November 2002

OWNERSHIP
FCC Member To Hold Hearings On Media Ownership Rules

DIGITAL DIVIDE
The Payoff for Investing in Poor Countries
Argentina Bets On Cyberspace

INTERNET
Internet Forces Schools To Grapple With Speech, Copyright
Net Activism Offers Lessons For Ministers

OWNERSHIP

FCC MEMBER TO HOLD HEARINGS ON MEDIA OWNERSHIP RULES
Democratic FCC Commissioner Michael Copps has announced that, despite a lack
of support from FCC's Republican chairman, he will hold hearings on the
impact of relaxing media ownership rules. The FCC is trying to rewrite the
rules governing media ownership in cable, broadcasting and cross-ownership
of broadcast stations and newspapers to pass muster at the U.S. Court of
Appeals. The rules were intended to limit the reach of any one company both
nationwide and in individual markets in order to ensure that no one media
"voice" would dominate. But the courts have demanded that FCC justify its
limits with empirical evidence. Copps says that hearings will elicit
comments from the groups that may not otherwise be heard at the agency,
which is besieged daily by industry lobbyists.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Mark Wigfield]
(http://online.wsj.com/article_email/0,,BT_CO_20021121_004850,00.html)
(requires subscription)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

THE PAYOFF FOR INVESTING IN POOR COUNTRIES
"Multinationals can do plenty to help the world's poor," according to C.K.
Prahalad and Allen Hammond, "and in the process help themselves." The
authors claim that investment and entrepreneurial activity in developing
countries would let corporations to benefit from the large aggregate buying
power of poor communities, while also stimulating an era of intense
innovation and competition. They say that information technology and
communications infrastructures-especially wireless-could be an inexpensive
way to establish marketing and distribution channels in these communities.
And despite the perception that people in developing markets cannot use such
advanced technologies, the authors argue, "poor communities are ready to
adopt new technologies that improve their economic opportunities or their
quality of life." In fact, they urge multinationals to "deploy advanced
technologies at the bottom of the pyramid while, or even before, deploying
them in advanced countries."
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: C.K. Prahalad and Allen Hammond]
(http://hbsworkingknowledge.hbs.edu/pubitem.jhtml?id=3180&sid=0&pid=0&t=nonp
rofit)

ARGENTINA BETS ON CYBERSPACE
Despite the ongoing economic crisis, Argentina is continuing to see in an
increase in the number of users getting online and there is optimism about
the many entrepreneurial opportunities available. The country has seen an
increase of more than 14 percent of citizens online compared to last year.
"We have the opportunity to show that we have a lot of people with bright
ideas and entrepreneurial spirit," according to Dot.com entrepreneur Roberto
Cibrian. Argentines are using the Internet to bank online and some
Argentines living abroad visit local supermarket websites to buy food for
their impoverished relatives in Argentina. While more people are going
online, there is a continual effort to bridge the digital divide - only 5
percent of citizens outside the country's capital of Buenos Aires have
access to the Internet
[SOURCE: BBC News, AUTHOR: David Jamieson]
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2502669.stm)

INTERNET

INTERNET FORCES SCHOOLS TO GRAPPLE WITH SPEECH, COPYRIGHT ISSUES
As universities' computer network capacity become overrun by file-sharing
students, so too have schools' president's offices been deluged by
complaints from the recording industry. With an estimated 2.6 billion music
and video files shared illegally each month on college campuses, four
entertainment industry groups sent a joint letter to over 2,000 university
presidents last month urging them to crack down on copyright infringement.
The challenge for the schools lies in the fact that they hope to avoid a
monitoring role in the students' Internet use, especially at large state
institutions with tens of thousands of students. But as monitoring software
becomes more efficient and readily available, schools may be hard-pressed to
stay out of the copyright policing fray much longer.
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2002-11-25-schools-internet_x.htm)

NET ACTIVISM OFFERS LESSONS FOR MINISTERS
As political activists in the United Kingdom increasingly flock to the
Internet to organize protests and maintain contact with each other, the
British government is looking to this grassroots model for help in getting
citizens more engaged in the political process online. At a summit of
ministers, business leaders and net experts in London this week, officials
acknowledged that use of the Internet by political activists could provide
valuable lessons for the UK Government. "I am very interested in using the
advantage of the Internet for richer political engagement," Trade and
Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt told the conference.
[SOURCE: BBC News, AUTHOR: Jane Wakefield]
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2496363.stm)

