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Cisco Government Affairs
E-Update
Volume 2, Issue 34
20 September 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
E-UPDATE BROADBAND POLL
RESULTS ARE IN!!!! – Our online poll of E-Update subscribers on broadband usage
has 200 responses:
59% of you already have
broadband.
21% of you will get
broadband in the next six months.
8% can’t get broadband where
they live.
8% won’t get broadband until
the prices drop.
4% wonder why they need
broadband.
See the results: http://forums.cisco.com/eforum/servlet/HtCom?page=main
This Week@WASHINGTON, DC
EXPERTS: CYBERSECURITY PLAN
OFFERS TIPS, NOT RULES - The Bush administration wants to help the technology
industry reduce cyber attacks, but has decided not impose new laws. Instead,
cybersecurity czar Richard Clarke is expected to offer a wide range of
suggestions to businesses, universities and individuals about how to
voluntarily shore up their online defenses. Industry executives say that the
government's decision not to enact new laws will allow them to implement new
Internet safety measures more quickly. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2002-09-16-cyber-plan_x.htm
CZAR OF CYBER SECURITY DEFENDS
EASING OF RULES - Federal cyber
security czar Richard Clarke fired back at critics who have lambasted his
national strategy for cyberspace security as weak and meaningless, saying that
government regulation would only make the problem worse. "Why are we requesting that industry
help us, rather than demanding it?" Clarke asked. "Industry
frequently knows better than government about the [information technology]
infrastructure." http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-sci-cyber18sep18(0,4283147).story?coll=la%2Dnews%2Da%5Fsection
WHITE HOUSE CYBERSPACE
SECURITY REPORT - http://www.whitehouse.gov/pcipb/cyberstrategy-draft.pdf
(Adobe File)
FORMAN PUSHES HOUSE TO MEET E-GOV FUND REQUEST - The Bush administration is applying a full-court
press to the House to authorize its request for a $45 million e-government
fund. Mark Forman, the Office of Management and Budget’s associate director for
IT and e-government, yesterday told lawmakers that the fund was “critical to
achieving the promise of e-government.”
http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/20061-1.html
A CIVIL WAR WITHIN A TRADE
DISPUTE - What began as an obscure trade dispute between Europe and the United
States has turned into a political brawl over $100 billion in corporate tax
breaks that pits many of America's biggest companies against one another. In the behind-the-scenes lobbying battle, Boeing
is lining up against General Motors, Walt Disney against AOL Time Warner,
Caterpillar against Deere, and Microsoft against I.B.M. Business interests are so divided and the
corporate intrigue so intense that Congress has become all but paralyzed over
the issue. Indeed, many of Washington's high-priced tax lobbyists have clients
on both sides of the fight. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/20/business/20TRAD.html
(free registration required)
RULEMAKERS MOVE CLOSER TO
GLOBAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS - U.S. and international accounting
standards-setters agreed today to begin eliminating the major differences
between their rules, a critical first step in creating a set of global
standards that would make it easier to compare financial results across
borders. At a joint meeting, the
International Accounting Standards Board and its U.S. counterpart, the
Financial Accounting Standards Board, also resolved to pursue large rulemaking
projects together. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36257-2002Sep18.html
VISIONS 2020 – “Transforming Education and
Training Through Advanced Technologies” – report from Department of Commerce by
educators, academics and executives including Bill Gates and Vint Cerf. With
introductions by Secretary of Commerce Evans and Secretary of Education Paige. http://www.ta.doc.gov/reports/TechPolicy/2020Visions.pdf
(Adobe File)
COMING FULL CIRCLE: THE
GLOBAL TELECOM INDUSTRY RE-CONSOLIDATES
This paper examines the
global impact of the breakup of the Bell system and the strategies that winners
