Cisco
Government Affairs E-Update
Volume
1, Issue 21
6
July 2001
Brought
to you by Cisco Government Affairs Online: http://www.cisco.com/gov
NEW UPDATED
FACTS AND STATS!!!!
For hundreds of Facts & Stats on the Internet,
the Internet Economy and Internet related processes go to Cisco
Government Affairs Facts and Stats page.
http://www.cisco.com/gov/factsNStats/index.html
What’s In Cisco
Government Affairs E-Update?
I.
Cisco@Washington,
DC
II.
Cisco@International
III.
Cisco@U.S. States
IV.
Government Affairs
High Tech Community
V.
Facts and Stats
of the Week
VI.
Other High-Tech Stories of the Week
VII.
Cisco Government
Affairs@2001
This Week@Cisco in Government
Affairs
I. CISCO@WASHINGTON, DC
FirstGov Web portal deluged with citizen e-mail
Citizens are flooding FirstGov, the federal Web portal, with e-mail
requests for information, creating a technology and management headache
for the site's operators. When
FirstGov debuted last September as the one-stop shop for access
to government services and information, 95 percent of all e-mail
correspondence consisted of compliments and recommendations.
Now, 70 percent of FirstGov's e-mails are queries that need
to be routed to the appropriate agency and responded to, according
to Deborah Diaz, deputy associate administrator of the Office of
FirstGov, which is a part of the General Services Administration's
Office of Governmentwide Policy.
Diaz said the flood of e-mails is a positive, if unforeseen, step
in FirstGov's evolution. "This
is a transformation of the citizens," she said. "People want more out of their government and want to use the
Internet to make that happen."
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0701/070501j1.htm
LONG-DISTANCE
ROMANCING
The regional telephone companies, such as Verizon and SBC, and their
upstart competitors are clashing over the rules and implementation
of the 1996 Telecommunications Act.
In order to spur local competition, the regional
companies are required to open local phone markets to competition. In return for leasing the local phone wires
to the upstarts, regulators would allow the regional companies to
sell long-distance service, one state at a time.
The Tauzin-Dingell legislation seeks to clarify that the
Telecommunication Act did not intend for data transmission to face
the same restrictions as long-distance voice transmissions. The impact of the bill would allow regional bells to offer high-speed
data services such as DSL without first demonstrating to regulators
that they've opened their markets to competitors.
http://www.washtech.com/news/telecom/10933-1.html
See Also:
TELECOMMUNICATIONS: THE BROADBAND DEREGULATION DEBATE
http://www.washtech.com/specialreports/telecom_debate.html
National security needs boost
sales of encryption products
Hacker and e-terrorist attacks are propelling sales of network
encryption devices as the Internet increasingly becomes a target
of cybervillains, according to a research report released Tuesday
by the consulting company Frost & Sullivan.
With the amount of classified information being transmitted
via electronic networks on the rise, agencies like the National
Security Agency and international bodies such as NATO are increasing
network defense spending and modernizing equipment to ensure the
privacy of their information, according to the study.
The military in particular is showing an increased interest
in wireless encryption.
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0701/070501td.htm
MANY AMERICANS BELIEVE THAT THE INTERNET COULD BRING FAR GREATER
EFFICIENCIES IN GOVERNMENT SERVICES
Despite representing the world's most computer-literate society,
the US federal government lags many of those it serves in its use
of the internet to make its own and the lives of citizens easier.
While most Americans
log onto the web at least once a week, less than 1 per cent of their
dealings with Washington DC occur online, according to the sponsors
of proposed new legislation to automate government services over
the internet. http://globalarchive.ft.com/globalarchive/article.html?id=010620001412
LABOR SECRETARY PLANS WEB PROGRAM
Secretary of Labor
Elaine Chao will unveil nine initiatives aimed at filling tech job
vacancies with skilled U.S. workers at a conference this week. She
plans to announce a partnership with job site Monster.com to cross-reference
job listings with the Labor Department and a training program that
would prepare disabled and veteran citizens for the new economy.
