Global Policy and Government Affairs (GPGA)

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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/gov/contact/index.html. 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

UN TELCOM AGENCY SAYS WOULD BE READY TO RUN INTERNET— The United Nations' International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is ready to take over governance of the Internet from the United States., ITU head Yoshio Utsumi said on Friday. The United States has clashed with the European Union and much of the rest of the world over the future of the Internet. It currently manages the global information system through a partnership with California-based company ICANN. http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=internetNews&storyID=2005-09-30T173007Z_01_WRI062957_RTRUKOC_0_US-INTERNET.xml

CONGRESS TO LEGISLATE FILE SWAPPING?— A California senator has suggested that because file-sharing networks continue to house illegal files, they should be shut down. Intellectual property protection "can't function in a country where the high-tech services become such that you can't protect copyright," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, said at a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. http://news.com.com/Congress+to+legislate+file+swapping/2100-1027_3-5884824.html?tag=cd.hed

FCC EXTENDS VOIP DEADLINE--AGAIN — The Federal Communications Commission backed off again on enforcing a deadline for Internet phone service providers to disconnect all customers who haven't acknowledged that they understand it may be hard to reach a live emergency dispatcher when dialing 911.The agency explained that the status reports required from every Internet phone company last week showed that by "repeatedly prompting subscribers through a variety of means, the majority of providers .... have obtained acknowledgments from nearly all, if not all, of their subscribers. http://www.informationweek.com/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=UV1LA4WLBUPRMQSNDBECKH0CJUMEKJVN?articleID=171201242

FCC CHIEF PROPOSES WIRELESS 'FIX' TO SUPPORT DISASTER RELIEF— With Hurricane Rita bearing down on the Gulf Coast, FCC chairman Kevin Martin told a Senate Committee that the nation needs a truly mobile communications infrastructure that will draw on the latest technologies in disaster situations."If we learned anything from Hurricane Katrina, it is that we cannot rely solely on terrestrial communications," Martin said. "At the same time, we should use new technologies so that first responders can take advantage of whatever terrestrial network is available." http://www.telecomasia.net/telecomasia/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=182224

WIRETAP RULES FOR VOIP, BROADBAND COMING IN 2007— Broadband providers and Internet phone services have until spring 2007 to follow a new and complex set of rules designed to make it easier for police to seek wiretaps, federal regulators have ruled. http://news.com.com/Wiretap+rules+for+VoIP%2C+broadband+coming+in+2007/2100-7352_3-5883032.html?tag=cd.top

U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY UNVEILS INITIATIVES TO FIGHT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY THEFT— U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez unveiled new Bush administration initiatives to fight intellectual property theft during visits with high tech industry executives in Silicon Valley, California and movie industry executives in Los Angeles, California. The new initiatives include the appointment of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Experts in key overseas countries including Brazil, China, India and Russia, a new Small Business Outreach program to educate U.S. small businesses on how to protect their intellectual property rights, and a Global Intellectual Property Academy that will provide training programs for foreign government officials on global IPR issues. http://www.govtech.net/news/news.php?id=96773

EU INSISTS ON INTERNATIONAL CONTROL OF NET— The European Union insisted that governments and the private sector must share the responsibility of overseeing the Internet, setting the stage for a showdown with the United States on the future of Internet governance. http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/TechNews/Internet/2005/09/30/1242850-ap.html

AALAND ISLANDS IN INTERNET SECESSION FROM FINLAND— The tiny Finnish autonomous Aaland island group in the Baltic is to receive its own internet address country identification, ".ax" to replace the current use of Finland's ".fi", the government in Helsinki said http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050929/tc_afp/finlandinternet_050929170228

UAE, CLOSED TELECOM SECTOR — The UAE's telecom sector will be closed to competition until at least 2015, with consumers stuck with a choice between services from two government owned operators, reported Gulf News. Licencing of a second telecom operator is currently in progress, without competitive bidding, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority director-general Mohammad N Al Ghannim told the daily. http://www.ameinfo.com/68683.html

