Cisco Government Affairs E-Update

Volume 2, Issue 33

29 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 - OVER ONE MILLION NEW BROADBAND USERS IN US - America's leading cable and DSL providers added a combined 1.37 million high-speed Internet subscribers in the second quarter of 2002, according to new data from Leichtman Research. http://www.nua.ie/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358293&rel=true

This Week@WASHINGTON, DC

CONSUMERS CAUGHT IN TELECOM BATTLES - Six years ago, as telecommunications companies and federal lawmakers wrangled over how to deregulate the nation's local phone market, they promised consumers more choices and lower prices.  What they didn't say --- what they may not have anticipated --- was that government-designed competition would leave consumers caught in the complex rivalry between companies forced to cooperate.  This week, a consumer advocacy group issued a report recommending the federal government abandon telecom deregulation and return to monopolies regulated in the "public interest."  By and large, telecom competition has been bad for consumers, resulting in higher prices and poorer service, said Mark Cooper, director of research for the Consumer Federation of America and author of the report. His comments mark a shift for the federation, which supported telecom competition in the past.  http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/business/0802/28atltech.html

INDUSTRY EXPERTS SHARE IDEAS ON FOSTERING E-COMMERCE - Until industries that have a vested interest in e-commerce join forces to solve problems facing the growth and profitability of Internet services, success will be elusive.   "I am bullish on e-commerce despite the flames around the telecom industry," said Bruce Mehlman, assistant Commerce secretary for technology policy. "There is real value there, and that will drive demand."  Mehlman said he is addressing barriers to increasing demand for high-speed Internet services. The majority of small businesses do not subscribe to such broadband services because they do not see value in doing so. That compares to 29 percent of small firms that said they do not have access to the service, and government must create the right environment for value-added services and applications to be deployed, he said.  However, until industries and government work together to get applications that consumers want "off the sideline, e-commerce and broadband won't really take off," Mehlman said. (National Journal’s Tech Daily – www.nationaljournal.com - paid subscription required)

TELECOM TRIALS - Regulators are under fire for contributing to, or even having caused, the great telecommunications crash. The US Federal Communications Commission, in particular, faces harsh criticism. Many in the industry accuse it of interfering in the market in a way that precludes consolidation and a return to industry profitability. Others say it has failed to devise a plan to revive the sector. But neither accusation comes close to the truth.  While telecoms regulation in the late 1990s was not perfect, regulators' mistakes were trivial compared with the financial disasters caused by fraud on the part of managers, investors' short-sightedness, the hype of analysts and national governments' desire to create national telecoms champions.  The FCC has so far displayed an admirable ability to avoid wrong-headed remedies to the crisis. It should continue to explore new ideas for the industry's structure, while preventing companies from passing the bill for past errors to consumers. http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1028186020577&p=1012571727260

U.S. CONGRESS IMPROVES E-MAIL MANAGEMENT - Members of Congress have made strides toward handling the endless stream of e-mail messages that clogs their area of cyberspace, according to a new study.  Although the volume remains at staggering levels - the House and Senate received 117 million inbound messages in 2001 - both sides are taking advantage of information technology solutions, such as filters, Web-based forms and other best practices, an Aug. 7 special report by the Congress Online Project concluded. http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/19143.html

SHOULD THE U.S. GOVERNMENT BE AN E-COMMERCE CHEERLEADER? - As e-commerce goes mainstream and stands on its own two feet, experts say the industry can no longer count on receiving the kid-glove treatment from the U.S. government.  Nevertheless, as long as the economy remains fragile, it is also unlikely that the government will lift the current tax moratorium or repeal other hands-off policies.  While the online sales channel has matured to a point at which special government encouragement is no longer necessary, analysts say policy makers know full well that any changes made to e-commerce regulation could create unwelcome ripple effects across many industries. "The best move at the present time is for the government to stick with the status quo, as radical as that may sound to some who follow the industry," Yankee Group program manager Paul Ritter told the E-Commerce Times. http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/18989.html

