Cisco Government Affairs E-Update

Volume 2, Issue 10

1 March 2002

Brought to you by Cisco Government Affairs Online: http://www.cisco.com/gov

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

SPECIAL SECTION – TAUZIN-DINGELL – The U.S. House of Representatives this week passed HR 1542, the Internet Freedom and Broadband Deployment Act, also known as the Tauzin-Dingell bill, by a vote of 273 to 157.

The Bill: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.01542:
The Vote Tally: http://clerkweb.house.gov/cgi-bin/vote.exe?year=2002&rollnumber=45
Floor Speech by Senate Commerce Chairman Hollings (D-SC) - http://www.techlawjournal.com/cong107/tauzin_dingell/20020225hollings.asp

NEWS Coverage:

FINANCIAL TIMES - http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagename=View&c=Article&cid=FT3W5O2S7YC&live=true&tagid=IXLT95DZ1BC
L.A. TIMES - http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-000015111feb28.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dtechnology
N.Y. TIMES - http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/28/technology/ebusiness/28BROA.html
WASHINGTON POST - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14006-2002Feb27.html
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE - http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/02/28/BU1928.DTL

INDUSTRY Comment:
BellSouth - http://bellsouthcorp.com/proactive/newsroom/release.vtml?id=39343
Verizon - http://newscenter.verizon.com/proactive/newsroom/release.vtml?id=71354&PROACTIVE_ID=cecfcac8c6cac9c6c8c5cecfcfcfc5cecfc8c7cfc7cdcdcac8c5cf
SBC - http://www.sbc.com/press_room/1,5932,31,00.html?query=20020227-1
AT&T - http://www.att.com/press/item/0,1354,4228,00.html
Sprint - http://www3.sprint.com/PR/CDA/PR_CDA_Press_Releases_Detail/1,1579,5640,00.html
WorldCom - http://www.worldcom.com/about_the_company/press_releases/display.phtml?cr/20020227-2
Covad - http://www.covad.com/companyinfo/pressreleases/pr_2002/022602_press.shtml
National Cable Television Assoc.(NCTA) - http://www.ncta.com/press/press.cfm?PRid=236&showArticles=ok
US Telecom Assoc. (USTA) - http://media.usta.org/pr/pressRelease.cfm?id=92
Assoc. for Local Telecom Services (ALTS) -http://www.alts.org/NewsPress/022702PR%20on%20Final%20Passage%20of%20T-D.pdf (Adobe document)
Cisco is neutral on HR 1542.

This Week@WASHINGTON, DC

NATIONWIDE BROADBAND COULD CREATE 1.2 MILLION JOBS – REPORT - The New Millennium Research Council released a study, sponsored by Verizon, estimating that a nationwide broadband network could create more than 1.2 million jobs. “This study is a result of work developed in response to proposals for research received by TeleNomic Research over the past four months concerning the potential impact of increased broadband deployment on job creation. Initial work was done at the request of equipment manufacturers and their associations. Further interest in the issue was peaked by the recent releases of studies by TechNet and other high-tech organizations on the need for increased broadband deployment. Financial support for the publication of this final report has been provided by Verizon. The New Millennium Research Council provided in-kind support. http://www.newmillenniumresearch.org/event-02-25-2002/jobspaper.pdf (Adobe File)

NPRM ON BROADBAND - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a notice in the Federal Register regarding its notice of proposed rule making (NPRM) regarding the appropriate regulatory framework for broadband access to the Internet over wireline facilities. http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2002_register&docid=02-4679-filed

DISNEY'S EISNER ASKS U.S. TO SPEED COPYRIGHT ACCORD - Walt Disney Co. Chairman Michael Eisner urged U.S. lawmakers to set a deadline for the entertainment industry, equipment makers and computer companies to agree on a way to guard copyrighted works from digital piracy.  Eisner told the Senate Commerce Committee the government must push companies to agree on standards to protect creative works whose production employs 4 million people and generates more than $450 billion in annual revenue. Companies have balked at broadcasting digital movies on television without standards.  ``We're dealing with an industry some of whom feel that the availability of illegal material to the consumer, like this kid, sells computers,'' he said after showing a video of a teenager demonstrating how he downloads films from the Internet.  If a solution is reached, more consumers likely will buy fast Internet service and digital television, Eisner and other executives said. The government wants to promote both technologies to get consumers more information and services and to boost business productivity.  http://quote.bloomberg.com/newsarchive/?refer=newsad, http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020228/ap_on_hi_te/internet_piracy_2