Chao intends to focus on providing skills to workers so they can
fill the demand for tech workers. Deron Zeppelin of the Society
for Human Resource Management, lauds the plan, which he calls "thinking
out of the box." The conference, "21st Century Workforce,"
will also feature President Bush, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, and
other industry executives.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/589822.asp
II. CISCO@INTERNATIONAL
INTEL
SIGNS UP FOR EU 'SAFE HARBOR' AGREEMENT
The contentious U.S. and the European Union "safe harbor"
agreement to protect the privacy of EU citizens while allowing uninterrupted
data transfers with U.S. companies has been slow to attract U.S.
corporate support. However,
Intel Corp. climbed on board the agreement just over a week before
it went into effect July 1, 2001.
EU data privacy regulations prohibit international data transfers
to e-commerce and other companies that do not comply with EU privacy
standards. Companies that
do not participate in the safe-harbor agreement and are found to
have inadequate privacy policies will be subject to EU privacy regulation
enforcement. Other high-tech
giants that have signed the agreement include Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard,
but only 71 other businesses, mainly smaller privacy protection
and/or certification companies, have joined them.
"Ireland, Luxembourg and France have yet to pass laws
to comply with the directive, and it's difficult for the EU to enforce
the directive against companies based in other countries until such
time as all the member states are in compliance," said Jonathan
Winer, attorney and a former deputy U.S. assistant secretary of
state for international enforcement. "It's not yet clear that anything bad
is going to happen to you if you don't sign up."
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/167541.html
EU
Study Confirms Digital Divide
The
European Union's (EU) Eurobarometer surveys provide valuable insights
into the behavior and attitudes of the citizens surveyed. As part of its Eurobarometer series, the EU published the results
of a survey on internet use conducted by EOS Gallup during the last
two weeks of February 2001. The
story highlights how internet penetration varies widely throughout
the EU, from a high in Sweden, with 62.7% of people online, to a
low in Greece, with only approximately 12.9% connected to the net.
http://www.emarketer.com/analysis/eeurope/20010620_europe.html?ref=dn
Venezuelans Go Online, Against All Odds
Internet
usage in Venezuela has been growing despite the many impediments
presented by the country's limited fixed-line infrastructure. Low teledensity and high access charges remain serious barriers
to the country's internet market.
However, telephone companies do offer a small discount to
customers dialing in to their internet service provider (ISP), and
access prices may decline as new operators enter the fixed-line
market (open to competition in November 2000).
The government and private industry are implementing various
incentives and initiatives to spur internet deployment and use.
http://www.emarketer.com/analysis/elatin_america/20010705_latam.html
SE
Asia to see US$1.2b in VoIP revenues
SINGAPORE--Southeast
Asia is expected to generate total revenues of US$1.2 billion in
the voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) market by 2006.
This compares with US$77.9 million the region (which comprises
Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand) posted
in revenues last year. According
to Frost & Sullivan's Asia Pacific IP Telephony Services Equipment
and Market Report, the projected figures translate to a compound
annual growth rate of 57.1 percent.
"We
expect VoIP services to be an increasing proportion of the total
originating voice traffic in Southeast Asia because of value added
applications and the possible cost savings in long distance as the
key introduction driver for VoIP services in newer markets,"
Frost & Sullivan industry manager for VoIP in Asia Pacific Nitin
Bhat said in an email interview.
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/money/story/0,2000024757,30084856,00.htm
BILL
WOULD REQUIRE ICANN TO CREATE '.KIDS' DOMAIN
Last week, Reps. John Shimkus, R-Ill. and Edward Markey, D-Mass
introduced legislation that would force Internet addressing authorities
to create a ".kids" domain that would be designed to serve
as a safe online haven for children.
Under the legislation, the U.S. Department of Commerce would
require the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN) to include .kids alongside .com, .net and .org in the Internet's
worldwide addressing system. The
bill also outlines some rules that the operators of .kids would
be required to follow in order to ensure that only child-friendly
content is allowed in the domain.
Although the not-for-profit ICANN autonomously manages the
global Domain Name System (DNS) the Commerce Department retains
veto power over major ICANN decisions.
http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/10881-1.html
SUPREME
COURT REJECTS FCC APPEAL IN WIRELESS-SPECTRUM AUCTION DISPUTE
The Supreme Court has refused to hear a spectrum auction case, complicating
federal to effort to resolve a parallel, $17 billion dispute. The court, without comment, declined to resolve
a fight between Metro PCS, an upstart cellular-phone company, and
the FCC. The company, once
known as General Wireless Inc., had submitted winning bids for 14
spectrum licenses at a government auction in 1996.
