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Communications-related Headlines for 9/12/01

CRISIS & COMMUNICATIONS
Panicked Phone Traffic Jams Lines in Northeast (WSJ)
Web Offers Both News and Comfort (NYT)
On Local Radio, the Day the Music Died (WP)

CRISIS & COMMUNICATIONS

WEB OFFERS BOTH NEWS AND COMFORT
Issue: Internet
In the wake of yesterday's terrorist attacks, people around the world went
online, looking for news, and connection to each other. "The need to connect
is intense," said Donna Hoffman, a professor who studies the Web and Web
commerce at Vanderbilt University. "While the network TV stations blather,
the Internet carries the news and connects the masses in a true interactive
sob." Both Yahoo and America Online said that use of their instant message
systems was above average. And several people quickly set up e-mail
discussion lists, such as "Sept11info" [created by Benton's Andy Carvin] and
"WTCattack." "This unfathomable tragedy reminds me of the original reason
the Internet was invented in 1969 - to serve as a decentralized network that
couldn't be brought down by a military attack," said Rogers Cadenhead, who
said he set up the WTCattack list because most of the Web sites reporting
news had ground to a halt. "Amateur news reporters on weblogs are
functioning as their own decentralized media today, and it's one of the only
heartening things about this stomach-turning day."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Amy Harmon]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/12/national/12ONLI.html)
(requires registration)

PANICKED PHONE TRAFFIC JAMS LINES IN NORTHEAST
Issue: Telephony
The terrorist attacks on New York and Washington strained the nation's
telecommunications systems, knocking out telephone and wireless service
across the Northeast for hours and making it almost impossible for millions
of Americans to check in with loved ones in the two cities. AT&T reported
that its long-distance network carried an average of four million calls
every five minutes after the attacks, double the normal call volume. The
nation's cellular networks were the hardest hit, with wireless users in
cities throughout the country reporting an inability to make or receive
calls. Verizon, New York, said it was making calls from its 4,000 Manhattan
payphones free for the duration of the emergency.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Yochi J. Dreazen]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB1000258811417160965.htm)
(requires subscription)

ON LOCAL RADIO, THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED
Issue: Radio
For one very emotional day, Washington's radio stations reverted to their
public-service roots, becoming a cross between the Emergency Broadcast
System and a crisis counseling network. Following yesterday's terrorist
attacks in Washington and New York, most music stations substituted news for
songs. In an extraordinary move, almost all of Washington's music stations
dropped their regular song rotations and cut back or rearranged commercial
blocks. Washington DC's WPGC program director Jay Stevens said the station
decided to abandon music and go news-and-talk when "we all saw the second
plane hit the building on TV. We said, 'This is big. This is bad. It's time
to shut down the music.' "
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Lisa de Moraes]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13912-2001Sep11.html)

--------------------------------------------------------------

Communications-related Headlines for 9/11/01

INTERNET
Federal Web Sites Still Lag Private Sector's, Study Says (WP)
Antiglobalization Activists Spread Message Online With Videotapes
(WSJ)

COPYRIGHT
Hollywood Loves Hollings' Bill (WIRED)

MERGER
AOL Bid for AT&T Cable Draws Rivals, Critics (WP)

TELEPHONY
Verizon Records First Drop in Phone Lines (WP)

INTERNET

FEDERAL WEB SITES STILL LAG PRIVATE SECTOR'S, STUDY SAYS
Issue: E-Government
A study, conducted by researchers at Brown University, analyzed 58 federal
Web sites and
concludes that the federal government still lags far behind the private
sector in harnessing
the power of the Internet to provide information and services. The study,
released
yesterday, found that may government Web still do not accept credit card
payments or
digital signatures on official documents. Many federal courts' scored
particularly poorly.
"The court sites are atrocious," said Darrell M. West, director of the
Taubman Center for
Public Policy at Brown and the leader of the study. "There is a tremendous
amount of
information that they could be putting online, but so far they have not done
so." West also
criticized the federal government's main "portal" site, FirstGov.gov, for
being essentially
invisible. "Nobody has ever heard of it," he said. "It's gotten virtually no
coverage and
there have been no public service announcements to promote it."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ben White]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7049-2001Sep10.html)

ANTIGLOBALIZATION ACTIVIST SPREAD MESSAGES ONLINE WITH
VIDEOTAPES
Issue: Media & Society
When the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank hold their annual
meeting in
Washington, D.C., this month, scores of antiglobalization protesters are
expected to
descend on the capital. Among them will be independent documentarians, who
have
become an important presence at anticorporate protests around the world,
filming the
increasingly bloody clashes for posterity and inspiration. "The new culture
of guerrilla
media activism eschews objectivity," says Thomas Harding, author of "The
Video Activist
Handbook." According to Mr. Harding, many guerrilla media activists see the
mass media
as pawns of large corporations. "We're trying to give the point of view of
the
demonstrators and explain the reasons why people demonstrate," notes Dee Dee
Hallek,
professor emeritus of communications at the University of California at San
Diego. "We
don't think the cameras incite violence. "This month's meetings in
Washington may test
that proposition. Video activists are busy gearing up for the event by
organizing editing
studios, banks of computers and other gear to allow independent cameramen to
stream
audio and video of the protests onto the Web.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal , AUTHOR: UPI-Wing Tam]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB100016149288729676.htm)

COPYRIGHT

HOLLYWOOD LOVES HOLLINGS' BILL
Issue: Copyright
Controversial legislation that Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-South Carolina) plans
to introduce
later this month, proposes to embed copy-protection controls in nearly all
PCs and
consumer electronic devices. Representatives of the Walt Disney Company and
News
defended a draft of the Security Systems Standards and Certification
Act(SSSCA) as a
reasonable compromise that will spur high-speed Internet access and boost
hardware sales.
Preston Padden, executive vice president of Disney, which helped to craft
the legislation,
said that the "bill is going to speed the entertainment content into the
online broadband
environment, create consumer demand and get broadband going." The draft
SSSCA says it
is illegal to create, sell or distribute "any interactive digital device
that does not include
and utilize certified security technologies" to be approved by the U.S.
Commerce
Department. If industry groups cannot agree on a security standard after one
to two years
have elapsed, the Commerce Department will step in. Jonathan Potter, the
executive
director of the Digital Media Association, who says he's stridently opposed
to the measure.
"It's about as egregiously an anti-technology bill, in its draft form, as
anything I've ever
seen," Potter said. "It would have the United States government approving or
disapproving
every semiconductor, every server and essentially any digital information
technology
device prior to coming to market."
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Declan McCullagh]
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,46671,00.html)

