Telecom/IT Policy Highlights
June 2002
Microsoft Word version / June, 2002 TiPH (426kB)
Adobe PDF version / June, 2002 TiPH (137kB)
Contents:
Overview
Legislative Activities
Policy / Regulatory Activities
Legal Activities
Other Activities and Items of Interest
Newsletter Info
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Overview
In June the House of Representatives passed an appropriations bill for the National Science Foundation that includes increases in funding of 15% each year for the next three years. $5.5 billion was approved for 2003. Major funding areas include information services and networking, nanotechnology and math and science education.
Broadband was a major focus this month, with two major policy proposals coming forward. The first was a 54-page report issued by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) titled Broadband: A 21st Century Technology and Productivity Strategy. In it Sen. Lieberman outlines strategies for spurring broadband deployment which include new FCC guidelines, tax credits and increased R&D. On June 5 he introduced Senate bill 2582, the National Broadband Strategy Act, which incorporates these approaches. On June 13 President George W. Bush released his technology agenda, Promoting Innovation and Competitiveness which includes his suggested policies to promote broadband deployment. Both of these approaches have been criticized by groups such as the Center for Digital Democracy as relying to heavily on businesses and therefore shutting the public out of the new networks.
The debate over the auctioning of the 700 MHz spectrum was temporarily resolved with President Bush signing HR 4560, the Auction Reform Act of 2002, the same day that the auctions were supposed to take place. The bill delays the auctions indefinitely. It was passed by the Senate a day earlier. This was a victory for major wireless service providers who were concerned with rural providers gaining control over that portion of the spectrum.
There were major developments regarding the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the body that controls the Internet’s domain names and IP addresses. Amid calls for Congressional hearings and criticisms on many fronts, including internationally, ICANN’s board of directors made a controversial vote on June 28 to do away with the existing election mechanisms which allowed Internet users to vote for some of the board members. The vote was unanimous. This was in accordance with suggestions by ICANN’s president Stuart Lynn to achieve user representation through government and organizational representatives instead of Internet user-based elections. The international, non-profit corporation has been struggling for legitimacy since its creation in 1998.
Also notable was the passage, by a margin of 413-8, of the Child Obscenity and Pornography Prevention Act of 2002 by the House of Representatives. This bill bans pornographic images of children that are computer generated. The legislation was a response to a recent Supreme Court decision overturning the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996, saying it was too restrictive.
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Legislative Activities
Broadband Legislation
6/5/02 – Sen. Lieberman Introduces Broadband Bill S 2582, The National Broadband Strategy Act, was introduced by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT). It is aimed at stimulating deployment of broadband Internet services. It includes efforts in R&D, tax credits and new FCC guidelines. An accompanying report, “Broadband: A 21st Century Technology and Productivity Strategy” was released by his office last month. [Source: Lieberman Office] http://www.senate.gov/~lieberman/press/white_paper/broadband.pdfChild Pornography
6/25/02 – House Passes Bill Banning Fake Images HR 4623 was passed by a 413-8 margin in the House of Representatives. The Child Obscenity and Pornography Prevention Act of 2002 bans images of children that are computer generated. The bill was a response to a recent Supreme Court decision overturning the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996. [Source: Yahoo News]E-Government
6/28/02 – Senate Passes E-Government Legislation S 803, sponsored by Senator Joseph Lieberman, was passed by the Senate. The bill established an electronic government office within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and promotes the use of Internet-based service delivery methods for the Federal government. [Source: Library of Congress]Homeland Security Criticized
6/27/02 – President’s Proposal for Homeland Security Said to Falter on Cyber Security There has been criticism of President Bush’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposal. Some legislators have raised concerns, as have industry groups. Concerns have been raised that not enough resources will be devoted to research and development for cyber security and other IT areas and that the federal computer security division will be relocated to the DHS. [Source: House Science Committee]Homeland Security Bill Passed
6/26/02 – Homeland Security Information Sharing Act Passes HR 4598 passed the House of Representatives by an almost unanimous margin. It is designed to increase the information shared between local, state and federal law enforcement entities. [Source: Library of Congress]ICANN Oversight
6/11/02 – Senator Looks for More U.S. Control of ICANN Montana Republican Conrad Burns says he will introduce a bill giving the U.S. more control over the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). ICANN has been under much criticism recently and is viewed as being overly technocratic and lacking in user representation. [Source: CNET]Identity Theft Hearing
6/25/02 – Judiciary Committee Identity Theft Hearing A hearing with the title “The Risk to Homeland Security from Identity Fraud and Identity Theft” was held by two subcommittees of the House Judiciary Committee. [Source: House Judiciary Committee]Internet Gambling