OP-ED BY MPAA’S JACK VALENTI - Movies Get Framed - Films on the Net -- we'd love it. But not for free. The movie industry is under siege from a small community of professors who argue (1) that broadband access to the Internet will never gain consumer acceptance without movies legitimately being made available on the Net and (2) that producers deliberately are holding back the exhibition of movies on the Net because of -- in the words of Lawrence Lessig ["Who's Holding Back Broadband," op-ed, Jan. 8] -- "the threat the Net presents to their relatively comfortable way of doing business." Add to this (3) the accusation that copyright owners are stifling innovation in the digital world. The first claim is true: The great omission in digital downloads is the lack of legitimate movie availability. Text is mainly what the Net offers. A recent survey revealed that 68 percent of all home computer users say they're satisfied with their normal 56K computer modem. It can download pretty much all that's on the Net, as not much (legal) material is out there that's chock full of graphics and in a consumer-friendly format to create the need for a cable modem or a digital subscriber line (DSL).  http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A62085-2002Feb24?language=printer

WHITE HOUSE SPURNS TECH PROGRAMS LEFT OVER FROM CLINTON PRESIDENCY - Only those with "an unreal understanding" of U.S. capitalism would expect the poor, minorities and rural residents to immediately have the same access to the Internet as other Americans, the nation's top telecommunications regulator has said. Government efforts to bridge the divide, he added, veer toward "socialization."  The skepticism expressed last year by Michael Powell, the Bush appointee who is chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, plainly seems to be shared by the rest of the administration. Breaking with Clinton administration policy, the Bush team has set about quietly dismantling many programs devoted to ending the so-called digital divide. The latest casualty: the Technology Opportunities Program -- or TOP -- one of Mr. Clinton's favorites. Bush officials, including chief economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey, also oppose Democratic proposals for tax incentives for companies that bring broadband Internet access to poor and rural areas. And the administration may take aim again at the FCC's popular "e-rate" program, widely credited with helping to wire thousands of inner-city schools and libraries. http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1014760589610593200,00.html?mod=politics%5Fprimary%5Fhs (Paid Subscription required)

BROADBAND INTERNET NEVER COMETH? - As broadband suppliers fall by the wayside, victims of the high cost of provisioning, masses of potential subscribers have been choosing to avoid the steep monthly subscription costs and startup fees of high-speed Internet access. These and other factors have combined to weaken consumer broadband projections for 2002. Analysts pointed to expensive price points for consumers, slow equipment deployment by broadband providers, lack of content requiring high-bandwidth availability, and a continuing recession as factors that must be overcome before broadband access becomes standard in American homes. In addition, businesses that rely on delivering their wares via high-speed media are at risk as the broadband industry, the U.S. government and the public attempt to sort out the many regulatory and economic issues that have contributed to slow broadband growth. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/16476.html

DIGITAL SIGNATURE TECHNOLOGY WINS AGENCY'S SEAL OF APPROVAL - Energy Dept. Uses E-Authentication To Send Proposal - When Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham sent President Bush his formal recommendation to use Yucca Mountain as a nuclear-waste storage site, he sent the president an e-mail.  Not just an ordinary e-mail, though. This one used "digital signature" technology and had an attachment that, when printed out, would be a 9,500-page, 4-foot-tall document weighing 80 pounds -- the product of 24 years of research on how the U.S. could store nuclear waste.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20465-2002Feb28.html

AGENCIES TEST CUSTOMER SATISFACTION - In introducing its broad e-government agenda last fall, the Bush administration said it wants to use technology to better connect with citizens. Now two federal agencies are testing a software tool that gauges how strong that connection really is.  NASA and the General Services Administration are conducting pilot studies on Web sites they operate by adding a customer satisfaction survey based on the American Customer Satisfaction Index (www.theacsi.org). http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0225/web-survey-02-25-02.asp