This Week@EMEA

E-SCIENCE CENTRE AIMS TO HELP UK CAPITALISE ON ‘THE GRID’ - Edinburgh's international conference centre was teeming last month with some of the best-networked scientists on the planet. It was hosting the fifth Global Grid Forum, the pre-eminent gathering of "e-scientists" designing the architecture for the grid, the next-generation internet.  The grid offers the chance to create hugely powerful "virtual organisations" by harnessing independent computing resources across the globe. The aim is to tackle scientific and commercial problems that are beyond the capability of today's computer networks. http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1028186020852&p=1012571727248

THE BELL TOLLS FOR FRANCE TELECOM HEAD - The rentrée from the traditional August holiday brings new anxieties for Michel Bon, France Telecom chief executive.  Last month's very public ousting of Jean-Marie Messier from the hot seat at Vivendi Universal has set a precedent that threatens to lower the life expectancy of France's top bosses. The taboo over French boards sacking underperforming chief executives appears to be lifting.  In government circles, there is debate about whether Mr Bon falls into this category. Some officials have suggested the government, which retains a 55 per cent in France Telecom, could follow Germany's lead in sacking Ron Sommer from Deutsche Telekom and demand Mr Bon's resignation as a prelude to more radical steps to tackle the group's debt crisis. http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1028186102008&p=1012571727260

GERMAN E-SIGNATURE BILL BECOMES EFFECTIVE - The new German e-signature bill became effective this week - an important step in the e-government for the country.   http://www.heise.de/newsticker/data/jo-27.08.02-002/. (In German)

BRITISH E-GOVERNMENT: NOT THERE YET - The British government is still failing to take full advantage of the Internet by providing citizens with useful and innovative online services, according to an influential group of Members of Parliament.  The Public Accounts Committee said that government departments must do more than simply provide information on their Web sites. If e-government is to succeed, the committee warned in a new report, people must be able to benefit from online services that make their lives better and easier.  The government is committed to putting all its services online by the end of 2005, and it currently has 100 major information technology projects underway at a cost of £10 billion (about $15 billion). The committee fears, though, that this money will be wasted if the public does not use online services.  http://msnbc-cnet.com.com/2100-1017-955736.html

TELECOM OPERATORS SHOULD DITCH 3G - The research firm Datamonitor has suggested that it may be more cost-effective for European telecom operators to shelve plans to launch third generation (3G) phones and services.  http://www.nua.ie/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358283&rel=true

ESTABLISHING AN EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE IN GHANA - Dr. Pharra DeWindt, an American teacher from Buffalo, New York, partnered with Ghanaian educators to establish an online cultural exchange between her students and theirs. Dr. De Windt established a pen-pal exchange between her 11-to-15 year-old American students and a group of students at the Agona Duakwa Islamic Secondary School in Ghana. After a year of paper and pen correspondence, Dr. De Windt traveled to Ghana to set up a real time chat between the students using NetMeeting software. It was first time the Ghanaian youth had used computer technology. http://www.digitalopportunity.org/fulltext/dewindt20020827.shtml

This Week@Asia/Pac

HONG KONG TOPS THE GLOBAL BROADBAND CHARTS - According to a new global Internet trends survey from Nielsen/Netratings, Hong Kong currently leads the world in terms of having the greatest number of high-speed Internet connections on a per capita basis. Two thirds of the Internet audience in Hong Kong uses either a cable modem or high-speed telephone connection to access the Internet, a rating that outstraps what other major Internet markets have achieved to date. http://email.e-insite.com/cgi-bin2/flo?y=eIZR0Ei1wQ0DaY0Bp2J0Ap

