Cisco Government Affairs E-Update

Volume 2, Issue 14

29 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

This Week@WASHINGTON, DC

SMALL COMPANIES SEEN AS UNTAPPED MARKET FOR BROADBAND -Mike Weir of Cisco’s IBSG group participated in a Department of Commerce roundtable on broadband and productivity For smaller businesses, broadband is essential to connecting them with their customers and trading partners wherever they may be, said Mike. Small and medium-size businesses represent “huge digital opportunity” if they can be persuaded to buy into broadband, Undersecretary of Commerce-Technology Phillip Bond said Mon. at roundtable on broadband and business productivity. Most companies haven’t made broadband central to their operations, he said. In fact, he said, National Federation of Small Businesses (NFIB) survey found that by margin of 6-1 small en-terprises
didn’t see Internet as critical to their success. (Communications Daily, March 26) –
Cisco IBSG: www.cisco.com/ibsg

POLICY-MAKING SLOWED BY TELECOM, IT DISPUTES - That's the message from Bush official - The growth of high-speed Internet service is crucial for everything from economic growth to homeland defense, but it is being hindered by a conflict between the two industries most important to broadband's widespread adoption: telecommunications and information technology. That's the message Bruce P. Mehlman, the Bush Administration's assistant secretary of commerce for technology policy, delivered to about 200 at the annual meeting of the N.C. Electronics and Information Technologies Association on Thursday morning at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill. And because of that conflict, the federal government is having a hard time figuring out how to come up with specific policy changes that all sides say are needed to jump-start growth of broadband services such as DSL and cable modems, which allow subscribers to get on the Internet at much higher speeds than traditional dial-up services allow. "Telecommunications and information technology are crashing into each other" because voice and data services are converging into one medium, Mehlman said. But the traditional providers of those services, the heavily regulated Bell phone companies and IT companies, argue fiercely for opposite policy remedies. http://www.newsobserver.com/friday/business/technology/Story/1106558p-1105100c.html

COMPANIES FACE STOCK OPTIONS CHALLENGE - Silicon Valley likes to promote its culture of innovation and risk taking, where two hard-working guys left alone in a garage can build a major company that changes the course of technology. It is often less willing to talk about all of the big, established companies in its midst, which critics say continue to benefit from generous accounting practices more appropriate for struggling startups. Now these two images of Silicon Valley are colliding in Washington as an old debate resurfaces over the accounting used for stock options, a cherished form of compensation here, which some lawmakers say is in need of reform. Last month, Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) introduced a bill that would require companies to report the cost of the stock options they grant on their income statements, or lose the right to deduct these costs from their tax returns. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=581&u=/nm/20020324/tc_nm/column_nettrends_dc_19

STOCK OPTIONS COME UNDER FIRE IN THE WAKE OF ENRON'S COLLAPSE - One day last month, lobbyists from 30 of the nation's biggest companies met in a conference room here at the offices of software giant Oracle Corp. Another 30 joined in via speaker phone. They represented businesses as diverse as Citigroup Inc. and Oracle's archrival, Microsoft Corp. In the wake of the Enron Corp. scandal, they were united in a common cause: saving stock options -- a goodie widely blamed for fueling many of the corporate excesses of the 1990s, including Enron's. Their common foe: a broad new coalition of lawmakers from both parties, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, big institutional investors and global accountants. Supporters of stock options say they give employees a financial stake in their companies' success, which ultimately benefits all shareholders. http://online.wsj.com/article/0,4286,SB1017093594617163160,00.html?mod=Page%20One (Paid subscription required)

OPTION REFORM GAINS BACKING - Many of the nation's largest pension funds yesterday threw their weight behind efforts to persuade companies to count the cost of stock options for executives as an expense when they report their income. By a voice vote, the Council of Institutional Investors (CII), whose public, corporate and labor pension fund members manage more than $2 trillion in assets, reversed itself on the controversial options issue. In the mid-1990s the council opposed such a measure, said Beth Young, a consultant on corporate governance to the AFL-CIO. But with the controversy over options as part of executive compensation growing after the failure of Enron Corp. and other corporations, the council, holding its annual meeting in Washington, approved a resolution saying the cost of the options should be factored into a company's expenses when the options are granted, which would reduce the company's profits. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16795-2002Mar25.html

