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Cisco Government Affairs E-Update
Volume 2, Issue 13
22 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.
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This Week@WASHINGTON, DC
VCS HIT UP WASHINGTON FOR A BROADBAND POLICY - The venture capital community is making the
lobbying for the formulation of a national broadband policy one of its
greatest priorities, in hopes such a campaign will accelerate the service's
availability and stimulate investment in the technologies, services
and applications that will result.
"I think there is huge potential there that is untapped
and unrealized," said Connie Correll, executive vice president
of TechNet), a lobbying coalition composed of U.S. technology executives.
TechNet has a goal of deploying 100-megabit-per-second broadband connections
to 100 million homes and businesses by the year 2010. A national policy
is imperative, Ms. Correll said, to establish the kind of environment
required to meet that goal. "Our ultimate goal is to have the White
House announce a nationwide policy, which we believe they may do in
the next month or so," Ms. Correll said. Paul Brownell, vice president
for public policy at Washington, D.C.-based National Venture Capital
Association said lobbying for more broadband deployment is one of the
organization's top priorities. http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1016641946952814160,00.html?mod=technolo
(paid subscription required)
HOLLINGS PROPOSES COPYRIGHT DEFENSE - BILL WOULD
REQUIRE ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS TO DETER PIRACY - A key senator introduced
legislation yesterday that would turn electronics manufacturers and
software developers into copyright police. Called the Consumer Broadband
and Digital Television Promotion Act, the bill -- introduced by Sen.
Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee
-- would require that new hardware and software, from CD players to
television sets to computers, block unauthorized copying of copyrighted
works. Content-industry lobbies, such as the Recording Industry Association
of America and the Motion Picture Association of America, have been
pushing for government intervention for months and lauded Hollings's
bill. Technology industry representatives and a consumer group attacked
it. The bill's supporters say
they aim to spur the growth of high-speed Internet access and digital
television. The argument goes that consumers don't want either kind
of service because they don't have enough programming and content --
and that copyright owners will never provide that content online until
they're sure people can't make and distribute unauthorized copies. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A92-2002Mar21.html,
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175390.html,
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-866337.html
TREATY
ON K STREET: DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT - Intel and AOL/TW just issued
a Joint Statement of Principles on Digital Rights Management. Perhaps “signed a peace treaty” would be a better description. The
1,000-word document is intricate, directed more at the inside players
in a complex dispute than at the general public. Interpretation is aided
by some background. Twice recently
the entertainment and tech industries hacked at each other about DRM
in Senate committee hearings. The first occasion was a cross between
pistols-at-dawn and a food fight. By
March 14 decorum reigned, but ill will remains.
http://www.cei.org/gencon/016,02927.cfm
AOL/TW – INTEL Statement of Principles: http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/20020319aol_intel.htm
BATTLE FOR MORE WIRELESS CHANNELS LOOMS - FCC chairman
sees long fight - The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission,
Michael K. Powell, warned wireless phone companies yesterday to expect
a long battle for additional airwave channels. Powell also told thousands of wireless industry executives attending
the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association annual convention
here that because wireless phones have grown from a premium service
to one millions of Americans rely on daily, the industry will face tougher
demands to provide better service and more reliable access for public-safety
purposes. http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/079/business/Battle_for_more_wireless_channels_looms+.shtml
WIRELESS INDUSTRY COUNTING ON US TO FREE UP SPECTRUM - President
Bush's ''spectrum czar'' said yesterday the administration is making
progress in freeing up airwave channels the cellphone industry says
it needs for reliable voice calling and advanced wireless data services. But Nancy Victory, head of the Commerce Department's
National Telecommunications & Information Administration, cautioned
that it could take years to free up the spectrum channels and that the
industry may not get all the airwave space it is hoping for. At the kickoff of the Cellular Telecommunications
