Kennard Expected For Head of FCC [see Kennard bio at
http://www.fcc.gov/ogc/kennard.html]
WashPost: Kennard Is Choice for FCC Chief
WSJ: Clinton Set To Nominate FCC Chairman
NYT: President Is Expected To Pick F.C.C. Head
America Online Hedges on Telemarketing Plan
WSJ: America Online, in Reversal, Won't Give User Phone Numbers
to Telemarketers
NYT: America Online Backs Off Plan To Give Out Phone Numbers
WashPost: AOL Cancels Plan For Telemarketing
Network Speeds Tempo of Downloading Songs
BellSouth Can Offer Long-Distance Service For South Carolina
Telcos Come Out Swinging Against Budget "Gimmick"
A Pileup On The Information Highway
*********************************************
Title: Kennard Is Choice for FCC Chief
Source: Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/ (G1)
Author: Mike Mills
Issue: Federal Communications Commission/Policymakers
Description: According to government sources, President Clinton plans to
nominate
FCC General Council William E. Kennard as the new chairman of the FCC.
Kennard, who has served as the lead counsel at the FCC for three years,
would be the first African American to sit as the chairman of the
Commission. The White House will also nominate Gloria Tristani, of the
New Mexico State Corporation Commission, for a seat on the commission.
Title: Clinton Set To Nominate FCC Chairman
Source: Wall Street Journal http://www.wsj.com/(A3)
Author: John Wilke
Issue: Federal Communications Commission/Policymakers
Description: President Clinton plans to name FCC General Counsel William
Kennard as chairman of the five-member Commission. President Clinton is also
expect to name New Mexico Corporation Commissioner Gloria Tristani and the
Justice Department's Michael Powell to the FCC. In May, the President
nominated House Commerce Committee Chief Economist Harold Furchtgott-Roth to
the Commission, but the Senate Commerce Committee has taken no action yet to
confirm the nomination.
Title: President Is Expected To Pick F.C.C. Head
Source: New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/(A19)
Issue: Federal Communications Commission/Policymakers
Description: President Clinton is close to nominating FCC General Counsel
William E. Kennard to replace outgoing Chairman Reed Hundt. Kathleen Wallman
was the Administration's first choice, but was thwarted by pressure from the
Senate to pick a rural representative for a commission seat. President
Clinton also appears close to naming Gloria Tristani of New Mexico and
Justice Department official Michael Powell for other open FCC seats.
Title: America Online, in Reversal, Won't Give User Phone Numbers to
Telemarketers
Source: Wall Street Journal http://www.wsj.com/(B6)
Author: Rebecca Quick
Issue: Online Services
Description: Pressured by customers and legal authorities, America Online
will not make subscribers phone numbers available to telemarketers. AOL
employees, however, will be making calls on behalf of marketers and some
customers are still not happy. "The call is still being made -- I could care
less who makes it," one Miami customer said. "The backbone of the issue is
that information collected for one purpose shouldn't be used for another
purpose," said Deirdre Mulligan of the Center for Democracy and Technology
http://www.cdt.org.
Title: America Online Backs Off Plan To Give Out Phone Numbers
Source: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/072597aol.html(C1)
Author: Seth Schissel
Issue: Online Services
Description: Less than 24 hours after plans became widely known, America
Online has abandoned decision to make customers phone numbers available to
telemarketers. "For consumer advocates, the case illustrates the need for
increased Government oversight of the buying and selling of the copious
consumer information gathered in the course of everyday commerce." Many
companies are already collecting credit card purchase information.
Title: AOL Cancels Plan For Telemarketing
Source: Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/ (G1)
Author: Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Issue: Online Services
Description: After protest from subscribers, privacy advocates,
government officials, and anyone else who had a something to get off
their chest, America Online Inc. decided that giving out members phone
numbers to telemarketers MIGHT not be a good idea. Instead, the
marketing geniuses at AOL will consider having employees call up
subscribers to sell products and services on behalf of its business
partners. Out of the frying pan...
Title: Network Speeds Tempo of Downloading Songs
Source: New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/library/cyber/week/072597athome.html(C5)
Author: Andrew Ross Sorkin
Issue: Internet Content/Copyright
Description: At Home Network -- which provides high-speed, high-capacity
access to the
Internet -- is expected to announce plans to make highest-quality audio
recordings available for quick download. Over a normal phone line, these
downloads would take an hour or more. Over At Home, it'll take ~5 minutes.
The music industry, however, is afraid the service could lead to more piracy.
Title: BellSouth Can Offer Long-Distance Service For South Carolina
Source: Wall Street Journal http://www.wsj.com/(B3)
Author: WSJ Staff Reporter
Issue: Telephone Regulation
Description: South Carolina regulators unanimously voted to allow local Baby
Bell BellSouth to provide long distance service in the state. BellSouth must
now seek approval of the Federal Communications Commission which has
rejected similar bids by SBC and Ameritech. [See similar story at
http://www.telecommunications.com/omaha/am/home]
Title: Telcos Come Out Swinging Against Budget "Gimmick"
Source: Telecom AM http://www.telecommunications.com/am/
Issue: Universal Service/Spectrum
Description: The United States Telephone Association (USTA) is criticizing
the recent budget proposal to borrow money from the universal service fund
to balance the budget. USTA's Roy Neel is "greatly concerned about the
proposal, because it would negatively impact America's rural and
hard-to-serve local telephone customers." Opponents to the budget plan say
that the universal service fund is not federal money and cannot be tampered
with.
Title: A Pileup On The Information Highway
Source: National Journal (p.1513)
Author: Graeme Browning
Issue: Internet
Description: Recent errors that caused confusion on the Internet raise
concerns that the global network will be able to handle the electronic
commerce of the many businesses that are flocking to it. The errors have
also raised concerns about Network Solutions, the company that runs the main
registry of Internet addresses. Daniel Weitzner of the Center for Democracy
and Technology http://www.cdt.org says, "If MCI's network keeps crashes on
you, you may decide to switch to AT&T. You don't have that option on the
Internet with respect to domain names. If you want to keep, say, www.IBM.com
running, the only company that can do that for you is Network Solutions. You
can tell them you're angry about their service, but you can't take your
business elsewhere."
*********
Happy Friday and we are outta here! Please keep those surveys coming. We've
rec'd over 170 already.