U.S. GOVERNMENT GIVES WEB A FACELIFT - The U.S. government got an online facelift Wednesday as Vice President Dick Cheney unveiled an updated government Web site that encourages citizens to do everything from pay taxes to book campgrounds over the Internet. The Bush administration also released a plan to improve its online services and better coordinate how it spends the $52 billion earmarked for high-tech efforts next year.  The redesigned site ropes together 35 million federal Web pages, along with state and local government sites, to provide an array of services and information. www.firstgov.gov; http://zdnet.com.com/2100-11-847557.html

CHENEY: BUSH BUDGET TO BOOST HIGH-TECH - Speaking at the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, vice president Dick Cheney called on technology industry leaders to support an increased budget for defense and homeland security, saying it could help lead the high-tech sector out of recession.  Cheney explained that the Bush administration's request for a $48 billion increase in the US budget for defense and a $38 billion budget for homeland security will actually help the tech industry.  Money would support a range of research and development programs, said Cheney. He suggested that Silicon Valley companies in need of a new mission could conduct much of this new work.http://news.com.com/2102-1017-842615.html

This Week@INTERNATIONAL

SLOW PROGRESS IN UNBUNDLING OF THE LOCAL LOOP: Commission publishes report on sector enquiry - Access to the last mile of telephone lines into European homes or, as specialists say, the unbundling of the local loop (ULL), which is essential to develop competition for the benefit of consumers and put broadband Internet within the reach of citizens, has so far been very unsatisfactory, shows a study by law firm Squire, Sanders and Dempsey. The study, prepared for the Commission and the EFTA Surveillance Authority and published on the Commission's website, reflects the views of newcomers to the market which are dependent on the incumbent operators' networks to reach consumers. They are very much in line witgh the findings of the Seventh Iplementation Report^.  The unbundling or access to the local loop on fair terms was required by a Council Regulation of December 2000. The Commission invites the EU Member States, national competition and regulatory authorities and dominant players to reflect on the results of this study and to play their part to ensure that the objectives of unbundling are met. In the meantime, the Commission, which has already launched infringement proceedings against some Member States in December, may take action against those companies which abuse their dominant position. http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/02/348|0|RAPID&lg=EN&display=

SPEECH: MR ERKKI LIIKANEN Member of the European Commission, responsible for Enterprise and the Information Society "The future of the eEurope Action Plan" Informal Telecoms Council Vitoria, - http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=SPEECH/02/81|0|RAPID&lg=EN

SPANISH EU PRESIDENCY SUPPORTS MARKET COMPETITION - Speaking at the opening of European Competition Day, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Economy Rodrigo Rato has underlined that the Spanish Presidency will promote the Lisbon process in order to achieve greater market integration and competitiveness. http://www.ue2002.es/DetalleNewsletters.asp?idioma=ingles&opcion=1&subopcion=1&id=798

WHICH BROADBAND TECHNOLOGY WILL WIN? - Predicting which of the four major kinds of broadband service will triumph in the battle to channel colossal streams of data into your homes and offices is currently exercising some of the finest of hi-tech minds.  Successful marketing will, as usual, be vital but, in the end, technology will tell.  Yet there is unlikely to be a single victor, according to Tony Morbin, editor-in-chief of Kagan Euromedia: "It will not be a question of winners and losers. It will be horses for courses and will be different from one country to another."  http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_696000/696138.stm

EUROPE NEEDS BROADBAND COMPETITION - Demand for broadband in Europe is continuing to grow, but competition is needed to drive carriers to upgrade their networks, says a new study.  The demand for high-speed Internet access in Europe will rise, according to a recent study, but more competition is needed among local telephone providers if consumers want better broadband technology.  Research firm Frost & Sullivan predicts that the number of broadband subscribers in Western Europe will grow from 3.8 million at the end of 2001 to 28.1 million in 2008.  http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2105046,00.html

EU TELECOMS MINISTERS OK PLAN TO BOOST WEB USE  - EU telecoms ministers on Friday unanimously approved Spain's plan to bolster Internet usage and help the 15-nation bloc catch up to the United States. With only 37 percent of EU homes connected to the Internet, versus 50 percent in the United States, the ministers renewed an agreement reached two years ago and about to expire. In Spain, the country currently holding the rotating EU presidency, only 25 percent of homes are wired to the Internet.  "The ministers propose that the next (EU) summit in Barcelona provide a new political push toward the development of the information society," Spanish Science and Technology Minister Anna Birules told reporters in Vitoria, in Spain's northern Basque region. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=582&u=/nm/20020222/wr_nm/eu_internet_dc_1