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

POLICY
Let the Fun Begin
Wi-Fi Joins Broadband Access Debate

ACTIVISM
A Lens on the World

INTERNET
Free Web Research Link Closed Under Pressure from Pay Sites
Dyson Seeks to Amplify the Public's Voice in Internet Policy
A Library for Young Browsers

POLICY

LET THE FUN BEGIN
The final draft of a British communications bill published today will likely
appease industry, the government and the opposition alike. Members of
Parliament were cautious to balance the requests for deregulation from
industry and government, while ensuring that the needs of the consumer would
not be lost. The foreign ownership debate will likely dominate the bill's
ultimate passage, but perhaps the most significant act will be the creation
of Ofcom, the new regulator designed as a watchdog over the sprawling media
and communications sector. The challenge for Ofcom will be to ensure that
local stations avoid becoming quasi-national chains amid a near future in
which US giant Viacom could own the country's biggest commercial broadcaster
(ITV) and Rupert Murdoch could have control of four national newspapers, the
dominant pay TV platform in Sky and the second-largest commercial TV
station.
[SOURCE: Media Guardian, AUTHOR: Owen Gibson]
(http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,843938,00.html)

WI-FI JOINS BROADBAND ACCESS DEBATE
Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and George Allen (R-VA) plan to introduce a
bill to ensure that Wi-Fi options are seriously considered as a viable
method of broadband deployment. Entitled "The Jumpstart Broadband Act," the
bill asks the FCC to make more free-to-use spectrum available in bandwidths
strong enough to send signals across several miles at a time. The bill also
sets guidelines to prevent signal interference, which is currently a problem
with Wi-Fi networks. "This debate has reached an unproductive stalemate and
fails to consider that other technologies are available that can jump-start
consumer-driven investment and demand in broadband services," the senators
said in a letter to colleagues.
[SOURCE: CNET News, AUTHOR: Ben Charny]
(http://news.com.com/2100-1033-966667.html?tag=fd_top)

ACTIVISM

A LENS ON THE WORLD
Increasingly, activists and grassroots organizations all over the globe are
turning to video cameras to bring to light their struggles against
injustices. More than 150 such groups have received cameras, technical
training and distribution support from Witness, a nonprofit group founded by
musician Peter Gabriel in 1992. While he was on a world tour sponsored by
Amnesty International in 1988, Gabriel brought along a video camera; it
occurred to him "to arm the activists with cameras that they themselves
would operate" in order to document human rights abuses. More than 25
documentaries co-produced by Witness have been broadcast on television, used
in network news stories, shown at film festivals and meetings, streamed on
the Web and presented as evidence in federal courts, international tribunals
and the United Nations. "The point is not just to educate and inform people
about problems," says Gillian Caldwell, executive director of Witness, "but
to present solutions and to encourage governments to implement solutions."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ann Hornaday]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17688-2002Nov20.html)

INTERNET

FREE WEB RESEARCH LINK CLOSED UNDER PRESSURE FROM PAY SITES
The Department of Energy shut down it popular PubScience research site amid
corporate claims that it competed directly with similar commercial services.
DOE claims that removing the site, which cross-indexed and searched some two
million government reports and academic articles, will actually save the
federal government $200,000 a year. The move alarmed researchers, who worry
that similar government services might give way to private gatekeepers,
ceding control over access to information and research. Though the private
firms offer free search services now, critics claim that this may only be a
ploy to lure researchers into dependence on their product.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jonathan Krim]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17568-2002Nov20.html)

DYSON SEEKS TO AMPLIFY THE PUBLIC'S VOICE IN INTERNET POLICY
Esther Dyson, founding chair of ICANN, is working to counterbalance the
corporation's new policy of not having a publicly-elected board by
organizing a global constituency of informed Internet users to serve as the
public's voice. In order to have a meaningful voice in policy decisions, the
public must work from within ICANN rather than having elected board members
vote on policies a few times a year, Dyson said. "What you really need... is
to have them in the bowels [of the organization] rather than on the board,"
she said. Under the restructuring plan, ICANN would create an At-Large
Advisory Council (ALAC) to serve in lieu of direct public representatives on
the board. For ALAC to be effective, users would have to coalesce into
groups representing the five regions of the world as defined by ICANN.
Dyson is helping to forge these local and regional relationships.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: David McGuire]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14760-2002Nov20.html)

