| 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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BROADBAND ADOPTION INCREASES BY 50M ACROSS THE GLOBE – The number of broadband lines grew by 50 million across the world in 2004, according to figures from telecoms analyst, Point-Topic. |
| This Week@WASHINGTON, DC |
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US REGULATOR PROMISES TO LET VOIP BLOOM – The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has vowed to keep VoIP telephony unregulated. FCC: HIGH-SPEED CONNECTIONS UP IN 2004 – The number of high-speed Internet connections increased by 15 percent in the first half of 2004. COMMENTARY: THE TELECOM (BETTER LATE THAN NEVER) REVOLUTION – Is it possible that, eight years after the landmark 1996 Telecommunications Act was passed, federal regulators finally understand what the telecommunications revolution was supposed to be about? Recent evidence is encouraging. NIST RAISES VOIP CONCERNS – Government administrators may not understand the complexity of installing security systems for Internet telephony, NIST says. AGENTS GO WIRELESS – The US Government wants IT companies to submit proposals to set up a $10bn nationwide wireless network covering the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and other law enforcement officials, according to a contract notice issued at the beginning of January 2005. R&D FUNDING AND IT POLICY TO PLAY MAJOR ROLE IN BUSH'S SECOND TERM— The Bush administration during its second term will look to counter challenges to the United States' technological leadership by funding research and development that not only stimulates the development of new technology, but ensures that new technology is accessible to most people TECH FIRMS AIM TO CHANGE COPYRIGHT ACT – Several of the world's largest high-tech corporations plan to urge Congress to force Internet service providers to crack down more aggressively on their users who swap copyrighted software, music or video files online. ARMY BUYS MORE NETWORK GEAR – Army officials last week awarded a $24.9 million contract to Datapath to purchase satellite communications trucks and trailers for the Joint Network Node. RFID TO TRACK SSA MATERIAL – Social Security Administration officials will begin tracking orders for SSA forms and pamphlets early this year using RFID technology. TECHNOLOGY FIRMS EXPECT GROWTH IN GOVERNMENT SPECIALTY WORK – Federal spending on contractors is expected to grow more quickly than it has historically in 2005, with contractors that specialize in technology services growing the most according to experts. FEDS SAY 70 PERCENT OF IT SYSTEMS NOW SECURE – A White House report that says E-government is maturing also says government's ability to secure IT systems and measure IT performance is improving. E-GOVERNMENT SPENDING BY FEDS SEEN HITTING $6 BILLION BY 2009 – Federal agencies will spend nearly $6 billion by fiscal year 2009 on E-government technology, predicts government IT market-intelligence firm Input. GAO: FEDS MEET E-GOV STRICTURES – The federal government is fulfilling most, but not all of the statutory requirements in the first two titles of the E-government Act of 2002, the Government Accountability Office states. |
| This Week@EMEA |
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REPORT:DUTCH E-GOV LACKS TRANSPARENCY, SUFFICIENT INTERACTIVITY STUDY: UK, IRELAND TO DOUBLE IT SECURITY SPENDING IN 2005 |
| This Week@Americas International |
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ONTARIO, CANADA, TECH LAW MAY SHIFT IN 2005 – In 2005 we may finally see a generally applicable privacy legislation in Ontario. EDS INKS $480 MILLION CONTRACT WITH BRITISH COLUMBIA MINISTRY – Bolstering its new-win track record, EDS has been awarded a 10- year, $480 million contract by British Columbia's Ministry of Provincial Revenue to manage revenue through improved customer service and debt URUGUAY’S ANTEL LAUNCHES WIFI AND EDGE SERVICES - Uruguayan state-run telco Antel has launched its Wi-Fi and EDGE services, which will operate over the GSM network of the company's mobile division Ancel IN CHILE TELEFÓNICA MÓVIL, BELLSOUTH RECEIVE MERGER OK WITH RESTRICTIONS –Chile's antimonopoly tribunal TDLC has approved the merger of mobile operators Telefónica Móvil and BellSouth Chile but subject to nine restrictions, local newspapers reported. http://www.bnamericas.com/story.xsql?id_noticia=305512&Tx_idioma=I&id_sector=2 (Subscription required) |
| This Week@Asia-Pacific/Japan |
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JAPAN LAUNCHES TELEWORKING PILOT PROGRAM – Japan hopes to have 20% of the country’s workforce teleworking by 2010, after launching a pilot program. WI-FI HOTSPOTS MUSHROOM IN JAPAN – Life is getting easier for mobile workers seeking wireless broadband Internet access while away from their offices or homes in Japan’s big cities. JAPAN’S NTT, DOCOMO UNVEILS PLAN FOR "SUPER 3G" STANDARD – Wireless carriers and telecoms equipment makers have agreed to develop an advanced mobile phone standard capable of sending high-resolution video in an instant, according to DoCoMo. JAPAN PONDERS POWERLINE NETWORKS – Three Japanese electronics giants are preparing to establish standards for using domestic electricity wiring for high-speed network services. Panasonic brand maker Matsushita, Sony and Mitsubishi Electric issued a joint statement announcing that they were creating an alliance to set up global standards to allow appliances built by different companies would interconnect. KOREAN HANDSET MAKERS EXPECTED TO TAKE 30% OF WORLD MARKET – Korean mobile phone makers look set to command 30% of the global market this year. SOUTH KOREA ADDS SATELLITE BROADCASTS TO MOBILE SERVICES – Already among the most savvy cell phone users in the world, South Koreans are adding satellite digital multimedia broadcasting to