& Internet Association's annual gathering here, Victory said her
agency hopes to complete by June an initial study on removing government
users, principally military applications, from 120 megahertz of spectrum
that is seen as a perfect fit for consumer wireless services. http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/078/business/Wireless_industry_counting_on_US_to_free_up_spectrum+.shtml
WIRELESS FIRMS RESIGNED ON NEXTWAVE, SEEK AIRWAVES - U.S. wireless carriers said this week they
were resigned to the fact they will not get access anytime soon to airwaves
tied up in a bankruptcy dispute and called on the government to find
other airwaves so new services can be deployed and expanded. A huge
swath of airwaves for major metropolitan areas like New York and Los
Angeles held by NextWave Telecom , a carrier trying to emerge from bankruptcy,
are at the center of a legal dispute expected to last for at least another
year. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=581&u=/nm/20020320/tc_nm/telecoms_nextwave_rivals_dc_1
GROUPS PLAN LAWSUIT AGAINST FCC CABLE MODEM RULING - Several
consumers groups and Internet service providers might sue to prevent
the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from instituting a ruling
made last week that would exempt cable ISPs from being required to open
their networks to competitors. Media Access Project Deputy Director
Cheryl Leanza said that it, the Center for Digital Democracy, the Consumer
Federation of America and some unidentified ISPs, are considering the
lawsuit along with other options to protest the FCC's decision, which
they say limits consumer choice. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175267.html
PRESIDENT’S IT BUDGET PUTS MONEY
BEHIND POLICY - Presidential
cybersecurity adviser Richard Clarke, speaking to industry representatives
at the FOSE trade show in Washington today, said 8 percent of the $52
billion proposed fiscal 2003 IT budget is earmarked for security. Executive branch officials are prohibited from
soliciting the private sector to lobby Congress for budget approval,
Clarke said, “so I will not say to you that it would be helpful.” The budget request is the result of major changes
in the federal budget process, Clarke said. For the first time, the
Office of Management and Budget took agencies’ IT security needs into
account when evaluating budget requests. Budgets that did not address
security deficiencies were sent back, and money in funding requests
was shifted around by OMB, Clarke said. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/18216-1.html
REVISED E-GOV BILL ACHIEVED - Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.)
is pushing ahead with a revised e-government bill that calls for spending
$345 million over four years and would establish an administrator to
head an e-government office at the Office of Management and Budget. The amended E-Government Act of 2001 is the
result of months of negotiations with the administration and Sen. Fred
Thompson (R-Tenn.), the ranking member on the Senate Governmental Affairs
Committee, which is scheduled to consider the bill March 21. "This is not just money and an office. It's a comprehensive
framework for implementing e-gov throughout federal agencies,"
said Leslie Phillips, a spokeswoman for Lieberman. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0318/web-egov-03-19-02.asp
JUSTICE APPOINTS NEW CIO - He developed Maryland's Information
Technology Strategic Plan and automated Philadelphia's records department.
Now the Justice Department wants Vance Hitch to oversee its troubled
IT. From dysfunctional computer
systems at the Immigration and Naturalization Service to the antiquated
systems of the FBI, the Justice Department is plagued by technology
problems. Attorney General John
Ashcroft appointed Hitch March 19 to solve them, naming the former Accenture
executive as Justice's chief information officer. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0318/web-cio-03-20-02.asp
FEDERAL COMPUTER WEEK’S 2002 FEDERAL 100 AWARD WINNERS - http://www.fcw.com/events/fed100/2002/winners.asp
ITI NAMES "HIGH-TECH LEGISLATORS
OF THE YEAR" FOR 2001 - The Information Technology Industry Council
(ITI) today named Senators George Allen (R-VA) and Harry Reid (D-NV)
as well as Congressmen Tom Davis (R-VA) and William Jefferson (D-LA)
as its "Legislators of the Year for 2001. The four Members were
recognized for their support and leadership on key information technology
issues. http://www.itic.org/2002prs/020320.htm
BROADCASTERS SHOULD STOP SQUATTING ON SPECTRUM - Many broadcasters,
as of yet, still haven't rolled-out digital television (DTV), raising
concern that the precious spectrum given to these companies is wasted.
In a prepared statement, Senator McCain said that he "believe[s]
that Congress must address this issue legislatively to protect the American
taxpayer and ensure that the DTV transition will become a reality."