A LIBRARY FOR YOUNG BROWSERS
The International Children's Digital Library, the world's largest digital
library for children, opened its doors this week thanks to grants totaling
$4.4 million. The library opened up a pilot version of the site, containing
nearly 200 digitized books in 18 languages for children ages 3 to 13. Site
creators Allison Druin and her husband Benjamin Bederson, both with the
University of Maryland, plan to offer over 10,000 titles by 2007. The
library lets children hunt for books based on characteristics ranging from
cover color to how the book makes them feel to what kind of characters they
depict. One of its goals is to test novel ways of navigating the pages with
graphical rather than text cues, which Druin says makes the site more
accessible for readers aged 4-8.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, AUTHOR: Leslie Walker]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17546-2002Nov20.html)

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

DIGITAL DIVIDE=20
Nigerian Tech Minister Challenges African Countries on ICT Policy
Implementation
Online Use Booming, Says UN
Blair Pledges =A31 Billion for Broadband

INTERNET
Homeland Security Bill Raises Net Privacy Issues
Tech Companies Ask for Unfiltered Net

DIGITAL DIVIDE

NIGERIAN TECH MINISTER CHALLENGES AFRICAN COUNTRIES=20
ON ICT POLICY IMPLEMENTATION
At last week's African Technology Policy Studies Network Conference in
Abuja, Nigeria, Nigerian Science and Technology Minister Turner T. =
Isoun
called on all African governments to implement technology policies that =
help
achieve sustainable development and become part of the global economy. =
Isoun
recognized the challenge associated with the institutional and cultural
changes necessary to enact ICT policies. Nevertheless, he cited =
successful
models of implementation in India, Ghana and Mali, and their resulting
economic boosts, as inspiration for raising African nations to the next
level.
[SOURCE: AllAfrica.com, AUTHOR: Hassan Idris, Daily Trust]
(http://allafrica.com/stories/200211180091.html)

ONLINE USE BOOMING, SAYS UN
A new report shows that the number of people around the world using the
Internet is thriving, despite the current economic slowdown. The annual
E-Commerce and Development report conducted by the United Nations =
Conference
on Trade and Development also predicts there will be an estimated 655
million users online this year, compared to 500 million last year.
Developing countries continue to lag behind in conducting business over =
the
Internet, although the trade of goods and services could reach $2.3 =
billion
by the end of 2002 and nearly $3.9 billion next year. The United =
States,
with nearly 143 million users, continues to have the most people =
online,
while China has an estimated 56 million Internet users. Asia and Africa =
saw
the most significant increase in the number of users, with 44 and 43 =
percent
growth respectively in 2001.
[SOURCE: BBC News]
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2490131.stm)

BLAIR PLEDGES =A31 BILLION FOR BROADBAND
The UK government, on behalf of Prime Minister Tony Blair, has pledged =
more
than =A31 billion over the next four years for the development of =
broadband,
promising to establish a high-speed connection for every school, =
university
and hospital. The investment by the government, along with partnerships =
with
the telecommunications sector, will allow nearly 90 percent of the
population to have broadband - increasing access especially for rural
communities and towns. "Britain has the potential to become a =
technological
powerhouse," said Mr. Blair. "What we do with information technology =
and how
we use it will determine our success industrially and as a society for =
years
to come."
[SOURCE: BBC News]
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2481785.stm)

INTERNET

HOMELAND SECURITY BILL RAISES NET PRIVACY ISSUES
Buried deep within the already controversial Department of Homeland =
Security
bill are provisions that, if passed, could further erode Internet =
privacy.
The bill would combine several surveillance activities, such as airline
passenger screening, immigration databases and criminal financial
investigations, within the new agency's jurisdiction. "There are all =
these
different information-gathering programs, and presumably (the office) =
is
going to be in a position to sweep them into a pot and try to do =
something
with them, and that's a major privacy concern," said Alan Davidson, an
assistant director at the Center for Democracy and Technology. The =
measure's
backers on Capitol Hill note that it appoints a privacy officer to help
prevent abuses. The bill does not authorize the Pentagon's proposed
data-mining effort reported last week, which if developed would unify
government databases with commercial databases, including tracking
individual user's activities on the Internet.
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2002-11-18-homeland-securi=
ty-t
ech_x.htm)