IMPOTENT STIMULUS - A newly proposed economic stimulus package has the U.S. Congress betting that telecom spending will boost the economy--but that may not be such a sure thing. A recent bill from Republican leaders in the House of Representatives proposes a tax benefit for U.S. businesses in the form of a 30 percent write-off for certain IT equipment purchased in 2002 and 2003. Legislators hope that reducing the long-term cost of telecommunications equipment will encourage telecom carriers to purchase new products, which in theory would promote the continued build-out of high-speed networks. For example, if a carrier buys $1,000 worth of hardware or software, it could write off 30 percent, or $300, of that cost in the first year of ownership, plus the normal depreciation write-off of 20 percent of the remaining $700, spread over five years. That's good news for some. http://www.redherring.com/insider/2002/0328/2335.html \

HOWLING MAD OVER HOLLINGS BILL - Jim Dinda's apartment is a high-tech entertainment haven, but that could change if a bill that restricts how electronics devices work is passed into law. Dinda's DSL phone line connects his entire home entertainment network. His movies, music and personal files are stored on a Windows 2000 server. He uses his Dell computer for e-mailing and Web surfing. He's teaching himself programming using a Linux server. He built a Pentium 3 with a video card that links his VCR, DVD and TiVo. The final piece is a wireless base station that allows him to roam the house with an IBM ThinkPad laptop. He's invested several years and thousands of dollars building the system, but a controversial piece of legislation introduced by Senator Fritz Hollings (D-South Carolina) could soon render his setup obsolete once he begins upgrading the network. http://www.wired.com/news/mp3/0,1285,51337,00.html

ABE LINCOLN AND THE INTERNET PIRATES - The great Emancipator's forthright defence of intellectual property rights holds true today, says Michael Eisner - Abraham Lincoln would have loved the internet. But he would have hated the internet pirates who commandeer its high-speed circuits to steal. Lincoln's affection for the internet would have stemmed from its power to unite. America's 16th president fought to hold the United States together. Nearly a century and a half later, he would have been thrilled to see the web make it possible for citizens from Key West to Kauai to share an enormous range of news, information and knowledge. But he undoubtedly would have disdained those who go to sites with names such as Gnutella, Madster, BearShare, Limewire, Swaptor, Morpheus or Rapigator to pilfer the intellectual property of others. http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagename=View&c=Article&cid=FT3H10TP8ZC&live=true&tagid=FTDDMJNIFEC

THE END OF LAWLESSNESS - Les Vadasz is the president of Intel Capital, Silicon Valley's biggest venture capital fund. Lately, however, he has been spending a lot of time talking to politicians and government officials, rather than entrepreneurs. Like a growing number of information technology industry executives, Mr Vadasz is - somewhat reluctantly - coming to terms with the need for greater involvement with government. "We cannot say the net will have a huge influence on everyday life and also say 'Hey, Washington, keep out of it'", he acknowledges. As the IT industry matures it is being drawn into a wide range of public policy issues - including taxes on e-commerce, online privacy, security and international trade disputes. http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagename=View&c=Article&cid=FT3213E1AZC&live=true&tagid=FTDI8HEWCNC

OPERATION ENDURING VALENTI - The United States is engaged in a war against oppressive regimes run by ignorant fanatics barely able to comprehend the intricacies of modern society. Through actions favoring the ruling class, secret midnight deals, and restricting public distribution of information, citizens in these societies are unable to evolve and live as productive members of the international community. In Afghanistan, this was evidenced by the philosophy and practices of the now-defunct Taliban. Unfortunately, this damn-the-consequences Fundamentalist mindset has spread to America in the entertainment industry's war on progress and human evolution. In this case, the folks in question are led by Senator Ernest "Fritz" Hollings (Democrat, South Carolina) who serves as the duly-appointed Congressional mouthpiece (and wholly-owned subsidiary) of the entertainment industry cartels, having received nearly $300,000 in campaign funding from Hollywood since 1997. Known in some circles as the 'Senator From Disney,' Hollings also bears a striking resemblance to a younger Jack Valenti. (Valenti, for those unaware, is CEO of the movie industry's lobby group and the founder of the 'Church of Valenti' - a cash-rich for-profit religious cartel that opposes any paradigm- or time-shifting technologies.) http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/24616.html

