Cisco Government
Affairs E-Update
Volume 1, Issue 31
21 September 2001
Brought to you by
Cisco Government Affairs Online: http://www.cisco.com/gov
LIBERTYUNITES.ORG – Along with our friends
and partners at AOL Time Warner, Amazon.com, E-Bay, Microsoft and
Yahoo, Cisco this week participated in launching a website to help
the United States begin the healing process after last week’s tragedies.
In a time of urgent
need, millions of people have contributed their time, prayers, and
money to New York and Washington, DC’s desperately overwhelmed rescue
and philanthropic organizations.
But the need for help continues to grow.
As the rubble is cleared, the rebuilding process for the survivors
and their communities is only just beginning.
From medical and rehabilitation needs to psychological assistance
and financial support for the families of the victims, the burdens
on charitable organizations will be staggering.
Please visit www.libertyunites.org and see what you
can do to help.
RED CROSS LAUNCHES
WEBSITE FOR ATTACK SURVIVORS
- The American Red Cross has launched an online network to help unite
families with survivors of Tuesday's airborne attacks on the World
Trade Center and the Pentagon. www.redcross.org
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
This Week@WASHINGTON, DC
FCC UNLIKELY TO EXTEND
TELECOM WIRETAP DEADLINE - An open-ended extension sought by the telecommunications
industry of a deadline to comply with certain digital wiretap requirements
is unlikely to be granted as federal law-enforcement officials mount
the nation's most intensive search for terrorists ever. (Dow Jones Newswire)
SPECTRUM OFF-LIMITS AFTER ATTACK - Wireless-industry
analysts say last week's terrorist attacks will make it hard for wireless
companies to gain the right to use a larger portion of potential airwaves,
and that could spark a wave of consolidation.
Wireless companies such as Verizon Wireless , Sprint PCS, Cingular
Wireless, AT&T Wireless and Nextel Communications have long sought
to gain licenses from the Federal Communications Commission for more
wireless spectrum that would allow them to support so-called 3G, or
third-generation, wireless services. But the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World
Trade Center has made that scenario very unlikely, since the additional
spectrum would most likely come from the U.S. military. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-7228872.html?tag=pt.msnbc.feed..ne_7228872
SECURITY AND PRIVACY
- The Bush administration will ask for more power to eavesdrop on
phone calls, the Internet and voicemail messages, according to an
outline of a bill obtained by Wired News.
In response to last week's catastrophic terrorist attacks,
President Bush plans to ask Congress to approve far-reaching legislation
that rewrites U.S. laws dealing with electronic surveillance, immigration
and support for terrorists. "We will call upon the Congress of the United States to enact
these important anti-terrorism measures this week," Attorney
General John Ashcroft said Monday. "We need these tools to fight
the terrorism threat which exists in the United States, and we must
meet that growing threat." http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,46953,00.html
AMERICANS STILL GUARD
TELEPHONE, E-MAIL PRIVACY - Last week's terrorist attacks have prompted
a few Americans to say they are more willing to trade some personal
privacy for security, according to a new study.
However, while some respondents told the Pew Research Center
they generally supported the concept of sacrificing some civil liberties
in order to try to curb terrorism, when asked specifically about increased
government monitoring of personal telephone calls or e-mails, most
balked. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170291.html
NEXTWAVE, FCC DISCUSS
SETTLEMENT - NextWave Telecom Inc., a wireless telecommunications
company that has been mired in bankruptcy proceedings for the past
three years, has tentatively agreed to give up its claims to a nationwide
slice of airwaves in return for a $5 billion settlement payment.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1232-2001Sep20.html
FCC PLEDGES HELP
TO COMMUNICATIONS FIRMS - U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman
Michael Powell pledged on Thursday to aid Verizon Communications and
other communications companies following the attack at the World Trade
Center.http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010920/tc/attack_telecoms_fcc_dc_2.html
FEMA RECORDS WEB
RECORD - The Federal Emergency Management Agency's Web site set a
record for Web usage with more than 3.4 million hits Sept. 12—the
day after terrorists struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The site (www.fema.gov) is providing
users with news, links, and phone numbers related to disaster relief
and recovery in Manhattan and near Washington, D.C. http://www.fcw.com/geb/articles/2001/0910/web-fema-09-14-01.asp
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT: Social Security
Administration Practices Can Be Improved.
