Cisco Government Affairs E-Update

Volume 1, Issue 27

17 August 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

This Week@Cisco in Government Affairs

Cisco's E-Update keeps you up to date on the major policy news of the week. Focusing on broadband, education and e-government areas, but covering high-tech and telecom in general, the E-Update is a great source of information for state, federal and international policymakers. To subscribe, send a message with “subscribe” in the subject line to “Subscribe-eUpdate@cisco.com.”

CISCO@INTERNATIONAL

COLOMBIAN DIRECTOR OF CONNECTIVITY - Cisco Vice President for the Americas Keith Goodwin and Laura Ipsen, Cisco’s Director of Worldwide Government Affairs, this week met with Colombia’s Director of Connectivity, Martha Cecilia Rodriguez Delagado, to discuss the government's "Connectivity Program.” E-Government and Broadband were among the topics covered.

U.K. E-ENVOY VISITS CISCO – Cisco Government Affairs staff this week met with U.K. e-envoy Andrew Pinder and U.K. Consul General (San Francisco) Roger Thomas to discuss broadband policy issues and E-Government. Pinder is leading the drive to get the UK to bring government services online and increase internet and broadband penetration through the UK Online initiative. UK E-Envoy homepage: http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk/index.htm

DIGITAL DIVIDE BRIDGE IS SOUGHT BY "GEEZERS AND GEEKS" - First came the International Executive Service Corps, which shipped retired U.S. businessmen to poor countries to help small businesses grow. Then came Geekcorps, which sent young technologists to Ghana to install computer networks and train businesses to use them. This week, the two nonprofit groups announced they would join forces, pairing "geezers and geeks" to try to stem the growing gap in technology between rich and poor countries. http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/60802p-879373c.html

NORWEGIAN VILLAGE IN BROADBAND TRIAL - A small village in western Norway has been chosen to pioneer an experiment to make it the most technologically-advanced region outside Silicon Valley. The idea is to make Modalen the world's first fully-connected wireless broadband community. Modalen is situated at the head of a remote Norwegian fjord and was chosen because the mountainous terrain and small population made it unprofitable to lay cable. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_1493000/1493964.stm

BRAINS ABROAD - Where does global talent go when opportunities aren't sufficiently plentiful at home? To the United States, of course. In the 1990s alone, some 650,000 people from emerging markets migrated there on professional-employment visas. This talent drain could have lasting economic repercussions for the developing world, depriving it not only of the skills of these workers but also of their beneficial effects on the productivity of others.

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/ab_g.asp?ar=1101&nlink=23 (free registration required)

COMPARING THE REGIONAL GIANTS - While India boasts a number of world-renowned companies and universities, Brazil fares much better in gross domestic product per capita and internet penetration. http://www.emarketer.com/analysis/world_regions/20010815_wr.html?ref=glw

CITY LIMITS SET FOR LAST MILE - Beijing has issued new rules to regulate the Internet industry by allowing only 13 cities to operate "last-mile" broadband services.

http://breakingnews.scmp.com/NLet/NLet.asp?Sec=technology&SSec=comm&Id=ZZZKTXFBAQC (free registration required)

CHINA TOPS US IN MOBILE USERS - China's telecoms regulator said on Tuesday there were 120.6 million mobile phone subscribers in China at the end of July, rivaling the United States as the world market leader. http://breakingnews.scmp.com/NLet/NLet.asp?Sec=technology&SSec=comm&Id=ZZZACVFBAQC (free registration required)

INTERNET USE IN ARGENTINA DOMINATED BY URBAN RICH - New research shows that 71 percent of Argentinean Internet users have gone online to get product or service information and 15 percent have purchased online. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905357056&rel=true

BROADBAND PROVES POPULAR IN TAIWAN - The South China Morning Post reports that demand for broadband is high in Taiwan and there are expected to be one million broadband Internet users in the country by the end of the year. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905357058&rel=true

INTERNET USE ENJOYS STEADY GROWTH IN RUSSIA - Europemedia reports that 4.2 million Russians accessed the Internet in the first six months of 2001.