ITAA OPPOSES DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT ACT - The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) called the introduction of the Digital Rights Management Act in the U.S. Senate a blow to innovation and consumer choice. ITAA President Harris N. Miller made a statement opposing the bill. http://www.itaa.org/news/pr/PressRelease.cfm?ReleaseID=1016823549

HIGH-TECH INDUSTRY OPPOSES HOLLINGS TECH MANDATES BILL - IT Industry Opposes Legislation Calling for Government Content Protection Mandate on Technology Products - Representatives of the information technology industry’s leading associations today expressed their strong opposition to legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Fritz Hollings (D-SC) that would impose a broad, government-mandated, content protection device on IT products. Leaders from the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the Computer Systems Policy Project (CSPP), and the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) issued the statements - http://www.bsa.org/usa/press/newsreleases//2002-03-21.995.phtml

PROGRAM PUTS FREE INTERNET IN D.C. SCHOOLS - More than 160 D.C. public schools and libraries will soon be equipped with free high-speed Internet service. Comcast Communications Inc. is spending more than $2 million on the initiative. Comcast currently provides free Internet access to more than 400 schools and libraries in Baltimore. "I can think of no better way to express our commitment to the District of Columbia than to provide the best service possible to our educational team," said Donna Rattley, vice president and general manager of Comcast in Washington. FCC member Michael J. Copps said the company's commitment to public education is an example he hopes other private corporations will follow. http://www.washtech.com/news/netarch/15892-1.html

THINK YOUNG TO ATTRACT HIGH-TECH - Nurturing high-technology businesses requires more than providing low-cost regulation and a family-friendly environment, a national expert on economic, political and social trends said Tuesday in Sioux Falls. Rural areas such as South Dakota also must provide amenities, such as entertaining nightclubs and interesting restaurants, to help retain young thinkers and to appeal to a diverse mix of people, said author Joel Kotkin, a senior fellow at the Milken Institute at Pepperdine University in California. "Areas without amenities will face major challenges recruiting knowledgeable workers, investors and entrepreneurs," Kotkin said during a presentation about rural America and the information age at the 2002 South Dakota Technology Summit at the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science. Loss of people in the 24-to-40 age group is among the greatest problems faced by states such as South Dakota, Kotkin said. Special efforts should be made to appeal to them and keep them. The summit was the second annual free gathering of its type organized by Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., with sponsorship help from 24 companies and business organizations. John Chambers, president and chief executive officer of California-based Cisco Systems Inc., a world leader in providing computer networking systems, gave the keynote speech. http://www.argusleader.com/business/Wednesdayfeature.shtml, http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/2943948.htm
Cisco story: http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/779/govtaffs/netnews/index.html

REORGANIZATION OF FCC BUREAUS GOES INTO EFFECT - In March 2001 the Federal Communications Commission under the leadership of Chairman Michael Powell launched a new business plan to assure that the FCC, as an agency, is efficient, effective and responsive. The plan, which requires a comprehensive retooling and redirection of the Commission's entire mission, is built along four dimensions: (1) a clear substantive policy vision; (2) a pointed emphasis on management; (3) an extensive training and development program; and (4) organizational restructuring. http://www.fcc.gov/fcc_reform/

PAUL A. JACKSON NAMED DEPUTY DIRECTOR IN THE FCC OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS - Paul A. Jackson has been named Deputy Director in the Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA), where he will continue to be responsible for assisting in carrying out the legislative activities of the Commission. During the past year, Mr. Jackson served both as the Acting Director and Acting Deputy Director of the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, which was officially renamed to OLA as part of the Commission's recent agency-wide reorganization. http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/OLA/News_Releases/2002/nrla0201.html