in the U.S. market must employ in the next five years. http://itpapers.zdnet.com/whitepapers/papergateway.asp?WID=514860595348&categoryID=71&search
(Free registration required)
This
Week@EMEA
OFFICIAL SITE OF GERMAN
BROADBAND INITIATIVE IS LAUNCHED - www.breitbandinitiative.de
- (In German Only)
SPEECH: MARIO MONTI European
Commissioner for Competition Policy – “A Global Competition Policy ?” - http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=SPEECH/02/399|0|RAPID&lg=EN
SPEECH: ERKII LIIKANEN -
Member of the European Commission, responsible for Enterprise and the
Information Society "Towards an eSafety Action Plan for Europe" - http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=SPEECH/02/398|0|RAPID&lg=EN
BT
TO LAUNCH BROADBAND AD CAMPAIGN - BT Group said it was embarking on the
most intensive TV advertising campaign ever seen in the UK to try to double
broadband internet connections. The campaign, called "Possibilities",
will see the encumbent UK operator spend £1m ($1.55m) a day over 10 days
between September 22 and October 2 to generate awareness in the potential of
broadband. BT said its aim was to
double the number of weekly connections from 12,000 to 24,000 as part of a
drive to get 1m ADSL broadband customers by the summer of 2003. http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1031119455432&p=1012571727260
SUBSIDISE BROADBAND, SAYS US
EX-REGULATOR - The former head of the US equivalent of Ofcom believes the UK
government should subsidise the rollout of broadband. Reed Hundt, the ex-chair of the Federal Communications
Commission, has contributed to a major new study into the future of television
by the Independent Television Commission (ITC). In it, Hundt says that the true value of ubiquitous broadband
networks will only be realised once they're in place -- and that the private
sector is unlikely to take the risk of building them without knowing how much
demand there will be. While acknowledging that governments have more pressing
priorities for their budgets, such as the war on terror, he said: "In many
national economies it does seem that such a plan (government subsidy of
broadband) is superior to a pure market-based approach to providing the
physical link for communications."
http://news.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t269-s2122522,00.html
IT POWER FOR NIGERIANS -
Tranter International Limited, a Georgia, US-based global information
technology company, is helping to decrease the digital divide by providing
Nigerians with access to business courses via a Web-based distance education
program. ExecuTrain (EVC) provides training and skill development for corporate
information technology professionals as well as for students in underserved
communities. After paying a subscription fee of N12,000 (USD $95), students
will gain access to courses at Howard University in Washington, DC. The company
has established relationships with cybercafes around the city of Lagos for
those who lack Internet access. http://allafrica.com/stories/200209170800.html
This Week@Asia/Pac
RANKING
THE TOP 20 GLOBAL ICT MARKETS - According to
a 2002 mobile/internet index, published as part of the "Internet for a
Mobile Generation" report from the International Telecommunication Union
(ITU), Hong Kong and China lead the world in terms of current and future
information and communication technology (ICT) implementation and efforts with
an index score of 65.88. The ITU bases its scores on 26 variables separated
into three main categories: infrastructure, usage and market structure. Denmark
claims second place with an index score of 65.61 and the US holds fifth place with
a score of 65.04. The Report: http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/sales/mobileinternet/
The Synopsis: http://www.emarketer.com/news/article.php?1001624&ref=ed
US
GROUPS URGE CHINA CRACKDOWN ON PRODUCT PIRACY - U.S.
entertainment companies, software developers, book publishers and drug
manufacturers told the Bush administration on Wednesday that China's poor
enforcement of laws against copying their products was costing them billions of
dollars a year. Eric Smith, president of the International Intellectual
Property Alliance, said Chinese penalties were too weak to discourage
widespread piracy of music CDs, movie DVDs and other copyrighted goods.