ISP CHIEF SEEKS THE POWER IN BATTLE TO BEAT NTT - In the conservative world of Japanese telecommunications, Koichi Suzuki may be considered a dreamer. The chief executive officer of IIJ, an internet service provider, has long had ambitions to surpass NTT, Japan's telecoms giant and one of the largest telecoms groups in the world. "In the future, this company is going to win against NTT," has been his rallying call.  In his latest bid to move a step closer to realising that dream, Mr Suzuki recently entered negotiations to form an alliance with PoweredCom, a data communications company formed by Japan's cash-rich electric utilities.  http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1028186044492&p=1012571727248

INTEL CHIEF, IN VIETNAM, SAYS EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION - Intel CEO Craig Barrett discussed the value of an open Internet with students at Vietnam's top technology university. "One thing that's important in the world today is the right of each citizen to information," he said.  "That aspect of the Internet probably far outweighs any negative aspect." In Vietnam, the government controls all media. It recently laid down new restrictions that include hefty penalties for Internet cafe owners who do not block anti-government Web sites. The Ministry of Post and Telecommunications shut down an Internet site early this month for posting anti-government opinions. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/3954194.htm

CHINA DISSIDENTS THWARTED ON NET - As Chinese dissidents attempt to use the Internet to bring democratic change to their society, a recent study concludes that strict government control and limited access are significant barriers. The RAND report, "You've Got Dissent," said there is a significant Chinese "digital divide," with only 33 million of China's population of 1.2 billion online. The authors also observed that the Chinese government uses the Internet to keep an eye on activists. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,54789,00.html

TELSTRA LOOKS ABROAD AFTER DOMESTIC WEAKNESS - Telstra, Australia's biggest company, held out the prospect of further expansion in Asia as it passed up the opportunity to increase its dividend or return capital to shareholders after disappointing growth in its domestic market. Ziggy Switkowski, chief executive, said the telecommunications group would be "very energetic" in pursuing further deals in Asia although it had not set itself any timeframe.  http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1028186081955&p=1012571727260

HINDI "CHATBOT" BREAKS NEW GROUND - Computer science students in Chandigarh, a city in northern India, have developed an interactive software program that can converse intelligently with people. Called Deepti, the "chatbot" program uses natural language to interact with people. "Deepti speaks in Hindi, and since the majority of people in India are computer illiterate and don't speak English, this feature is really great," explains Ritvik Shajpal, one of the chatbot's developers. The developers hope that, combined with touch-screen technology, Deepti will provide computer accessibility to people with little or no knowledge of computers. They are optimistic about Deepti's future, saying that the program and its source code should be ready for release within four months. The developers hope that making their research available freely will encourage further research and improvements on Deepti. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2209775.stm

This Week@Americas/International
 

GOVERNMENT OF CANADA TO REVIEW LAWFUL ACCESS LAWS - The Honourable Martin Cauchon, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Solicitor General of Canada, and the Honourable Allan Rock, Minister of Industry, today announced that the Government of Canada will consult with Canadians concerning lawful access to information and communications. The consultation was launched by Minister MacAulay, on behalf of his colleagues, at the annual meeting of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP).  http://industriecanada.com/cmb/Welcomeic.nsf/261ce500dfcd7259852564820068dc6d/85256a220056c2a485256c21003d2e37!OpenDocument

WILL CANADA'S ISPs BECOME SPIES? - The Canadian government is considering a proposal that would force Internet providers to rewire their networks for easy surveillance by police and spy agencies. A discussion draft released Sunday also contemplates creating a national database of every Canadian with an Internet account, a plan that could sharply curtail the right to be anonymous online.  The Canadian government, including the Department of Justice and Industry Canada, wrote the 21-page blueprint as a near-final step in a process that seeks to give law enforcement agents more authority to conduct electronic surveillance. A proposed law based on the discussion draft is expected to be introduced in Parliament late this year or in early 2003.  Arguing that more and more communications take place in electronic form, Canadian officials say such laws are necessary to fight terrorism and combat even run-of-the-mill crimes. Discussion draft: http://www.canada.justice.gc.ca/en/cons/la_al/ ; News Story: http://msnbc-cnet.com.com/2100-1023-955595.html; U.S. CALEA: http://www.epic.org/privacy/wiretap/calea/calea_law.html