6/13/02 – Internet Gambling Bill Passes Judiciary Committee The Combating Illegal Gambling Reform and Modernization Act, introduced by Rep. Robert Goodlatte (R-VA), was approved by voice vote in the House Judiciary Committee after long debate. An amendment prohibiting the sale of lottery tickets online was also passed. The bill would update the Wire Act of 1961, allowing law enforcement to take action against foreign-run sites operating illegally in the U.S. Opponents included Democrats who do not want to regulate adult activity and Republicans who are wary of Internet regulation. The bill must be reconciled with the Financial Services Committee to be put to a vote. [Source: CNN]NSF Authorization
6/5/02 – Appropriations Bill for NSF Approved HR 4664 was approved by the House of Representatives 397-25. The Investing in America’s Future Act will give a 15% increase in funding to the National Science Foundation (NSF) for each of the next 3 years. That puts the total budget at $5.5 billion for 2003, $6.3 billion for 2004 and $7.3 billion for 2005. The major research funding areas are networking and information technology research, nanoscale science and engineering, math and science education and major research instrumentation. [Source: Library of Congress]Open Source
6/23/02 – Peruvian Lawmaker Pushes for Open Source Edgar Villanueva, a Peruvian Congressman, has introduced legislation that would make all government IT systems operate on open source software. He hope that it will spur growth in a software market dominated by only a few major players and reduce costs for the Peruvian government, which owes millions in unpaid software licensing fees. [Source: San Jose Mercury News]Section 508
6/21/02 – Disabled Access Law Shows Slow Progress Section 508, which went into effect on 5/21/01, is designed to make federal government online services accessible to those users and employees with disabilities. Wired.com com reports that there has been little progress in this area, however, with the largest agencies making progress but with many departments showing little progress. They predict it will be some time before the effect of the law is felt. [Source: Wired.com]Spectrum Auctions
6/19/02 – Bush Signs Auction Bill President Bush signed a measure that will indefinitely delay the auction of parts of the wireless spectrum. One was slated to begin a few days after the bill was signed. Mobile phone providers wanted the delay to ensure that television broadcasters would be willing to give up certain airwaves as they go digital. [Source: USA Today]
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Policy / Regulatory Activities
AT&T Fined
6/18/02 – AT&T Receives $100,000 Fine from FCC The FCC issued a decision that found AT&T in violation of a rule regarding emergency 911 provisions (section 20.18 of FCC TMDA rules). In the consent decree AT&T agreed to voluntarily contribute $100,000 to the U.S. and comply with the FCC order. [Source: FCC]BellSouth Long Distance
6/19/02 – Bellsouth Applies For Long Distance in 5 States The Bellsouth Corporation filed for rights to provide section 271 interLATA services in Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. [Source: FCC]Broadband Deployment
6/20/02 – BroadNet Lobbies FCC A broadband coalition, the BroadNet Alliance, plans to lobby against FCC policies that they claim hurt broadband deployment. They claim the FCC is taking steps that hinder access to local networks. [Source: Washington Post]Cable Modem Prices
6/19/02 - FCC Decision Brings Fears of Cable Rate Hikes Comcast, a cable provider, has begun consideration of a tiered pricing system for its cable Internet service, based upon data and network usage. Consumer groups see this as an inevitable downside of a recent FCC decision to classify cable modem Internet as an information service and not a cable service, thus giving cable companies more freedom and hindering competition and choice. [Source: Washington Post]EC Wireless Policy
6/24/02 – European Commission Tough on Wireless The EC announced it would not extend existing wireless licenses. This poses problems to providers who have already invested in expensive licenses and now must renew them or give them up. Many current wireless fee cuts were announced by the EC as well. [Source: NY Times]FEMA Takes Over Wireless
6/28/02 – Project SafeCom Will Consolidate Gov’t Wireless As a response to 9/11, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will consolidate all of the federal government’s wireless efforts. Under Project SafeCom a portion of the wireless spectrum will be reserved for use during emergency efforts and standards will be developed to ensure communication during crisis. [Source: USA Today]FCC Cable Decision
6/19/02 – Groups Comment on FCC Decision Comments were submitted to the FCC by the High Tech Broadband Coalition, a collection of high-tech industry groups for the promotion of broadband Internet services, and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). They are both in support of the recent decision to classify cable modem Internet service as information service instead of a cable service. This eases the regulatory burden on cable Internet service providers. The decision is opposed by many local governments, including the city of Fairfax, Virginia, ant the City Coalition, who both submitted comments to the FCC opposing the ruling. Local governments find that the decision undermines their authority and hinders their ability to regulate and collect fees on cable services. [Source: FCC]FCC Meeting
6/21/02 – FCC Meeting on Universal Service Contributions The Federal Communications Commission held a meeting to get input from business concerning reforming the method of contribution to the Universal Service Fund. [Source: FCC]Library and School Fraud
6/11/02 –FCC Reports on School and Library Fraud The FCC runs a program known as “e-rate” which provides funds to libraries and schools for information technology purposes. In the FCC Inspector General’s Semi-Annual Report a study was done on abuse of this program. Over $8 million was identified as fraudulent expenditures. Ineffective oversight was cited as the main problem. [Source: FCC] http://www.fcc.gov/oig/SemiAnnual3-31-02.pdfNet Radio