BROADBAND OR DEATH FOR CABLE FIRMS - UK operators press ahead with rollout plans - Despite crippling debts and tougher competition, UK cable operators are pushing ahead with the rollout of broadband. Telewest is to launch a 1Mb system to provide a super-fast internet service towards the end of the year. The operator, which is about £5bn in debt, said that it could launch the service without any substantial new investment.  NTL, the UK's biggest cable company, which is in the red to the tune of £12bn, is expected to follow suit in a couple of weeks. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1129533

SMEs ONLINE IN U.K. - According to a recently-published report from the UK Office of Telecommunications (Oftel), 92% of medium businesses and 62% of small businesses had internet access as of November 2001. Oftel also reports that most small businesses (78%) were accessing the internet with public switch telephone networks (PSTN) or dial-up service. The method of internet connectivity was not as concentrated in one format among medium businesses -- integrated services digital network (ISDN) connections were used by 43% and 37% used PSTN or dial-up services. http://www.oftel.gov.uk/publications/research/2002/q7fixb0202.htm
http://www.emarketer.com/estatnews/estats/ebusiness/20020228_oftel.html

WORLDWIDE INTERNET GROWTH IS SLOWING - STUDY  - The Internet still is welcoming millions of new netizens each year, but according to a new study, the growth rate is slowing down - especially in developed countries.  Alan Mosher, a senior analyst with Probe Research, the company that conducted the study, told Newsbytes the base number of Internet users has become so large that the days of triple digit growth are not possible any more.  "You see this especially in the United States," said Mosher. "It is becoming incremental growth, rather than the wide-open growth we saw in the past."  Analysts are waiting for the Internet's "next stage," he said, as the world's Web users make up their mind how aggressively they convert to broadband. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174687.html

BIG BRITISH PHONE COMPANY TO CUT PRICES FOR BROADBAND - The BT Group said today that it would reduce the price of high-speed connections to the Internet, a move seen by some analysts as a signal that the new management team is ready to attack some problems that have long plagued the company. BT said that starting on April 1 it would lower the price it charged other phone companies for the use of its network to £14.75 (about $21) a month, from £25 to £30. These phone companies then resell the service, called broadband, to individual customers. Consumer prices are most likely to drop below £30 a month from the current £40 as a result, analysts predicted. (BT also offers its own broadband service directly to consumers through its BTopenworld subsidiary, which also must pay to use the BT network.) http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/27/technology/27BRIT.html

ISPS OFFER BROADBAND FOR UNDER £20 - Pipex and Freedom2surf lead the way - Pipex and Freedom2Surf have thrown down the gauntlet to other internet service providers (ISPs) by setting ADSL retail prices of £19.95 and £19.15 (excluding VAT) respectively from 1 April. http://www.vnunet.com/News/1129509

MOBILCOM MAY PUBLISH FRANCE DEAL TEXT - German phone company Mobilcom AG, embroiled in a dispute with partner France Telecom over funding for a new-generation mobile phone network, said Wednesday it was considering publishing the text of agreements between the companies in an effort to resolve the matter.  France Telecom in 2000 bought 28.5 percent of Mobilcom, which in August of that year became one of six successful bidders for next-generation mobile networks in Germany, Europe's largest market.  But the two sides have fallen out over the French company's funding obligations for the so-called third-generation services.  http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=528&u=/ap/20020227/ap_on_bi_ge/mobilcom_france_telecom_2

COPYRIGHT: COMMISSION HOLDS WORKSHOP ON DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT TO PROMOTE PROTECTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF DIGITAL CONTENT ON THE INTERNET - The promotion of open, flexible and interoperable Digital Rights Management Systems (DRMS) is the subject of a workshop organised by the European Commission in Brussels on 28^th February. Representatives of the content, information technology, and consumer electronics industries, as well as several user and consumer associations, will participate to set out their views on how to make DRMS acceptable to all market players and how to bring about co-operation between them. Erkki Liikanen, the Information Society Commissioner and Frits Bolkestein, the Internal Market Commissioner, will both speak at the event. http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/02/320|0|RAPID&lg=EN

