Telephony
TelecomAM: AT&T Adopts Quick-Entry Local Strategy In $11.3 Billion
Bid For Teleport
TelecomAM: The Spin Doctor Is In: BOCs React To AT&T-Teleport Merger
TelecomAM: Appeals Court Questions SBC Arguments for Entering Long
Distance in Okla.
NYT: From a Supplier of Gas Comes a Digital Pipeline
Television
WSJ: TCI Set-Top-Box Pacts Pit Microsoft Against Sun
NYT: TCI Seeks Variety in Software And Suppliers for TV Boxes
FCC: Biennial Review of Cable Services Bureau Rules
FCC: DTV in the Desert
WP: A Data Broadcasting Future?
WP: Europeans Stay Tuned To Teletext
Jobs
WP: U.S. to Train Workers for Tech Jobs
NTIA: Telecommunications Policy Internship Opportunities in 1998
Privacy
NYT: It Isn't Just Big Brother Who Is Watching
WP: It Isn't Just Big Brother Who Is Watching
Publishing
WSJ: Sale of Black Newspaper Chain Raises Thorny Issues
WSJ: Primedia to Acquire Magazine, Book Area of McClatchy Unit
** Telephony **
Title: AT&T Adopts Quick-Entry Local Strategy In $11.3 Billion Bid For Teleport
Source: Telecom AM---jan. 12, 1998
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Merger
Description: AT&T would gain immediate access to 66 local markets, obtain
considerable foundation for rapid expansion and enhance partnership with 3
big cable companies if it wins approval of an $11.3 billion acquisition of
Teleport Comm. Group. The all-stock deal was hailed by rating agencies and
Wall St. analysts, who are watching AT&T as new Chairman C. Michael
Armstrong establishes his regime. Explaining the deal to analysts, Armstrong
highlighted growth and competitive advantages: "I think the underlying
principle of this transaction is that AT&T is investing in growth."
Title: The Spin Doctor Is In: BOCs React To AT&T-Teleport Merger
Source: Telecom AM---jan. 12, 1998
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Merger
Description: The Jan. 8 AT&T/Teleport merger drew comment from the Bell
community, who sought to put their own spin on the event. Bell Atlantic said
AT&T's agreement to acquire Teleport "proves that local markets are open to
any competitor that wants to enter," despite AT&T's claims otherwise.
BellSouth cited the merger as evidence it, too, should be allowed to offer
long distance services. The company said, "As BellSouth commented in its
opposition to
the Worldcom/MCI merger, approval of such consolidation should be
conditioned on Bell company entry into the long distance market...BellSouth
will also file in opposition to AT&T's acquisition of Teleport for the same
reason."
Title: Appeals Court Questions SBC Arguments for Entering Long Distance in
Okla.
Source: Telecom AM---jan. 12, 1998
http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Long Distance
Description: A panel of 3 federal judges indicated their misgivings about
key parts of SBC's argument for reversing an FCC order that denied the
company's entry into long distance in Okla. At issue was dispute between SBC
and AT&T as to when a Bell company can enter long distance under Telecom Act
"Track B" provision, which takes into consideration situations where RHCs
don't have required competition because no competitors have entered the
market. The FCC has interpreted Track B to apply only in rare situations
where no competitors have even sought entry. SBC, however, applies Track
B in more common situations where competitors may have sought entry but none
actually has gone into operation.
Title: From a Supplier of Gas Comes a Digital Pipeline
Source: New York Times (D10)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/011298optics.html
Author: Seth Schiesel
Issue: Infrastructure
Description: Last week, the Williams Companies announced their return to the
national communications business with an 11,000-mile fiber optic network and
$1 billion in contracts. In an effort to expand beyond their status as the
country's largest operator of natural gas pipelines, Williams is bidding to
become the nation's main wholesale provider of high-speed communications
services. They plan to capitalize on the "practically insatiably appetite"
for advanced networks that carry video, voice and data traffic.