6/20/02 – Royalty Rate for Online Radio Set James Billington, the Librarian of Congress, cut in half the rate that online webcasters must pay to license holders. The new $.07 rate per 100 listeners was not pleasing to either side of the debate. The recording industry feels that this forces artists to have their music used without due compensation. Webcasters say the rate is 3 times what online stations can afford, thus putting many stations in danger of going under. The ruling can be appealed. [Source: San Jose Mercury News]New Wireline Chief
6/21/02 – New Head of Wireline Competition Bureau FCC head Michael Powell announced that Dorothy Attwood would be leaving the position of head of the Wireline Competition Bureau. She will be replaced by William Maher. [Source: FCC]No Rural Subsidies
6/24/02 – Rural Broadband Will Not Be Subsidized in UK Stephen Timms, e-commerce minister for the United Kingdom, announced that the government will not subsidize the deployment of broadband Internet in rural areas. They will instead look to private sector remedies. [Source: ZDNet UK]Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)
6/21/02 – Bell Operating Company Long-Distance Rule The FCC requested comments on the NPRM concerning the “sunset” provision regarding statutory requirements of section 272 of the Telecommunications Act as it pertains to the Bell Operating Companies (BOCs). The question is whether the FCC can make rules on this generally or if the must be made specifically for each state. Section 272 covers restrictions on services that can be provided by BOCs, such as in-region long-distance. [Source: Federal Register] http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2002_register&docid=02-15676-filedQwest Long Distance
6/13/02 – Qwest Communications Files for Long Distance Qwest submitted a section 271 application to the FCC this month, seeking the right to provide long distance service in Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska and North Dakota. In a press release Qwest said further applications for 9 more states would be entered later this year. WorldCom claims that Qwest’s systems are not ready to handle such service and they are too hasty in making these applications. [Source: Qwest and WorldCom]Verizon Long Distance
6/19/02 and 6/24/02 - FCC approves Verizon Long Distance Application The Federal Communications Commission approved a Section 271 application by the telecommunications service provider Verizon for Maine and New Jersey. This gives Verizon the right to provide in region interLATA, or long distance service, in those states. Section 214 international service authority was also given for the State of New Jersey. [Source: FCC]
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Legal Activities
ADA Ruling
6/11/02 – U.S. Court of Appeals Rules on Repetitive Stress The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that repetitive stress injuries related to keyboard usage do not fall under the definition of disability in the Americans with Disabilities Act. [Source: U.S. Court of Appeals]Bell Anti-Trust
6/21/02 – Ruling Exposes Bells to Lawsuits A New York Appeals Court (2nd Circuit) ruled that consumers may bring anti-trust suit against Bell Operating Companies (BOCs). This exposes the Baby Bells to a myriad of lawsuits from individuals. The court said that antitrust laws existed for the purpose of citizen recourse when the Telecommunications Act fails them. [Source: Wall Street Journal]Data Theft Case
6/5/02 – California Appeals Court Upholds Data Theft Conviction The California Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of David Hawkins for the felony charge of computer data theft. Hawkins was an employee of Cisco and after leaving he worked on his own software product similar to a Cisco product. A subsequent search found unlawfully accessed source code on his home computer. [Source: California Court of Appeals]Domain Name
Dispute 6/24/02 - Calif. Appeals Ct. Rules on “.tv” dispute Plaintiff Je Ho Lim claims he registered golf.tv with the dotTV Corporation on auction and they then rescinded that sale. The California Court of Appeals reversed the lower court’s decision to dismiss the complaint. The decision was remanded to the lower court. [Source: BNA Internet Law News]eBay Ruling
6/26/02 – California Court Rules in Favor of eBay Claims had been files against eBay, an Internet auction site, claiming they were liable for “misrepresentations” by users of the service. The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in Gentry v. eBay that the site has immunity under section 230 of the Telecom Act of 1996. This provision gives statutory immunity to Internet providers of interactive services. [Source: U.S. Court of Appeals]Fax Jurisdiction
6/20/02 – Court Enforcement of Federal Law on Party Outside of the State Possible A California appeals court ruled that it may claim jurisdiction on conduct occurring wholly outside of that state based upon a federal statute that protects an in-state party. The case involves an affected by the defendant engaging in this prohibited activity and out-of-state defendant who was sending unsolicited facsimile messages to consumers, not necessarily in California. The court issued a nationwide injunction against this behavior based upon a California unfair competition law, citing the fact that California businesses would be gaining an unfair competitive advantage in states where they compete. The court states that the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution would not be violated because a Federal law, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, prohibits the behavior of sending unsolicited fax messages. [Source: BNA]FCC Ownership Rules