RUSSIAN SCHOOLS TO GET PCS AND INTERNET - The Russian Education Ministry is attempting to provide access to personal computers and the Internet for every child in every school in every village in the country. This effort is the second part of a nationwide project known as Children of Russia. The first stage saw the installation of 56,500 computers and 9,000 printers in 30,700 village schools in all federal districts. Now the rest of the nation's schools are to be accommodated.  Unlike the first stage, where schools only received one or two computers, the second stage strives to provide schools with enough computers to organize entire classes. The Education Ministry hopes to complete this second stage by October 2002.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2002/02/20/052.html

FILE-SHARING COULD MEAN REVENUE FOR EVERYONE - KAZAA  - The Australian distributor of file-sharing software known as Kazaa says the battle lines between copyright holders and consumers who want to swap digital music and video online could be erased if governments instituted compulsory licensing schemes that touch all technology companies benefiting from the peer-to-peer explosion.  What's more, Sharman Networks declared this week in a letter to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Joseph Biden, D- Del., unleashing all-you-can-download digital content on the Internet could beef up much-needed consumer demand for broadband services and infrastructure in the U.S. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174861.html

AUSSIE FIRMS DIVIDED ON NET - Reuters reports that many Australian firms are "shying away" from the

Internet as they are concerned about the reliability and security of online transactions. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905357679&rel=true

A LESSON IN COMPUTER LITERACY FROM INDIA'S POOREST KIDS - Sugata Mitra, head of research efforts at New Delhi's NIIT, a fast-growing software and education company, conducted an experiment providing PC and Internet access poor New Delhi children. He discovered that with days, and with out assistance, the kids had taught themselves to draw on the computer and to browse the Net. As a result of his experiment, Mitra is convinced that 500 million children could achieve basic computer literacy over the next five years, if the Indian government put 100,000 Net-connected PCs in schools and trained teachers in some basic "noninvasive" teaching techniques for guiding children in using them. http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/mar2000/nf00302b.htm

MEXICO WANTS AN E-REVOLUTION  - The goals of Mexico's e-gov revolution are lofty, promising everything from free e-mail accounts for every Mexican to the restoration of faith in government. Launched last year to great fanfare, e-México envisions wiring the entire country to the Internet, then offering educational, health and government services online. President Vicente Fox has slathered praise on the $4 billion initiative, saying it will push Mexico into the ranks of the developed world. But the initiative received no funding in 2001 and a paltry $73 million this year. So far, only 250 of the 10,000 communities the government hopes will be logged on to the system by 2006 have been linked. Moreover, it is unclear how the cash-strapped government will pay for the thousands of computers needed to complete the network, which will be accessible through digital "kiosks" in public libraries, schools and offices. Under the plan, 85 percent of the Mexicans would have Internet access -– currently only 6 percent do. http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,50622,00.html;
e-Mexico plan - http://www.e-mexico.gob.mx/

This Week@US STATES

SILICON VALLEY SUPPORTING MEASURE E:  Voters in San Jose, CA are being asked to vote for Measure E -- a bond measure that will raise funds for the Mission Valley school district's infrastructure and technology improvements. Please view the Measure E website at:  www.wvm-yes-on-e.org for more information.

THE SPEED YOU NEED - Though lots of home users would enjoy fast Internet in theory, in reality they aren't willing to pay for it. That's a big problem for the industry. Jeff Brown has considered getting a cable modem or DSL service to juice up the slow Internet connection on his home computer, but each time he weighs the options, dial-up wins. Sure, being able to receive Internet content at least 10 times faster than he now does would be nice; but he would probably have to buy a new computer. He worries that his late-1990s Compaq Presario wouldn't be able to process information fast enough for broadband connections. And then there's the cost: from $40 to $50 a month. The biggest reason, though, is that he just doesn't see much of a need for speed. 
http://www.newsobserver.com/wednesday/business/Story/1101229p-1100955c.html

HIGH-SPEED INTERNET ACCESS SPREADING, THOUGH SLOWLY - A study released earlier this month by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) suggests that more students might have high-speed internet access in their homes this year—but not many more.  Access to high-speed, or “broadband,” internet services is expanding slowly at all levels, according to the study. Analysts who study the telecommunications industry attribute this slow growth not to the availability of broadband services, but to a lack of demand.  The report said 7 percent of U.S. households had high-speed access by the end of last June, up from 4.7 percent at the beginning of 2001 and more than triple the 1.6 percent with access in August 2000.  http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=3536