GAO Report - http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?gao-01-961
(Adobe Acrobat)
This
Week@INTERNATIONAL
COMMUNICATIONS WATCH:
CHINA BRACES FOR TELECOM BREAKUP - Lost in China's euphoria over its
successful Olympic bid is a wave of deregulation. This summer, after
a strongly worded Ministry of Information Industry report urged the
government to "break the monopoly and introduce competition,"
China began planning a breakup of China Telecom, the country's fixed-line
telephone monopoly. China's State Development Planning Commission
is now weighing several options. http://www.redherring.com/index.asp?layout=story&channel=10000001&doc_id=1770020177&rh_special_report_id=
ENORMOUS
INTERNET GROWTH IN CHINA - Internet in China has seen enormous growth
with more than 240,000 websites being created over the past 18 months,
according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation. http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/computers/2001/09/item20010908025908_1.htm
NEW DSL STANDARD
OFFERS FASTER SPEEDS - An emerging high-speed Internet standard in
Europe holds potential for faster download speeds and broader availability
for many U.S. businesses--if they're willing to wait a while. Although DSL speeds vary widely, the new G.SHDSL could be two to
three times faster than most versions of DSL targeted at business
customers. The G.SHDSL standard also can deliver data farther than
earlier DSL technologies, which are limited to a relatively short
distance.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-7242800.html?tag=pt.msnbc.feed..ne_7242800
CHINA UNICOM'S LONG-DISTANCE
LEAP - The telecommunications boom has come to a halt in the United
States and Europe. But China Unicom is racing forward. As China embraces
Internet-based telephony, its telecommunications future is being beta-tested
in Guangzhou. http://www.fastcompany.com/online/51/unicom.html
DENMARK AWARDS 3G-PHONE LICENSES FOR ALMOST TWICE THE MINIMUM BID - Telestyrelsen said Thursday it
has awarded all four of its third-generation mobile-phone licenses
to TDC Mobile International AS, Orange SA, Telia Mobile AB and HI3G
Denmark Aps. A total of five bids were made, the Danish
telecommunications authority said, although it didn't name the fifth
bidder. The price for each
license was 950 million Danish kroner ($118.3 million or 127.6 million
euros), well above the minimum bid price of 500 million kroner.
http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB1000974189852225080.htm (paid subscribers only)
RECENT SPEECHES
BY MR. ERKKI LIIKANEN, Member of the European Commission, responsible
for Enterprise and the Information Society –
"MOBILE
SERVICES IN EUROPE: CURRENT CHALLENGES AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES"
- 19 SEPTEMBER 2001
http://www.europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=SPEECH/01/399|0|RAPID&lg=EN;
"WHAT
DID THE BURST OF THE BUBBLE DO TO eEUROPE?" - 18 SEPTEMBER 2001
http://www.europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=SPEECH/01/393|0|RAPID&lg=EN;
HONG KONG CANCELS
3G AUCTION - The Hong Kong government has scrapped plans to auction
third-generation mobile phone licences for lack of bidders.
Instead, it awarded the four licences at the minimum reserve
price, one to each of the four companies that came forward. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_1552000/1552117.stm
PIRELLI GRASPS THE
POISONED CHALICE OF TI - Pirelli's success in securing the financing
for the takeover of Olivetti, the holding company of Telecom Italia,
now leaves it facing the even more difficult task of slashing Olivetti's
debt and restructuring the telecoms group.
http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=166389374&i=393560&d=1808554
BT TO FOCUS ON OFFERING WEB ACCESS NOT CONTENT - Openworld,
the internet division of British Telecommunications, has largely abandoned
providing online content and will concentrate instead on offering
simple access services. http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=166389374&i=393080&d=1801954
FRANCE:
SPEECH ON CHALLENGES OF TELECOM DEREGULATION (EN FRANCAIS) - Jean
Michel Hubert, Chairman of French Regulatory Authority (ART) did a
speech in Rabat (Morocco) to illustrate benefits and challenges of
telecom deregulation. http://www.art-telecom.fr/communiques/discours/d49.htm
ONLY A THIRD
OF UGANDAN FIRMS ONLINE - A new report from Metrocomia has found that
only 32 percent of companies in Uganda have a website. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905357189&rel=true
GERMAN B2C
ENJOYING HEALTHY GROWTH - Online retail sales in Germany were up 50
percent in the first half of 2001, compared with the second half of
2000, reports Newsbytes. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905357193&rel=true
UK IT TRAINING
MOVES ONLINE SLOWLY - Elearning will account for 20 percent of the
UK IT training market by 2004, according to research from Ovum. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905357188&rel=true
INTERNET
POPULATION RISING IN CANADA - Over half of all Canadian households
have at least one occupant that is a regular Internet user, up from
42 percent last year.