6/21/02 - U.S Court of Appeals rules on FCC rule decision Statute requires the FCC to review its ownership rules on a biennial basis. In 1998 they conducted such a review, but found that the National Television Station Ownership (NTSO) and Cable Broadcast Cross Ownership (CBCO) rules could stand. Petitions against this decision were filed by broadcasters, including Time Warner and Fox, claiming that these rules violate the Administrative Procedure Act. The U.S. Court of appeals issued its decision, holding that the CBCO should be vacated and the NTSO should be remanded to the FCC for further review. [Source: U.S. Court of Appeals]ICANN Disputes
6/24/02 – ICANN Dispute Resolution Helps Copyright Holders The Markle Foundation funded a study of the first cases of the implementation of ICANN’s new Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). The findings were that the process greatly strengthened copyright holder’s rights in determining ownership of domain names. The process, claims the study, broadens the reach of property rights over trademarked character strings online and narrows the definition of legitimate and non-commercial uses. [Source: NY Times]Internet Jurisdiciton
6/14/02 – Courts Address Internet Personal Jurisdiction The U.S. Court of Appeals in the D.C. Circuit and the 4th Circuit both issued opinions, in Gorman v. Ameritrade and ALS Scan v. Digital Service Consultants, respectively, concerning Due Process and its relation to cases where courts attempt to claim personal jurisdiction over companies that only do business in a jurisdiction via the Internet. While neither case resulted in a victory for the claim of personal jurisdiction, the D.C. court came close to finding such jurisdiction did exist by rejecting the arguments against claims of jurisdiction offered by lawyers for the defendant. That case against the defendant, however, was rejected on factual grounds. The 4th Circuit court found that no such jurisdiction exists. [Source: U.S. Court of Appeals]Madster
6/20/02 – Record Companies Can Sue Madster, Says Judge The record industry is now free to file suit against copyright violations against Madster (formerly Aimster), an online file-swapping software application. They had been prevented from doing so because Madster was in bankruptcy proceedings, but the judge has now ruled a lawsuit may proceed. [Source: San Jose Mercury News]Memory Maker Complaint
6/19/02 – FTC Files Anti-competition Claim Against Rambus The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against Rambus, a computer RAM maker, on anti-competition grounds under Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. The filing claims that Rambus has used its participation in the JEDEC standards body to engage in setting standards that benefit its own manufacture of SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory) for computers. [Source: FTC]Microsoft Anti-Trust
6/19/02 – Microsoft Refuses Concessions Lawyers for Microsoft refused to go along with an offer by US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to make concessions to the nine states pursuing an anti-trust judgment against the company. They claim the penalties proposed by the states are “fundamentally flawed.” [Source: Washington Post]Microsoft Sued
6/20/02 – Streaming Media Company accuses Microsoft of Patent and Anti-Trust violations A struggling software company who provides streaming media, Burst.com, filed suit in Federal District Court in San Francisco against Microsoft Corp. Pulling heavily from the findings of the much publicized Department of Justice suit against the software giant, Burst claims that Microsoft lifted Internet video technology from the company after a failed two-year long discussion over licensing the software. Burst also alleges that Microsoft used its market power to pressure others into dropping support for Burst products and making it incompatible with Microsoft’s software. [Source: Wall Street Journal]Napster Buyout
6/19/02 – Napster Sale Challenged PlayMedia, a software provider who created some applications for Napster, has filed suit to stop the $8 million buyout of Napster by the German company Bertelsmann. PlayMedia claims it is only protecting its licenses. [Source: News.com]Net Filters
6/20/02 – Administration Battles Porn on Library Computers The Bush Administration, along with the Justice Department and the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Sciences, notified the Supreme Court of their intent to appeal a recent decision by the 3rd District Court of Appeals in Pennsylvania. In May they overturned the Children’s Internet Protection Act, which calls for Internet filtering software in libraries to screen pornography. The court said that the software is “crude” and unduly blocks material that is allowable. The Bush administration says pornography is too pervasive and restrictions are necessary for children. [Source: NY Times]Pole Attachments
6/13/02 – U.S. Court of Appeals Rules on FCC Decision Regarding Pole Attachments The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit granted 2 petitions, but denied 4 others, brought by a number of electric utility companies in Southern Company v. FCC. The petitioners sought review of FCC decisions that granted other parties access to utility poles. The National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) commented favorably on the ruling, saying it would help the expansion of services. [Source: NCTA]Verisign
6/20/02 – Verisign Agrees to Stop False Messages Go Daddy Software, a registrar of Internet domain names, files a complaint against the world’s largest registrar, Verisign. They alleged that Verisign has sent their customers messages claiming that their domain was about to expire and that they should sign up with Verisign. Verisign agreed to stop this practice by signing a court order. [Source: News.comVerizon v. FCC
6/18/02 – U.S. Court of Appeals Denies Petition by Verizon The U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia, denied a petition by Verizon concerning a Section 251 order by the Federal Communication Commission. Section 251 of the Telecommunications Act deals with the issue of “physical collocation of equipment necessary for interconnection or access” between incumbent and competitor telecommunication service provider networks. [Source: U.S. Court of Appeals]Website Taken Down