E-GOVERNMENT WILL AID ANTI-TERRORISM EFFORTS - A majority of Americans believe e-government initiatives will help federal, state, and local governments track down criminals and terrorists and respond to threats, according to a new poll released today.  In its latest e-government survey, “To Connect, Protect, and Serve Us,” the Council for Excellence in Government found that 90 percent of the public feels “very” or “highly favorable” toward e-government systems that would help federal, state and local law enforcement officials exchange information to help apprehend and prosecute criminals and terrorists.  http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/174759.html
The Survey - http://www.excelgov.org/techcon/0225poll/index.htm

ROCKY START IN 'CYBER' CLASSROOMS - Pa. School Districts' Resistance Slows Online Charter Schools - Jonathan Shelley, 12, sits in front of his home computer and pulls up the day's science lesson. Downstairs in the living room, his 13-year-old brother, Joshua, taps away at his keyboard, taking part in a discussion about short stories led by his English teacher 90 miles away. For the Shelley boys, it's another day in what school choice advocates and some entrepreneurs call the classroom of the future. The children, and 5,100 Pennsylvania students like them, are enrolled in "cyber charter schools" -- online home schools funded by tax dollars and supervised by far-flung public school systems.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1935-2002Feb25.html

OFFICIAL SCRAMBLES TO SAVE INFORMATION AGENCY - Scrambling to save his much-maligned department from being shut down by state leaders, California's chief information officer turned to companies that do business with his department and other state agencies for help lobbying legislators.  In a controversial appeal to technology consultants and suppliers, Elias Cortez hinted that the elimination of the Department of Information Technology could jeopardize their contracts with the state, according to a letter obtained by the Mercury News.  http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/2760975.htm

AEA ANNOUNCES HIGH-TECH LEGISLATORS OF THE YEAR - California Legislators Honored for Advancing High-Tech Legislation - AeA, the nation’s largest high-tech trade association, today revealed the five names of the legislators to be presented with its respected High-Tech Legislator of the Year Award. The award recognizes significant individual effort to advance high-tech legislation. Two state Senators and three state Assemblymembers will be honored this year.  http://www.aeanet.org/PressRoom/pret_022702CALegHOF.asp

OTHER TECH STORIES OF THE WEEK

COMCAST TO OPEN HIGH-SPEED INTERNET NETWORK TO RIVAL ISP - Comcast Corp. plans to announce today that it has signed a deal to open its high-speed Internet network to a competing online service -- United Online Inc., the nation's third-largest Internet service provider. California-based United will offer service under its Juno and NetZero brands, which collectively provide Web access to 5.6 million people over dial-up connections. The accord will allow the company to offer its customers high-speed access in areas where Comcast provides Internet service.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1981-2002Feb25.html

GREENSPAN SAYS HE SEES THE START OF LIKELY WEAK RECOVERY IN U.S. - The economic recovery appears to have begun, but it's likely to be weak with little risk of stoking inflation, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Wednesday, suggesting that interest rates aren't about to rise anytime soon.  In congressional testimony, Mr. Greenspan skillfully wove optimism about imminent recovery and firm consumer spending with caution about high household debt, eroded wealth and weak capital spending. The net result was to reassure investors that the recession was probably over but that a boost in interest rates isn't imminent. http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB101482234680991320,00.html?mod=home_whats_news_us (Paid subscription required)

STANDARD SPURS 3D CONTENT FOR WIRELESS DEVICES - The Web3D Consortium issued a draft version of X3D, essentially a 3D version of XML (extensible marking language), this week. Bringing eye-popping three-dimensional images to wireless devices is among the objectives behind development of the new software standard.  The release establishes the basis for commercial implementation and evaluation of an open, royalty-free standard to be offered for acceptance by the International Standards Organization (ISO) later this year. According to the Web3D group, the specification will help create state-of-the-art 3D graphics on small-scale Web clients. Additionally, it will speed the integration of 3D graphics with applications for broadcast and embedded devices, including set-top boxes, mobile phones, PDAs (personal digital assistants) and gaming consoles. 
Web3D Consortium: http://www.web3d.org/ http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/16542.html