McCain finds merit in the Bush administration 2003 budget that would
force broadcasters to pay a $500 million annual lease on any spectrum
they occupy past 2006. Another proposal, criticized by McCain, would
allow broadcasters to sell back the spectrum that the government gave
them to roll out DTV services. http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/15801-1.html
NTIA SPECTRUM SUMMIT - The National Telecommunications and
Information Administration (NTIA) will host a summit April 4-5 in Washington
DC to identify more efficient ways to manage the nation's airwaves.
The demand for radio spectrum from both commercial industries and the
government has increased tremendously in recent years. The goals of
the summit will be to develop policies to increase efficient use of
the spectrum; provide spectrum for new technologies; and improve the
effectiveness of domestic and international spectrum management.
The keynote speaker will be DOC Secretary of Commerce Donald L. Evans.
Other speakers include FCC Chairman Michael Powell and NTIA Assistant
Secretary for Communications and Information Nancy Victory. The
meetings are open to the public with seating available on a first-come,
first-served basis. http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/summit/index.html
This Week@INTERNATIONAL
WHAT IF THE NET WAS FREE AS AIR? - Consume, a London-based
project is using radio net technology called Wi-Fi to help users avoid
monthly Internet access fees to join an online communities. Over
400 Consume nodes exist in London and founder, James Stevens describes
users swapping music, sharing information and investigating ways to
use Consume nodes to support multiplayer gaming and stream music. Mr.
Stevens is currently working to set up 5 new Consume nodes that will
serve 5,000 people. "We found that there was indeed the potential
for wide adoption and easy utilization of the 11 megabits per second
wireless kit for free networking," he said. "That's
'free' as in speech." Wireless networks have shown up in Brighton,
Edinburgh, and the Welsh development agency is investigating using wireless
networks to help connect rural communities. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/in_depth/sci_tech/2000/dot_life/newsid_1878000/1878309.stm
BROADBAND GETS POPULAR - The number of UK users subscribing
to broadband has doubled since BT introduced its cheaper, self-install
service. Interest in the high-speed
internet service has shot up since its Plug & Go service was launched
last month, says BTopenworld's chief executive, Alison Ritchie. Between 8,000 and 10,000 customers a week are
now subscribing to BTopenworld's new product. Other ISPs have also seen an increase in demand in recent weeks
following BT's decision to cut the cost of wholesale ADSL. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1879000/1879477.stm
EUROPEAN COMMISSION TAKES FURTHER ACTION ON UNBUNDLING INFRINGEMENT
PROCEEDINGS AGAINST FIVE MEMBER STATES - As part of
its efforts to push for greater competition in broadband access, the
European Commission has decided to open infringement proceedings against
Germany, France, Ireland, the Netherlands and Portugal in relation to
the Regulation on Unbundling of the Local Loop. The action is being
taken because of the failure to ensure that the reference offer from
incumbent operators is complete and sufficiently detailed. http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/02/445|0|RAPID&lg=EN
SPEECH: Mr Erkki Liikanen Member of the European Commission,
responsible for Enterprise and the Information Society "Helping
Small and Medium Sized Businesses to Go Digital - European initiatives
and future perspectives" CeBIT Hannover, 18 March 2002 - http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=SPEECH/02/112|0|RAPID&lg=EN
PRESIDENCY CONCLUSIONS BARCELONA EUROPEAN COUNCIL - The European
Council met in Barcelona on 15 and 16 March for its second annual Spring
meeting on the economic, social and environmental situation in the Union.
http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=PRES/02/930|0|RAPID&lg=EN
U.S. CALLS FOR GLOBAL ACCESS TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - Access
to information and communication technologies (ICTs) is crucial to achieving
sustainable growth in developing countries, says the head of the U.S.
delegation to the Third World Telecommunication Development Conference
(WTDC) in Istanbul. Despite
the rapid growth of new technologies across the globe, "the gap
between the developed and the developing world persists," U.S.
