| 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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COMCAST PLANS MAJOR ROLLOUT OF PHONE SERVICE OVER CABLE - Comcast Corp., the nation's largest cable-TV operator, announced an ambitious push into the phone business, a major escalation in the telecom wars that promises to pose one of the biggest challenges ever to the U.S.'s phone giants. |
| This Week@WASHINGTON, DC |
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WIFI HOTSPOT IN D.C. WILL CHANNEL INAUGURAL NEWS – A free WiFi hotspot operating through January 22nd along Washington’s Pennsylvania Avenue will let observers send photos, e-mail and commentary about the presidential inaugural events. A sampling of all the communications and links will appear at www.openpark.net/2005inauguration. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/34806-1.html FCC SAYS 35 BIDDERS QUALIFY FOR WIRELESS AUCTION – Thirty-five bidders qualified to participate in an upcoming auction of valuable wireless airwaves, including Verizon Wireless and companies with ties to Cingular Wireless and T-Mobile, the FCC said. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/wireless/phones/2005-01-12-nextwave-auction_x.htm PROMOTING BROADBAND IN RURAL AMERICA – a presentation by NTIA Director Michael Gallagher - http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/speeches/2005/Gallagher_KY_01122005_files/frame.htm FEDS SEE IT SKILLS GAP ACROSS GOVERNMENT AGENCIES – Federal agencies continue to have "skills gaps" among their IT workers that could push the government to increase its reliance on outsourcing over the next several years. http://www.computerworld.com/careertopics/careers/labor/story/0,10801,98851,00.html SCHOOLS WIRED, BUT STILL NOT INTERNET SAVVY – Virtually all public schools in the United States have access to the Internet, but few are taking full advantage of the technology to instruct students, according to a new government report. The report, by the U.S. Department of Education, urges elementary and high schools to incorporate more computer technology into classrooms, curriculum and school administration. U.S. TECH EXPORTS SLIDE, BUT TRASH SALES ARE UP - Who says the United States cannot compete? Trade statistics may indicate the country is slipping in technology, but we're still tops in trash. In the late 1990's, those who counseled Americans not to be worried about the growing trade deficit pointed to "advanced technology products" - a category tracked by the government that reflects what it calls leading-edge technologies. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/14/business/14norris.html (Free registration required) MARKET WATCH: FEDERAL IT — WILL PROSPERITY CONTINUE THROUGH 2005? NEW E-GOV MANAGER NAMED – Stacie Higgins will oversee the government-to-government portfolio for OMB's e-gov office. PRESIDENT BUSH TAPS MICHAEL CHERTOFF TO HEAD DHS – President Bush nominated federal appeals court judge Michael Chertoff as his choice to replace Tom Ridge as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. BUSH TO ADDRESS CYBERSECURITY – Top E-government official envisions I.T. security as part of every project, but critics still want a top cybersecurity official. HOUSE AGAIN SHOOTS FOR SPYWARE LAW—Rep. Mary Bono (R-CA) reintroduced her anti-spyware bill as the 109th Congress convened. |
| This Week@EMEA |
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EGOVERNMENT SERVICES YIELD REAL BENEFITS FOR EU CITIZENS AND BUSINESSES –A new survey of eGovernment services prepared for the European Commission has found that EU citizens are saving 7 million hours a year on the time it takes to do their income tax returns, and EU firms are saving about €10 per transaction on their VAT returns by doing them on line. Moreover, there is still huge scope for further savings. EUROPEAN COMMISSION PROMOTES E-TWINNING BETWEEN EU SCHOOLS –eTwinning is one of the four initiatives of the eLearning programme for 2004-2007. It was created to give schools the opportunity to learn from and with each other. It promotes the awareness of the multilingual and multicultural European model of society. NEW PAN-EUROPEAN E-GOVERNMENT PROGRAMME KICKS OFF – Covering the period 2005-2009, IDABC (Interoperable Delivery of pan-European e-Government Services to Administrations, Businesses and Citizens) succeeds the previous IDA programme (Interchange of Data between Administrations). While IDA aimed at supporting efficient exchange of information between Member States' administrations and the European institutions by means of electronic networks and services, the main objective of the new programme is to identify, support and promote the development and establishment of pan-European e-government services (PEGS). DUTCH JUSTICE MINISTER IN THE DARK ON CYBERCRIME – Dutch Justice minister Piet Hein Donner has admitted to having no accurate picture of cybercrime perpetrated in the Netherlands, or how many businesses have been victims of cybercriminals. DUTCH GOVERNMENT STRIKES CONTROVERSIAL DEAL WITH MICROSOFT – The Dutch government has reached an agreement with software giant Microsoft for the purchase of new licences for new PC workstations, according to a written reply by Justice minister Piet Hein Donner to questions raised in parliament concerning the issue. UK’S OFCOM SEEKS COMMENT ON ULTRA-WIDEBAND INTRODUCTION – UK communications regulator Ofcom has said it plans to introduce rules for ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless device use in the country. U.K. PLANS BIG AUCTION OF DORMANT AIRWAVES – Europe's biggest ever airwave auction would free up more space for advanced mobile phone services. IRISH REGULATOR RELEASES RADIO SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT CONSULTATION – Entitled “Preparing the Radio Spectrum Management Strategy for 2005-2007,” it is an examination of the key drivers affecting spectrum demand, the economic impact of spectrum usage and a review of radio communication services. GERMANY'S HIGH-TECH ROAD TOLL SYSTEM SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED – The Toll Collect Consortium successfully launched Germany’s new road toll system for heavy commercial vehicles throughout the country’s highways. DIRECT DEBIT E-GOVERNMENT IN DUBAI – The payment gateway of Dubai's e-government is being upgraded to enable citizens to pay bills and fines by direct debit. |