MERGER

AOL BID FOR AT&T CABLE DRAWS RIVALS, CRITICS
Issue: Merger
AOL Time Warner Inc.'s proposal to buy AT&T Corp.'s cable assets has
prompted rivals
to consider offering their own bids, while other competitors and consumer
advocates have
begun gearing up to fight the creation of a new cable giant. Microsoft
Corp., AOL Time
Warner's arch rival, is fielding calls from potential partners, including
Comcast Corp., to
consider pursuing the nation's largest cable system, AT&T Broadband,
according to
sources familiar with the situation. Meanwhile, the prospects of an AOL-AT&T
cable
combination -- which would have about 27 million subscribers and about a
third of the
U.S. cable market -- drew protests from consumer groups and many in the
industry
yesterday. They said their concern is that the new cable entity would wield
too much
power over consumer prices, television programming and Internet content
distributed over
cable. "Any meaningful increase from the current levels of concentration of
ownership
among cable and satellite companies would raise significant concerns because
it would
place too much control in the hands of a single entity," said Preston
Padden, executive vice
president for government relations at Walt Disney Co. "
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Alec Klein and Christopher Stern]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7044-2001Sep10.html)

TELEPHONY

VERIZON RECORDS FIRST DROP IN PHONE LINES
Issue: Telephony
Ivan Seidenberg, president and co-chief executive of Verizon Communications
said
yesterday that the number of its telephone lines connected to homes and
businesses has
declined for the first time in the company's history, as customers cut back
on spending or
shift to wireless phones and high-speed Internet connections. "We've never
seen such a
precipitous drop" in demand, Seidenberg said in an interview with The
Washington Post.
Last year, Verizon, the nation's largest phone company projected annual
revenue growth of
6 percent to 8 percent in its traditional phone-line business -- which
excludes revenue from
phone directories, international service and wireless operations. Since
then, Verizon has
revised its growth estimate to about 2 percent. The company has shifted its
focus to laying
the groundwork for a future focused on the Internet, not on long-distance
voice services.
"Is the voice business of interest to us in the long term? Marginally,"
Seidenberg said.
More important, Verizon is looking to develop applications, content and
other services that
will fuel an appetite for high-capacity pipes to transmit that information,
he said.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Yuki Noguchi]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6700-2001Sep10.html)

--------------------------------------------------------------

Communications-related Headlines for 9/10/01

OWNERSHIP
AOL Time Warner Said to Be Pursuing AT&T's Cable Unit (NYT)
Court Weighs Easing Limits on Big Media (NYT)

INTERNET
Seniors Online: Few, but Fervent (Reuters)
Individuals, Companies Using ".org" Won't be Evicted, Task Force
Decides (SJM)
Kids, Academics Share Internet2 (WIRED)

WIRELESS
Intel to Ship Higher-Speed Wireless Tech (CNET)
Satellite Service Awaits FCC Approval to Offer Ad-Free Radio (USA)

OWNERSHIP

AOL TIME WARNER SAID TO BE PURSUING AT&T'S CABLE UNIT
Issue: Ownership
In an effort to become the nation's largest cable operator, AOL Time Warner
proposed late last week to merge its cable operations with AT&T's,
executives close to the negotiations said yesterday. AOL's proposal may have
been precipitated, in part, by an increasingly relaxed regulatory
environment in Washington. A deal between AOL and AT&T, however, would still
be expected to attract tough scrutiny. The combined company would have more
than 25 million subscribers, dwarfing its next largest competitor, Comcast,
which has 8.5 million subscribers. If AT&T were to agree to a transaction
with AOL, the deal would be a major blow to Microsoft, which wants to play a
bigger role in the cable business and is an investor in Comcast.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Andrew Ross Sorkin And Geraldine Fabrikant]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/10/business/media/10AOL.html)
(requires registration)

COURT WEIGHS EASING LIMITS ON BIG MEDIA
Issue: Ownership
A federal appeals court has signaled its willingness to strike down two
regulations that for decades have prevented the nation's biggest
broadcasters, cable companies and media conglomerates from expanding by
taking over local television stations. All three judges on a panel of the
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, were
troubled by what they called the failure of regulators to justify adequately
a rule that prevents a television network from owning stations that reach
more than 35 percent of the nation's households. The cases come as
administration officials have announced plans to relax or eliminate other
regulations that have also restricted the expansion of the largest media
companies. The F.C.C. has recently announced its intention to begin
proceedings to loosen or repeal the 26-year-old rule that has prevented a
company from owning a television station and a newspaper in the same market.
The losing of ownership regulations reflects the belief of
deregulation-minded policy makers that the rules stand in the way of a
convergence of broadcasting, print and the Internet. But some consumer
groups and Democratic lawmakers have expressed fears that weakening the
rules will give too much power to a few large media conglomerates and limit
the diversity of views on the airwaves.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Stephen Labaton]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/08/business/08TRUS.html)
(requires registration)

INTERNET

SENIORS ONLINE: FEW, BUT FERVENT
Issue: Internet
A survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project reveals only 15 percent
of Americans aged 65 and older are Internet savvy. But for those that are,
they are markedly fervent user: sixty-nine percent go online daily compared
to 56 percent for Americans overall. The survey showed that wired seniors
were more likely than their peers to be married, highly educated and
enjoying relatively high retirement incomes. While women outnumber men among
senior citizens, the online population is weighted to men at 60%. Once
online, 93 percent of seniors said they had used e-mail; 58 percent had
found hobby information; 55 percent had read the news; 53 percent had
searched for health and medical information; and 53 percent had browsed the
Internet "just for fun". The full report is available on
www.pewinternet.org.
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Staff Writer]
(http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=internetnews&StoryID=207812)