delegation chief David Gross. http://usinfo.state.gov/cgi-bin/washfile/display.pl?p=/products/washfile/topic/econ&f=02032111.cec&t=/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml
NEW ZEALAND DRAFTS LAW REQUIRING 'INTERCEPTION' SOFTWARE -
Telecommunication network operators and Internet service providers in
New Zealand will be legally obligated to install software that will
allow police or the secret service to eavesdrop on phone calls or e-mail
messages. The new bill, which is being drafted right now, will require
all telecom and ISPs to be "interception-capable." E-mail
and vice messages may be intercepted by carriers when a High Court warrant
is presented to the carriers. "This law on interception capability
will bring us into line with legal requirements already in place in
a number of different countries including the United States, Germany,
Netherlands and the U.K.," says Associate Minister of Justice Paul
Swain. According to Swain, the government is expected to pay for this
provision for existing fixed and mobile networks to be implemented within
18 months of enactment of the legislation. Past that, however, network
operators will have to bear the cost of installing snooping software.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175371.html
MANY HACKER ATTACKS ARE TRACED TO SOUTH KOREA, REST OF PACIFIC
RIM - A global study traces a large percentage of computer attacks to
South Korea, which appears to have been involved in more cybersecurity
incidents than any country besides the U.S.
Predictive Systems Inc., a New York consulting firm, analyzed
data from intrusion-detection devices around the world in the fourth
quarter. Its study, to be released Monday, found that Pacific Rim countries
were involved in 91% of attacks that weren't traced to the U.S., which
continued to be the leading source of attacks and target for them. South
Korea accounted for 34%, followed by 29% for China, 10% for Japan and
7% for Taiwan, Predictive says. http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1016412760326351080.djm,00.html
(Paid Subscription required)
BROADBAND PROVIDERS FIND FORMULA TO LURE ASIAN SURFERS: CHEAP
PLANS - A period of tremendous growth for Asian broadband providers
has been the result of low monthly fees for consumers. According
to Pyramid research, a $25.38 monthly fee from Pacific Century Cyberworks,
Ltd. resulted in a 75% jump in broadband subscriptions. Softbank
Corp. started a price battle by cutting prices in half for their Yahoo
Broadband service. Today, each month more than 300,000 new subscribers
sign up in Japan. Two years ago in South Korea prices stabilized at
$27. Today 55% of South Korean households have broadband access.
While the sharp rise in subscribers is helping broadband providers reach
profitability, the earnings are slim. Andrew Chetham, an analyst at
Gartner Group in Hong Kong said, " Access providers are facing
a problem. They now have lots of broadband subscribers.
But what do you do next?" John Barrett, senior analyst at
Pyramid agrees, "It'll be very challenging for them to make money
on just access alone. Revenues lie in the content." http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1016467429562490400,00.html?mod=telecommunications%5Fprimary%5Fhs
(Requires subscription)
This Week@US STATES
VERIZON RETRACTS FCC APPLICATION TO SELL LONG-DISTANCE IN NEW
JERSEY - Verizon Communications Inc. withdrew its application to sell
long-distance phone service in New Jersey ahead of almost-certain rejection
by federal regulators. The company,
which has been pushing to sell long-distance service across the country,
took the step just one day before the Federal Communications Commission
was set to reject an application that has already passed muster with
the Justice Department and New Jersey regulators.
Verizon, which was formed from the 1999 merger of Bell Atlantic
Inc. and GTE Corp., already sells long-distance to about eight million
Americans in dozens of states formerly served by GTE. It needs the approval
of state and federal regulators to enter the 13 states, plus Washington,
D.C., that were once served by Bell Atlantic.
The withdrawal saves the company the public embarrassment of
a formal rejection, and gives it time to fix the issue. Verizon officials
said they hadn't given up on entering New Jersey's $4.5 billion long-distance
market. "We will refile promptly," said Tom
Tauke, the head of the company's Washington office. He added that he
expected the FCC to then "approve the application expeditiously."