TELECOM ITALIA REFOCUSES IN BRAZIL - Telecom Italia is to focus on mobile telecommunications in Brazil after it cut its stake in the fixed-line operator Brasil Telecom. The Italian operator signed an agreement on Wednesday with Opportunity, a Rio de Janeiro-based investment bank that has been its local partner in Brasil Telecom, to reduce its stake from 37.3 per cent to 19 per cent.  http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1028186105468&p=1012571727260

This Week@US STATES

A LESSON IN BROADBAND - OTHER CITIES COULD TEACH SILICON VALLEY SOMETHING – Editorial - For the most part, the promise of broadband -- Web pages that download before you lose patience, video on demand, connections to work that are fast enough to get work done -- is just that. A promise.  Government officials in the Silicon Valley could learn a thing or two about how to help turn that promise into reality by taking a look around the country.  In Chicago, city officials have put their buying power to work for the cause of broadband communications. They are offering a lucrative 10-year contract for the city's voice and data communications to a telecom firm that is willing to link up some 2,000 city buildings, schools and housing projects with a high-speed network. The hope is that telecom firms then will extend connections to homes and businesses.  http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/opinion/3939620.htm

ED-TECH CRUSADERS SEEK D.C. BUCKS - Fifth-graders might be more interested in learning history if they could, say, participate in a virtual constitutional convention and chat with big brains like Ben Franklin and John Adams.  That's just one of the many applications that are possible with a greater investment in research and development of educational technology.  The mission of the Digital Promise project is to create an educational trust fund that will support the development of these new models and applications for all levels of education. The group, led by former NBC News president Larry Grossman and former FCC chairman Newt Minow, calls for the creation of the Digital Opportunity Investment Trust, which would be financed by revenue from the auction of publicly owned airwaves, an amount estimated at over $20 billion.  http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,54543,00.html

SCHOOLS, TECH: STILL STRUGGLING - Enthusiasm for new technology once ran so high that some believed it could boost grades, turn around failing schools and churn out tech-savvy kids. Skeptics, however, saw it as a bottomless money pit that robbed schools of precious funding for other programs.  But now, whether computers sit and gather dust in the corner or are integrated nicely into the curriculum, they are a reality for the vast majority of students and schools in America. Ninety-eight percent of public schools have Internet access, thanks to the e-rate, and many kids log on at home.  http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,54682,00.html

BRIDGING THE TECH EDUCATION GAP - While educators still debate how computers and the Internet should be used in the classroom, many parents and kids believe that technology can help provide a better education, according to recent studies.  "I would say that with the public, particularly parents, there is possibly the strongest recognition that technology is going to be a very powerful tool," said Peter Grunwald, president of Grunwald Associates.  Kids themselves say that using the Internet gets them excited about learning.  A recent survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that more than 78 percent of students aged 12 to 17 go online.  Students "want to be assigned more –- and more engaging -– Internet activities that are relevant to their lives," according to The Digital Disconnect: The Widening Gap Between Internet-Savvy Students and Their Schools. "Many students assert that this would significantly improve their attitude toward school and learning."  http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,54791,00.html

OTHER TECH STORIES OF THE WEEK

AMERICAN WIRELESS WEB USAGE NEARS 10 MILLION, SURVEY SAYS - While wireless Internet usage is still at an early stage, there is already a significant audience for it, according to a survey by comScore Networks. The survey, released Wednesday, said the number of people in the U.S. who use personal digital assistants or mobile phones to go online is nearing 10 million. The majority of wireless Internet users are men, and they also tend to have higher incomes. While men make up only 48% of the overall Internet population, they are 72% of those who use PDAs or mobile phones to go online. Nearly 60% of those using mobile phones and PDAs to go online have an annual household income of more than $60,000.  http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1030569945976766875,00.html?mod=technology_main_whats_news (Paid subscription required)