INDIVIDUALS, COMPANIES USING ".org" WON'T BE EVICTED, TASK FORCE DECIDES
Issue: Internet
A taskforce of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN) said Saturday that the group has no plans to restrict the use of the
suffix ".org" to nonprofit groups. ICANN had indicated last spring that
".org" might eventually be restricted to nonprofits. The task force has
since found that ".org" serves a role well beyond noncommercial
organizations, said Milton Mueller, co-chairman of the task force. While the
task force determined that marketing of the ".org" suffix should be targeted
at nonprofits, others wishing to use ".org" will not be turned away, Mueller
said.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Staff Writer]
(http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/svfront/056567.htm)
See Also:
GLOBAL INTERNET BODY FACES CONFLICTING POWER PLAYS
[SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Staff Writer]
(http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=internetnews&StoryID=2086310

KIDS, ACADEMICS SHARE INTERNET2
ISSUE: Broadband
Researcher John Mansfield of the University of Michigan hopes to use the
resource of Internet2 to bring his laboratory resources to the classrooms of
grade school children. One way to do that is to show them how a tile from
the Space Shuttle would look through the University's Scanning Electron
Microscope (SEM). The SEM can be controlled remotely through Internet2 --
providing universal access to schoolchildren around the country. Internet2,
a high-performance research and education network, has opened its previously
closed system to statewide education networks as part of its K20 initiative.
"The opportunity here is to bring in all of the education community into the
next-generation Internet, especially focusing on the innovators that can
help develop the next generation of content, applications and tools," said
Louis Fox, co-director of Internet2's K20 initiative and vice provost at the
University of Washington. "What the commodity Internet has been to
communication, Internet2 could be to collaboration," he said. The Internet2
backbone, named "Abilene" currently connects to state networks in Missouri,
Michigan, Rhode Island, Oregon, California, Oklahoma, Virginia, Georgia,
Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Indiana and Washington.
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Katie Dean]
(http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,45864,00.html)

WIRELESS

INTEL TO SHIP HIGHER-SPEED WIRELESS TECH
Issue: Wireless
Intel in November plans to ship new wireless networking products built upon
the 802.11a standard, successor to the currently popular 802.11b wireless
standard. 802.11a allows for data transfer rates nearly five times faster
than current technology will allow. At 54 megabits per seconds, the standard
provides enough network bandwidth to connect more computer users to the
network, Intel executives said. The fivefold speed increase will also allow
people to access Web sites faster and exchange bigger files, they said.
Analysts believe 802.11b products will remain the big seller for a few years
before 802.11a becomes popular. The two wireless standards are not
compatible, but the network-equipment makers are building hardware devices
that will allow both standards to coexist.
[SOURCE: CNET News.com, AUTHOR: Wylie Wong]
(http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-7093015.html)

SATELLITE SERVICE AWAITS FCC APPROVAL TO OFFER AD-FREE RADIO
Issue: Radio
XM Satellite Radio hopes to launch its commercial-free service in two cities
Wednesday, but the plans may be sidetracked if the Federal Communications
Commission doesn't approve the use of needed electronic equipment. XM
Satellite, based in Washington, D.C., needs FCC approval to use
''repeaters,'' which boost the satellite radio signal so it can be heard in
cars as they travel between tall buildings and in tunnels.
Telecommunications companies such as BellSouth and AT&T Wireless Services
have asked the FCC to deny XM Satellite's request. They argue that the
repeaters will splatter noise onto frequencies they use or plan to use for
wireless communications. In addition to the cost of the radio unit, which
ranges from $250 to $1,000, XM Satellite charges a $9.99 a month
subscription fee.
[SOURCE: USAToday, AUTHOR: Earle Eldridge]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20010910/3614894s.htm)

--------------------------------------------------------------

Communications-related Headlines for 9/7/01

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Report Counts Computers in Majority of U.S. Homes (NYT)

INTERNET
New Cable Standard May Triple Speeds (CNET)
FBI Denies Bias as U.S. Raid Shuts Arabic Web Sites (NYT)

POLICY
Pendulum Swings to Microsoft, but How Far? (NYT)
Official: Bush High-Tech Policy Coming Soon (CNN)

COPYRIGHT
Security Workers: Copyright Law Stifles (CNET)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

REPORT COUNTS COMPUTERS IN MAJORITY OF U.S. HOMES
Issue: Digital Divide
More than half of the households in the United States had at least one
computer last year, up from 42 percent in 1998, and more than 40 percent
were connected to the Internet. In addition, according to a Census Bureau
report released today, 65 percent of children ages 3 to 17 had access to a
computer at home in 2000, up from about 55 percent in 1998. But the survey
found significant discrepancies in computer ownership and Internet use along
age, racial and economic lines. Among households with incomes of $75,000 or
more, 88 percent had a computer, while in households with incomes below
$25,000, only 28 percent had a computer. Sixty-one 1 percent of white adults
said they owned a computer, while 37 percent of black adults and 35 percent
of Hispanic adults said they did.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: The New York Times Staff]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/07/technology/07COMP-CENSUS.html)
(requires registration)

INTERNET

NEW CABLE STANDARD MAY TRIPLE SPEEDS
Issue: Broadband
A new cable Internet standard for the DOCSIS protocol (Data Over Cable
Service Interface Specification) promises a significant increase in cable
bandwidth. DOCSIS 2.0, as the standard is to be called, particularly affects
upstream transmissions, according to CableLabs, the industry research group
that has developed the protocol. Currently, cable networks can deliver
speeds of 500kbps and 2mbps. However, cable modem customers are often
limited to 128kbps when sending data upstream. Uploading data at 128kbps is
sufficient for Web surfing, sending e-mail and other files, but critics
complain the upstream speed limits hamper their ability to send larger files
or take advantage of advanced Internet services. Under DOCSIS 2.0, cable
operators could allow consumers to send more data at greater speeds, a
requirement for high-end online video game players and necessary for new
services such as Internet-based phone calls, videoconferencing and other
future interactive applications.
[SOURCE: CNET News, AUTHOR: Corey Grice]
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-7079103.html)

FBI DENIES BIAS AS U.S. RAID SHUTS ARABIC WEB SITES
Issue: Internet
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is denying bias after an 80-strong U.S.
terrorism task force raided Texas-based, InfoCom Corporation, a host of
Arabic Web sites, including the Arab world's leading independent news
channel. The FBI denied any anti-Arab bias and said it was executing an
unspecified federal search warrant in conjunction with an ongoing two-year
investigation. The FBI declined to specify the target of the search warrant.
The raid resulted in a temporary shut-down of Web sites it hosts for about
500 customers, including that run by Al-Jazeera television and the newspaper
Al-Sharq, both based in the Gulf state of Qatar. Al-Jazeera is a major
regional news source for Arabic speakers, often called "the Arab CNN." "We
have nothing to hide. We are cooperating 110 percent with the FBI,"
InfoCom's lawyer Mark Enoch told reporters. InfoCom's customers are not
solely Arabic or Muslim. "They are across the board, from Dallas to
California to other places around the world," one employee stated.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Reuters Wire]
(http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-mideast-usa-internet.htm
l)