FCC WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS BUREAU ANNOUNCES NEW WEBSITE FOR INSTRUCTIONAL TELEVISION FIXED SERVICE AND MULTIPOINT DISTRIBUTION SERVICE - The Wireless Telecommunications Bureau announces that, as part of the Federal Communications Commission’s reorganization, a new website has been created for Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS) and Multipoint Distribution Service (MDS). At the site, the public will be able to learn about recent developments in the services as well as any changes that will occur as part of the transition from the former Mass Media Bureau to the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. The new website provides sections devoted to licensing, operations, and two-way communications. The site also offers a brief history of the services. In addition, public notices, news releases, and other officially released documents affecting ITFS and MDS licensees are presented in an easy-to-read format. In the licensing section, users are able to quickly access the Broadband Licensing System (BLS). The new site can be found at http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/itfs&mds/.

ENRON FALLOUT THREATENS NORTHWEST'S TECH ECONOMY - OP-ED BY RICK WHITE, CEO OF TECHNET - The Northwest high-tech and bio-tech community has its hands full just surviving in a difficult economy. But it is ignoring an equally dangerous challenge from a totally unexpected place: Congress. Reacting to the collapse of Enron, some on Capitol Hill are proposing legislation that threatens the basic principles of the Northwest's technology economy. Congress is absolutely right that we need to fix the problems that led to the Enron scandal. Stricter accounting standards for offshore partnerships - and stricter accountability standards for senior executives - are two excellent places to start. But in its eagerness to solve the Enron problem, Congress is threatening to "fix" two things that aren't broken and that had nothing to do with Enron: employee stock options and securities litigation reform. In the past month, legislation has been introduced in both houses of Congress that would effectively eliminate stock options for working people by requiring firms to report them as cash expenses. It would be hard to think of a worse idea for promoting a technology economy. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/134426643_whiteop27.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

PARTIES USE INTERNET AS MONEY TOOL - As one major fund-raising route closes, political parties are fast developing another with great potential to raise lots of money at little cost: the Internet. A new congressional ban on unlimited "soft money" donations to the political parties, which takes effect after the fall election, will make it more important for campaign fund-raisers to collect large numbers of smaller checks. Direct mail and telephone solicitations are the traditional tools that Republicans and Democrats have relied on to solicit money in large-scale drives. But some candidates in 2000, such as Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., used the Internet to raise money quickly. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=528&u=/ap/20020324/ap_on_hi_te/internet_campaigning_3

PRESIDENTIAL BOARD ASKS FOR FEEDBACK ON CYBERSECURITY - The President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board is soliciting advice from the public on how national cybersecurity can be improved. The board, which is headed by Dick Clarke, the president's special adviser on cyberspace security, was created in October by an executive order entitled "Critical Infrastructure Protection in the Information Age." One of the board's primary functions is to draft a national strategy to protect cyber space. It has put together a 53-question survey that offers a preview of what the national strategy will look like. The questions focus on all sectors of society in an effort to determine how deeply cybersecurity is integrated into the everyday operations of businesses, private citizens and governments. SURVEY: http://www.sans.org/nationalstrategy.php
STORY: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0302/032202j1.htm

FCC TO REFUND SPECTRUM PAYMENTS - In a statement released yesterday, the FCC announced that it would refund most of the $3.2 billion in down payments made by 22 telecommunications companies that won an auction for spectrum licenses last year. The ownership of the spectrum auctioned remains in legal dispute. When NextWave Telecom Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection in 1998, the FCC claimed it had the right to resell the airwaves that NextWave had purchased but not paid for. However, an appeals court found the FCC in violation of bankruptcy codes and forbade the FCC from canceling licenses held by NextWave. Verizon Wireless, one of the companies participating in last year's resale, says the return is a "step in the right direction," but continues to argue that the results of last year's auction should be thrown out and that compensation for lost interest should be provided. http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/15895-1.html

AEA ANNOUNCES SELECTIONS FOR "HIGH-TECH LEGISLATORS HALL OF FAME"- AeA, the nation's largest high-tech trade association, announced today that it will induct Senator Wayne Allard (R-CO), Representative Norman Dicks (D-WA) and Representative Amo Houghton (R-NY) into its "High-tech Legislators Hall of Fame" May 21. The legislators will be honored formally at a dinner at the Lowes L'Enfant Plaza in Washington, DC. http://www.aeanet.org/AboutAeA/prtl_032502HallofFameHonorees.asp