6/20/02 – Man Takes Down Site Instead of Go to Jail Paul Trummel, who has already been jailed for 3 months after it was determined he was wrongly accusing a retirement home he once lived in with his website, complied with a judge’s deadline to take down the site instead of go back to jail. He claims that he will continue to fight for his First Amendment rights and appeal the case. [Source: Wired.com]
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Other Activities and Items of Interest
3G in Britain
6/21/02 – Britain not Thrilled About 3G 40 percent of the potential market in Britain said they would never use their phone for 3G services. The telecommunications industry, however, played down this survey. They say this validates their plans to diversify services and technologies in various markets. [Source: Wired News]911 Cell Problems
6/23/02 – Wireless 911 Calls Cause Local Government Problems The Cellular Telecommunications and Information Administration reported that over the 1990’s, 911 calls made from cell phones grew from 5.9 million to 57 million. 911 fees come primarily from land line surcharges so, as a result, local governments are running short on revenue. [Source: Philadelphia Inquirer]Adelphia Bankrupt
6/25/02 – Adelphia Files for Bankruptcy A chapter 11 bankruptcy petition was filed by Adelphia Communications in the United States Bankruptcy Court. [Source: Adelphia]Advisory Council
6/12/02 – Presidential S&T Advisory Council Meets A public meeting was help by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Broadband, terrorism, energy and federal research and development were the main topics of discussion. [Source: Federal Register]Airline Internet
6/21/02 – Online Service During Air Travel Mitsubishi and Boeing will begin providing in-flight Internet service via a satellite antenna connected to systems on the ground. The hardware will be available late 2003. [Source: AP]Audiogalaxy
6/20/02 – “Why Audiogalaxy Matters Not” Wired.com writer Brad King published an article with the title “Why Audioglaxy Matters Not.” In it he explains that, although Audiogalaxy was a highly popular application, the recent shutdown of that network as a result of a RIAA lawsuit is of little real consequence. The reasoning is that Audiogalaxy is centrally controlled, like Napster, and is not truly “peer-to-peer” (P2P) in nature. Only when a service such as Morpheus or Kazaa (both P2P) is addressed will the next legal milestone be reached. [Source: Wired.com]Australia CD Pirating
6/24/02 – Australia to Allow Music Copying In exchange for royalty payments, The Australian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society has plans to sanction the use of CD-pirating kiosks by a local company. [Source: news.com.au]Broadband Comments
6/19/02 – Asst. Commerce Secretary Speaks on Broadband Nancy Victory, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, spoke to the European Institute with a focus on Bush’s new broadband policy, spectrum issues and the future of ICANN. [Source: NTIA]Broadband Deployment
6/28/02 - Broadband Discussion The Alliance for Public Technology (APT) and the High Tech Broadband Coalition (HTBC) hosted a breakfast discussion on the topic “From Debate to Deployment: Changing the Broadband Reality.” Speakers included FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy. [Source: APT]Broadband Study
6/23/02 – New Study on Broadband Usage A recent Pew Internet & American Life Project survey researched the habits of broadband users compared to dial-up users. It found that broadband makes a user more likely to publish content, share media and pictures, have web pages and there are much more likely to go online daily. Broadband users are also less likely to go to stores, watch TV and engage in other offline activities. [Source: USA Today] http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/pdfs/PIP_Broadband_Report.pdfBush Technology Proposal
6/13/02 – Bush Submits Technology Proposal The President issued a report entitled “Promoting Innovation and Competitiveness” which put forth his technology agenda. It addresses various issues such as broadband, e-government and homeland defense. [Source: White House] http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/technology/tech_factsheet.pdfCable Modem Rates
6/24/02 – CDD Fights Increasing Cable Rates The Center for Digital Democracy has created a website (www.democraticmedia.org/getinvolved/lowerCableRates_Info.html) dedicated to the fight against increasing cable rates. Since the 1996 Telecom Act rates have gone up 40%. [Source: CDD]CCIA Conference
6/25/02 - 2002 Washington Caucus The 2002 Washington Caucus, hosted by the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), was held June 24-25 in Washington, D.C. Speakers included Under Sec. James Rogan (Director of the USPTO), Sen. John Breaux, Sen. Chuck Hagel and Sen. Max Cleland. [Source: CCIA]Cell Phone Ballons
6/22/02 – Balloons Provide Wireless Coverage Space Data communications has introduced a balloon that carries equipment to provide cell phone service to areas not reached by towers. [Source: CNN]China Cell Growth
6/21/02 – China’s Cell Phone Growth Slows Cell phone growth rates have slowed in the world’s largest cell phone market. In may China added 4.8 million new subscribers, down from over 5 million the month before. There is doubt that Chinese government predictions of 55 million new subscribers this year will be met. [Source: Bloomberg]Computer Security Meeting
6/11/02 – NIST Board Meeting on Computer Security and Privacy The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) held a 3 day meeting of the Computer System Security and Privacy Advisory Board. [Source: Federal Register]Consumer Privacy
6/11/02 – Trade Commission Chairman Speaks on Privacy Timothy Muris, Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, delivered a speech where he outlined the FTC’s electronic privacy efforts and made related proposals. The speech was entitled title “Protecting Consumers Privacy: Goals and Accomplishments.” [Source: FTC]Copyright Protections