But it sought bankruptcy protection before paying the government
all it owed. The FCC wanted to repossess the licenses, but
a bankruptcy court ruled that Metro PCS could keep the licenses
for a fraction of the original bids.
By refusing to hear the case, the Supreme Court has effectively
let stand findings of the bankruptcy court.
This case has implications for the ongoing efforts to resolve
a similar dispute with NextWave Telecom.
In that instance, the U.S. Court of Appeals last month scrapped
a re-auction of spectrum seized from NextWave.
Earlier this year, the government resold the seized NextWave
licenses. The Appeals Court ordered the FCC to return to the licenses to bankrupt
NextWave.
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB99383909259603099.htm
III. CISCO@US STATES
STATE SURPLUS AUCTIONS GO HIGH
Oregon is a pioneer
in the online government auction business, using eBay to sell goods
and property confiscated by the police, lost or forgotten by citizens,
state-owned items marked for replacement, as well as federal surplus.
In 1998, Oregon decided to utilize eBay's 30-million-customer base
in an attempt to attract more buyers and get higher prices, and
the project was so successful that all of Oregon's auctions are
now conducted online. Oregon's success has led states such as California
and Colorado to ask Oregon officials for advice about conducting
their auctions. Also, the Federal Bureau of Land Management, a division
of the Department of Interior, uses Oregon to sell its surplus vehicles
at a rate of up to six per week, generating the state $200, or 7
percent of the selling price, for each car sold. The entire Interior
Department will soon follow suit. Although Oregon is the only state
to auction exclusively online, Texas, which already sells items
through eBay, Yahoo!, and Amazon, may be next. In California, Internet
auctions raise nearly 10 percent of the state's annual $1.5 million
in surplus revenues. Several other states, including Georgia, Maine,
Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, also
utilize the Web to auction off items.
http://www.stateline.org/story.cfm?StoryID=133265
INSTRUCTOR COORDINATES STATEWIDE TRAINING
The Oklahoma Farm
Bureau recently provided training for 300 workers over an interactive
audio/video network. A team of technology centers, the Farm Bureau,
and the National Guard set up the state-wide network. Farm Bureau
training director Larry Brown wanted to train employees using new,
Web-based software. The distance-learning initiative relied on the
studios of the Regional Training Institute of the National Guard.
The initiative cost the Farm Bureau $563, compared to an estimated
$30,000 for classroom instruction. Fran Miller of the Gordon Cooper
Technology Center received an award for her role in the undertaking.
http://www.news-star.com/stories/061701/edu_miller.shtml
DOING YOUR HOMEWORK ON SCHOOL DISTRICTS
California's Department
of Education (CDE) publishes aggregate school-by-school test scores
and other data online. The CDE publishes the data on its home page,
including annual standardized test scores as well as enrollment,
demographic, staffing, and drop-out data from throughout the state
at both the per-school and per-district level. School rankings on
state-wide tests, called the APIs, are also ranked on a comparative
1 through 10 basis, meaning parents can discover whether their child's
school ranks from the bottom 10 percent of California schools (API
1) to the top 10 percent (API 10). The CDE site also provides a
national comparison for Stanford 9 standardized tests, with schools
being awarded straight percentages, where a 53 percent ranking means
a school falls slightly above the national median. Real estate agent
Andrea Healey says the information can inform people of "the
quality of the school district," among other benefits.
FOSTER PARENTS LOG ON FOR TRAINING
Washington State's
Department of Social and Health Services, working with the state's
Department of Information Services, has picked 23 sites that will
be converted into computer classrooms. These classrooms will host
virtual classes for foster parents on topics such as fetal alcohol
syndrome, brain development, and how to deal with troubled children.
Parents who attend these free classes will be able to interact via
the Web with experts and other foster parents following a live Webcast
lesson. Parents with Internet connections at home can access the
lessons as well. Those who miss the live lessons will be able to
access them through an online archive.
http://www.civic.com/civic/articles/2001/0618/web-foster-06-18-01.asp
IV. GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS HIGH TECH COMMUNITY –
Issue of the week: Broadband Deployment
- It is estimated that 2.5 BILLION hours were wasted
with people accessing the Internet via dial-up. Broadband access, or always-on, high-speed
internet, allows productivity increases, standard of living increases
and new applications that haven't even been thought of. Broadband can be delivered via satellite, wireline, wireless, cable,
fibre and technologies are being tested for access through electrical
wires. Broadband is the future of the internet and the future of
communications. What are
some examples of the ways broadband has added to your productivity?