"Until China wakens to the reality that it must move criminally against
pirates with significant deterrent penalties ... we do not see China's piracy
rates dropping significantly, as has happened in other countries in the
region," Smith said told an interagency panel. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=581&ncid=581&e=18&u=/nm/20020918/tc_nm/trade_china_dc
This
Week@Americas/International
CANADA'S INNOVATION STRATEGY
- Allan Rock, Minister of Industry, and Joyce Fairbairn, Senator for
Lethbridge, Alberta and Special Advisor, Literacy to The Honourable Jane
Stewart, Minister, Human Resources Development Canada, met with representatives
of the Calgary region to discuss recommendations on an action plan to achieve
Canada's Innovation Strategy.http://industriecanada.ca/cmb/welcomeic.nsf/261ce500dfcd7259852564820068dc6d/85256a5d006b972085256c370049f296!OpenDocument,
Canadian Innovation website: http://innovationstrategy.gc.ca
This Week@US STATES
THE INTERNET GOES TO COLLEGE: ”How Students are Living in the Future with Today's
Technology” - The generation
that grew up with the personal computer now is heavily wired on campus and
relies on the Internet in every
dimension of college life. Fully 86% of college students use the
Internet, compared to 59% of the overall U.S. population, and the students say
the Internet is essential to their academic and social lives. See the key findings in a report from the
Pew Internet & American Life Project titled, "The Internet Goes to
College": http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=71
BELLSOUTH WINS LONG-DISTANCE
IN 5 STATES - BellSouth Corp. the No. 3 local telephone carrier that serves the
southeastern United States, on Wednesday won federal approval to offer
long-distance voice and data services in five states. The Federal Communications Commission unanimously approved the
application after the Atlanta-based company proved that its local telephone
networks in Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina
were sufficiently open to competition. http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-telecoms-bellsouth-fcc.html
SBC'S PAC BELL CLEARS HURDLE
ON CALIF. LONG-DISTANCE- California regulators approved SBC Communications
Inc.'s application to provide long-distance telephone service, clearing a major
hurdle to enter the state's $15 billion market. The decision by the California Public Utilities Commission gives
SBC, the No. 2 U.S. local telephone company which owns SBC Pacific Bell, the
green light to file the California application with the Federal Communications
Commission. http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/020919/telecoms_sbc_california_2.html
HALF OF U.S. INTERNET USERS
HAVE A TELEVISION AND PC IN THE SAME ROOM - A report released by comScore Media
Metrix details the increasing number of people who have access to a PC and
television in the same room. Of the 45.1 million adult Internet users who have
both TVs and PCs, 48 percent frequently use the Internet while watching
television. Peter Daboll of comScore says the study is a "wake-up call for
media companies," as it reveals "a startling connection between
television and the Internet." http://www.mediaconference.com/p/9c/9090c6ac5074.html?id=efccf8
INTERNET ACCESS IN U.S.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND CLASSROOMS: 1994-2001 - The U.S. Department of Education's
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has released a report on
Internet access in U.S. public schools from 1994 to 2001. The report presents
analysis on the progress of Internet connectivity in public schools and
classrooms, and on the ratio of students to instructional computers with
Internet access. http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2002018
CALIFORNIA LAGS IN HIGH-TECH EDUCATION,
STUDY SAYS
- California's high-tech industry ranks among the top in the nation, but much
of that success stems from luring workers from other countries and states
rather than training its own work force, according to a study just
released. And that dependence could
make the Golden State's high-tech reign vulnerable as other states invest in
building their own technology markets. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/4089217.htm
PILOT PROJECT DEMONSTRATES
TRANSPORTABLE INTERNET SATELLITE SYSTEM TO OHIO COMMUNITIES - A new
transportable satellite system will soon bring connectivity to rural Ohio
communities that have never seen the Internet. The Ohio State University,
OARnet and ITEC-Ohio have partnered with the American Distance Education
Consortium to design and construct a trailer-mounted transportable satellite
Internet system (TSIS). http://www.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/spew4th.pl?ascribeid=20020917.074452&time=08%2028%20PDT&year=2002&public=1
INTERNET FILTERS ON THE RISE
IN U.S. SCHOOLS - When Congress required schools to install filters in order to
receive certain technology grants, many districts felt that they had no choice
but to comply. As a result of the federal Children's Internet Protection Act,
schools across the country are installing filters or expanding their use
