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Cisco Government Affairs
E-Update
Volume 2, Issue 31
16 August 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
BROADBAND POLL – SHARE YOUR VIEWS IN OUR BROADBAND POLL. Do you have broadband? Do plan to get broadband? Is broadband too expensive? Go to our broadband poll and give your input
and see what your colleagues think: http://forums.cisco.com/eforum/servlet/HtCom?page=main
STAT
OF THE WEEK - TEN PERCENT OF THE WORLD'S
POPULATION NOW HAS INTERNET ACCESS - According to Internet research firm, Nua,
10 percent of the world's population now has Internet access. The 2002 Global
Internet Trends report shows that for the first time ever, Europe has the highest
number of Internet users in the world. Another finding of the study is that the
digital divide between developed and developing nations is as wide as ever.
While Europeans represent 32 percent of global users, only six percent are
based in Latin America, and a scant one percent each in the Middle East and
Africa. Nua forecasts that the total number of people online will exceed one
billion by the end of 2005. http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=12003
This Week@WASHINGTON, DC
PRESIDENT STRESSES NEED FOR
BROADBAND DEREGULATION - In perhaps the clearest indication of the White
House's stance on broadband policy to date, President Bush praised federal
regulators for pursuing a plan to deregulate the market for high-speed Internet
services. "The Federal Communications Commission is focusing on policies
to encourage high-speed Internet service for every home and every business in
America," Bush said at an economic forum in Texas. "The private
sector will deploy broadband. But government at all levels should remove
hurdles that slow the pace of deployment." Administration officials have so far been careful not to endorse
FCC policies or separate legislation in Congress designed to scale back laws
that restrict access to the long-distance broadband market for the nation's
regional telephone companies. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13582-2002Aug13.html
FULL REMARKS: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/08/20020813-5.html
PRESIDENT BUSH HIGHLIGHTS
BROADBAND AS PART OF ECONOMIC GROWTH - President Bush underscored the
importance of expanding high-speed data services to ensure continued growth in
the economy. At his economic forum held
in Waco, Texas, Bush also encouraged federal, state and local governments to
remove regulatory obstacles to the roll out of broadband -- an action that many
high-tech industry members have been pressing on congressional and state
leaders. He added that he would oppose "new access taxes on broadband
technology." (National Journal’s
Technology Daily – http://nationaljournal.com/pubs/techdaily/
- paid subscription required)
CHAMBERS PRESENTS EDUCATION
KEYNOTE SPEECH AT THE PRESIDENT'S ECONOMIC FORUM - John Chambers, President and
CEO of Cisco Systems, was the guest speaker before the Education and Workforce
panel at President Bush's Economic Forum at Baylor University in Waco,
Texas. Secretary of Education Dr.
Roderick Paige and Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao chaired the Education and
Workforce panel. http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/ts_081302.html
FCC
CHAIRMAN MICHAEL K. POWELL OUTLINES CRITICAL ELEMENTS OF FUTURE SPECTRUM POLICY - FCC Chairman Michael
Powell outlined four critical elements for future spectrum policy initiatives.
Powell made his remarks at the opening of the final day of four public
workshops the FCC Spectrum Policy Task Force has convened to seek broad
industry, government and public input on spectrum policy issues. http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-225310A1.pdf
(Adobe file)
TECH LEADERS URGE LAWMAKERS TO TACKLE
REFORM SLOWLY - Go slow. That's the message from valley business leaders to
politicians. At a gathering of Silicon
Valley tech executives and Democratic members of Congress, much of the buzz was
about how to emerge from the wave of business scandals with as little new
regulation as possible. Leading the
call was Intel Chairman Andy Grove, who told members of the pro-business New
Democrat Network: ``Please be thoughtful, please take your time and resist
piling legislation upon legislation.'' http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/3854371.htm
SCHOOLS
COULD LOSE NEARLY $1 BILLION IN UNSPENT ERATE FUNDS - Beginning next April, all unused eRate funds will
be carried over to subsequent program years and distributed as additional
funding to schools and libraries, the FCC ruled in June. Until that time, however, at least a sizable
portion of these unused funds -- estimated at $970 million by the FCC -- will
be returned to telecommunications carriers to stabilize their customers'
telephone bills, the agency said. http://www.govtech.net/news/features/news_feature.phtml?docid=3030000000017962
LIGHTS, CAMERA, LEGISLATION
- CNet writer Jim Hu lays out the history of the media industry's battle to
insert copyright protections into consumer electronic devices. As high-tech
companies are focusing more and more on digital entertainment, the Hollywood
studios are focusing their efforts on controlling the use and distribution of
their work. Michael Eisner, CEO of Walt Disney said, "At least one
high-tech executive has described illegal pirate content as a 'killer
application' that will drive consumer demand for broadband...Unfortunately,
other high-tech companies have simply lectured us that they have no obligation
to help solve what they describe as 'our problem'." http://news.com.com/2009-1023-948672.html
This
Week@EMEA
REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED
- What is broadband for? For the most part, says the author, people use
broadband the same way they used their narrowband connections. The critical
difference is that broadband is always on and can handle a larger volume of
information. According to the author, we've been so busy fantasizing about
"a nirvana of 'high bandwidth applications," we've completely
overlooked what's really important about broadband. In order of importance, the
author finds these three characteristics of broadband to be far more important
than specific applications: 1) it's always on, 2) it has a very low latency (a
very small gap between the moment of a mouse click and something happening), 3)
broadband is very fast. Economically, it makes no sense for the broadband
industry to encourage consumers to watch live videos on our PCs. This, the
author argues, would simply
overload the network and result in a commercial meltdown. Rather, parsimonious
narrowband applications should be encouraged. What's really going to change our
lives is the always-on feature of broadband, not the ability to get
entertainment. http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0,3605,770560,00.html
BRUSSELS
PUSHES ON WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY - The European Commission is putting pressure on
five European Union countries to lift prohibitions on a new Internet wireless
technology that could rival third generation mobile phones. The Brussels authorities are
pushing France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg and Spain to allow the technology,
which enables users to connect their laptops to the web without wires, in
public places such as coffee shops and hotels as well as in homes and offices. http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1028185675785&p=1012571727260
BROADBAND HOPE FOR SMALL
TOWNS - British Telecom is about to start trials of a new broadband technology
that will allow the company to supply broadband to as few as 16 customers at a
fraction of the usual cost. Getting broadband to rural areas has been an
ongoing challenge. British Telecom has always insisted that the cost of
providing broadband infrastructure is only viable if an area promises at least
200 customers. The new "broadband-in-a-box" is a scaled-down version
of a technology that allows broadband access over existing cable rather than
new fiber optic lines. The initial trial is expected to run for six months, at
which time British Telecom and trial sponsors will evaluate the technology and
the business model. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2191259.stm
MOZAMBIQUE GRAPPLES WITH HOW
TO MAKE SENSE OF NET CONTENT - Mozambique's efforts to close the digital divide
face the question, "What comes first, the chicken or the egg?"
Without content to drive usage, the Internet remains largely the tool of the
wealthier urban elite. But without content that is useful to the poor majority,
the user base is likely to grow very slowly. Even if relevant content does
become available, the poor majority would have difficulty paying fees to
support content-driven business models. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/features/analysis/
This
Week@Americas International
CANADA MUST IMPROVE TO
REMAIN CONNECTEDNESS LEADER - Canada must continue to improve and not
become complacent to remain a world leader in the use of information and
communication technologies, according to an applied research organization
survey released on Thursday. The
Conference Board of Canada's annual Connectedness Index found the country needs
to focus on improving in three key areas, including broadband services, content
and wireless. Canada is a leader in
broadband services and can continue by upgrading its content, according to
Brian Guthrie, director of innovation and knowledge management at the
Conference Board. http://itworld.ca/rp.cfm?v=20022210006&S=356048#
CANADA NO. 2 IN ADOPTION OF
TECHNOLOGY, STUDY SAYS - Canada ranks second to the United States in the use
of information and communications technology, the Conference Board of Canada
says. But the board also delivered a
warning: other countries are developing their on-line resources so quickly that
they may overtake Canada in broadband services, content and wireless. In its annual Connectedness Index, the
Conference Board, an independent applied research organization, reported that
the number of Canadians using the Internet including such activities and learning,
interacting, buying goods and just plain browsing is increasing every
year. http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/front/RTGAM/20020808/gtstudy/Front/homeBN/breakingnews
RURAL BROADBAND PLAN ON FAST
TRACK SAYS CANADIAN MINISTER ROCK - Industry Minister Allan Rock and Natural
Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal today reaffirmed the Government of Canada's
commitment to accelerating the establishment of a broadband network in rural
Canada as a critical infrastructure for rural and remote communities by
2005. "As the Prime Minister
confirmed in June, we are advancing our funding timetable for bringing
broadband to rural and remote communities by two years because we recognize it
is a vital tool for realizing new opportunities for social and economic
development," said Mr. Rock. "Broadband can open up new possibilities
for online learning, health care and access to government services." http://www.ic.gc.ca/cmb/Welcomeic.nsf/261ce500dfcd7259852564820068dc6d/85256a220056c2a485256c0e00682e5a!OpenDocument
This Week@Asia/Pac
YAHOO YIELDS TO CHINESE WEB
LAWS - Yahoo agreed to voluntarily limit content in China. The agreement,
called the "Public Pledge on Self-Discipline for the China Internet
Industry," is controversial, as many critics believe it will open the door