http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905357060&rel=true

CISCO@WASHINGTON, DC

LABOR AND MANAGEMENT FINDING ONLINE LEARNING TO THEIR LIKING - President George W. Bush and AFL-CIO President John Sweeney disagree on many things. But in late June they found some common ground at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. At the Summit on the 21st Century Workforce hosted by the Department of Labor, both men spoke out for better education and training to help workers keep up with rapidly changing technologies and markets. http://www.techcentralstation.com/NewsDesk.asp?FormMode=MainTerminalArticles&ID=82

FEDERAL CIO COUNCIL FUNDS EIGHT NEW PORTALS, SEEKS E-GOV IDEAS - http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0801/081301h1.htm

U.S. GOVERNMENT JOINING ONLINE AUCTION WORLD - Pssst. Want to buy a donkey? No? How about a helicopter, 3-carat diamond, pickup truck, four-bedroom house in Burbank, Lamborghini, Texas convenience store or Coast Guard cutter? All can be had for the right bid on the Internet, but not on EBay or Yahoo Auctions. These items and thousands more have been put up for electronic auction by the U.S. government. http://www.latimes.com/technology/columnists/techcol/la-000066408aug16.story?coll=la%2Dbusiness%2Dtechnology%5Fcolumn

PENTAGON TRIES TO KEEP ITS AIRWAVES - In a battle that ultimately pits gadget-happy consumers against the military, the Defense Department is trying to fend off the communications industry's bid to intrude on territory the Pentagon considers crucial to the nation's security: the airwaves. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010816/pl/airwaves_adversaries_4.html

GET OUT THE VOTE, BY GETTING ONLINE - Citing the low rate of voter registration, Sens. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced a Senate resolution that would focus attention on using the Internet to educate the public on the political process. S. Res. 140, would declare the week of Sept. 15, 2002, as "National Civic Participation Week" and would challenge Web-site developers to create sites that promote civil involvement. It also would call on local communities to establish links that provide basic voter information, such as polling locations and registration. The measure notes that while 50.7 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the 2000 presidential election, only 16 percent of registered 18- to 24-year-olds comprised those who voted. Capital Advantage and its subsidiary, eAdvocates -- and the Internet music company MP3.com are pushing the resolution and created a Web site called Participate America that emphasizes using the Internet for gaining voter information and spurring citizen involvement in politics. (National Journal's Tech Daily)

Site: www.participateamerica.org

NEW REPORT SHOWS INCREASE IN FARM COMPUTER AND INTERNET ACCESS - The new Farm Computer Usage and Ownership report released July 30 by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) shows that 43 percent of U.S. farms now have Internet access, compared to 29 percent in 1999. General access to computers on farms also increased to 55 percent in 2001, up from 47 percent in 1999.

Press Release: http://www.usda.gov/nass/events/news/comp_use_announcement.htm

Full Report: http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/reports/nassr/other/computer/

UNCLOG THE WIRELESS PIPELINES - [Op-Ed] According to Michael Calabrese, "the American people collectively own the most valuable resource in the emerging information economy: the airwaves, also known as the electromagnetic spectrum." Specifically, Mr. Calabrese is referring to the prime frequencies that allow signals to penetrate buildings and bad weather - spectrum that can be used for powerful "third generation" (3G) wireless applications.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/opinion/A22923-2001Aug16.html

CISCO@US STATES

CISCO AT THE NGA - Last week Michelle Peacock, State Government Affairs Manager, and Mark Boyer, IBSG Director, traveled to Providence, RI, for the National Governors Association annual meeting. The meeting was attended by 19 Governors including California Governor Gray Davis. NGA Chairman Governor Parris Glendening (D-MD) led a major discussion on Smart Growth, and distributed Palm Pilots to the Governors which contained a "Smart Growth" tool kit to assist them in managing urban, suburban and rural sprawl. Boyer represented Cisco on a roundtable discussion on E-Governance. Michigan Governor John Engler was elected as NGA's next President.