FORMER PRESIDENT CLINTON CALLS FOR IT TO FIGHT TERRORISM - Addressing a gathering of over 1800 delegates from over 55 countries at the 2002 World Congress on Information Technology, former U.S. president Bill Clinton called for developed nations to use IT to bridge the digital divide, and use technology to make partners--not terrorists--of developing nations.  "You can make a compelling argument for technology having created a more interdependent world, but so far we have failed to create a more integrated world," Clinton said.  He pointed out that during his presidency, technology had been responsible for 30 percent of U.S. economic growth, and emphasised the importance of technological development for debt-burdened countries. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-846191.html

THE VATICAN AND THE INTERNET - Demonstrating its understanding of communications in the new millennium, the Vatican set out its "Catholic view of the Internet" on Thursday, in an effort to bring "moral wisdom" to what it considers a "marvelous technological instrument."  In a document, called "Ethics in Internet," one of two documents unveiled Thursday, the Catholic church said the Internet has the potential to bring much good to the world, but that "harm also can be done by its improper use. Which it will be, good or harm, is largely a matter of choice -- a choice to whose making the church brings two elements of great importance: her commitment to the dignity of the human person and her long tradition of moral wisdom."  Vatican document: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/pccs/documents/rc_pc_pccs_doc_20020228_ethics-internet_en.html
News story: http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,50757,00.html

ARMY ONLINE UNIVERSITY EXPANDS IN SECOND YEAR - The Army plans to nearly double the size of an e-learning program that provides free online degree courses to soldiers around the world, the program’s officials announced recently.  EArmyU.com, an online portal that connects soldiers to degree programs at universities across the country, enrolled 12,000 students in its first year of operation, according to Barbara Lombardo, eArmyU.com coordinator for PricewaterhouseCoopers, which is managing the program for the Army. The Army plans to enroll another 10,000 students by the end of fiscal 2002.  http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0202/022602b1.htm

ENGINEER BATTLES TO BREAK STEREOTYPES IN THE MALE-DOMINATED PROFESSION - Jane Butler had her first brush with the skepticism she would encounter in the male-dominated world of engineering 30 years ago. Summoned to the headmistress's office at her school in southern England, she was told she was unlikely to pass college entrance exams and should choose a profession better suited to a woman.  "To a shy 15-year-old, that was a strong indicator that I might be making a major mistake," Ms. Butler says. She got the last laugh, scoring top marks in the math, physics and chemistry exams, and going on to earn her engineering degree with honors. Now she is director of consultants in Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Cisco Systems Inc. But she doesn't detect much change in attitude. "The odds are that a young girl won't opt for engineering, because of the negative feelings she's exposed to," Ms. Butler says. http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1014852331463327640.djm,00.html

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BEYOND THE BOX: HOW WILL TELEVISION EVOLVE? - The idea that television and the PC will converge in one device is overrated, said James Ackerman, CEO of OpenTV, but they are becoming "cousins" in more and more homes. Speaking at a Cyberposium 2002 panel on technology and change in the entertainment and media industry, experts predicted a gradual consumer movement from linear to on-demand programming. Panelists indicated that the growth of on-demand, commercial-free television will require the industry to develop new economic models. "The cost of creating new programs isn't coming down. We need to find new economic models for consumers to pay for content," said Ackerman "If you want to see the future of television, go out and buy a TiVo," agreed Thomas McGrath, executive vice president of the Viacom Entertainment Group. "Over 80 percent of consumers with TiVo never watch a commercial at all." That trend will have dramatic economic consequences for the industry, he added, since networks won't be able to produce new programs without advertising revenue. http://hbsworkingknowledge.hbs.edu/pubitem.jhtml?id=2789&sid=-1&t=special_reports_cyber2002

FACTS AND STATS:

ECOMMERCE TO RAKE IN OVER USD1 TRILLION - Over USD1 trillion will be spent online this year, reports the

Ecommerce Times. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905357671&rel=true

ECOMMERCE SOARING IN JAPAN - Ecommerce is thriving in Japan despite the downturn in the economy as a whole, reports Japan Today.  http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905357685&rel=true

US HIGH SCHOOLS MOVING ONLINE - Over half of high schools in the US now offer online courses or are planning to do so, reports CyberAtlas.  http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905357688&rel=true

MORE WOMEN IN ASIA COMMUNICATING ONLINE - The use of online communication tools by Asian women is increasing, according to NetValue. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905357670&rel=true

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.

CISCO GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS@2001

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