| 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 policymakers. Click EUpdate to become a subscriber.
If you have high-tech public policy news or announcements that you think other e-update subscribers would be interested in, please send them to john.earnhardt@cisco.com. There are over 1300 subscribers to Cisco Government Affairs' eUpdate. CISCO GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS WEBSITE - Please visit www.cisco.com/gov to view our worldwide government affairs website. You can reach any member of the team at: http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/779/govtaffairs/contact/. Also see Q&A with Laura Ipsen, Vice President of Worldwide Government Affairs, as she reviews the issues that Cisco is focusing on: http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/media_info/public_policy_overview.html |
| TOP NEWS OF THE WEEK |
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VOIP CHANGES EVERYTHING, CISCO SAYS – As Cisco's chief technology officer, Charlie Giancarlo is in a good position as anyone to take an educated guess at the future of the service provider market. While some of the predictions he made at Cisco's analyst conference may not pan out, it's hard to argue with his main point: "The thing that changed everything," Giancarlo said, "is VoIP." http://www.advancedippipeline.com/trends/index.jhtml;jsessionid=0N1HIPPC CHINA TO HAVE LARGEST NUMBER OF BROADBAND INTERNET BY YEAR-END - China is likely to have the largest number of broadband high-speed Internet users in the world by the end of this year says the ITU. http://asia.news.yahoo.com/041209/kyodo/d86s4td83.html |
| This Week@WASHINGTON, DC |
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SENATE APPROVES LEGISLATION ON RANGE OF TELECOM ISSUES - The Senate approved legislation addressing a number of outstanding telecommunications issues, including a provision that would exempt the Universal Service Fund from an accounting requirement that has delayed payments of more than $1 billion to schools and libraries for Internet connections. http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110256318204595357,00.html (Paid subscription required) CONGRESS SURE TO REVISIT '96 ACT IN 2005, PANELISTS SAY - A serious review of the 1996 Telecommunications Act in the next Congress was a virtual certainty, according to key professional staff members from both the House of Representatives and the Senate. http://www.x-changemag.com/tdhotnews/4ch3102237.html WITH IPV6, DOD IS AGAIN AN INTERNET LEADER – The United States is behind the curve on deployment of the next generation of Internet protocols, but the Defense Department’s decision to transition to IP Version 6 is helping to move the nation ahead, said Alex Lightman, chairman of the U.S. IPv6 Summit. http://www.washingtontechnology.com/news/1_1/daily_news/25079-1.html TECH FIRMS URGE BUSH TO FOCUS ON CYBERSECURITY – A cybersecurity advocacy group Tuesday called on U.S. President George Bush to focus more resources on computer issues and elevate the top IT security position at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to the assistant secretary level. BUSH SIGNS INTERNET TAX MORATORIUM – President George W. Bush signed into law a three-year moratorium on Internet access taxes. BUSH LEFT SHORT ON E-GOVERNMENT – The US Congress has once again disappointed White House demands for e-government funding. US legislators have only approved $3m for the Bush administration's 2005 e-government budget. The administration had requested $5m in direct funds and the option to use an additional $40m in fees collected by the General Services Administration. REPORT: SPENDING ON IT CONTRACTS SURGES IN 2004 – The federal government awarded $155 billion in IT prime contracts in fiscal 2004, a 60 percent increase over IT-related spending in 2003, according to Reston, Va., market research firm Input Inc. BATTLE LINES HARDEN, AS SUPREME COURT AGREES TO HEAR BROADBAND CASE - The reaction to a U.S. Supreme Court agreement to hear a case on whether cable operators should open their broadband lines to competitors has been sharp, with incumbent broadband providers hopeful competitors would be blocked and consumer groups hopeful the market would open up to additional competition. http://www.commsdesign.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=54800619 |
| This Week@EMEA |