TECH COMPANIES ASK FOR UNFILTERED NET=20
A coalition of technology companies, including Apple Computer and =
Microsoft,
delivered a warning to the FCC yesterday that cable companies might try =
to
act as a filter between consumers and Internet content. In an open =
letter
to the commission, members of the Coalition of Broadband Users and
Innovators stated that they "are unanimous in our agreement that the
government must ensure that transmission network operators do not =
encumber
relationships between their customers and destinations on the network." =
The
coalition added that the government must ensure Internet users =
"unfettered
ability to reach lawful content and services and to communicate and =
interact
with each other." Andrew Schwartzman of the Media Access Project, also =
a
coalition member, noted that cable service providers have already begun =
to
utilize user agreements that would allow them to favor certain content.
[SOURCE: CNET News, AUTHOR: Declan McCullagh]
(http://news.com.com/2100-1023-966307.html?tag=3Dfd_top)

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

PRIVACY
Watchdog Urges Bush to Kill Pentagon Data-Mine Plan

EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
Austin Leaders Look to Schools
Students Treat Laptops with TLC

DIGITAL DIVIDE
Rwanda Military Facility Becomes Technology Training Center

INTERNET
Congress Approves 'Dot-Kids' Measure

SPECTRUM
FCC to Let Wireless Carriers out of Auction
FCC to Refund Wireless Carriers Deposits

WI-FI
Growing Wi-Fi Services Cast Wide Net

PRIVACY

WATCHDOG URGES BUSH TO KILL PENTAGON DATA-MINE PLAN
The American Civil Liberties Union advised President Bush yesterday to
discontinue Pentagon research into data mining models geared toward
uncovering terrorist plots. "If the Pentagon has its way, every American...
will find themselves under the accusatory cyber-state of an all-powerful
national security apparatus," said Laura Murphy, director of the ACLU's
Washington national office. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
began work this month on a prototype "Total Information Awareness" system
that would use data mining to look for threatening patterns among everyday
transactions. The project is designed to break down barriers between
commercial and governmental databases in the US and abroad, a fact the ACLU
said could unnecessarily expose personally identifiable information such as
student report cards and mental-health histories. Katie Corrigan, an ACLU
legislative counsel, said that if Bush refuses to kill the plan now,
"Congress should step in quickly and pull the plug."
[SOURCE: Yahoo! News, AUTHOR: Jim Wolf, Reuters]
(http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/nm/20021115/tc_nm/tech_drag
net_dc)
See also:
YOU ARE A SUSPECT (Commentary)
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: William Safire]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/14/opinion/14SAFI.html)

EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY

STUDENTS TREAT LAPTOPS WITH TLC
Toting their laptops "in special black bags as carefully as businesspeople
on their way to an important meeting," the students of Maine's Tremont
Consolidated School recognize the value and importance of their pricey
learning tools, which have been distributed to them as part of the
state-wide laptop initiative. They also know that responsibility goes beyond
maintaining the computers -- the schools have implemented a no-nonsense
policy that lets students know if they abuse their laptop privileges,
they'll lose those privileges. Students currently must leave their computers
at school, but in some districts, they will be able to bring the laptops
home -- once they've demonstrated they can use them conscientiously. "I like
it," once student said of the program, "and I think it shows we have
responsibility." Added another student, "I'm excited to be able to take them
home -- the sooner, the better." Some educators also hope that the program
will spawn a new level of student interest in learning. "I think the kids
are the ones who are going to lead a lot of the innovation," said teacher
Max Crain. "I think they'll drive a lot of changes in the classroom."
[SOURCE: Wired.com, AUTHOR: Katie Dean]
(http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,56295,00.html)

AUSTIN LEADERS LOOK TO SCHOOLS
On a two-day visit to Austin, Texas, the mayor of Albany, NY got a
first-hand look at community partnerships that are helping Austin's schools
bridge the digital divide. Volunteers from the local business community have
formed the Austin Partners in Education program, which meets regularly
before work at 7:45am to tackle pressing technology issues in the local
schools. The partnership also helps students find IT-related internships in
the community, and even offers them a "pay-to-learn" program in which
students are paid to attend extracurricular math classes. "It truly takes a
collaborative effort to bring about systemic change in education," said John
Blazier, a local attorney who serves as chairman of the partnership.
"Industry comes with one set of needs and one set of resources. Education
comes with another. And it's in the interaction, which is not always
comfortable, of that dynamic that we get a pragmatic and more meaningful
approach to education."
[SOURCE: Albany Times Union, AUTHOR: Kenneth Aaron]
(http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=72632)