Add
your thoughts at Cisco’s High Tech Community - http://forums.cisco.com/cgi-bin/Community/HtCom?page=main.
V. FACTS
AND STATS OF THE WEEK:
INTERNET
IN IRAN
The Washington Post reports that in Tehran, Iran, internet cafés
open at a rate of one per day.
Though the internet became available only 18 months ago in
Ian, there are currently 450 internet cafés in Tehran.
eMarketer
EU
CALLS FOR AN eCHICKEN IN EVERY POT
European Union officials backed a plan to wire all citizens to the
internet. The proposal is
far-reaching but falls short of promising broadband access.
http://www.emarketer.com/estatnews/enews/reuters/06_27_2001.rwntz-story-bcnettelecomseuinternetdc.html?ref=euw
WHOA
BACK, EUROPE, CHECK YOUR EGO AT THE DOOR
The EU is starting to act like that loner in the schoolyard who
just realized he's tough enough to beat people up.
Europe shouldn't get a swelled head over its newfound mojo
in the global economy.
http://search.businessweek.com/magazine/content/01_27/b3739156.htm
MOBILE
DATA DEVELOPS AND EMERGES
By 2010, the number of mobile data subscribers (729 million) in
developing and emerging economies will nearly equal that of developed
nations, according to Telecompetition's "Worldwide Mobility
Report 2001.” Between 2001 and 2010, developing and emerging
economies are expected to generate cumulative mobile revenues of
over $2.1 trillion, nearly 40% of the global total of $5.4 trillion.
eMarketer
WIRED
AND WIRELESS IN ESTONIA
According to the 2001 Global eCommerce Report from Taylor Nelson
Sofres, 39% of the Estonian population (80% of internet users) use
mobile phones and 39% do not. TNS
questioned people around the world between January and June 2001
and found that 67% of the population in Estonia is online, but only
6% of internet users are online shoppers.
eMarketer
9
in 10 children have a mobile phone
Nine
out of 10 children under the age of 16 have a mobile phone and 10%
talk for more than 45 minutes every day, according to research published
yesterday. It comes a year after the Stewart Group stated
in its report that the widespread use of mobile phones by children
for non-essential calls should be discouraged.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,514137,00.html
GOING...GOING...UP!
The May 2001 Nielsen//NetRatings and Harris Interactive survey reports
that auction sites grossed revenues of $556 million in May. eBay leads the way with 64.3% of all auction
revenues. The online survey
of 35,000 web users reports that auction spending skyrocketed from
$223 million in May 2001 to $556 million in 2001 growing by 149%.
Usage has also experienced significant growth. More than 6.2 million users made online purchases on auction sites
compared to 5.1 million in May 2000, a 22% jump.
eMarketer
GLOBAL
OPINIONS ON THE FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY
The US may claim to have "invented the internet," but
37% of worldwide consumers believe that by 2025 the Asia Pacific
region will be the world's high-tech leader.
http://www.emarketer.com/estatnews/estats/wireless/20010628_rscg.html?ref=wiw
Internet,
broadband use grows in Taiwan
AP - The number of Taiwanese using the Internet
grew to 8 million - nearly one-third of the island's population
- as of early June, up from 5.6 million a year ago, according to
a survey by Business Next magazine.
About 1.5 million people in Taiwan use broadband, up sharply
from less than 100,000 last year, John Wang, editor-in-chief of
the monthly magazine, said at a press conference Friday.
About 500,000 Taiwanese subscribe to the superfast Internet
service.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/sci_tech/story_15139.asp
SUMMARY OF INTERNET ACTIVITY FINDINGS FOR AUSTRALIA
HIGHLIGHTS
-The number of ISPs in Australia fell 4% to 665
during the March quarter following a fall of 3% between September
and December 2000.
-The number of Points of Presence (POPs) fell 4%.
-The number of access lines available to subscribers
was down 5% from the December number.
-The number of subscribers increased by 47,000 (1.2%).
-There was virtually no change in the volume of
data downloaded.
-The number of Web sites hosted by ISPs was down
9%. This was mainly due to some businesses falling
out of the scope of the survey because they now concentrate on hosting
Web sites and no longer provide Internet access.
