecommuting
Description: In recent years millions of Americans have sought the
flexibility of working at home, usually under informal arrangements. As an
increasing number of corporations acknowledge that telecommuting is here to
stay, they are moving to impose structure and supervision on the
arrangement. The goal is to provide workers with the flexibility and support
they want while addressing supervisors' concerns about productivity,
fairness and liability. So, no need to shrink from your boss when she
doesn't recognize you at this years Christmas party -- next year you will
most certainly be kept in the loop with regular surveys and mandatory office
meetings and appearances.

Title: Silicon Graphics, Microsoft to Unveil Alliance on Three-Dimensional
Displays
Source: Wall Street Journal (B6)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Dean Takahashi
Issue: InfoTech
Description: Microsoft and Silicon Graphics will announce an alliance to
collaborate on technology for displaying 3-D graphics on future computers.
The partnership is expected to end a battle over technical standards that
has delayed some advances in graphics technology and could influence the
design of software used by engineers. Analysts say that if Silicon Graphics
can influence Microsoft's software with its own 3-D technology, it will have
a better chance of differentiating its computers when it adapts them to run
Windows NT, instead of the Unix software the company uses. Otherwise,
Silicon Graphics' NT-based workstations might not be any better than those
made by PC makers.

** Civic Participation **

Title: Beyond "Bowling Alone"
Source: Washington Post (A25)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-12/17/008l-121797-idx.html
Author: David Broder
Issue: Civic Participation
Description: In an influential essay called "Bowling Alone," Harvard
Professor Robert Putnam argued that Americans were becoming increasingly
disconnected from each other -- depleting the supply of "social capital" on
which our government depends. A new survey by the Center for Survey Research
at the University of Virginia for the American Association of Retired
Persons (AARP) finds that Americans may not be the "civic slugs" many fear
we are. AARP's numbers show that the average American adult has four
affiliations outside of family and work -- only one in seven has none.
Political activity is low, but volunteering is high and -- at the local
level -- "civic engagement" numbers are high. The survey finds the trust
element of "social capital" is weak -- only 28% of Americans believe the
national government can be trusted to do what is right most or all of the
time. AARP's director of research, Constance Swank says, "Despite their lack
of trust in government, most Americans have not lost their sense of what
they can do individually or collectively in their communities." Broder ends
the editorial: "In a sobering national picture, that is something on which
leaders at all levels may be able to build."

** Radio **

Title: Md. Grant to Radio Firm Approved
Source: Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-12/17/112l-121797-idx.html
Author: Charles Babington
Issue: Radio
Description: In a case many fear blurs the line between media and
government, Maryland approved its first business grant to a minority-owned
company yesterday. Radio One will receive a $500,000 loan for the Maryland
government -- $400,000 will be forgiven if the company adds 40 new employees
to its 110-person workforce and keeps them; the remaining $100,000 will have
to be repaid at 6% interest after five years. Radio One runs two radio
stations is core Democratic precincts and some of the legislators voting on
the issue are frequent guests on the stations' talk shows. But the grant is
very small compared to others in the Sunny Day grants program: for example,
Bethlehem Steel Corp got a $5.5 million grant and loan package to rebuild
its "cold rolling mill" in Baltimore County.

** FCC **

Title: Commissioner Michael Powell Supports Flexible, Timely
Pro-Competitive Telecommunications Policies
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Powell/spmkp701.html
Author: Michael Powell
Issue: Regulation
Description: "The FCC must pursue procompetitive policies that are flexible,
timely and will promote technological innovation," FCC Commissioner Michael
K. Powell said today to the Winter 1997 Seminar of the America's Carriers
Telecommunications Association, in McLean, Va. In his first speech since
joining the Commission last month, Powell said his "first priority" will be
to "encourage procompetitive policies." He said, "We must be procompetitive
because rapidly developing high technology markets demand it. It is nearly
impossible for regulators to be able to predict accurately the direction and
impact of changing technology or to keep pace with it."
*********
Are we obsessed with monopoly or what? Who's got next game?