CALIFORNIA STATE LEGISLATOR VISITS CISCO – This week, Michelle Peacock, State Government Affairs Manager, hosted Assemblyperson Rebecca Cohn (D-CA) at Cisco for a roundtable discussion. Cohn heard presentations by Mark Badger, IBSG Manager on e-Government and by John Earnhardt, Policy Communications Manager, on broadband deployment.

ISOLATED WESTERN COUNTY GAMBLES WITH ALL-ENCOMPASSING BROADBAND - Tooling in a truck past cows and hay bales, Jim Harris proudly points to the new wires hanging above the rural road. "Businesses will come to Grant County," says Mr. Harris, who is helping the county's Public Utility District string fiber-optic cables to every home and office. "It's a wonderful opportunity for the area." Christened ZIPP, for Zealous Innovators of Public Power, the $120 million plan by the county-owned power company is intended to create a kind of Internet utopia. Web surfers will be capable of hitting speeds as much as 1,000 times as fast as users of dial-up modems, and as much as 40 times as fast as the corporate connections supplied by so-called T1 phone lines. Residents will have access to hundreds of TV channels provided by independent providers, as well as a choice of high-speed Internet services and calling plans. http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB997995041740305009.htm (Paid Subscription Required)

MUNICIPAL NETWORKS BECOME RIVALS FOR FIBER-OPTIC TELECOM COMPANIES - The troubled telecommunications industry has yet one more thing to worry about: competition from City Hall. Spurred by local businesses and consumer dissatisfaction with cable-television, Internet and telephone service, municipal governments across the country are building their own speedy fiber-optic networks to compete with private industry. After Tacoma got into the communications business, TCI upgraded its network to offer high-speed Internet service, better cable reception and additional channels. Now nearly every home and business in the city of 194,000 has access to a variety of the latest telecom services. Scores of other mostly medium-size and smaller localities -- from Alameda, Calif., to Gainesville, Fla. -- have also challenged their local cable, phone and Internet providers by installing public fiber-optic networks. And dozens more are following suit, installing technology that can transmit Internet, phone and cable data as light beams through hair-width strands of glass. Older networks, such as those that primarily move information in the form of electrons through copper wire, generally offer slower or more limited service. http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB997994882189011453.htm (Paid Subscription Required)

GOVERNOR'S URGE END ON INTERNET TAX BAN - More than 40 of the nation's governors are intensifying their push to get congressional approval for sales taxes on Internet commerce. In a letter that will be sent to all House and Senate members this week, the governors will urge Congress to reject extending a 1998 moratorium on other Internet taxes unless states are given the opportunity to come up with a system that would allow them to collect online sales taxes. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11688-2001Aug14.html

STATE AND LOCAL ISSUE PLAYBOOK FROM THE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP COUNCIL - "Menu of effective, field-tested New Democrat legislative proposals from which you can model initiatives in your own states, cities and communities." - Playbook includes guidance and case studies on e-government and increasing Internet access. http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ka.cfm?kaid=139

STUDY - CITY E-GOV EVOLVING - Although most city Web sites are just an "electronic brochure," municipal officials are viewing e-government in a more holistic and strategic manner than before, according to a new nationwide study.

http://www.civic.com/civic/articles/2001/0813/web-egov-08-14-01.asp

CITY CONTINUES FREE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET - LaGrange, Ga., which made headlines last year by offering its residents free Internet access via cable modem, is extending the pilot program so even more people can take advantage of it. Since the free offer began last summer, city officials (www.lagrange-ga.org) have worked to increase the amount of local content online in hopes that having more information relevant to residents will encourage the town’s technology holdouts to get hooked up.

http://www.civic.com/civic/articles/2001/0813/web-access-08-14-01.asp

NO PC? GO ONLINE AT A KIOSK - WorldCom is installing kiosks with Web connections at Marine bases, to let soldiers without computers communicate with people back home and take care of other personal business. Worldcom is also marketing the technology to government agencies that might wish to make services such as driver's license renewal and voter registration accessible online for those without Web access at home or work. "In society as a whole, there isn't 100 percent penetration of PCs and laptops," said Tom Caravelli, a sales director at WorldCom. "We believe the kiosks can provide that public Internet access." The system includes a digital camera to let users take and send video of themselves delivering a message.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7042-2001Aug13.html