despite flaws in the software, which sometimes blocks legitimate sites needed
for lessons. http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=528&ncid=528&e=1&u=/ap/20020914/ap_on_hi_te/internet_filtering_schools
GETTING INFORMATION FROM
STATE WEB SITES AT A PRICE - According to a study released today by Brown
University, as government Web sites improve, they are becoming more likely to
impose fees for information. Darrell West, who conducted the study of 1,265
state and federal Web sites, said that the practice of charging fees for basic
information is a worrisome trend that could result in two tiers of access to
government information. "E-government planners are starting to segment Web
sites," Professor West said. "That really runs contrary to the open
and transparent roots of the Internet." The study, available at
www.InsidePolitics.org, also found that in general, federal Web sites did a
better job offering information and services than did state sites.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/16/technology/16EGOV.html
(Free Registration required)
The Study: http://www.insidepolitics.org/Egovt02us.html
YAHOO,
SBC UNVEIL HIGH-SPEED SERVICE - Online powerhouse Yahoo Inc. and regional phone
giant SBC Communications Inc. unveiled a high-speed Internet service designed
to convince more people that broadband is worth the extra money. Sunnyvale-based Yahoo and San Antonio-based
SBC have been working on the service since they joined forces last year. The
new service, available in all 13 states where SBC provides phone service, will
allow subscribers to surf the Web at speeds up to 25 times as fast as
traditional dial-up modems. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020914/ap_on_hi_te/yahoo_high_speed_5
CITIES LAMENT LACK OF
HOMELAND SECURITY FUNDING - Many cities find themselves on the front lines in
the war against terrorism without the money to carry out their new mission.
"Cities are the natural targets for this evolving terrorist threat, and we
have risen to the challenge of protecting citizens over the past year,"
National League of Cities President Karen Anderson said last week. "But
even though cities are at the very center of homeland security, they seem to be
an afterthought when it comes to federal and state priorities for providing
funding and communicating key information." http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0902/090902cdam1.htm
OTHER
TECH STORIES OF THE WEEK
BUSINESSWEEK TECHNOLOGY
SPECIAL REPORT – “What Price Broadband?” - http://www.businessweek.com/technology/tc_special/02broadband.htm
HOMELAND
SECURITY: HIGH TECH STARTS KICKING IN - Despite agonizing delays,
money is flowing at last to fund the bold proposals for bolstering security - Shortly after the World Trade Center came crashing
down, a contingent of tech industry heavyweights, including Hewlett-Packard's
Carly Fiorina, AOL Time Warner's Steve Case, and AT&T's C. Michael
Armstrong, flew to Washington to meet with Administration officials. And during
the following 12 months, 100 or so tech leaders held a flurry of follow-up
meetings with the White House and the Defense Dept. The subject at hand: how
best to marshal the strongest ideas from Silicon Valley in the new war against
terrorism. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_37/b3799608.htm
QWEST TO CURTAIL SPENDING,
SHED UNPROFITABLE UNITS - Debt-burdened telephone company Qwest Communications
International Inc said it will keep capital spending low, and sell or shut down
unprofitable businesses as it tries to restore its financial health. ``We have literally gone through and looked
at each piece of business. We are also taking a hard look at every service
offering we have. ... We have walked away from some business opportunities
because we didn't think it would be profitable,'' Qwest Chairman Dick Notebaert
told analysts at a meeting in New York.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/technology/tech-telecoms-qwest.html
(Free registration required)
AOL UPDATES ITS CONTENT TO
DRAW BROADBAND USERS - America Online is renewing its efforts to sell
high-speed Internet connections as it struggles to gain a competitive foothold
in the emerging market for so-called broadband services. Broadband, or high-speed, Internet
connections are the fastest-growing segment of Internet usage in the U.S. these
days, but cable and telephone companies have dominated the market for these
services so far. Although America Online is the largest Internet provider in
the world, with 35 million subscribers, most of its users are on slower-speed
dial-up Internet connections. http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1032123252943176555,00.html
(Paid subscription required)
CONFERENCE BOARD BACKS STRICTER OPTIONS RULES - A high-profile group of business
executives, investors and corporate-governance experts threw its weight behind
restrictions on the use of stock options as a way to restore public confidence
in corporate financial reporting, as the group pushed for additional ways to
curtail excessive management compensation.