RIGHT REGULATION COULD MEAN BIG LEAPS IN TV TECHNOLOGY - When the government recently required all television sets sold by 2007 to include a digital tuner, the move was criticized as another case of know-nothing meddling by Washington. I think the Federal Communications Commission actually didn't meddle enough. The FCC's digital-tuner ruling did nothing to change the fundamental nature of TV. It simply attempts to hasten the day when over-the-air broadcasts are made using digital, rather than analog, signals.  But with the right sort of government intervention, an entirely new kind of television set and TV experience can be possible in the not-to-distant future.  With a little more electronics than they already have, TVs can be transformed from passive devices that show whatever is piped to them, into active, "smart" appliances that can access whatever their owner wants to see. Courtesy, of course, of the Internet. http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1030316592575696155.djm,00.html (Paid subscription required)

TRAPPING THE LIGHT FANTASTIC - Lasers and lenses give a new sort of quantum computer a big leg-up - Quantum mechanics, the theory that explains how the universe's fundamental particles behave, thrives on reconciling opposites. According to its topsy-turvy tenets, it is perfectly all right for a particle to smear away into space like a ray of light, while a beam of light behaves like a collection of tiny, distinct particles. So it is fitting that an idea about quantum mechanics itself that once seemed far-fetched may soon appear just the reverse: it now looks possible that scientists may some day harness quantum principles to build a computer.  http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1280667

VIRTUAL DEGREES, VIRTUALLY TOUGH - Roberto Lee's typical weekday starts at 3 a.m., when he fires up his computer in Wytheville, Virginia, and logs on to a law school in Los Angeles, 2,400 miles away.  Lee, 62, studies for a few hours, showers, and is elbow-deep in body juice by 7:30 at a hospital where he is a general surgeon. In the afternoons, he clerks at the town courthouse, learning the intricacies of jury selection and trial procedure.  Lee, who says he subsists on three or four hours of sleep a night, is one of a burgeoning number of adults earning degrees over the Internet in their spare time.  As broadband access spreads, so does the fervor of schools hoping to tap into the virtual student body. The number of accredited colleges that offer 100-percent online degrees without hidden residency requirements has jumped from 12 last year to more than 30 in 2002.  http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,54734,00.html

Q&A: FRED BAKER, CHAIRMAN OF THE INTERNET SOCIETY - Earlier this month, Fred Baker, a Cisco Systems senior engineer, was elected chairman of the Internet Society (www.isoc.org.) The global non-profit body, founded in 1991, manages Internet-standards groups, including the Internet Engineering Task Force, and provides a forum for educational and policy debates. ISOC has offices in Washington, D.C., and Geneva, Switzerland.  http://www.bayarea.com/mld/bayarea/business/3939555.htm

FACTS AND STATS:

EU ONLINE TRADE TO REACH USD2.1 TRILLION IN 2006 - A new report by Forrester Research projects that online trade will account for 22 percent of all European business trade in 2006.  http://www.nua.ie/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358296&rel=true

VIETNAM AIMS TO DOUBLE ITS INTERNET POPULATION - IDG.net reports that the Vietnamese government is hoping to increase the number of Internet subscribers in the country. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358282&rel=true

RISE IN NUMBER OF CHINESE WEB ADDRESSES - The number of Chinese Domain names with the .cn suffix rose from 4,000 in 1997 to 126,000 by the end of June 2002. http://www.nua.ie/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358281&rel=true

US NET SUBSCRIBERS INTERESTED IN NETWORKING - Over 50 percent of American Internet households are interested in networking digital entertainment content among PCs, TVs, stereos, and DVD players, according to Parks Associates.  http://www.nua.ie/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358287&rel=true

CHINA TO FUEL ASIAN BROADBAND GROWTH - Yankee Group forecast that the number of broadband subscribers in Asia-Pacific will swell to around 64.5 million by year-end 2006, up from 12.9 million at the end of 2001.  http://www.nua.ie/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358288&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

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