POLICY

PENDULUM SWINGS TO MICROSOFT, BUT HOW FAR?
Issue: Antitrust
The Bush administration, by adopting a measured, conservative approach in
the Microsoft antitrust case, clearly increased the chances that the two
sides would reach a settlement. The Justice Department made a crucial
concession in dropping the charge that it has been illegal for Microsoft to
bundle new software to its monopoly product - the industry-standard. It
appears that the Justice Department will no longer peruse a breakup of the
software giant, instead it will rely on court-ordered sanctions on
Microsoft's corporate behavior to increase competition in the software
business. Some industry analysts, however, question whether the Bush
administration, having decided against restructuring the software industry
by breaking up Microsoft, will have the determination to police Microsoft's
behavior aggressively.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Steve Lohr]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/07/technology/07ASSE.html)
(requires registration)
See Also:
REFORMING MICROSOFT
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: The New York Times Editorial Staff]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/07/opinion/07FRI1.html)
(requires registration)

OFFICIAL: BUSH HIGH-TECH POLICY COMING SOON
Issue: Policy
According to a senior administration official Wednesday, the Bush
administration will shortly reveal it views on a range of high-tech issues
ranging from junk e-mail to online privacy. Nancy Victory, who heads the
Commerce Department's National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA), said that the administration would probably favor a
light touch, encouraging the high-tech industry to develop voluntary
guidelines, rather than imposing regulations or pushing for new laws.
Victory also said the NTIA has been working with the FTC on privacy and
other issues.
[SOURCE: CNN News, AUTHOR: Reuters Wire]
(http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/industry/09/05/spam.reut/index.html)

COPYRIGHT

SECURITY WORKERS: COPYRIGHT LAW STIFLES
Issue: Copyright
The sweeping restrictions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
reached a new, and perhaps unintended, audience when two well-known computer
security experts pulled their own works form the Internet this week. Fred
Cohen, a well-known security consultant and professor of digital forensics
and Duo Song, a security expert at Arbor Networks, both pulled their works
from the Web because of the threatened lawsuit of Princeton computer-science
professor Edward Felten, and the arrest of Russian encryption expert Dmitry
Sklyarov. "When they started to arrest people and threaten researchers, I
decided the legal risk was not worth it," said Fred Cohen, who took his
evidence-gathering tool--dubbed Forensix--off his Web site earlier this
week. Dug Song pulled his own site down in protest as well. Last month,
fearing retribution, Dutch encryption expert Niels Ferguson refused to
publish his discovery that Intel's encryption scheme for Firewire
connections had a major flaw. While the DMCA probably does not directly
apply to much of the researchers' work, their greater concern is the
willingness of software makers and media companies to sue over any potential
threat. In 1999, the movie industry filed multiple lawsuits against the
creators of a program to decrypt DVD disks. Originally, the program had been
created to add DVD playback ability to the Linux operating system.
[SOURCE: CNET News, AUTHOR: Robert Lemos]
(http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-7079519.html)

--------------------------------------------------------------

Communications-related Headlines for 9/6/01

INTERNET
Gates Calls for a Cut in High-Speed Net Costs (WP)
Government Is Wary of Tracking Online Privacy (NYT)
IRS Accepts Payments on Web (WP)

JOURNALISM
Journal Newspapers to Stop Publishing on Mondays (WP)

INTERNET

GATES CALLS FOR A CUT IN HIGH-SPEED NET COSTS
Issue: Broadband
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates called for government policy makers to meet
with representatives of the cable and telephone industries to determine a
means to provide broadband services at $30/month, rather than the current
cost of approximately $50/month. In an interview Gates said that the high
costs of high-speed Internet access threatened to limit the adoption of the
next generation of powerful Internet services. Gates stated that the
broadband problem was particularly frustrating because it is the one piece
of physical infrastructure of computing that is limiting the breakthroughs
in new applications, video display technologies and computing speed and
power.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E01), AUTHOR: Jonathan Krim]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49024-2001Sep5.html)

GOVERNMENT IS WARY OF TRACKING ONLINE PRIVACY
Issue: Privacy
While privacy is a major concern of Internet users, Congress and the
administration have been slow to put in place regulations that would
restrict the ability of companies to monitor people's online activities.
There are at least 50 privacy related bills awaiting consideration in
Congress, but they have taken a back seat to more pressing considerations,
like the appropriations process underway in the Senate. The current
administration is also more hesitant that the Clinton administration to
peruse privacy regulations. Privacy advocates say despite government's
inaction on Internet privacy, the issue isn't going to just disappear. Marc
Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center suggests that the
current patchwork of privacy policies be replaced "a legal framework that
sets out how these technologies are used."
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: John Schwartz]
(http://www.nytimes.com/pages/business/index.html)
(requires registration)

IRS ACCEPTS PAYMENTS ON THE WEB
ISSUE: E-Government
Individuals as well as companies can now pay all federal taxes on a secure
IRS Web site. The initiative, to be announced today as operational, gives
all U.S. taxpayers the ability to use the Electronic Federal Tax Payment
System (EFTPS) at http://www.eftps.gov. The site has already collected $1.9
billion in taxes during the past year's use by businesses in a pilot
program. "Unfortunately [technology] can't make taxes disappear, but
EFTPS-Online can make taxes less painful to pay," said Deputy Treasury
Secretary Ken Dam. The site places the IRS ahead of many gov't agencies in
making services available to the public online. Promised benefits for
taxpayers include: confirmation of receipt of payment in the form of a
printable acknowledgement number; direct transfer of payment from a bank
account on a specified date; ability to review tax payment history and
status, up to 365 days for individuals and 120 days for businesses; and
advance scheduling of payments.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E06), AUTHOR: Curt Anderson]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48990-2001Sep5.html)