The commission's report wasn't unanimous. Intel's Andy Grove, sticking
to a long-held view that stock options shouldn't be expensed, dissented on that
recommendation. In another dissenting opinion, Mr. Volcker, who generally dislikes
options, cautioned against the widespread use of fixed-price stock
options. http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB103221506759790475,00.html
(Paid subscription required)
DAN GILLMOR: ISSUES THAT WILL SHAPE THE INTERNET -- [Commentary] What lies
ahead for communications within the next 50 years? Columnist Dan Gillmor fears
that the future holds increasing centralization of control of the Internet.
This trend is evidenced, says Gillmor, by industry leaders' success at
persuading Congress to enact draconian copyright laws to control the use of
digitized material. He also points to the efforts of regional cable and phone
monopolies to convince Congress, the FCC and other regulatory agencies to allow
them to control what information is distributed over their data networks. http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/4079611.htm
First
"smiley" shows its face - A Microsoft researcher has apparently rediscovered the first known
computerized instance of a "smiley," the combination of characters
used to signify a smile in e-mail and on bulletin boards. The smiley has
spawned a whole range of emoticons, as they are now known, since its appearance
on a bulletin board discussion at Carnegie Mellon University in 1982. Emoticons
have become an important part of the worldwide online social culture because
they make it easy to communication emotions quickly--something that many people
find difficult to express using words. http://msnbc-cnet.com.com/2100-1023-957817.html
DOWNSIZED TECHIES TRANSFER
TO CLASSROOM - As a project manager at Nortel, Meredy Halen earned a six-figure
salary and worked in her own office. Most mornings, she sipped coffee with
colleagues in the company's cafeteria. Her co-workers, software engineers and
other project managers, took their own timeouts. These days, Halen works in a
bustling classroom at Rosemary Elementary School in Campbell, where
angel-faced, inquisitive and sometimes antsy second- and third-graders vie for
her attention. After a layoff in November, Halen, 54, decided she'd had enough
of the technology business. She signed up for the Technology to Teacher
Initiative, a state program that helps downsized tech workers teach elementary
and high school students math and science. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/09/20/BU166138.DTL
FACTS AND STATS:
MORE AMERICANS ACCESSING THE
NET AT WORK - A new report from Nielsen-Netratings indicates that the number of
Americans accessing the Internet at work grew 17 percent year-on-year. http://www.nua.ie/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358375&rel=true
MORE SPENDING ONLINE DURING
HOLIDAY SEASON - eMarketer reports that consumer online purchases in the US are
expected to rise by 27 percent during the 2002 holiday season. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358356&rel=true
AMERICANS BELIEVE NET IS THE
COOLEST MEDIUM -One out of five Americas feel that the Internet is the 'most
essential' medium to their lives, according to a new study by Arbitron and
Edison Media Research. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358358&rel=true
OVER FOUR MILLION NET
SUBSCRIBERS IN PORTUGAL -The number of Internet subscribers in Portugal reached
4.4 million at the end of the second quarter 2002, a 48 percent increase on the
same period last year.
http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358374&rel=true
CANADIAN NET POPULATION SET
TO GROW - eMarketer estimates that 14.9 million individuals currently use the
Internet in Canada. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358379&rel=true
(Note: population of Canada is 30 million).
RISE IN NUMBER OF INTERNET
USERS IN VIETNAM - The number of registered Internet users in Vietnam rose by
30 percent from June 2001 to June 2002, reports News.com.au. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358376&rel=true
MAJORITY OF NORWEGIANS
ONLINE - Over 70 percent of Norwegian adults were online at the end of July
2002, according to Norsk Gallup. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358366&rel=true
BROADBAND IS BIG DOWN UNDER
- The number of Australian Internet users with broadband connections rose by 25
percent between May and July, according to the latest findings from AC Nielsen.
http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358355&rel=true
UK LAGS BEHIND EUROPE IN
BROADBAND TAKE-UP -A new Nielsen-Netratings study indicates that the UK is
seriously lagging behind the rest of Europe when it comes to broadband
adoption. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905358357&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
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To contact any member of the
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