MAP FILES SUIT CHALLENGING FCC INTERNET CABLE - The Media Access Project (MAP) today filed a lawsuit on behalf of three citizens groups -- Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union and the Center for Digital Democracy -- to challenge the Federal Communications Commission's classification of Internet access delivered via cable modems to be an "information service." According to MAP, if not reversed in court, the FCC's action effectively freed cable operators from having to provide non-discriminatory "open access" to the public. http://www.mediaaccess.org/press/march25release.pdf,
Reuters: http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-868518.html

This Week@INTERNATIONAL

WORLD TELECOMMUNICATION DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE ADOPTS COMPREHENSIVE ACTION PLAN TO BRIDGE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE - Awareness, Accessibility and Affordability singled out as key factors - The world’s largest and highest-level global conference on development telecommunications drew to a close this week, with 1150 delegates from 152 countries adopting the Istanbul Declaration and Action Plan. International Telecommunication Union’s third World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-02) was attended by 394 government delegates, representatives from 56 regulatory authorities, 45 operators, 23 scientific and industrial organizations and 22 regional and international organizations. http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2002/11.html

BHUTAN TO BE TESTBED FOR ITU’S E-POST VENTURE WITH UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION - A three-year joint project between International Telecommunication Union and Universal Postal Union agreed during WTDC-02, will bring e-mail and e-post through post offices in the developing world. The Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan will be the first country to benefit. "The need to harness the power of ICT for socio-economic development with the aim of making the benefits of ICT accessible to the widest number possible and particularly the world’s most deprived, is clearly a clear message of the World Telecommunication Development Conference currently meeting in Istanbul" said Yoshio Utsumi, ITU Secretary-General. "The deployment of community telecentres in developing countries constitutes a promising way to narrow the Digital Divide and to improve the quality of life of men and women in particular in low-income rural and underserved areas", Utsumi added. http://www.itu.int/newsroom/press_releases/2002/10.html

CANADIAN INDUSTRY MINISTER ALLAN ROCK ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR THE CANADIAN E-BUSINESS INITIATIVE - Industry Minister Allan Rock today welcomed the release of the final report of the Canadian E-Business Opportunities Roundtable and announced Industry Canada's support for its successor, the Canadian E-Business Initiative. Minister Rock thanked the Roundtable for its work and its excellent advice. "Canada's future prosperity depends on our ability to innovate in all sectors and in all regions of the country. E-business is a critical tool to meet our innovation goals," said Minister Rock. "I would like to commend the E-Business Roundtable for being a model for private and public sector cooperation. It has helped Canada set ambitious targets and acted as a catalyst to ensure we become a leader in the Internet economy. "I look forward to working closely with Nancy Hughes Anthony of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and Pierre-Paul Allard of Cisco Canada as co-chairs of the Canadian E-Business Initiative. Together, we need to address the remaining challenges facing the digital economy in Canada," added the Minister. http://www.ic.gc.ca/cmb/welcomeic.nsf/261ce500dfcd7259852564820068dc6d/85256a220056c2a485256b870065f67d!OpenDocument

EU AGREES TO CREATE .EU INTERNET DOMAIN - The European Union gave the thumbs up on Monday to forming a new .eu Internet address, aimed at giving a pan-European brand to e-mails and web sites. The creation of the .eu Top Level Domain -- the last tag of an Internet address -- will help relieve pressure for more Web address space as the Internet continues to grow. The new .eu domain will be added to national indentifiers such as .uk for Britain, .fr for France and .de for Germany in Internet Web site addresses and can be used by companies which operate throughout Europe. "The introduction of a new .eu Internet domain will create a truly European identity in cyberspace for EU Internet users," European Commissioner Erkki Liikanen, Europe's top official for Internet matters, said in a statement. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=582&u=/nm/20020326/wr_nm/tech_eu_net_dc_3