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/ABS%40.nsf/e8ae5488b598839cca25682000131612/6445f12663006b83ca256a150079564d!OpenDocument
DOT-GONE
The
June 2001 report from Webmergers finds that 53 dot-coms closed their
doors forever in June 2001 -- down only slightly from May's 54 dot-closures
and 55 in April. In June
2000, only 17 dot-coms closed down.
Webmergers reports that since January 2000, 555 "substantial"
worldwide internet companies have shut down.
eMarketer
For more Facts and Stats on the New Economy, visit
our Facts and Stats page.
Also, see our special State of the Internet report on this
page.
For
daily, topical Facts and Stats visit our Hot In Tech page.
VI. OTHER TECH STORIES OF THE WEEK
Late Edition:
Another Chance for Newspapers on the Web
Already under threat from the internet, newspapers
now have to contend with wireless communications.
Mobile devices, which are more common in parts of Asia and
Europe than the PC, lend themselves particularly well to location-specific
World Wide Web features such as city guides, entertainment listings,
and restaurant reviews—exactly the kind of information that was
once easiest to find in a newspaper.
How can newspapers defend their territory against yet more
competitors?
The take-away: Service providers have the best customer
relationships and therefore the best chance of capturing the biggest
chunks of revenue. What
they lack, though, are marketing and editorial skills, content,
and a highly regarded brand name. Newspapers have all of these assets and should
therefore take advantage of them by negotiating deals with wireless
providers right now.
The McKinsey Quarterly
http://www.emarketer.com/analysis/broadband/mckq_bband.html
WEB-READY
PHONES ARE NOT ENOUGH
Of the 10 million handsets purchased in the US in Q4 2000, most
featured enhanced graphics and longer battery life.
Analyst Ben Macklin points out that the phones are far more
advanced than the wireless services available.
http://www.emarketer.com/analysis/wireless/20010706_wireless.html?ref=wiw
The Password Plague
Who
knew that managing passwords could be so unbelievably expensive? Boeing did.
The aerospace company recently estimated it was spending
millions of dollars a year - Boeing would not provide an exact number
- in support costs and lost productivity because of password management
tasks.
http://cgi.zdnet.com/slink?115252:24409310
CDT,
INTERNEWS FORM COALITION TO FIGHT DIGITAL DIVIDE
The U.S.-based Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) and Brussels-based
Internews groups announced the creation of the Global Internet Policy
Initiative, (http://www.gipiproject.org). GIPI is a foundation formed to help developing
countries enact policies that narrow the digital divide. Jim Dempsey, CDT's director of technology,
said "... there's a lot of confusion out there about what it
takes in terms of policy to create an environment where the Internet
becomes affordable, widely available and can be used for economic
growth and human development.”
According to Dempsey, GIPI will seek to educate and advise
government policymakers and grassroots advocates on a range of Internet
policy issues, including universal service, privacy, technical standards,
licensing, digital signatures, content controls and the domain name
system. The coalitions has
already hired 10 full-time "country
coordinators" who are familiar with the laws and languages
of the countries in which they are stationed.
The project is funded by a number of companies, including
AOL Time Warner and Microsoft, as well as the Soros Foundation and
the Markle Foundation - organizations already affiliated with the
multi-nation Digital Opportunities Task Force, or "DOT Force."
http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/10964-1.html
VII.
CISCO GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS@2001
Cisco’s top policy areas for 2001 are the areas of Education,
Broadband Deployment and eGovernment. To read or listen to our thoughts on these issues, please visit
our Government Affairs home page,
or visit our multimedia section .
E-UPDATE ARCHIVE
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view past issues of Cisco’s Government Affairs E-Update, visit our
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DISCLAIMER
Positions
in articles and papers from outside sources are in no way endorsed
by Cisco Systems' Office of Government Affairs.
We offer articles on topics of interest to our audience to
further the debate on the issues that are important to high-tech. To view our positions on the policy matters that we care about,
please visit our Government Affairs
homepage. – http://www.cisco.com/gov
CISCO.COM/GOV AND E-UPDATE FEEDBACK
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we continue to build out Cisco’s Government Affairs web site, as
well as our new service, this E-Update, we welcome comments, criticisms,
praise and suggestions. Please
send any feedback to John Earnhardt at jearnhar@cisco.com.
To contact any member of the Government Affairs
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