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB101658085683975240.djm,00.html
(Paid Subscription required)
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
RECOMMENDS APPROVAL FOR BELLSOUTH APPLICATIONS TO OFFER LONG-DISTANCE
SERVICE IN GEORGIA AND LOUISIANA - The U.S. Department of Justice
today recommended approval of BellSouth's application to offer its customers
in Georgia and Louisiana long-distance telephone service. The application
was filed at the Federal Communications Commission on February 14. Although DOJ's recommendation is not binding,
the FCC, in ruling on BellSouth's application by a May 15 deadline,
is required by law to give the DOJ opinion "substantial weight." http://bellsouthcorp.com/proactive/newsroom/release.vtml?id=39723
WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY TO GET TEST IN D.C. AREA - Verizon Wireless and Lucent Technologies
Inc. announced today that they will begin trying out a technology in
Tysons Corner, VA and Rockville, MD next month that could offer businesses
advanced wireless Internet connections close to the speeds available
via cable modems or digital subscriber lines. The network will be capable
of data transmission speeds up to 2.4 megabits per second -- about 100
times current wireless speeds. If successful, this third-generation,
or 3G, technology may be installed throughout Verizon's network.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52675-2002Mar19.html
OTHER
TECH STORIES OF THE WEEK
STUDY: 100MB TO 100 MILLION HOMES NOT PROFITABLE WITHOUT TRAFFIC
PRIORITIZATION - Users need to be "forced" to deploy Multiprotocol
Label Switching (MPLS) and start setting priorization bits in the traffic
they send over broadband networks, according to a study released this
week by TeleChoice Inc., a market research consultancy. The issue could
be the difference between service providers making a healthy return
on investment or facing a "very ugly" financial future, according
to the study, which analyzes the impact of current campaigns in the
U.S. to roll out 100-Mbit/s connections to 100 million homes and offices
by the end of the decade. The study, Telechoice Perspective on Super-Broadband
Deployment Initiatives, says that if these plans go ahead, service providers
will have to cope with a massive increase in traffic on metro and long-haul
networks. NEWSTORY: http://www.lightreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=13273
THE REPORT: http://downloads.lightreading.com/2002/03/13273_011000-F4-teleChoice_perspective.pdf
(Adobe file)
MANY FIBER-OPTIC LINES UNUSED DESPITE RISING DEMAND - If you
think the crashing telecommunications industry is in chaos now, just
wait until it all flips around and the world is choking on Web traffic
and too many phone calls squeezing through too few fiber-optic lines. Instead of a bandwidth glut, a bandwidth shortage. It will happen sooner than conventional wisdom
dictates. When it does, a shortage
will push up consumer phone bills, hamper businesses getting swamped
by their data communications needs and hurt a technology industry that
thrives on the Internet. A shortage also should boost the stocks of
some telecom companies and give rise to a new set of upstart telecom
companies. Shortages could start appearing late this year.
In one worst-case scenario, fiber networks that were intended to have
enough capacity for 20 years would get filled up in five. http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2002/03/21/fiber-shortage.htm
CONSUMERS DON'T WANT TO MAKE ONLINE PURCHASES WITH CELLPHONES
- Simple and small: That's the message consumers are sending about how
they want to make purchases on their mobile phones. That was one of the key findings from a survey
that shows consumer enthusiasm for buying things online using mobile
phones has dropped steadily since 2000. But interest in paying for small
items like cans of soda or train tickets on the spot with phones instead
of with small change suggests some less-grandiose applications could
see widespread use. http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1016559287588926040.djm,00.html
(Paid Subscription Required)
AT&T WIRELESS SET TO LAUNCH 'M-MODE' SERVICE - AT&T Wireless
will launch a mobile internet service in April, using NTT DoCoMo's technology,
in an attempt to duplicate the success of its Japanese partner's popular
i-mode service. The service,
which will cater to both US business and consumer markets, will be called
m-mode. It will be the first result of DoCoMo's 2000 $1bn investment
in AT&T Wireless, which bought it a 16 per cent stake.
http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagename=View&c=Article&cid=FT3Z9L3N1ZC&live=true&tagid=ZZZPCGI2B0C
BROADBAND DELAYS PUT INTEL ON HOLD - The lack of consumer and
corporate broadband has become a huge issue for the technology sector.