6/18/02 – MPAA Releases “Wish List” The Motion Picture Association of America released a lit of items it feels must be addressed with regard to copyright protection before they can provide some services and products via broadband and digital television. [Source: Washington Post]Covad DSL
6/19/02 – Covad Will Offer Cheaper DSL Covad Communications announced plans to begin a “tiered” broadband Internet service, where lowers speed DSL will be provided at decreased cost. This program is aimed at gaining customers who have shied away from high broadband prices thus far. [Source: Reuters]Digital Copyrights
6/12/02 – Panel Discussion Held by CATO A discussion group was hosted by the CATO Institute on digital copyrights. The title was “Digital Copy Protection: Mandate It? Ban It? Or Let the Market Decide?” Panelists included representatives from News Corp. and Verizon. [CATO]Digital Divide
6/13/02 – Groups Criticize President on Digital Divide The Consumer Federation of America (CFA), Consumers Union (CU) and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) joined in denouncing President Bush’s lack of effort to bring information technology to all Americans. [Source: Wired.com]Disabled Communications
6/25/02 – FCC Meeting on “Communication Gap” for Disabled Persons The FCC issued a statement entitled “Wireless Communications Essential in Bridging ‘Communications Gap’” after a meeting of officials, including FCC Commissioner Abernathy, disabled persons and industry representatives. [Source: FCC] http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-223699A1.pdfVerisign
6/21/02 – Verisign Agrees to eBay Policies After Violations Verisign agreed to comply with requests from eBay to clean up its auctions of domain names on the site. Verisign had teamed up with eBay to provide them with authentication services and opened their own domain name store on the site. The violations involved eBay’s ban on adult-themed and trademarked web addresses, which Verisign was auctioning under country-code domains. [Source: News.com]dotBiz
6/24/02 – dotBiz Lies Mainly Unused A recent Harvard study finds that 74% of the names registered in the .biz domain are empty and 25% are registered to the identical .com holder. [Source: cyber.law.harvard]Emergency Broadacast
6/23/02 – Emergency Alerts on Computers Kentucky Educational Television engineers have developed an emergency broadcast system that works with computers that have digital tuner cards. They undertook the project as part of a required move to digital broadcasting by FCC order. [Source: ABC News]Enhanced ID
6/22/02 – Airlines Suggest Enhanced ID System A “trusted traveler” program is in the works for many airlines, with fingerprints, eye scans and enhanced IDs playing a role to increase safety. The newly formed Transportation and Security Administration has refused to back the program, fearing terrorist abuse of the system. [Source: Washington Post]e-Vote
6/24/02 – Japan Holds Online Vote Japanese officials are hailing the first online election in the country. There were minor technical difficulties but residents of the Nimi, Japan used the Internet to vote for mayor and other city officials. [Source: Japan Today]GAO Engineer Study
6/10/02 – GAO Finds Corps of Engineers Lacking in Info Security The report “Information Security: Corps of Engineers Making Improvements, But Weaknesses Continue” was released by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO). It finds deficiencies in security for important electronically stored data. [Source: GAO] http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02589.pdfGAO FBI Study
6/21/02 – GAO Finds FBI IT Systems Lacking The U.S. Comptroller General, David Walker, submitted a report to the Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee. The report was entitled, “FBI Reorganization: Initial Steps Encouraging but Broad Transformation Needed.” In it Walker explains the FBI’s lack of technology that hinders critical information sharing. [Source: GAO] http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02865t.pdfGE e-Commerce
6/25/02 – GE Dumps E-commerce General Electric announced the sale of 90% of its Global eXchange Services for $800 million. [Source: NY Times]Hearing Impaired Service
6/19/02 – Sprint Will Offer Hearing Impaired Phone Service Sprint PCS will become the first cell phone service provider to meet the FCC mandate to provide service to the hearing impaired. It will be done via text telephone (TTY) service and will cost nothing extra, though a special phone will be required. [Source: CDMA Development Group]Homeland Security
6/26/02 - Homeland Security Conference The Progressive Policy Institute hosted a forum in Washington, D.C. on June 26 to discuss the proposal by the president to create a cabinet level position on homeland defense. Keynote address was given by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT). [Source: Progressive Policy Institute]HP Cuts Jobs
6/24/02 – HP Forces Vacation for Employees As a cost saving measure in the wake of purchasing Compaq, Hewlett Packard has asked 4000 contract employees to take 3 weeks of unpaid vacation. The move will save $15-20 million. [Source: Bloomberg]ICANN Elections
6/28/02 – ICANN Does Away With Elections In a controversial decision at their quarterly meeting in Bucharest, Romania, the board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) voted unanimously to do away with online user elections previously used to elect some board members. The decision brought reviewed vows of scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers and added criticism from European nations. [Source: CNN]Intellectual Property
6/17/02 – House Member Publishes Essay on Online IP Theft The chairman of the Crime Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, Lamar Smith (R-TX), posted an essay on his website with the title, “Piracy in Cyberspace.” In it he compares those who steal protected materials online to pirates hundreds of years ago. He claims that severe damage to our economic system and national security are at risk. He also calls for strengthened legislation against the practice of stealing copyrighted works. [Source: Rep Lamar Smith] http://lamarsmith.house.gov/News.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=99Internet Attack