** Television **
Title: TCI Set-Top-Box Pacts Pit Microsoft Against Sun
Source: Wall Street Journal (A3)
http://wsj.com/
Author: David Bank & Leslie Cauley
Issue: Cable/Set-top boxes
Description: TCI has completed separate agreements with Microsoft and Sun
that will launch a race between the two computer industry leaders to develop
an array of money-making services for interactive television. The deals also
include provisions for them to potentially finance many of TCI's costs
for deploying the millions of new set-top boxes. TCI selected Microsoft to
supply at least five million units of its Windows CE operating system. The
cable giant said they would also license Sun's PersonalJava software as
another way for software programmers to create applications for the new
devices. The digital set-top boxes are expected to be available late this
year or early next year.
Title: TCI Seeks Variety in Software And Suppliers for TV Boxes
Source: New York Times (D1,D13)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/011298tci.html and
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/011198microsoft.html
Author: John Markoff with Geraldine Fabrikant
Issue: Cable/Set-top boxes
Description: This past weekend, Tele-Communications Inc. announced deals
made with Sun Microsystems Inc. and the Microsoft Corporation. Sun will
license its Java programming language to deliver programming content to
cable viewers. And Microsoft will license a consumer version of its Windows
operating system to control a future generation of set-top boxes that TCI
plans to begin distributing in 1999. These two announcements are being
viewed as the outcome of an ambitious strategic plan by John Malone, TCI's
chairman and chief executive, to hold Microsoft's current power in check
while simultaneously fueling the growth of the cable industry. By using
Sun's Java programming as a counterweight to Microsoft's Windows operating
system, Malone is attempting to regulate Microsoft to the same status as
TCI's other vendors.
Title: Biennial Review of Cable Services Bureau Rules
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/OGC/Public_Notices/1998/da980031.html
Issue: Cable
Description: The Office of General Counsel and the Cable Services Bureau
will hold a public forum on Friday, January 30, 1998, from 10:00 a.m. until
11:00 a.m., to receive ideas regarding Commission regulations administered
by the Cable Services Bureau that are potential candidates for repeal or
modification. This review is being undertaken in conduction with the first
biennial review of Commission regulations pursuant to Section 11 of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended. The public is invited to attend and
participate in the discussion. Specifically, the forum will focus on the
following topics: 1) deregulation or streamlining of substantive rules; 2)
deregulation or streamlining of technical rules; and 3) streamlining of
processes, forms, and record-keeping requirements relating to cable companies.
Title: DTV in the Desert
Source: FCC
http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/Ness/spsn801.html
Author: Commissioner Susan Ness
Issue: Digital TV
Description: Commissioner Susan Ness's 1/8/98 Remarks at the "DTV in the
Desert" Symposium at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. "For ten or
more years, you have been hearing about, talking about, anticipating, or
working on advanced television. First we called it HDTV and then DTV, but
all along the goal has been to create an entirely new viewing experience.
1998 is the key year. After all the work in the labs, in the standards
committees, on the test beds, etc., this is the year DTV becomes a
commercial reality. It's not a mirage in the desert. This is the year
broadcasters will be busy building their digital stations and devising their
programming strategies. This is the year manufacturers will be building and
delivering the necessary equipment to do the job. And this is the year
retailers will seek to educate the public about the value of digital
television -- and to persuade them to part with their hard-earned dollars to
acquire this exciting new technology."
Title: A Data Broadcasting Future?
Source: Washington Post (F15,F18)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-01/12/024l-011298-idx.html
Author: Paul Farhi
Issue: Information Technology
Description: As TV stations around the country make the move to digital
broadcasting, not only will they be able to provide the consumer with
high-definition TV shows, but they will be able to transmit data to
computers as well. This ability will enable digital broadcasters to solve
one of the major problems Internet users are facing today: bandwidth
constriction. Where phone lines are unable to handle the transmission of
large streams of data, TV transmitters will be equipped to blast these bits
of information into space where computers can capture this stream and the
user can store as much as his/her hard drive can handle. This question is where
companies involved in a technology called data broadcasting plan to step in.