JOURNALISM

JOURNAL NEWSPAPERS TO STOP PUBLISHING ON MONDAYS
Issue: Newspapers
Journal Newspapers INC. announced that it will cut its regional publications
from six days a week to five. Starting next week, the company will not end
publishing on Mondays, publishing instead Tuesday through Friday with a
Sunday edition delivered on Saturday. The firm publishes six regional daily
newspapers in Arlington, Prince William, Montgomery and Prince George's
counties and Alexandria, VA. "It's primarily a financial situation," said
David Farmer, executive Editor of the Journals. "The Monday paper has not
been profitable since the economy turned down." The Journal dailies compete
with an number of weekly and daily newspapers in the area, including Gazette
Newspapers, published by the Washington Post Co. "They would be the first
daily newspaper I know of that doesn't publish on a Monday," said Larry
Grimes, president of WB Grimes & Co., a firm specializing in the media
industry.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E04), AUTHOR: Dana Hedgpeth]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48983-2001Sep5.html)

--------------------------------------------------------------

Communications-related Headlines for 9/5/01

MERGERS
Antitrust Regulators Unlikely to Block union, Experts Say (SJM)
Liberty Snaps Up Deutsche Telekom Cable Operations (WP)
AOL Time Warner Loses U.S.-Mandated Net Access Partner (WP)

INTERNATIONAL
Western TV May Be Nearer for Chinese (NYT)

EDTECH
Distance Learning Yet to Hit Home (WIRED)

MERGERS

ANTITRUST REGULATORS UNLIKELY TO BLOCK UNION, EXPERTS SAY
Issue: Merger
Antitrust experts say that regulators are unlikely to block the proposed
deal between Hewlett-Packard and Compaq, despite the fact that the new HP
would lead the world in sales of computers and printers. The size of the
$20.3 billion buyout practically guarantees the deal will be examined by
either the Department of Justice or the Federal Trade Commission. Herb
Hovenkamp, an antitrust professor at the University of Iowa says that if the
deal helps HP and Compaq to become more efficient PC makers, it could be
regarded as "pro-competitive." The key will be for executives at HP and
Compaq to demonstrate that the deal produces "offsetting efficiencies, like
a reduction in cost" in markets where the new company will enjoy a market
share greater than 25 percent, said Hovenkamp.
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Elise Ackerman]
(http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/hottopics/hp/hp090501b.htm)
(requires registration)

LIBERTY SNAPS UP DEUTSCHE TELEKOM CABLE OPERATIONS
Issue: Merger
Deutsche Telekom, Germany's incumbent telephone carrier, has announced plans
to sell off its six remaining cable TV companies to Liberty Media, a U.S.
investment group headed by John Malone. The sell-off was apparently
motivated by heavy debts on Deutsche's side. Deutsche Telekom had previously
announced that it intended to reduce its debt of $59 billion dollars by
$14.5 billion by the end of next year. The sale to Liberty Media will have
to have regulatory approval, particularly as unlike Deutsche Telekom,
Liberty Media would bring content for cable systems to the purchase. The
regulator usually takes around a month to decide on whether to allow a deal
or to recommend further investigation of up to three months. If approved by
antitrust regulators, the deal will turn Liberty Media into Europe's largest
cable TV operator, with more than 20 million customers.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Steve Gold]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/telecom/12288-1.html)

AOL TIME WARNER LOSES U.S.-MANDATED NET ACCESS PARTNER
Issue: Mergers
AOL Time Warner is in a bit of a jam , a stew, a pickle. (Hmmm... should
have eaten breakfast). AOLTW has lost one of its partners in high-speed
Internet service. The loss of High Speed Access Corp. leaves the media giant
in search of a new partner to satisfy the conditions imposed by the Federal
Trade Commission when approving its merger. Under those conditions, America
Online Inc. and Time Warner, as a combined company, were ordered to open its
cable network to at least three rival Internet service providers. AOLTW has
already reached agreements with EarthLink and Juno Online Services. In
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, High Speed indicated it
was having trouble raising capital to fund its operations, which it believed
would make it difficult to follow through with its AOL Time Warner deal.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Alec Klein]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/telecom/12299-1.html)

INTERNATIONAL

WESTERN TV MAY BE NEARER FOR CHINESE
Issue: International
AOL Time Warner and the News Corporation said yesterday that they had moved
closer to a long-sought goal of receiving permission from the Chinese
government to broadcast their television programs in China. In exchange for
their approval, Beijing officials want assurances that a Chinese- run
channel carrying government-approved English-language news broadcasts, as
well as Chinese cooking programs and Mandarin-language classes, will be
available to viewers in the United States. Several people close to the
discussions said that the recent round of talks represented a breakthrough
because of China's new willingness to invite more programming by foreign
companies.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Geraldine Fabrikant With Craig S. Smith]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/05/business/worldbusiness/05CHIN.html)
(requires registration)

EDTECH

DISTANCE LEARNING YET TO HIT HOME
Issue: EdTech
Companies that had set their sights on making distance learning a reality
have largely suffered for their vision. After many e-learning start-ups have
gone belly up, the hard lessons of the enterprise have settled in: "The
e-learning market has come into focus," said Andy Rosenfield, CEO of
UNext.com. "People understand that it's not easy to provide quality
education online. You can't build out the offerings of a great university
overnight." But where the startups have failed some have succeeded. The
University of Phoenix Online is the nation's largest private university
serving working professionals. Also thriving are DeVry and Renaissance
Learning, which both address real needs among the vocational and K-12
markets. The next step for many universities and e-learning ventures is to
bring the online material to living rooms. As technology and bandwidth
constraints change, the notion of distance education will continue to evolve
to include elements such as video teleconferencing. Over 90 percent of U.S.
higher education institutions will offer some form of e-learning by 2005,
IDC predicts, a media research firm.
[SOURCE: Wired News, AUTHOR: Kendra Mayfield]
(http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,45855,00.html)

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Communications-related Headlines for 9/4/01

INTERNET
Internet Replacing Libraries for Homework (Yahoo!)
U.N. Body Urges Stronger Rules on Cybersquatters (NYT)

COMPUTERS
Hewlett-Packard to Acquire Compaq in $25 Billion Deal (NYT)
Motorola Unveils New High-Speed Chip Technology (WP)

TELEVISION
As Cable Applies Pressure, Network TV Spouts Expletives (NYT)