for increased censorship. Yahoo defends its decision, saying that the agreement
simply ensures that Internet companies will abide by pre-existing Chinese
regulations. Human Rights Watch issued a pubic statement last week condemning
Yahoo's signing of the pledge. "There doesn't seem to be a
clear reason for them to be signing this pledge," said Meg Davis, a Human
Rights Watch spokesperson. "The pledge is clearly in contradiction to
international rights and to freedom of expression." Davis added that to
her knowledge, no other western company has signed the pledge. http://news.com.com/2100-1023-949643.html
YOUNG AND AFFLUENT ONLINE IN
JAPAN - According to the June 2002 Japanese Consumer Confidence Survey from
Prudential Financial, 26 million Japanese households have at least one computer
and internet access. Prudential explains that since February 1999, the number
of households online in the country has risen by a compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) of 41%, through June 2002. Since February 2000, the number of online
households in Japan has more than doubled. http://www.emarketer.com/news/article.php?1001502&ref=ed
This Week@US STATES
`MOVING
BITS: MINNESOTA IN AN INFORMATION AGE` - Conference dialogue
will seek to establish framework for Minnesota broadband communications policy
- The Minnesota Department of Administration, the University of Minnesota
Center for Science and Technology Policy, and the Minnesota High Tech
Association are co-sponsoring a one-day conference, "Moving Bits:
Minnesota in an Information Age," Wednesday, Sept. 4, at the Humphrey
Institute of Public Affairs in Minneapolis. http://www.admin.state.mn.us/broadband_summit.html
WANTED: WEB-SAVVY SCHOOLING
- If American teenagers had given their teachers a summer homework assignment,
it may well have entailed some serious Web surfing time. Tech-savvy middle and
high school students say they are increasingly frustrated with the way the
Internet is -- or, more aptly, isn't -- being used in their education. A study released yesterday by the Pew
Internet and American Life Project found that students are independently using
the Internet for a variety of educational activities but do not think their
schools take full advantage of the Web as a teaching tool. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19910-2002Aug14.html
THE REPORT: http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/pdfs/PIP_Schools_Internet_Report.pdf
(Adobe File)
NYTIMES.COM, NPR TEAM UP FOR
CIVICS EDUCATION WEB SITE - NYTimes.com and NPR have launched Justice Learning
(www.justicelearning.org), a free
civics Web site designed for high school students and teachers. The Web site is
organized around eight distinct civic issues that are updated twice yearly. It
will use lessons and articles from The New York Times Learning Network and
content from NPR's Justice Talking
radio show. Current issues
include gun control, juvenile justice and Web censorship. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/notablesites/2002-08-15-civics-site_x.htm
OTHER
TECH STORIES OF THE WEEK
CAN OPTICAL NETWORKING
OUTSHINE DSL AND CABLE - As if choosing among cable, DSL and T1 lines were not
confusing enough, a new contender has stepped up to join the broadband ranks:
optical networking. Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) installations have grown by more
than 200 percent in the last year, an industry group called the FTTH Council
has announced. The technology is now available to an estimated 80,000 homes in
50 U.S. communities, and many more locales are installing or planning to install
it. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/19026.html
WIRELESS TO SHAKE UP TELECOM
WORLD - There's
high-speed Internet in the air. A
technology originally developed to link PCs in small, wireless clusters is
spurring grassroots efforts to create Internet "clouds" that could
eventually bypass the networks of big telecommunications providers. So far, the greatest buzz over WiFi, or
Wireless Fidelity, has surrounded the sharing of connectivity among neighbors,
friends and strangers. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020812/ap_on_hi_te/wireless_clouds_3
ENERGY TURNS ON LINK TO
INTERNET2 - The Energy Department's Oak Ridge National Laboratory officially
threw the switch Aug. 14 to connect part of the federal government's
next-generation Internet initiative to the university-run Internet2. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0812/web-esnet-08-15-02.asp
CAMPAIGNS EMBRACE NEW
TECHNOLOGIES - The elections of 2002 have yet to produce any technodramas as
compelling as Jesse Ventura's Internet-driven run for governor in Minnesota in
1998 or Sen. John McCain's online fundraising surge in the 2000 presidential
campaign, but politicians, lobbyists and consultants continue to exploit
technological advances for advantages large and small. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2503-2002Aug10.html
POLL SHOWS 'DIGITAL DIVIDE'
SHRINKING, INTERNET USE UP - A survey conducted by Scripps Howard News Service
and Ohio University finds that the digital divide between age groups is
shrinking. Scripps Howard and Ohio University have been tacking Internet usage
since 1995 when 87 percent of the adults surveyed said they did not use the
Internet. At that time, the majority of Internet users were under the age of
45. The latest poll, conducted in 2001, found that more and more Americans over
the age of 50 are using the Internet regularly. The poll also found that 29
percent of American adults log onto the Web every day. The survey found that
half of all people in households with incomes of $80,000 or more use the
Internet every day. In comparison, less than a quarter of those in households
earning less than $25,000 use the Internet.