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SPEECH - Janez POTOCNIK, European Commissioner for Science and Research – “Strengthening Competitiveness of the Enlarged EU” at 30th Annual Conference of the European International Business Academy Ljubljana (Slovenia), 6 December 2004. http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH EU ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS MARKETS: OUTLOOK GOOD, BUT MORE PROGRESS NEEDED ON REGULATORY REFORM - The EU electronic communications sector is showing signs of intensifying competition and strong growth in some segments. Progress in implementing the regulatory package has been good, but more work is needed if Europe is to reap the benefits of a fully competitive sector. http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP STUDY: BIG GROWTH IN EUROPEAN BROADBAND - More than half of Europe's Internet users now enjoy a broadband Web connection at home, according to a market research report from Internet audience tracking firm Nielsen/NetRatings. http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nf/20041203/bs_nf/28801 SIERRA LEONE GOVERNMENT SELECTS FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM – The government of Sierra Leone is committed to implementing solutions that will enable transparency and accountability and improve public resource management at all levels of government. UAE TO DISCUSS E-GOVT STANDARDS – The federal authorities are to discuss greater cooperation between United Arab Emirates e-government, and Dubai e-government. BRUNEI SULTANATE MARCHES TOWARDS A PAPERLESS GOVERNMENT – Bandar Seri Begawan – The Prime Minister's Office continues its efforts towards accelerating the e-government transformation as a preparation to meeting future challenges. ELECTRONIC GOVERNMENT TO MATERIALIZE IN IRAN NEXT YEAR – The third and most important phase of the national electronic government project will begin in early 2005, the head of the e-government department of Civil Aviation Organization announced. EU LARGEST DSL POPULATION WORLDWIDE – The European Union currently makes up the largest regional DSL population worldwide, accounting for 31.1 per cent of total DSL subscribers globally, according to figures released today from the DSL Forum. EUROPEAN COUNCIL DELAYS VOTE DECISION ON PATENT DIRECTIVE – The European Council has delayed its decision on the Computer Implemented Inventions Directive until March, 2005. EU TELECOMS COUNCIL TO MEET IN BRUSSELS TO DISCUSS SPAM, THREATS TO INTERNET – EU Telecommunications Council is to give political agreement to the €45m Safer Internet Plus programme aimed at combatting illegal and harmful internet content. ACTIVE BROADBAND USAGE IN EUROPE ON THE RISE – Nielsen//NetRatings reports that over 50% of the active Internet audience in Europe is making a high-speed connection — up from just one-third roughly 12 months ago. BARCELONA, BOLOGNA AND STOCKHOLM WIN 'ECITIZENSHIP FOR ALL' AWARDS – At the European conference "Gaining from Visions" held in Vienna and hosted by Eurocities , TeleCities and Access, TeleCities and Deloitte presented the annual eCitizenship for All Awards for eGovernment. GREECE: MOVING TOWARD THE E-CITY – The Information Society is a vision for European countries, concerning the transformation of society, to one which is based on information and telecommunication technologies (ICT). The targets of the Greek Information Society Action Plan meet European main targets in creating infrastructures for public administration, in developing citizen-centered digital public services, in reducing telecommunication costs and training of citizens in IT skills. http://www.govtech.net/?pg=magazine/channel_story&channel=24&id=92188 VODAFONE IRELAND LAUNCHES 'GOVERNMENT MOBILE OFFICE' – Vodafone Ireland’s 'Government Mobile Office' (GMO) comes with a flat rate monthly fee and free internal calls for government bodies and agencies. http://www.dmeurope.com/default.asp?ArticleID=4873 SWEDISH PARLIAMENT TO PROVIDE WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS FOR DELEGATES – The Swedish Parliament has chosen the Columbitech Wireless VPN solution to provide all 349 Parliament delegates with high-security, independent online access to the Parliament's corporate network. FINNISH GOVERNMENT TO REDUCE STAKE IN TELIASONERA – The Finnish government has announced that it is to sell stock worth €1.35m, putting up for sale at least 250m shares. DUTCH GOVERNMENT DEAL WITH MICROSOFT CONTRARY TO PARLIAMENTARY ‘OPEN SOFTWARE’ MOTION – Members of Amsterdam’s local council (which has had an open-source UK.GOV SIMPLIFIES IT PROCUREMENT – The government has standardised contract terms, replacing the wide variety of public sector documentation with two standard forms. According to the Office of Government Commerce, the new terms will be easier to administer, simplify the tendering process, and make it easier for small and medium-sized companies to compete for government business. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12/09/ogc_new_contracts/ UK’S PUBLIC SECTOR STAGNATES WITH IT – The UK has failed to use IT to reform the public sector, according to a policy paper. The "disappointing progress" of e-government is a key sign of the failure to reform the public sector and introduce true innovation, says an influential report. US & UK AGREE TO COLLABORATE ON HOMELAND / CIVIL SECURITY TECHNOLOGY – During the opening meeting of the fourth Joint Contact Group, Home Office Home Secretary David Blunkett and US Homeland Security Deputy Secretary James Loy signed a Memorandum of Agreement establishing a framework for cooperation in science and technology in critical infrastructure protection and other homeland/civil security concerns. LOCAL E-GOVERNMENT NATIONAL PROJECTS OFFER £1.4 BILLION ADDED VALUE – New