It is likely the most important factor holding back innovation and a
rebound in the sale of communications equipment and computer equipment. And Sean Maloney is painfully aware of this
fact. As head of Intel's communications group he has faced a difficult
time. This business was supposed to be the rising star among the chip
giant's business groups but has instead floundered as telecommunications
and network markets have fallen into a stupor.
http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagename=View&c=Article&cid=FT3X7G6SXYC&live=true
GATES TO CREATE 70 SCHOOLS FOR DISADVANTAGED - The Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation is putting up more than $40 million to help
start 70 high schools that will try to keep disadvantaged students in
school by giving them college-level work in their junior and senior
years and enabling them to earn two-year associate degrees while they
earn high school diplomas. Three other foundations — Ford, Carnegie
and Kellogg — plan to participate in a more limited way, probably contributing
$1 million to $2 million each. The project, which will be formally announced
this morning at La Guardia Community College in Queens, is based on
the belief that the last two years of high school are a waste for many
students, who drop out because they lose interest in school. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/19/education/19GATE.html
(Free registration required)
NEWSWEEK COVER STORY: “SILICON VALLEY REBOOTS” - After the
dot-com bubble was reduced to soap scum, cynics took to calling its
epicenter “Death Valley.” Venture capitalists switched from free-spending
Medicis to Scrooge McDucks (2000: $21 billion invested. 2001: $6 billion).
Acres of office space, once harder to find than elbow room on a microchip,
are going begging, and unemployment has reached Dust Bowl proportions.
No. 3 in the Bay Area best-seller list? A book called “Dot.Con.” http://www.msnbc.com/news/724796.asp?0si=-
UK PUBLISHER PLANS GIANT RESEARCH WEB SITE - Plans to create one of the biggest reference
libraries on the Internet were unveiled in Britain on Wednesday. Reference
work publisher Oxford University Press hopes to publish 1.5 million
entries on 20 subjects on a subscription Web site by 2010.
"For us to have a future as an information provider we have
to be doing it on the internet," David Swarbrick, the project director,
told Reuters. The OUP says the Web site, http:/www.oxfordreference.com, will dwarf
existing general knowledge sources in print and could be the biggest
on the Worldwide Web. From astronomy to zoology, the Web site will cover
everything from science and medicine to statistics and the arts. Dictionaries,
dates and quotations in four languages will also be offered. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=582&u=/nm/20020320/wr_nm/britain_oxford_dc_2
LEGAL DOCS CAN BE SERVED BY E-MAIL - Lawyers can serve legal
documents via e-mail, a federal appeals court decided in a groundbreaking
ruling. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that a
Las Vegas hotel-casino could e-mail legal documents to an offshore company
with no physical address. "When
faced with an international e-business scofflaw playing hide-and-seek
with the federal court, e-mail may be the only means of effecting service
of process," the court said. "We acknowledge that we tread
upon untrodden ground." http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=528&u=/ap/20020321/ap_on_re_us/lawsuits_by_e_mail_1
IEEE APPROVES VERSION OF BLUETOOTH STANDARD - A global panel that sets electronics standards
has approved its own version of Bluetooth technology for short-range
wireless networks, the organization said on Thursday, paving the way
for wider acceptance of the standard that links cell phones, computers
and other devices. The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers,
an international body that sets the standards for a range of electrical
and electronic systems, said its 802.15.1 standard for wireless personal
area networks is fully compatible with the Bluetooth 1.1 standard promoted
by an industry group. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=581&u=/nm/20020321/tc_nm/tech_ieee_bluetooth_dc_1
HEWLETT-PACKARD CLAIMS VICTORY IN COMPAQ BID - Carly Fiorina,
chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, on Tuesday claimed shareholder backing
for the company's controversial $21bn bid for Compaq Computer. She would not provide details on the preliminary
margin of victory, other than to say that it was "slim but sufficient".
Although it would take several weeks before the official results
were known, Ms Fiorina said early estimates indicated that HP had prevailed
against the campaign mounted by Walter Hewlett, the dissident shareholder
and HP director who had been leading opposition to the deal.
http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagename=View&c=Article&cid=FT3XHTH50ZC&live=true&tagid=ZZZC00L1B0C
FACTS AND STATS:
Business wireless data users to increase - The number of business
wireless data users in the US is set to increase to more than USD39
million in 2002. http://www.instat.com/press.asp?ID=105&sku=IN020426MD
Worldwide B2B market grows - Internet-based B2B trading is
expected to total USD823.4 billion by the end of 2002, reports CyberAtlas.
http://cyberatlas.internet.com/markets/b2b/article/0,,10091_986661,00
.html
Net population to near 950 million by 2005 - Newsbytes reports
that the number of Internet users around the world is expected to reach
943 million by 2005. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175192.html
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
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
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