6/25/02 - IT Professionals see coming Internet attack on Government A new survey issued by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) states that over half of Information Technology professionals foresee a “major cyberattack” on the United States government in the next year. Not only do they fear a breach of security, they do not believe that the government’s computer systems are prepared to handle such an attack. [Source: BSA]Internet Filters
6/3/02 – Discussion of Internet Filters Sought by NITA The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has solicited comments on the use of technologies to block content on the Internet. This action is directed by the Children’s Internet Protection Act. [Source: NTIA] http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/frnotices/2002/cipa_52202.htmInternet Fundraising
6/12/02 – Federal Election Commission Seeks Elections Input The FEC requested an Advisory Opinion from two businesses on the application of the Federal Election Campaign Act as it applies to Internet services being used for political fundraising. [Source: FEC]Internet Policy
6/22/02 – Event on Public Participation in Internet Policy As part of the Internet Society’s INET2002, held in Arlington, VA, there was an event held on the topic “The Public Voice in Internet Policy Making." The event was hosted by the Internet and Public Policy Project (IP3) of Georgia Tech, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR). Keynote addresses were delivered by FFC Commission legal advisor Paul Margie and European Parliament member Erika Mann. [Source: EPIC]IP Protection
6/17/02 – Deputy Secretary of Commerce Speaks to India Businessmen Samuel Bodman, the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Commerce (DOC) for the United States, spoke to the U.S. – India Business Council at their annual meeting. He spoke on the importance of intellectual property protections and their importance to economic growth and technological development. [Source: DOC]Iran Women Online
6/17/02 – Iranian Women Find Haven Online Online usage by Iranian women has seen a recent jump. The 400,000 users in Iran in 2001 are expected to jump to 15 million in the next 4 years. Iran does not censor Internet traffic and many women are fining it a place to discuss subjects not allowed in normal social life. [Source: BBC]ISOC Conference
6/20/02 – ISOC Conference Focuses on Internet Freedom At the annual Internet Society (ISOC) conference in Washington, D.C. gathered many major Internet players, such as Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, and Vinton Cerf, co-developer of the Internet’s main technical protocol who is widely considered the father of the Internet. They raised concerns over the direction the Internet is headed. According to leading Internet experts, corporate and business policies along with governmental control mechanisms on the Internet are becoming a threat to the online freedom that many users seek to enjoy.IT Grants
6/4/02 – Community Technology Grant Applications Posted The Community Technology Centers Program, administered by the Department of Education, published information regarding applications for grants. The program is aimed at improving technology services and training for disadvantaged persons in certain communities. [Source: Federal Register] http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/index.htmlMicrosoft/Verizon DSL
6/21/02 – Microsoft and Verizon Team Up on Broadband Microsoft and Verizon Communications will begin offering high-speed MSN Internet service to customers via Verizon DSL lines. Service will start next year. [Source: Bloomberg]Microsoft/Cyber-Security
6/24/02 - Microsoft Issues Essay in Favor of Cyber Security Measures In the essay “Securing Cyberspace: Our Justice System Needs Better Tools for Fighting Cybercrime,” Microsoft gives support to the Cyber Security Enhancement Act of 2002, which is currently before the U.S. House of Representatives. They argue for more active and forceful measures to combat online criminals. [Source: Microsoft] http://www.microsoft.com/issues/essays/2002/06-24cybersecurity.aspMicrosoft Security
6/25/02 – Microsoft Announces New Security Feature Microsoft Corp. announced that it will add functionality to its Windows operating system that will create a “vault” to store the most sensitive and personal data and protect it from being compromised. [Source: CNN]Nader on Open Source
6/4/01 – Nader Addresses Microsoft Procurement and Usage by Government Longtime consumer advocate and recent presidential candidate Ralph Nader wrote the Office of Management and Budget concerning the purchase and use of Microsoft products by the U.S. government. He suggests that Microsoft should be required to make its products open source as to increase competition and interoperability with other software products. [Source: Consumer Project on Technology]New Economy Study
6/10/02 – PPI Releases 2002 New Economy Report on States A report entitled “The 2002 State New Economy Index: Benchmarking Economic Transformation in the States” was released by The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI). It ranks states as to their performance in new economy factors such as IT jobs, online access and presence of high-tech companies. Massachusetts, Washington, California, Colorado and Maryland topped the list. Georgia scored 22nd overall. [Source: PPI] http://www.neweconomyindex.org/states/2002Nokia Sales
6/20/02 – Nokia Lowers Sales Predictions Nokia’s CEO announced that sales growth will be lower than expected, around 10% for the second half of 2002. The world’s largest cell phone maker cited decreased corporate demand and lower consumer spending. [Source: Bloomberg]National ID