authoritative studies, commissioned by the local Local e-Government National Projects, have provided compelling evidence of the benefits of e-Government to local authorities. IN GERMANY ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE SOON TO BE VALID – From 2005, an electronic signature will have just as much worth as a hand-written signature. As the Federal Office for Communication (BAKOM) explained, the Swiss Federal Council has passed an order over the law concerning electronic signatures and set the date for the law to come into effect on the 1st of January next year. http://de.news.yahoo.com/041203/295/4boe9.html CONTROVERSY OVER FREE MUNICIPAL WI-FI NETWORKS IN SPAIN – The city of Barcelona recently suspended its free wi-fi service providing access to public interest websites, after the Spanish telecommunications market regulator said the service was infringing competition rules. Other municipal wi-fi networks are also under threat. http://europa.eu.int/ida/en/document/3521/194 3.8M RUSSIAN MOBILE SUBSCRIBERS ADDED IN NOVEMBER – The country-wide penetration has increased to 45.2 per cent, while Moscow has crossed the 90 per cent penetration mark. |
| This Week@Americas International |
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EU SUPPORTS LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN RESEARCH AND EDUCATION NETWORK – The EU's third Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) Ministerial Forum on the Information Society officially launched RedCLARA, the first Pan-Latin-American network for research and education. MEXICO CONNECTS -- POLICY AND RURAL BROADBAND – Use of unlicensed spectrum on a secondary basis, such as Wi Fi and Wi Max standards -- is a matter of true public interest. This is the kind of project that does need government intervention, because there is a market failure. CANADA: THE ONLINE ENIGMA – Why is Canada a world-leader in Internet connectivity, but a laggard when it comes to e-commerce? INTERVIEW: SERVICE NEW BRUNSWICK – Is it possible to run a government department like a profitable enterprise? For Jacques Dubé, the answer is an emphatic “yes.” For the dynamic President of Service New Brunswick (SNB), e-government is not just a matter of automating a bunch of services and providing them online. |
| This Week@Asia-Pacific/Japan |
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ASIA-PAC IT SPENDING SEEN GROWING – Information technology-related spending by Asia Pacific firms is tipped to grow by a world-beating 7.6 percent next year to almost $US210 billion, industry research house Gartner. CHINA'S MIXED TELECOM SIGNALS - China is set to open its tightly controlled telecommunications-services sector another crack on Saturday. But not many foreign players are eager to squeeze through the door, industry executives and lawyers say. http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110236109247692218,00.html (Paid subscription required) SHANGDONG PROVINCE JUSTICE SYSTEM BUILDS GROUNDBREAKING IP VIDEO NETWORK – The Supreme People's Procuratorate of Shandong Province, China, has chosen RADVISION's videoconferencing infrastructure to link all of its courtrooms and select police stations into a single video network. INDIAN REGULATOR OKAYS PREFERENTIAL TARIFFS – Telecom operators in India will now be able to offer special tariffs for calls to their own customers and different rates to subscribers of other networks. http://www.telecomasia.net/telecomasia/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=137940 MOBILE FEEDBACK IN THE PHILIPPINES – When the Civil Service Commission examined creating new channels for citizen feedback, it realised that wireless was the way to go. NAME NOT NUMBER IN NEW ZEALAND – Telecom is preparing a huge shake-up in the way it provides services to customers which will make the traditional concept of a "phone" number obsolete. It plans to offer any New Zealander that wants one their own individual number for calls, regardless of whether they have exclusive use of a home or business telephone line. TELECOM INDUSTRY PERFORMS WELL BUT CUSTOMER SERVICE STILL A WORRY – A new report card on the telecommunications industry showed Telstra's services were far from being up to scratch in the bush, federal Labor said. DSL GROWTH CONTINUES APACE – Australia has added 475,000 new DSL subscribers in the first three quarters of the year, figures provided by British broadband researchers Point Topic show. NEW PROBE INTO HI-TECH PRIVACY – Smart cards, genetic testing and other new technologies will come under the spotlight of a parliamentary inquiry. The Senate yesterday passed an Australian Democrats motion to establish an inquiry into Australia's privacy laws. E-PROCUREMENT HEADING OFF THE RAILS IN AUSTRALIA? – A report by the New South Wales Auditor-General casts doubt on the viability of the state's US$41.4 million e-procurement system. NSW JOINS CIO HUNT – The NSW Government is to join its federal and Victorian counterparts in appointing a chief information officer responsible for oversight of IT across all government agencies. |
| This Week@US States |