http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905357182&rel=true
IT SPENDING
HEALTHY IN MIDDLE EAST - European software firms should target the
Middle East, according to a new report from Frost & Sullivan.
http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905357177&rel=true
This Week@US STATES
INTERNET SURPASSES
ITS ORIGINAL GOAL -- Nearly 40 years after it was conceived as a method
of maintaining communications in the event of an attack on the United
States, the Internet — long since broadened past that purpose — last
week had the first real test of its original goal. To judge by the
availability of media sites, many of which were inaccessible in the
hours just after the first plane hit the World Trade Center on Tuesday
morning, one might assume the Internet had failed the test. But in
fact, according to firms that analyze Web site traffic and performance,
while some sites slowed, the overall flow of data across the Internet
was not degraded by either damage to critical fiber optic lines or
the clogging of those lines by Web users. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/17/technology/17ECOM.html
(free registration required)
CRUCIAL E-MAIL
DURING TRAGEDY - When the US encountered a crisis, e-mail became the
most reliable form of communication. http://www.emarketer.com/analysis/marketing/20010918_mark.html?ref=marw
A NEED FOR
A BETTER E-GOVERNMENT - Brown University's Taubman Center for Public
Policy found that websites from city government agencies in the 70
largest cities in the US need to improve their online access to government
information and services. Researchers found that 64% provide access
to publications, 13% offer services that are fully executable online,
7% are multilingual — offering content in 2 or more languages — and
less than 1% include commercial advertising. The top 3 cities were
San Diego, CA, Albuquerque, NM and Seattle, WA.
CALIFORNIA ENDS LEGISLATIVE SESSION ON HIGH NOTE -
In the waning hours of the California legislature last Friday night,
the Assembly failed to take up for a vote the onerous "Protective
Orders" legislation, thus transforming it into a two-year bill. The legislature also failed to pass the "Opt-in"
privacy bill which would have placed serious burdens on businesses
who use data within the organizations of their parent companies. Governor Gray Davis is expected to sign the
Internet Tax Freedom moratorium extension, as well as bills which
fund high-tech high schools, math and algebra programs in middle schools
and workforce training.
HOUSEHOLDS CANNING
SECOND PHONE LINES FOR BROADBAND - U.S. households are dispensing
with their second phone lines, which have been used for surfing the
Net and other services, and moving over to broadband, according to
a new report by Dataquest. The report, "U.S Residential Wireline
Voice Access Lines Head South, Revenue Heads North," concludes
that almost 6 percent of all U.S. households have dispensed with a
traditional phone line since January of this year. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170284.html
ONLINE RETAILERS
BUCK U.S. ECONOMY'S DOWNWARD TREND
- The online business-to-consumer (B2C) market in the United
States is growing rapidly despite the recent economic downturn, according
to a new study by Emarketer. The
e-business statistics company estimates B2C annual revenues will quadruple
from $38.3 billion in 2000 to $156 billion in 2005. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170348.html
INTERNET NOW PART
OF DAILY LIFE - Usage patters suggest the Internet increasingly is
becoming a part of everyday life for Americans, according to a new
study. The study of the most popular Web destinations
during the month of August, by Internet measurement company Jupiter
Media Metrix, found Web surfers flocked to education sites and destinations
related to the National Football League - largely due to the impending
start of school and football season, respectively. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/170192.html
FIFTEEN PERCENT
OF OVER-65s HAVE INTERNET ACCESS IN THE US, according to a new study
by Pew Internet and American Life Project. Senior citizens have also
proved to be faithful Net users with 69% going on line every day compared
with the 56% of all Internet users.