http://www.modbee.com/24hour/technology/story/496645p-3960930c.html
MILLIONS EXPECTED TO VIEW
SUMMIT WEB SITE - The official Web site of the World Summit on Sustainable
Development (WSSD) went live yesterday. Conference organizers are predicting as
many as 100 million page views on each of the 12 days of the conference. The
site, produced jointly by the Johannesburg World Summit Company (Jowsco) and
Hewlett Packard, is designed to provide information, news, meeting results and
entertainment to both United Nations delegates and the public. "Since only
a fraction of the people interested in the summit's universal themes of people,
planet, prosperity will be able to attend, the site is intended to provide a
central resource for content dissemination and dialogue," says Thandi
Davids, Jowsco communications executive. http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200208150311.html
FOUNDATION RECRUITS MINORITY
STUDENTS FOR TECH CAREERS - Former Microsoft manager Trish Millines Dziko used
her wealth and connections to start the Technology Access Foundation, which
funds an intensive, four-year technology education program for minority
teenagers from low-income communities. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/local/3873709.htm
FACTS AND STATS:
US TO OUTSTRIP EUROPE IN 3G
- By the end of 2002 there will be nearly three times as many next generation
wireless subscribers in the US than in all of Europe, reports eMarketer. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358249&rel=true
MALTESE MOBILE AND INTERNET
RATES RISE - Europemedia reports that the number of Internet users in Malta
increased to 25.4 per cent of the total population during 2001; a rise of 12.1
per cent from 2000. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358253&rel=true
BRAZIL EXTENDS GOVERNMENT
E-PROCUREMENT - Brazil has begun phasing in a new law that obliges its state
and local governments to use e-procurement tools, according to a report in
Business News America. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358248&rel=true
ADSL UPTAKE INCHES TOWARDS
PROFIT - Japan's Softbank Corp has announced that uptake of its ADSL service
rose by 139,000 to 779,000 in July over the previous month, reports
News.Com. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358250&rel=true
US HOUSEHUNTERS EMBRACE THE
NET - One third of all Internet users in the US have used the medium to
research housing options, according to new figures released by Pew Internet
& American Life Project. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358245&rel=true
BROADBAND DISCUSSION –
“QUESTION OF THE MONTH” – JOIN
THE COVERSATION – This month’s poll asks the questions about when, and if, you
are going to subscribe to broadband. Is
it the price that is keeping you from getting it? Is it the lack of applications?
Or, do you already have it?
Share your thoughts in this months “Question of the month,” to
paraphrase the song, “Broadband, what is it good for?” What is good? What is bad? Do you have
it? Why don’t you have it? http://forums.cisco.com/eforum/servlet/HtCom?page=main
CISCO GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS@2002
Cisco’s top policy focuses
for 2002 are the areas of Education, Broadband Deployment and eGovernment. To read or listen to our thoughts on these
issues, please visit our Government Affairs home page
or our visit our multimedia section. http://www.cisco.com/gov/multimedia/index.html
E-UPDATE ARCHIVE
To view past issues of
Cisco’s Government Affairs E-Update, visit our E-Update Archive page. http://www.cisco.com/gov/archive/eupdates/index.html
DISCLAIMER
Positions in articles and
papers from outside sources are in no way endorsed by Cisco Systems' Office of
Government Affairs. We offer articles on topics of interest to our
audience to further the debate on the issues that are important to high-tech. To view our positions on the policy matters
that we care about, please visit our Government Affairs homepage.
– http://www.cisco.com/gov
CISCO.COM/GOV AND E-UPDATE FEEDBACK
As we continue to build out
Cisco’s Government Affairs web site, as well as this service, this E-Update, we
welcome comments, criticisms, praise and suggestions. Please send any
feedback to John Earnhardt at jearnhar@cisco.com.
To contact any member of the
Government Affairs team, please visit our “Contact Us” page. http://www.cisco.com/gov/contact/index_ext.html
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