6/27/02 – Criticism of New Driver’s License Proposal A letter was written by various groups to the leaders of the House Transportation Committee in opposition of a bill to create a national ID system. The groups against this measure, HR4663, include the ACLU and the Center for Democracy in Technology. [Source: Electronic Privacy Information Center]Online Elections
6/19/02 – Canada Holds Online Elections The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), the dot-ca administrator, held elections for its board of directors. 3 members were successfully elected. Additional information – www.cira.ca [Source: CIRA].ORG
6/20/02 – ICANN Releases .org Applicant List The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers released the list of applicants to administer the .org top-level domain name. Details can be found at www.icann.org. [Source: Washington Post.com]Patent Office Upgrade
6/3/02 – U.S. Patent Office Presents Transformation Plan The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued its strategy to increase efficiency and improve turnaround time on patent applications. This includes a greater emphasis on information systems and electronic applications. [Source: USPTO] http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/com/strat2001/index.htmPublic Safety Network
6/11/02 – NTIA and Public Safety Wireless Conference The National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Public Safety Wireless Network Program hosted a conference on interoperability in public safety communications. The title was “Current and Emerging Solutions to Public Safety Communications Interoperability.” [Source: NTIA] http://www.pswn.gov/library/pdf/NTIA_Flyer.pdfResearch Funding
6/14/02 – Congressman says NSF and NIH Funding “Out of Whack” House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert, a New York Republican, spoke this month to the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) on the topic of research funding. In the speech he says that the United States priority of biomedical research should be altered to focus more on engineering and the physical sciences. [Source: House Science Committee]Rural Broadband
6/27/02 – Department of Agriculture Studies Broadband The Department of Agriculture and its Rural Utilities Service (RUS) held a meeting to address the problems of rural broadband deployment. Comments and transcripts can be found here - [Source: Federal Register] http://www.usda.gov/rus/telecom/publicmeeting/public_meeting.htmSocial Security Numbers
6/3/02 – Weaknesses Identified in SSN Privacy The General Accounting Office issued a report that found Social Security Numbers (SSNs) to be beneficial to the provision of government services. Despite this fact the GAO raises concerns about the security of this information and its potential theft and misuse. [Source: GAO] http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02352.pdfSoftware Piracy
6/10/02 – BSA Finds That 40% of Software Is Stolen 4 out of every 10 software programs operating worldwide are pirated, according to a study released by the Business Software Alliance (BSA). They estimate international losses are at almost $1 billion a year as a result. [Source: BSA]SPAM
6/18/02 – Conference on Unsolicited E-mail Messages As part of the INET2002 conference in Washington, D.C. the Global Internet Project (GIP) hosted an event called “Spam: Can it be stopped?” Keynote addresses given by Internet pioneer Vinton Cerf and FCC Commissioner Orson Swindle. [Source: GIP]Tech Sector Falters
6/26/02 – High Tech Industry Falters, According to Study The annual “Cyberstates” study done by the American Electronics Association (AEA) finds that in 2001 there were 20 states that lost jobs in the high tech sector; Last year also saw a 62% decline in venture capital. 65,000 high-tech manufacturing jobs were lost, though the software and computer-related services sector saw modest growth. [Source: AEA] http://www.aeanet.org/PressRoom/idmk_cs2002_US.aspUniversity Phone Use
6/25/02 – Wireless Causes Problems for Universities Revenue for land line phones on university campuses has reportedly dropped as a result of cell phone usage by college students. Student fees may have to be raised to account for the difference. [Source: NY Times]Virgin/Sprint Cell Service
6/20/02 – Virgin and Sprint Join Forces The Virgin Group, better known in the music industry, will begin offering cell phone service in partnership with Sprint next month. The service will be targeted at the under-30 demographic. [Source: Reuters]Wireless Deployment
6/20/02 – Companies Slow to Go Wireless While they recognize the benefits, new surveys show that companies are slow in adopting the latest wireless technologies. Interoperability, complexity and security are cited as the main reasons. [Source: News Factor]Wireless Usage
6/24/02 – Many Cell Phone Minutes Wasted J.D Power issued data that showed although the average calling plan for cell phones covers 750 minutes a month, the average user only uses 422 minutes. This is explained as being the result of consumers attempting to avoid charges for going over their allotment of minutes. [Source: Augusta Chronicle]WorldCom Fraud
6/25/02 – Financial Misdealings Announced by WorldCom WorldCom, a leading telecommunications provider announced that it did not comply with general accounting practices and miscounted almost $4 billion. After the news broke the Securities Exchange Commission, as well as Congress, announced hearings and investigations into the misdealings. President Bush also vowed an investigation as WorldCom’s stock plummeted to under $1. They began a round of huge layoffs that would include 17,000 workers at the end of June. [Source: CNN]
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Newsletter InfoCenter for Advanced Communications PolicyTelecom/IT Policy Highlights
June 2002
The focus of this publication is to present legislative, regulatory, legal, and other activities that are germane to technology policy news, events or products. For additional information regarding the information provided in this report, or if there are newsworthy items that should be included in future editions, please feel free to contact , Director of Research and Editor in Chief.BACK TO TOP OF PAGE