http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/pdfs/PIP_Wired_Seniors_Report.pdf
http://www.pewinternet.org/
INTER-CONTINENTAL
ROBOT SURGERY - Surgeons in the US have successfully used computers
and robots to take part in operations in a different continent. Researchers from the influential Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore
have revealed that they now have the technology to carry out "telesurgery"
on patients anywhere in the world. Already 17 patients undergoing surgery at Rome's
Policlinico Casilino University have benefited from the technological
advances. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1370000/1370875.stm
TAKEN CLASSES
TO THE MASSES – Fathom, a for-profit company started by Columbia
University to offer courses over the Internet, has a different tone
from the rest of the university. http://www.washtech.com/news/software/12508-1.html
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:
For 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.
OTHER
TECH STORIES OF THE WEEK
VIDEO ON THE WEB
MOVES TO MAINSTREAM AFTER ATTACKS - Video on the Internet has emerged
as a critical conduit of news about last week's devastating attacks
on the United States, bringing a fringe medium closer to the mainstream
and making it a more serious competitor to television, broadcasters
and experts said. Viewership for video news over the Web has
been unprecedented, with many people apparently tuning in from offices
and other locations around the world where television coverage of
the air attacks on New York and Washington was unavailable, broadcasters
said. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010919/tc/attack_media_streaming_dc_1.html
AT&T'S BOARD
TO HEAR STATUS OF BROADBAND TALKS - AT&T Corp.'s board will be
briefed on at least three proposals to acquire or invest in its AT&T
Broadband unit at a three-day strategy retreat this weekend, but few
definite decisions are expected to emerge, sources familiar with the
matter said this week. AT&T, which has discussed options for its
cable operation with several potential suitors since rival Comcast
Corp. made an unsolicited $36.4 billion stock bid for the unit two
months ago, will spend part of the retreat getting a status report
on ``multiple'' proposals, the sources said. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010919/tc/telecoms_att_meeting_dc_1.html
DOUBLING OF VISITORS
SHOWS REACH OF ONLINE NEWS - The growing importance of the internet
as a news source was underlined by statistics showing that many news
sites experienced a surge in demand in the wake of last week's terrorist
attacks on the US. Data collated by Jupiter Media Metrix shows
that the number of daily unique visitors to a huge number of sites
more than doubled last week. CNN
confirmed its status as a multimedia news operation, as its site matched
the success of its television operation, attracting an average of
4.6m daily users, more than three times its usual audience of about
1.3m. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010919/tc/telecoms_att_meeting_dc_1.html
VIRULENT NIMDA COMPUTER WORM HITS U.S., ASIA - A damaging
new computer worm was spreading like wildfire across the Internet
on Wednesday, hitting both home users and business in an outbreak
that could prove more widespread and costly than the Code Red viruses,
computer security experts said. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010919/tc/tech_worm_dc_10.html
AIRLINES SUSPEND INTERNET ONLY FARES - http://www.msnbc.com/news/630908.asp?0si=-
E-MAIL ADDRESSES
TO DOUBLE BY 2005 - The world's e-mail accounts will double by 2005,
a high-tech consultancy predicted Monday.
According to IDC, a high-tech consultancy based in Framingham,
Mass, e-mail addresses will increase by 138 percent each year, growing
from 505 million in 2002 to 1.2 billion in 2005. IDC also predicted
that the number of person-to-person e-mails sent on an average day
will exceed 36 billion worldwide in 2005. http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/80812p-1127172c.html
PERMANENT
TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION - Only last year, it seemed self-evident that
we were witnessing an economic miracle - an information technology
revolution powered by innovation in computers, software and telecommunications.
A
slump in technology shares will not eliminate the sector's impact
on productivity. http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=166389374&i=393552&d=1808321
BUSINESSES TURN TO
VIDEOCONFERENCING AFTER ATTACKS - Indian technology consulting firm
MindTree Consulting used videoconferencing to link its U.S. workers
to worried families back home after terror attacks reduced New York's
landmark World Trade Center to a pile of burning rubble. http://us.news2.yimg.com/f/42/31/7m/dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010914/tc/attack_telecoms_videoconferencing_dc_1.html
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
As
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 team, please visit our
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