INTERNET

INTERNET REPLACING LIBRARIES FOR HOMEWORK
Issue: EdTech
According to a study released Saturday, a majority of U.S. teenagers are
forsaking their local libraries for the ease of completing homework research
at home, online. According to the survey conducted by the Pew Internet and
American Life Project, seventy-one percent of middle school and high school
students with Internet access said they relied on the electronic technology
the most in completing a project. That compares to 24 percent who said they
relied on libraries the most. The Pew study found that of students aged
12-17, 73 percent, or 17 million children, have Internet access. Of the 754
students surveyed, 94 percent, said they use the Internet for school
research and 78 percent said the Internet helped them with their homework.
Additionally, 41 percent of online teens said they use e-mail and instant
messaging to contact teachers or classmates about homework. The Pew study
did warn of the increased ease for cheating. "Cutting and pasting text from
a Web site and into a (research) paper is effortless. So is wholesale
copying or purchasing finished essays or reports," the study said.
[SOURCE: Yahoo! News, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010901/ts/education_usa_dc_1.html)

U.N. BODY URGES STRONGER RULES ON CYBERSQUATTERS
Issue: Intellectual Property
The United Nations' intellectual property agency, the World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO), proposed broader rules Monday to protect
high-profile figures and international organizations from misuse of their
names on the Internet. A year-long study conducted by the WIPO showed that
countries, geographical names, ethnic groups and pharmaceutical substances
needed more protection from "cybersquatters" who register Web sites under
names to which they have no genuine claim. Currently, the WIPO administers a
dispute settlement system that only applies to sites using names that are
trade-marked and so have commercial value, or that are so well-known they
have common-law trademark rights.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Reuters]
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-tech-internet.html
(requires registration)

COMPUTERS

HEWLETT-PACKARD TO ACQUIRE COMPAQ IN $25 BILLION DEAL
Issue: Merger
Hewlett-Packard said late last night that it was acquiring Compaq Computer
for $25 billion in stock, as both companies face shrinking sales. The merger
of the two companies would produce a new company with total revenue slightly
less than IBM, the largest computer company. The merger of Compaq and
Hewlett-Packard could create a company that would compete with IBM and Sun
in servers even as it puts pressure on IBM, Dell and Gateway in the personal
computer business. Under the deal, one Compaq share will be exchanged for
0.6325 Hewlett- Packard share, providing a premium of around 18 percent.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Sorkin & Norris]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/04/technology/04DEAL.html)

MOTOROLA UNVEILS NEW HIGH-SPEED CHIP TECHNOLOGY
Issue: Technology
Motorola unveiled breakthrough technology on Tuesday that blends the
low-cost virtues of silicon computer chips with speed-of-light optics to
create faster chips. Motorola announced its research arm has found a way to
combine silicon, the basis of most computer chips, with gallium arsenide, an
alternative chip-making material, to create an optical chip that is durable,
cost-effective, and runs at higher speeds. University research groups and
semiconductor companies have been racing to develop a chip that combines the
two. "What we've fundamentally done is change the whole foundation of the
high-tech industry," Dennis Roberson, Motorola's chief technology officer,
told Reuters in an interview ahead of the announcement. "What we're now able
to do is to marry the best characteristics of silicon ... with the high
performance and optical characteristics of (new materials)," Roberson said.
The silicon-gallium arsenide wafer is one-tenth the cost of a pure gallium
arsenide wafer, but it performs just as fast, he said. Currently such chips
are used in devices such as DVD players. Consumers could see the prices of
some electronics equipment, like DVD players, fall as a result of the
breakthrough. If the chips were adapted for personal computers, the new chip
would allow manufacturers to better integrate communications functions.
[SOURCE: Wasington Post, AUTHOR: Yukari Iwatani, Reuters]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/telecom/12285-1.html)

TELEVISION

AS CABLE APPLIES PRESSURE, NETWORK TV SPOUTS EXPLETIVES
Issue: Television
As the competition grows between broadcast television and cable, which is
increasingly wooing away audiences with adult content, the major TV networks
are pushing the boundaries of primetime. While the networks still have to
appeal to the largest audiences possible and operate under the decency
standards enforced by the Federal Communications Commission, cable channels
that do not face similar restriction. In recent months, anything- goes cable
programs like "The Sopranos" and "Sex and the City" on HBO, have attracted
large audiences, pressuring broadcasters to follow suit. With the launch of
the fall season, networks likely continue to walk a very fine line, as they
attempt to lure viewers and advertisers with edgy content without trampling
on the standards of censors and the public.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jim Rutenberg]
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/02/business/media/02DIRT.html
(requires registration)

--------------------------------------------------------------

Communications-related Headlines for 8/31/01

INTERNET
Law Enforcers Report Spike in Cybercrime (USA)
Suit Says AOL Permits Insults (WP)
U.S. Enters Free-Web Battle in China (CNET)

SUIT SAYS AOL PERMITS INSULTS
Issue: Internet
Saad Noah, a Muslim former AOL subscriber from Illinois, has filed a class
action suit against America Online alleging the civil rights of some AOL
members are being violated by the company's failure to curb hate speech and
harassment in its Muslim chat rooms. Noah's suit claims that Muslims have
endured years of harassment despite numerous complaints to AOL. The
complaint also alleges that AOL failed to enforce its own membership service
agreement, which prohibits hate speech, and provide a safe environment for
Muslim members to interact online. While AOL's privacy policy prohibits the
company from speaking about specifics of the case, spokesman Andrew
Weinstein described the lawsuit as "totally without merit." He said that AOL
has a "zero tolerance" policy regarding hate speech in its 14,000 chat
rooms.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E03), AUTHOR:]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22150-2001Aug30.html)

U.S. ENTERS FREE-WEB BATTLE IN CHINA
Issue: Free Speach
The U.S. government will funnel money through the International Broadcasting
Bureau, the home of Voice of America, to be used to establish a means for
Chinese citizens to surf the Web anonymously. IBB announced Thursday that it
has already given some money to Safeweb, a California startup that allows
people to surf without the fear of prying eyes. "We are interested in
Safeweb and similar technology for enhancing our ability to overcome
Internet interference in China's closed media environment," said Joseph
O'Connell, a VOA spokesman. Safeweb has already received $1 million from the
CIA's venture capital fund.
[SOURCE: CNET News, AUTHOR: Reuters Wire]
(http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-7017370.html)