COMMISSION ADOPTS EXTENSION OF ACTION PLAN TO MAKE THE INTERNET A SAFER PLACE - The European Commission has today decided to extend the Safer Internet Action Plan for an additional period of two years. The EU has been a forerunner in the fight against illegal and harmful content on the Internet since 1996. The Safer Internet Action Plan is a cornerstone of the EU's action in this field. The Commission now proposes a new phase of the current Action Plan ensuring it to run until the end of 2004. "Content and applications are high on our agenda when it comes to the development of the Internet" said Erkki Liikanen, Member of the European Commission responsible for Enterprise and the Information Society. "But we must also ensure that the Internet becomes a safer place for us all. This Action Plan contributes to that process. We will now focus on raising awareness of safer Internet use, particularly for personalised, interactive (such as chatting and on-line games) and mobile applications and for other new applications that have emerged since the inception of the initial Action Plan." - http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/02/465|0|RAPID&lg=EN

ITV BANKRUPTCY CREATES MEDIA POLICY TURMOIL - ITV Digital, the world's biggest and most expensive digital terrestrial TV project, was on Wednesday forced into bankruptcy, throwing government broadcasting policy into turmoil and the future of lower league football into doubt. Granada and Carlton Communications said they were "throwing a lifeline" to their loss-making pay-TV platform, by putting the business in the hands of administrators at Deloitte & Touche. It is hoped that ITV Digital can be rescued as a slimmed-down company to continue to compete with Rupert Murdoch's British Sky Broadcasting in the pay-TV market. http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagename=View&c=Article&cid=FT3IYA58BZC&live=true&useoverridetemplate=ZZZUGORQ00C&tagid=ZZZ1XPDX70C&subheading=uk

OPTA HAS NEWS RULES FOR MOBILE PHONE OPERATORS - Opta, the Dutch telecommunications regulator, said that it was introducing new rules to force mobile phone operators in the Netherlands to cut call charges from fixed lines to mobile phones. http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=166389374&i=490372&m=1&d=2474134

NORDIC TELEPHONE COMPANIES ARE RECONSIDERING A MERGER - Nordic phone companies are talking mergers again, with Sonera of Finland and Telia of Sweden confirming that they are back at the bargaining table. Discussions between the two have gone nowhere before, and the region is littered with failed attempts at combinations. Still, some analysts say the long odds that Sonera and Telia will reach an agreement have shrunk somewhat since summer, when the two companies last held formal negotiations. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/26/business/worldbusiness/26TELE.html?todaysheadlines

ORACLE PUTS TECH CENTER IN 'SILICON VALLEY' OF CHINA - With an eye toward growing business in China, database giant Oracle Corp. on Monday said it will soon open its first development center in Shenzhen -- South China's "Silicon Valley." The Oracle China Development Center is slated to be operational by May 2002. Oracle said it expects to employ 100 staffers within the center's first six months of operation and that it will rapidly expand the development teams' ranks during the center's first five years of operation. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=581&u=/nm/20020325/tc_nm/tech_oracle_china_dc_1

INDIA HEEDS CALL FOR CHEAP CALLS - It was a promise made by the Indian government several months ago that was greeted by the people, as usual, with skepticism. The government promised that the ban on Internet telephony would be lifted in 2002. Many were not surprised that the day earmarked for lifting the ban was All Fools' Day. But the public can rejoice now, because on the first of April, the government will live up to its promise. For the thousands of Indians who were spending about $1 per minute to call their loved ones in America, long-distance bonding is expected to get 10 times cheaper starting in April. Critics fear that future government tariffs on Internet service providers will raise those costs, but for now the government says no such plans have been finalized. http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,51234,00.html

NIGERIA TELECOM PRIVATISATION COLLAPSES - The $1.3bn privatisation of Nitel, Nigeria's state telecommunications company, collapsed after the buyer failed to produce funds, in a blow to both efforts to revive the sclerotic network and the domestic banking sector. http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=166389374&i=490372&m=1&d=2474138