MICHIGAN GOVERNOR ESTABLISHES CENTRAL I.T. DEPARTMENT - Michigan Gov. John Engler is reorganizing the state's information technology workers and hiring a state chief information officer to bring all IT services under one agency. Engler signed Executive Order 2001-3 last week to create the Information Technology Department--Michigan's 20th state agency. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/16818-1.html

MOCK ELECTION TESTS VOTING TECHNOLOGY - In a mock election this week, Harris County, Texas, will introduce modern election technology to voters raised on punch cards. Although the election isn’t official — choices will include George Washington and Abraham Lincoln — this is the county’s first step toward acquainting voters and election workers with an electronic system that will debut for real this fall. http://www.civic.com/civic/articles/2001/0813/web-harris-08-16-01.asp

Harris County Voter Website: http://www.harrisvotes.org/

INTERNET BALLOTING CALLED SUCCESS - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64004-2001Aug11.html?referer=email

MORE US HOMES TO USE BROADBAND - Parks Associates predicts that 10.7 million US households will have broadband Internet access by the end of this year, up from the current figure of 8.6 million. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905357065&rel=true

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS HIGH TECH COMMUNITY – Broadband Deployment – It is estimated that 2.5 BILLION hours are 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, fiber and technologies are being tested for access through electrical wires. Broadband is the future of the internet and the future of communications. What does broadband mean in your life? Add your thoughts at Cisco’s High Tech Community - http://forums.cisco.com/cgi-bin/Community/HtCom?page=main.

FACTS AND STATS OF THE WEEK:

UK CHILDREN DITCH DOLLS AND GO DIGITAL - The semi-annual kids.net survey by NOP Family, a unit of NOP World, reveals that 75% of all UK 7 to 16 year-olds are online as of April 2001. They now number 5.6 million, rising from 4.8 million in October 2000. The young users are split almost evenly by gender: 2.7 million are female and 2.9 million are male. 90% say the Internet helps with learning, 30% have surfed the 'net looking for something to buy and 12% have bought something online.

BROADBAND USAGE GOING NORTH IN SOUTH KOREA - According to a report from Information Gatekeepers Inc. (IGI), there are 6.25 million broadband subscribers in South Korea as of the end of June 2001, up from 275,000 at the end of 1999. IGI forecasts the total will rise to over 8 million by the end of 2001 and 11 million by the end of 2002. More than one-half (55%) of broadband subscribers use ADSL services.

INTERNET POPULARITY STILL STRONG IN US - According to Nielsen//NetRatings, at-home Internet growth in the US has grown 16% from July 2000 to July 2001. From 1999 to 2000, the at-home online population has increased by 63%. Nielsen also reports that 58% of people in the US had access to the 'net in their homes in July 2001, compared to 52% in 2000. In July 2001 alone, 102 million people went online from home, compared to 88 million in July 2000. US surfers are also spending more time online with an average of 10 hours and 19 minutes during the month of July 2001, which is up 7% from 9 hours and 41 minutes online in July 2000.

GENERAL 'NET USAGE REIGNS SUPREME OVER eMAIL - According to NetValue, internet users around the world went online more for general web usage than to use e-mail in June 2001. In France, 96.7% of 'net users were online for the web and 58.6% were online for e-mail usage. In Denmark, the difference was not as large -- 96.5% were online for 'net usage and 73.7% were logged on for e-mail purposes. eMail was not as popular in Mexico, where 95.7% were online for the web and only 24.9% were on for e-mail.

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.

CISCO GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS@2001

Cisco’s top policy focuses 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 our visit our multimedia section . http://www.cisco.com/gov/multimedia/index.html

E-UPDATE ARCHIVE

To view past issues of Cisco’s Government Affairs E-Update, visit our E-Update Archive page . http://www.cisco.com/gov/archive/eupdates/index.html

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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