DIGITAL DIVIDE

RWANDA MILITARY FACILITY BECOMES TECHNOLOGY TRAINING CENTER
Mark Malloch Brown, Administrator of the United Nations Development Program
(UNDP), this week visited Rwanda's Kigali Institute of Science and
Technology (KIST). Formerly a Rwandan military barracks, the facility has
been converted into Rwanda's premiere technical learning institution. With
many of its technology experts killed during the 1994 genocide, Rwanda
partnered with the UNDP in 1997 to create the institute and train new
educators. Today, KIST educates over 3,000 full-time and part-time students
learning an array of technical skills, who then bring back their new skills
to their home villages. KIST has also launched the Center for Innovations
and Technology Transfer, which researches environmentally-friendly
technologies for rural use such as solar power water heaters and
high-efficiency bread ovens. Malloch Brown hailed the institute's success,
and is interested in finding ways of replicating the model in rural
communities.
[SOURCE: AllAfrica.com, AUTHOR: UNDP]
(http://allafrica.com/stories/200211140487.html)

INTERNET

CONGRESS APPROVES 'DOT-KIDS' MEASURE
Congress today passed the Dot-Kids Implementation and Efficiency Act, which
creates a dot-kids domain within America's dot-us addressing space. Bill
sponsor Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) called the measure "a tool for parents,"
adding that "[Congress is] not censoring anything. We're just going to try
to provide a domain that's safe for children." Web sites within the kids.us
domain cannot post hyperlinks to locations outside of the kids.us domain.
The bill also prohibits chat and instant messaging features, except where a
site operator can guarantee that such features adhere to kid-friendly
requirements. NeuStar, Inc., administrator of the dot-us domain, will
contract to operate dot-kids.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, AUTHOR: David McGuire]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58610-2002Nov15.html)

SPECTRUM

FCC TO LET WIRELESS CARRIERS OUT OF AUCTION
The FCC said it would return to Verizon Wireless and other mobile telephone
carriers the $16 billion they had bid for contested wireless licenses
without penalty, eliminating a massive financial burden on the telecom
industry. The FCC accepted down payments from the carriers in January 2001
following the bankruptcy of NextWave Telecom Inc., and since then the
licenses have been mired in legal battles over whether the Commission could
strip NextWave of its licenses solely due to non-payment. The companies have
45 days to withdraw from the auction altogether, though they are not
precluded from future participation.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jeremy Pelofsky]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56363-2002Nov14.html)

see also:

FCC TO REFUND WIRELESS CARRIERS DEPOSITS
The Federal Communications Commission ruled this week to give back more than
$490 million collected for deposits from wireless carriers. Verizon
Wireless, Cingular Wireless and VoiceStrem Wireless had collectively offered
$16 billion (including the $490 million deposit) to the FCC as part of a
bidding process for spectrum licenses, but now the FCC says they will not
have to pay it. A representative of wireless carriers, the Cellular
Telecommunications and Internet Association, said the refunded money can now
be used to improve services for mobile users and create more jobs in the
communications industry. "Although the commission cannot cure the capital
crunch, it can remove the cloud of uncertainty that has followed" the
auction winners, FCC chairman Michael K. Powell said in a statement.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: The Associated Press]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/15/technology/15PHON.html)

WI-FI

GROWING WI-FI SERVICES CAST WIDE NET
The popularity of wireless Internet access is increasing so quickly that
businesses like coffee shops and restaurants are now establishing
partnerships telecommunications companies to provide wireless to their
customers. The technology, commonly referred to as Wi-Fi, or Wireless
Fidelty, is becoming so widespread that research firm Gartner Group says
that consumers and businesses are expected to spend $1.7 billion for Wi-Fi
equipment. Wi-Fi connections are established by sending Internet signals
through the air between low-cost receivers that can be installed easily in
laptops and PDAs. According to Gartner, there are currently around 1200
public "hot spots" worldwide, where users with Wi-Fi receivers can pick up
Internet access for free. Gartner estimates that 89,000 public Wi-Fi hot
spots will be available to 99 million Wi-Fi users worldwide by 2006.
[SOURCE: USA Today, AUTHOR: Michelle Kessler]
(http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2002-11-13-wi-fi-technolo
gy_x.htm)

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