This Week@US STATES

DIGITAL DIVIDE IS NOT SOME FAIRY TALE - [Commentary] Don Wycliff, public editor of the Chicago Tribune comments on Robert Samuelson's recent Newsweek column, "Debunking the digital divide". Samuelson stated that the digital divide is "spontaneously shrinking-and with it, the exaggerated popular notions of the harm it did." Wycliff points out that it has not been spontaneity, but instead federal investment of around $8.2 billion through the E-rate program that has helped to narrow the divide. The National Center for Education Statistics has reported that the percentage of schools with at least one Internet connection has increased 33% since 1996. In the same period there has been a 63% increase in the number of public classrooms with Internet access. The importance of these figures, says Wycliff, is that "according to the Bureau of the Census, roughly half of 10-17-year olds from homes with incomes under $15,000-poverty households-use computers only at school. If they don't get exposure to the technology there, they simply don't get it." Samuelson supports his claim that there has been little economic harm to those who lack access to technology with studies from Harvard, UC Berkeley and the University of Michigan. While acknowledging the quality of the researchers, Wycliff wonders, "what if those economists are measuring the wrong things? What if they're measuring things not because they're important, but because they're measurable?" http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/chi-0203280121mar28.column?coll=chi%2Dnews%2Dcol

MARYLAND COUNTIES READY NEW ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEMS - The county executives of Maryland's two biggest jurisdictions – Wayne Curry, of Prince George's County, and Douglas Duncan, of Montgomery County – unveiled the new touch-screen voting machines in March that will be in place in their respective counties for the state's next major election. The gubernatorial primary election is scheduled for Sept. 10 and the general election is Nov. 5. The new machines were demonstrated at Paint Branch High School in Burtonsville, located in Montgomery County, where the computerized voting technology will first be tested April 24 when students elect their representative to the Board of Education. Prince George's County will have an opportunity to test the new machines prior to the primary election when students at Bowie State University hold an election on April 10. “It is important to make voting easy and accessible to all citizens," Curry said. "I especially like the feature of mobile units to bring voting directly to persons with disabilities. Implementation of these machines is truly a tremendous step forward.” http://www.govtech.net/magazine/channel_story.phtml?id=3030000000009723.0

NEW YORK COUNTIES WILL TEST ELECTRONIC LICENSE RENEWAL SYSTEM — Albany County kicked off a pilot test of an electronic-license renewal system. Officials said the test will be extended to Erie County in mid-April and that the automated license system is expected to be implemented statewide in July. The Department of Environmental Conservation Automated Licensing System (DECALS) replaces the traditional paper system, which required license agents to fill out reports and ate up a lot of time. With the new electronic system, each point-of-sale location will have equipment to scan an applicant driver's license, with the identifying information being automatically transferred to a central database upon completion of the sale. Customers will be able to purchase most items at the point of sale, including licenses, deer-management permits, replacement licenses and carcass tags, duplicate hunter training certificates and even the Conservationist magazine. Agents also will have equipment to print licenses and carcass tags on-site. http://www.govtech.net/magazine/channel_story.phtml?id=3030000000009721.0

VIRGINIA WEB SITE HELPS SENIORS - Before he was elected governor of Virginia in November, Mark R. Warner was a millionaire venture capitalist. But he was also a son, and when his mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and he started looking for information, he discovered it was difficult to find. So Warner put all his expertise to work and started SeniorNavigator.com, an Internet guide that links seniors, their families and caregivers with information on health and aging. "SeniorNavigator is a great example of where technology and the community intersect. It's a great resource for those people who will never touch a computer," Warner said. The site, launched in February 2001 by its co-founders, the Virginia Health Care Foundation and the AOL Time Warner Foundation, contains a database of more than 17,000 community-based services across Virginia. Warner said he intends to share the site with other governors to see if it could be replicated in other states. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7184-2002Mar23.html

STATE TECH PLAN GETS OK - The Maryland State Board of Education this week approved a three-year plan aimed at fully integrating technology as a teaching and learning tool in Maryland public schools. ``The Maryland Plan for Technology in Education 2002-2005" was prepared by the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education and MSDE. Just over two weeks ago, MBRT issued a report on access in Maryland public schools to technology-based resources, including computers. That study, done in cooperation with MSDE, found that Maryland has reached its goal of having one modern computer for every five students. Prince George's County now has a ratio of seven students for each modern computer. http://www.jrnl.com/cfdocs/new/pg/mainstory.cfm?snumber=01&paper=pg&section=fp