| This Week@Americas International |
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CANADIAN E-GOVT EXPERT IN BRUNEI – Dr Jim Tam, Associate Professor of IT Management with a Canadian university, is in Brunei advising officials about the progress of their e-government implementation. CANADA: PUBLIC WORKS' PROCUREMENT CHANGES RILE CATA, SMES – John Reid, president of Canada’s largest high-tech association, CATA, still wonders how plans to reform the way vendors do business with the federal government went so far without anyone noticing. A MILLION BROADBAND CONNECTIONS POSSIBLE IN CHILE BY MID-2007 – Chile should achieve a million broadband connections by mid-2007, Cisco Chile CEO Álvaro Croquevielle told reporters. |
| This Week@Asia-Pacific/Japan |
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APEC & E-GOVT: NO ACTION, TALK ONLY? – The news is ... there is no news: APEC officials have agreed to keep talking about the need to increase citizen access to government. That’s just not good enough. 334 MILLION MOBILES IN CHINA – The number of mobile phone subscribers in China topped 334 million in 2004, up 65 million from 2003, according to the country's Ministry of Information Industry. TRADE-GAP STUDY FOCUSES ON CHINA - China's entry into the World Trade Organization has widened the U.S. trade deficit and cost Washington and Oregon more than 14,500 jobs since 2001, a congressional commission heard. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002150643_outsource14.html CHINA’S JINJIANG E-GOVT PROJECT IS 'BEST PRACTICE' – The Fujian provincial government has selected the e-government programme of Jinjiang City as provincial best practice. INDIA FORECASTS TELEDENSITY OF 25% BY 2010 – India's tele-density is expected to reach 25 per 100 people by 2010 and it will be one of the world's largest telecom markets by 2008. HONG KONG SIGNS E-GOVT DEAL WITH UK – Hong Kong and United Kingdom have renewed a MOU on government-to-government ICT co-operation. Hong Kong and the United Kingdom have signed the second Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on co-operation in information and communications technology (ICT). AUSTRALIAN FEDS HUNT HEALTHCONNECT HEAD – Health officials are scrambling to find someone to implement the planned nationwide e-health records system, HealthConnect. |
| This Week@US States |
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NY, OHIO JOIN STATES APPEALING FCC'S VONAGE RULING – New York's Public Service Commission and Ohio's Public Utilities Commission have joined the ever-growing group of states and organizations planning to appeal the Federal Communications Commission's Vonage ruling, joining California and Minnesota's already-announced intents to challenge. VERMONT LAWMAKERS GET WI-FI – A mesh network will provide wireless Internet access in the Vermont State House. CIOS OFFER ADVICE AND ENCOURAGEMENT – California CIO Clark Kelso kicked off a Sacramento County e-government conference on a positive note, saying county Web sites were much more citizen-centric than the state's. M/A-COM TO BUILD VA. COMMS SYSTEM – Officials in a Virginia county and city have awarded M/A-COM an $18.9 million contract to create an interoperable communications system for their public safety agencies. |
| Other Tech News Of The Week |
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FOR WIRELESS, THE BEGINNINGS OF A BREAKOUT - Ever since cellphones rang their way into the American mainstream in the late 1990's, consumers have heard snippets about a technology called 3G, so-called third-generation wireless systems that are supposed to do everything short of mix the perfect martini. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/13/technology/circuits/13cell.html (Free registration required) WIRELESS GROUP STUDIES 'SUPER 3G' STANDARD – The 3G Partnership Project - a consortium of 200 wireless vendors and operators - has begun a study to determine the feasibility of defining a standard that supports wireless downlink speeds as high as 100M bit/sec. VENDORS VOICE VALUE OF VOIP – Vendors at CES advanced the idea of voice-over-IP and network-attached storage in the home, announcing a number of new devices that connect directly into the home network. ALLTEL TO ACQUIRE WESTERN WIRELESS, CREATING FIFTH LARGEST CARRIER – Alltel has agreed to buy Western Wireless Corp. in a stock-and-cash deal valued at about $6 billion, creating the fifth largest wireless carrier in the nation. MCI WILL OFFER CABLE BROADBAND – MCI, Inc. said that it will add high-speed cable access to its portfolio of Internet-access offerings. CABLE EXPECTED TO GRAB MORE TELEPHONE SUBSCRIBERS— Cable companies moving aggressively into the telephone market are expected to boost the number of voice subscribers by more than 2 million this year, a market research firm said OPINION: SCOTT WOOLLEY ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS – The big telecom trend is indisputable: IP networks are subsuming all other, older forms of communications networks. CONTROVERSY GOES ON OVER GLOBAL BIOMETRIC PASSPORT STANDARDS – The development and adoption of biometric passports compliant with the recommendations of the international Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is raising more technical and privacy problems than initially expected, both in North America and in Europe. RFID TAG MARKET TO APPROACH €2.1BN IN 2009 – Worldwide RFID tag revenues will jump more than 800% between 2004 and 2009, according to a new report by In-Stat. |
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