Companies, like Datacast in Reston, VA, are working to develop computer
antenna, plus a bit of software and a receiver chip, that will enable
computers to receive digital broadcasts. Datacast estimates that a retrofit
will cost around $100 per computer. Stuart Beck, president of Granits, a New
York company that hopes to use Datacast service on its 11 stations in the
future, said, "I think that the thin straw of digital information moving
over [phone]wires will become a rushing river of information that can be
passed wirelessly. That is an enormous opportunity for purveyors of
entertainment and conventional data."
Title: Europeans Stay Tuned To Teletext
Source: Washington Post (F15,F20)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-01/12/025l-011298-idx.html
Author: John Burgess
Issue: Digital Television
Description: Teletext, technology that employs an electronic data conduit
called the "vertical blanking interval" to add graphics and text to signals
from any TV station, has been available in Europe for the past 20 years and
has turned into a standard, free service. This technology has been used
almost exclusively in the U.S. to send closed captions to people with
hearing disabilities. Europeans on the other hand use this service for
everything from finding out what is on television, to the weather forecast,
to the latest soccer scores, to checking out vacation cruise packages, to
keeping up-to-date on stock quotes. Basically, think of each page of text as
a mini-channel. You may ask yourself, why don't we have this service in the
U.S.? It was briefly tried in the 1970's and early 80's, but broadcasters
feared that they would be competing against themselves because anyone who
was surfing Teletext would not be watching their shows. In Europe, one of
the major complaints teletext companies are now struggling with is the lack
of interactivity the technology currently offers. But British services and
others are now looking towards the future of digital TV, with hopes of
offering their users better interactivity, sharper images and pages with
photographs. And best of all, it is all offered without a monthly fee.
** Jobs **
Title: U.S. to Train Workers for Tech Jobs
Source: Washington Post (A1,A7)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-01/12/075l-011298-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Jobs
Description: The Clinton Administration plans to announce today a broad
federal effort to assist in the training of more computer programmers. The
administration's initiatives will include millions of grant dollars to fund
educational programs, a campaign aimed at glamorizing computer-related jobs
and the creation of a nationwide job bank on the Internet. This move is made
in response to concerns voiced by economists and business leaders that
companies in the U.S. are facing a critical shortage of skilled technology
workers. A recent survey, conducted by Virginia Tech, estimates that 346,000
computer programmer and systems analyst jobs in the U.S. are vacant at
companies that have more than 100 employees. "The shortage is a fundamental
threat to the economic growth of the United States," said Harris N. Miller,
president of the Information Technology Association of America. "It's not
just hurting the ability of classic computer companies to grow. It's hurting
the ability of the entire economy to grow through the productivity increases
you get if your can install the latest technology products." The formal
announcement will take place today at a meeting of government and industry
leaders in Berkeley, CA.
Title: Telecommunications Policy Internship Opportunities in 1998
Source: NTIA
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/opadhome/nterns98.htm
Issue: Jobs
Description: The Office of Policy Analysis and Development (OPAD) is the
domestic policy division of the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA). NTIA is an agency within the U.S. Department of
Commerce which serves as the President's principal adviser on domestic and
international telecommunications policy. NTIA is also responsible for
managing federal spectrum use. OPAD often accepts volunteer (unpaid) student
interns to assist the professional staff. Interns are welcome for either a
semester or summer long duration. Interested parties should contact, Robert
Krinsky by e-mail at rkrinsky( at )ntia.doc.gov, telephone: (202) 482-1880 or via
U.S. Mail at NTIA/OPAD, U.S. Department of Commerce, HCHB, Room 4725, 14th
St. & Constitution Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20030.