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TOP 10 DIGITAL CITIES NAMED FOR 2004 – The most technology-advanced cities in America have been named by the Center for Digital Government based on its 2004 Digital Cities Survey. http://www.centerdigitalgov.com/center/highlightstory.php?docid=92305 DHS ANNOUNCES OVER $2.5 BILLION IN GRANTS NATIONWIDE – Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge recently announced the recipients of $1.66 billion in grants to states and an additional $855 million in grants to urban areas to fund first responders and support state and local resources necessary to prevent, respond and recover from acts of terrorism and other disasters. http://www.centerdigitalgov.com/cdg/?pg=story&docid=Dec620044:49PM-92367 REFORMING CALIFORNIA IT – J. Clark Kelso is a CIO with no central IT department and little executive authority. Yet with his skill for reading situations and people, he has calmed a crisis and brought the state's often feuding IT leaders together. ALASKA TOPS IN INTERNET USE – Alaska, known for dog-mushing, forests and forget-me-nots, also can boast about its great surfing -- Internet surfing, that is. According to U.S. Census data, the Land of the Midnight Sun is the most wired state in the nation. CHICAGO LIBRARY UNVEILS FREE WIFI SERVICE –Library patrons now have wireless Internet access in 76 of the city's 79 library locations. Chicago Public Library officials said Chicago has the first major urban library system to roll out a wireless network on this scale. BROADBAND KENTUCKY DERBY: A RACE TO CONNECT THE STATE – Kentucky's effort to bring broadband access to all its citizens by 2007 got a boost, with the announcement that broadband power line provider (BPL) Broadband Horizons has joined the state's ConnectKentucky campaign. PHILLY, VERIZON STRIKE AGREEMENT ON WI-FI PLANS – Governor signs controversial bill that gives Verizon the right to scuttle municipal Internet-access projects. The city of Philadelphia and Verizon Communications Inc. struck an agreement that would allow the city to provide wireless Internet access as a municipal service even though Gov. Ed Rendell signed legislation giving Verizon the power to scuttle the project. |
| Other Tech News Of The Week |
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COMCAST IN FIBER-NETWORK PUSH - Comcast Corp. is creating its own national fiber-optic network for television, data and phone services. To do so, the Philadelphia cable giant announced that it was leasing 19,000 miles of fiber from Level 3 Communications Inc., a Broomfield, Colo., fiber-optic company. http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110247544877594152,00.html (Paid subscription required) SPRINT INKS $3 BILLION DEALS FOR MOBILE NETWORK - Sprint said it would spend $3 billion over the next three years to upgrade its mobile network including the development of high-speed Internet services. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techinvestor/corporatenews/2004-12-08-sprint-deals_x.htm WORLD IT SPENDING REBOUNDS THANKS LARGELY TO DEVELOPING WORLD – The worldwide information and communications technology (ICT) market is on the rebound and outpacing the global economy as a whole thanks largely to rapid growth in emerging markets, according to new data released recently by the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA). REPORT: Digital Planet 2004: The Global Information Economy REGIONAL TRENDS IN THE GLOBAL DSL MARKET – The number of DSL subscribers worldwide has reached 85.3 million, according to new data from Point Topic. OVER 5M VOIP SUBSCRIBERS WORLDWIDE - In 2004, the trend in VoIP subscriber growth outside Japan has been for broadband service providers to add voice subscribers as part of a double play or triple play offering. Pure-play VoIP providers are less important to the overall picture than they were 12 months ago. HIGH COURT TO HEAR BROADBAND CASE – The Supreme Court agreed to consider whether cable-television companies must let rivals offer Internet services over their broadband pipes, an issue the Bush administration has earmarked as critical to the U.S. economy and global high-tech competition. http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110209671873790609,00.html (Subscription required) TOO SOON FOR WIMAX – An IDC report cautions wireless networking and broadband silicon suppliers against being overly optimistic about WiMAX. WORLDWIDE RFID MARKET TO REACH €1.5BN IN 2008 - The market for RFID-related consulting, implementation, and managed services is expected to grow by 47 per cent in 2004. http://www.dmeurope.com/default.asp?ArticleID=4857 STUDY FINDS GOVERNMENT APPLICATION OF RFID TECHNOLOGY AT THE CROSSROADS – Government technology executives see IT innovation, including the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies, as key to achieving their organizational strategy, according to a new report by BearingPoint, Inc., the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) and Federal Computer Week magazine. |
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