LAW ENFORCERS REPORT SPIKE IN CYBERCRIME HIGH-TECH CITIES SEE 'A MARKED
INCREASE'
Issue: Internet
U.S. law-enforcement officials say the instances of cybercrime cases are
rising in high-tech regions. In Austin, Texas, incidents of tech crime have
''skyrocketed,'' says Detective Paul Brick of the Austin Police Department.
Its cases are up 30%, to 84, for the first 8 months of this year from last
year. Where many companies shied away from pursuing criminal cases in the
past because they didn't want the negative publicity, now, more are
reporting incidents -- even if it means going to court.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E03), AUTHOR: Edward Iwata]
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20010831/3594670s.htm)

--------------------------------------------------------------

Communications-related Headlines for 8/30/01

INTERNET POLICY
Keep Digital Copyright Law Intact, Agency Says (WP)
Online Privacy Policies Decried (WP)

EDTECH
Eliminating the Digital Divide (WP)
Separating Students From Smut (Wired)

ANTITRUST
European Union Expands Antitrust Probe of Microsoft (NYT)

INNOVATION
Remembering a Tech Humanist (WP)

INTERNET POLICY

KEEP DIGITAL COPYRIGHT LAW INTACT, AGENCY SAYS
Issue: Copyright
The U.S. Copyright Office said yesterday that it sees no need for major
changes to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, but did recommend changes
to rules regarding personal copies of digital works. In the report, lawyers
said it is too early to assess whether the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
of 1998 is a success or a failure. Much of the report focuses on the "first
sale doctrine," a portion of traditional copyright law that allows people
who purchase items such as books, CDs and software to pass them on to a
family member or friend. Book publishers have said the first-sale privilege
shouldn't extend to electronic media because lending a copy of something
digital often means a duplicate is made. The copyright office refused to
take sides, although it said it saw no justification for modifying the law
at this time. "The fact that we do not recommend adopting a 'digital first
sale' provision at this time does not mean that the issues raised by
libraries are not potentially valid concerns," the report reads. The report
does recommend that the law be amended to allow users to make backup copies
of software they purchase, as well as to make archives of material
maintained in their computers.
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E01), AUTHOR: Ariana Eunjung Cha]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16744-2001Aug29.html)

ONLINE PRIVACY POLICIES DECRIED
Issue: Privacy
A new study released by the Center for Democracy and Technology finds that
consumers going online for financial services often face confusing,
inconvenient or inadequate means of controlling whether their personal data
can be shared with other firms. Mortgage brokers with Internet sites were
found to be particularly lax in giving online consumers some choice over the
use of the information. "The price of opening a checking account [or other
financial services] should not be that your personal information is traded,
sold or swapped," said Peter Swire, a banking-law specialist and visiting
professor at George Washington University's law school. Under a law that
took effect in July, financial services companies are required to notify
customers of their privacy policies and allow consumers to opt out of having
their personal information shared with other, non-affiliated firms, such as
telemarketing companies. In the most egregious example cited by the report,
mortgage lender Ameriwest Mortgage LLC of Bellevue, Wash., had a
privacy-policy page that offered to send potential customers the names of
other satisfied consumers. :-)
[SOURCE: Washington Post (E03), AUTHOR: Jonathan Krim]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16683-2001Aug29.html)

EDTECH

ELIMINATING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE: A LIVE CONVERSATION WITH GOVERNOR ANGUS KING
Issue: Digital Divide
Today, Washingtonpost.com is hosting a live, online discussion with the
governor of Maine, Angus King. Last year, Gov. King proposed using a state
budget surplus to place a laptop computer in the hands of every seventh
grader in the state of Maine. This year, Gov. King's plan was approved for
both seventh and eighth graders. In a recent Wired Radio News interview,
Gov. King outlined the details of the approval and the concerns the state
now faces in preparing for the program. The interview may be accessed at the
URL below at 1 p.m. EDT, Thursday, Aug. 30, 2001.
[SOURCE: Washington Post]
(http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/01/school_king0830.htm)
See Also:
GOV'S LAPTOP PLAN APPROVED
[SOURCE: Wired News Radio, AUTHOR: Katie Dean]
(http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,45866,00.html)

SEPARATING STUDENTS FROM SMUT
Issue: EdTech
The Children's Internet Protection Act requires that by Oct. 28, schools
must certify that they are either in compliance with Internet filtering
requirements, or are in the process of becoming compliant by evaluating
blocking software. Failure to comply places the schools at risk of losing
federal Ed tech money. According to the Consortium for School Networking, 75
percent of schools use filtering already. And while some believe the federal
mandate to be essential in protecting children, others believe that
individual school districts should make their own decisions about Internet
use. The staff at the Blue Valley School District in Overland Park, Kansas,
has focused their energy on teaching Internet literacy. "We do not currently
use any kinds of filtering or technology blocking system, which is kind of
unusual," said Bob Moore, the executive director of Information Technology
services. "In our opinion, a filtering system implies a guarantee. There is
not a filtering system that is foolproof."
[SOURCE: Wired News, AUTHOR: Katie Dean]
(http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,45804,00.html)

ANTITRUST

EUROPEAN UNION EXPANDS ANTITRUST PROBE OF MICROSOFT
Issue: Antitrust
European Union regulators widened their investigation into Microsoft on
Thursday, warning the U.S. software giant may be violating antitrust laws by
tying its Media Player into its Windows operating system. The European
Commission also alleged Microsoft may have used ``illegal practices'' to
extend dominance in personal computers into server markets. The EU is
concerned that by bundling its Media Player, which allows consumers to see
and hear audio and video files, into its dominant Windows operating systems,
Microsoft may be depriving computer makers and consumers of ``free choice''
over which brand of player they want to use ``as there are no ready
technical means to remove or uninstall'' it, the Commission alleged.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-EU-Microsoft.html)

INNOVATION

REMEMBERING A TECH HUMANIST
Issue: Innovation
Michael L. Dertouzos, who directed MIT's Laboratory for Computer Science
(LCS) for almost 30 years, spent most of his life striving to make
technology more accessible to the public. Dertouzos died of heart failure
Monday after battling a long illness at the age of 64. Under Dertouzos'
leadership, the LCS became one of the largest research labs at MIT and
currently hosts the North American division of the World Wide Web
Consortium. "If it hadn't been for Michael, there would not probably have
been a World Wide Web Consortium," said Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the
World Wide Web and the director of W3C. "He was a spring of enthusiasm,
capability, insight and experience, which drove a half-formed idea of W3C
into an international reality.... He will be dearly missed." He is survived
by his wife and two daughters.
[SOURCE: Wired New, AUTHOR: Julia Scheeres]
(http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,46433,00.html)