** Privacy **
Title: It Isn't Just Big Brother Who Is Watching
Source: New York Times (D5)
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/011298page.html
Author: Bill Dedman
Issue: Privacy
Description: As an increasing number of people begin to publish personal web
pages, more employers have started to make employee-judgements based on this
information placed online. Some companies just request that employees not
include references or provide links to their place of work. While others
have disciplined or dismissed employees for the content on their Web pages,
even though the pages are maintained with the employee's own computer, time
and money. Experts in employment law say that the dismissals are legal.
Almost every American is an "at will" employee, this means "you can be fired
for a good reason, a bad reason or no reason at all," said Mayer G. Freed, a
professor of law at Northwestern Univ. Although they may not break new legal
ground, the Web page cases do represent a cultural clash that is beginning
to occur between "long-standing, unwritten standards of corporate propriety
and the new perspective of Web-savvy employees -- the kind of workers that
companies are clamoring for." Linnea B. McCord, a professor of business law
at Pepperdine Univ., sees these cases as an "interesting dilemma" saying,
"Tampering in people's privacy goes pretty far and gives the employer a lot
of power. But if you can be fired for bad judgment for sitting in a public
place in your underwear, you can be fired for sitting in your underwear on
the Internet."
Title: It Isn't Just Big Brother Who Is Watching
Source: Washington Post (A7)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1998-01/12/051l-011298-idx.html
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Privacy
Description: When Timothy McVeigh [no, not that one], a sailor in the Navy,
created a "user
profile" on America Online, he did not think that using the word "gay" to
describe his marital status would violate the Clinton Administration's
"don't ask, don't tell" policy for homosexuals in the military. To insure
this he said he was careful not to use his full name or list his occupation.
But last week, the Navy's deputy personnel chief ordered that McVeigh be
dismissed from service for violating the policy. This decision was based on
information provided by a naval investigator who testified that he had
obtained McVeigh's identity by placing a phone call to AOL. Privacy
advocates are contending that AOL and the Navy may have violated federal
law. "People are given an assurance that when they use AOL, they are doing
it with a pretty strong sense of anonymity," said David L. Sobel, the legal
counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center. "This case raises
serious questions about AOL's protection of subscriber privacy." Wendy
Goldberg, an AOL spokesperson, would not comment on the case other than
saying that the company "saw nothing in the transcript [of the discharge
hearing] to suggest that we gave out private member information. Our policy
regarding the release of personal information is very clear. We don't
release information unless we are presented with a court order, a search
warrant or a subpoena. That policy is very clear to our employees."
** Publishing **
Title: Sale of Black Newspaper Chain Raises Thorny Issues
Source: Wall Street Journal (B1)
http://wsj.com/
Author: Nichole M. Christian
Issue: Newspapers
Description: Sengstacke Enterprises, America's largest black newspaper
chain, is searching for a buyer. However there's a rising debate about
whether a nonblack owner can nurture the chain's distinctive place in
journalism. Potential buyers include John Johnson, founder of Ebony
magazine; Don H. Barden, head of Barden Cos., one of the nation's top
black-owned industrial companies; and Wayne McCoy, a Chicago corporate
attorney. Mr. Barden is the only one interested in buying one or all of the
papers. African-American publisher Charles Kelly commented on the chain's
importance and said, "These papers...have to remain in the hands of someone
within the same ethnicity, because we've seen from history that is we're not
around to record our stories, they will either be manipulated or ignored."
Title: Primedia to Acquire Magazine, Book Area of McClatchy Unit
Source: Wall Street Journal (B10)
http://wsj.com/
Issue: Merger
Description: Primedia agreed to acquire the magazines and book publishing
businesses of McClatchy Newspaper Inc.'s Cowles Media Co., for $175 million
and $25 million in assumed debt. Primedia will acquire 25 enthusiast titles,
11 technical and trade publications and 15 trade shows in the transaction.
William F. Reilly, Primedia's chairman and CEO, said, "It is rare that a
magazine group becomes available that fits as perfectly as Cowles does
within our magazine group." With the acquisition, Primedia will own 168
magazine titles.
*********
Look for updates this week on universal service and
the Presidential Advisory Committee on Digital TV (meeting this Friday)