their roster of mobile services. CHINESE AUTHORITIES CALL FOR INCREASED SURVEILLANCE OF THE INTERNET – Chinese authorities have called for greater surveillance of Internet content, warning the English language's current domination of the medium poses a serious danger to Chinese people and culture. CHINA TELECOM TO LAUNCH INTERNET TV – China Telecom plans to launch large-scale Internet TV to enable subscribers to access TV programming via computers or other Internet terminals. CHINA DENIES MERGER OF TELECOMS OPERATORS—China's Ministry of Information Industry has denied any plan to consolidate the country's major telecoms providers into two or three entities. INDIA AIMING FOR 20M BROADBAND USERS BY 2010 –India’s Broadband Policy 2004 aims to see nine million subscribers online by 2007 and 20 million subscribers by 2010, which would amount to a penetration rate of 1.7%. INDIAN STATE EYES FASTER INTERNET PROJECT - In a bid to give a big push to e-governance, an Indian state on Monday cleared a plan that will help its officials move Internet data thousand times faster than now. MALAYSIA'S NON-REGISTERED NETWORKS MAY HAVE TO BE TRASHED – Telecoms companies in Malaysia have been told to submit comprehensive details of all their existing infrastructure in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya by January 15. |
| This Week@US States |
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THE BIG BAND ERA – The quest for rapid and robust Internet access has cities grappling with how to bring the best of broadband to their businesses and residents. COMMENTARY: BROADBAND BOONDOGGLE IN THE MAKING – A national public policy priority--providing broadband access to all Americans--hit a major speed bump late last year when the Pennsylvania legislature decided to slow the rapid deployment of faster, less expensive broadband access. STATES BATTLE FCC INTERNET PHONE RULING – Minnesota utility regulators will try to overturn a recent federal decision barring states from imposing many of their telecommunications regulations on Internet phone providers, a sign states haven't backed down from their fight to lord over this new, cheaper breed of phone service. CALIF. PUC FILES APPEAL TO FCC'S VONAGE DECISION – MAYBE – Setting itself up for a potential regulatory flip-flop, the California Public Utilities Commission has filed a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit challenging the FCC's recent decision to exempt Voice over IP provider Vonage Holdings from state-by-state regulations -- a petition that the CPUC itself may seek to overturn when new commissioners come on board Jan. 11. DIGITAL STATES SURVEY RELEASED – The 2004 Digital States Survey has been released by the Center for Digital Government. U.S. SCHOOLS BEHIND IN USE OF TECHNOLOGY – Schools lag behind much of society in using technology, but students are seeing benefits and clamoring for more access to computers, the government says. THE 'OTHER' VOIP – While colleges and universities rush to send voice over the internet protocol, a select few are using broadband pipes to deliver something far more sophisticated. BELLS DIG IN TO DOMINATE HIGH-SPEED INTERNET REALM – To hear BellSouth talk, high-speed fiber lines are the way of the future. So why is it so determined to stop Lafayette, LA., a rural community in the heart of Cajun country, from installing its own fiber? MINNESOTA: POLICE, STREETS … INTERNET ACCESS? – The St. Paul City Council is grappling with a tough question that has set off a national controversy: Should city governments get into the high-speed Internet business? WI-FI GOES (WEST) HOLLYWOOD, CA – The city of West Hollywood, home of the infamous Sunset Strip, wants to join the growing ranks of municipalities making free wireless broadband available to anyone. FRESNO, CA AIRPORT USES WEB-BASED FLIGHT INFO SYSTEM— Fresno, California’s airport is the first in the nation to use a Web-based wireless system that relies on radar — not the carriers — for the flight information displayed in its terminals, airport officials said |
| Other Tech News Of The Week |
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WIRELESS EXPECTED TO BE HOT SPOT IN 2005 – Merrill Lynch is predicting that revenue continue to grow for the wireless sector, and subscriber bases will continue to expand. http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/39346.html VONAGE PHONES IN HOT WIFI PLANS – Vonage to make chatting on the go even easier for consumers with WiFi technology, a move that could spook traditional mobile phone carriers in the same way as Internet phones are doing to the local Baby Bells. A WHY-OH-WHY ABOUT WI-FI – Computer chips for “open-spectrum” devices are a closed book. BLUETOOTH VIRUSES POSE GROWING THREAT – Experts have predicted that more viruses targeted at mobile phones and PDAs will emerge in 2005. WIRELESS INDUSTRY AGREES TO STUDY STANDARD TO BOOST NETWORK SPEED – Some 26 wireless carriers and telecommunications-equipment makers have agreed to study the development of advanced wireless technology to greatly increase the speeds offered by wireless networks. RESEARCHERS SEE GIGABIT DATA OVER POWER LINES – Engineers at Penn State University say they have found a way for power lines to transmit data to homes at rates far faster than high-speed Internet connections from cable and telephone companies. Broadband service over power lines has been highly touted by equipment makers and federal regulators as a possible competitor to cable and telephone services that handle nearly all of the 30 million U.S. residential broadband connections. |
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| Positions in articles and papers from outside sources are in no way endorsed by Cisco Systems' Office of Worldwide 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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