--------------------------------------------------------------

Communications-related Headlines for 8/29/01

INTERNET
One-Fourth Of '.Info' Addresses May Be Frauds - Study
Half A Billion People Online - Survey (WP)
AOL Ponders Market, and Policies, in China (WP)

BROADBAND
In Capitol, AT&T and Bells Fight to Control Web Access (NYT)

ANTITRUST
Secret Policeman (WP)

INTERNET

HALF A BILLION PEOPLE ONLINE - SURVEY
Issue: Internet
According to figures released by Nielsen/Netratings today, is approaching
half a billion people online worldwide. The survey notes an increase of 30
million people online since the first quarter of 2001, reaching a projected
459 million people globally. The firm claims it now measures 93 percent of
the online universe, after adding Argentina, India, South Africa and Israel
to its latest quarterly survey. The firm already measured 30 nations in
North America, the Middle East, the Asia-Pacific region and Latin America.
The U.S. and Canada together accounted for 40% of the world's online
population; down 1% from June 2001. Europe and the Middle East-Africa region
account for 27 percent of the world's Internet population; the Asia-Pacific
totals 22 percent and Latin America remains almost unchanged at 4 percent.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Kevin Featherly (Newsbytes)]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/media/12164-1.html)

ONE-FOURTH OF '.INFO' ADDRESSES MAY BE FRAUDS - STUDY
Issue: Internet
A study performed by University of Minnesota Professor Robert Connor
estimates that one-fourth of the 50,000 addresses registered thus far in the
nascent ".info" Internet domain may have been obtained fraudulently. His
study looked at a universe of 11,500 addresses purchased during the .info
"sunrise period," which ended on Monday. "Sunrise squatters are a serious
problem, probably affecting between 15 percent (and) 25 percent of Sunrise
registrations," Connor concluded in his report. "Unless these problems can
be thoroughly corrected, use of sunrise periods in future top level domain
names may be in doubt." In an effort to make it easier for trademark holders
to obtain the .info addresses that match their trademarked names, Afilias
set aside the first month of the new domain's operation as a sunrise period,
during which trademark holders were permitted to register their proprietary
names in .info. Shortly after making the database available to the public it
became obvious that some had misrepresented themselves as trademark holders
in order to snatch up the most attractive .info Internet addresses before
they became widely available.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: David McGuire, Newsbytes.com]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/netarch/12179-1.html)

AOL PONDERS MARKET, AND POLICIES, IN CHINA
Issue: Internet
In May, as AOL Time Warner Inc. prepared to unveil a joint venture it hoped
would open the Chinese market for AOL's Internet services, executives
circulated a list of sample media questions that might come up, like: What
would AOL do if the Chinese government demanded names, e-mails or other
records relating to political dissidents? The answer recommended in the
memo was vague. "It is our policy to abide by the laws of the countries in
which we offer services," it said. But human rights groups are trying to
prod AOL - and other U.S. companies - to commit to uphold basic freedoms and
fair labor practices when they do business in the People's Republic of
China, especially because congressional approval of permanent normal trade
relations has all but eliminated the threat of U.S. government sanctions on
Beijing.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Steven Mufson and John Pomfret]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/12180-1.html)

BROADBAND

IN CAPITOL, AT&T AND BELLS FIGHT TO CONTROL WEB ACCESS
Issue: Broadband
Capitol Hill is the site of a fierce battle between the country's regional
Bell telephone companies and the cable giant AT&T over how to best encourage
the deployment of high-speed Internet access into Americans' homes. The
Bells say they need to be unshackled from current regulations that force
them to open all portions of their local networks to competitors. Those
rules, they say, make it uneconomical for them to invest in new high-speed
fiber technologies that would make D.S.L. more reliable and more widely
available. On the other hand, cable companies - lead by AT&T - argue that
the local telephone companies should not be able to wriggle free of
regulations that the Bells themselves agreed to in the Telecommunications
Act of 1996. The two sides have launched full blown lobbying campaigns
around a House bill, sponsored by Billy Tauzin, (R-LA) and, John D. Dingell
(D-MI), that would give the Bells the protections and leeway they are
seeking to justify investments in D.S.L. "I think this is the most intense
lobbying battle I've seen in my career; there are jokes on television about
the commercials," said Representative Chris Cannon, a Utah Republican on the
Judiciary Committee who opposes the legislation.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Lizette Alvarez]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/29/technology/29NET.html)
(requires registration)

ANTITURST

SECRET POLICEMAN
Issue: Antitrust
Dale Hatfield claims that he has been busy in the six months since the
Federal Trade Commission asked him to monitor America Online's $112 billion
merger with Time Warner. Hatfield says that he has investigated aspects
relating to the merger, sometimes at the prompting of AOL Time Warner
critics and sometimes on his own initiative. But he's not particularly
forthcoming with the details of the work: "I'd prefer not to comment," he
says. No comments. No report. Not even a crumb to feed inquiring minds: Has
AOL Time Warner made its staff and files available for Hatfield's
inspection? "I'd care not to comment," he says. "I regard my role a little
like that of a judge. I don't think I should talk about my feelings about
how things are going." The choice of Hatfield, a former chief of the Federal
Communications Commission's Office of Engineering and Technology, was widely
considered a good choice by the companies and their critics. But Hatfield's
work has been mostly below the radar, save confidential reports he makes to
the FTC every 90 days. Andrew Schwartzman, president of the Media Access
Project - a nonprofit, public interest law firm - says he finds the lack of
transparency in Hatfield's progress unsettling but not surprising. In
contrast to the Federal Communications Commission's open regulatory
framework, Schwartzman likens the FTC to a district attorney's office, where
information is privileged. And the FTC isn't talking either: "The
law-enforcement action [related to the merger] is still ongoing," said an
FTC spokesman. "We won't be able to comment on his performance until he's
completed his business. That could be four or five years."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Alex Daniels]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/12173-1.html)

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