ICT COOPERATION AGREEMENT— The Arab Business Forum for Information and Communication Technology and the Arab Internet Forum have agreed to cooperate in research and development, and support regional projects that will advance Arab progression in the ICT sector. An agreement was signed on the sidelines of the third annual Abfict conference in Dubai. http://www.ameinfo.com/68422.html

SECURITY VENDORS TEAM UP TO RAISE AWARENESS— Major vendors are putting on a united front at this year’s Gitex to hammer home the message that investing in IT security has become an imperative for forward-thinking Middle East organisations. http://www.itp.net/news/details.php?id=18160&category=

U.N. DEFENDS VENUE FOR TECH SUMMIT— Facing heated protest, the United Nations is defending Tunisia's hosting of a U.N. summit on Internet access in the developing world, even though the north African nation stands accused of such rights abuses as blocking Web sites it dislikes. http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/TechNews/Other/2005/09/29/1241577-ap.html

TELKOM'S NEW SERVICE MAKES BROADBAND REAL— Broadband is now a reality after Telkom Kenya launched its new ADSL service. http://allafrica.com/stories/200509270423.html

E-GOVERNMENT PLANS ON TRACK, SAYS KIBAKI— President Kibaki has announced that Kenyans will soon enjoy enhanced service delivery by public servants after the implementation of the e-government plan.The President said his Government has initiated a range of policy measures and so far, the e-government policy is being implemented. http://allafrica.com/stories/200509280722.html

CANADA LABELS LAUNCH COPYRIGHT CAMPAIGN— Canadian record companies plan intense lobbying ahead of parliamentary hearings this fall into new Copyright Act legislation, which they argue should prevent file-swapping on the Internet. Launching a national campaign for legal protection of what it called "products of the mind," the Canadian Recording Industry Association also released two polls that it said support its cause. http://news.com.com/Canada+labels+launch+copyright+campaign/2100-1027_3-5885789.html?tag=nefd.top

BRAZIL-IT SECTOR M&A GROWTH TO CONTINUE IN 2005 — Brazil's IT sector experienced considerable growth in merger and acquisition activity in the first eight months of 2005 and can expect even stronger consolidation in the second half, according to Ricardo de Carvalho, corporate finance partner at the Brazilian unit of US consultancy Deloitte. http://www.bnamericas.com/story.jsp?idioma=I&sector=1&noticia=331079

REGIONAL-CINTEL: 2006 IS THE YEAR FOR CONVERGENT SERVICES — An explosion of the service portfolio provided by telecoms operators in Latin America is expected to take place during 2006, not only for the corporate segment but also for residential users, Mario Castaño, technical director at Colombian telecoms institute Cintel, told BNamericas. http://www.bnamericas.com/story.jsp?idioma=I&sector=2&noticia=330589

COLOMBIA, MEXICO, GOVT ABANDONS TELMEX-TELECOM DEAL— The Colombian government has decided against signing a tentative agreement to sell a stake in state-run fixed line operator Colombia Telecomunicaciones (Telecom) to Mexico's Telmex (NYSE: TMX), according to a Telecom statement. Instead the government will take time to consider a wider variety of offers. Colombia's comptroller general criticized the agreement because it did not allow for competitive offers from other potential partners, a position that the communications ministry and the Telecom board bore in mind in their decision to aim for a new, more transparent partner search. http://www.bnamericas.com/story.jsp?idioma=I&sector=2&noticia=330984

PERU REJECTS MICROSOFT WINDOWS— Peru has passed legislation that would force public institutions to consider open source software as an alternative to proprietary systems such as Windows. Peru’s Congress approved the legislation, which would prohibit any public institution from purchasing computer equipment that ties users to a particular type of software or "in any manner limits information autonomy." Public institutions would not be allowed to have a preference for either proprietary software, like Microsoft. http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=26550

STUDY SAYS ASIA TO DOMINATE WIMAX MARKET— About 45% of all WiMax subscribers in 2009 will be in the Asia Pacific, according to a study released by market research firm In-Stat. The study predicts that the number of subscribers in that region will increase from 80,000 this year to about 3.8 million in 2009. Of the countries in the Asia Pacific region, South Korea will be the most active in terms of WiMax, the study said. http://www.telecomasia.net/telecomasia/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=183269

CHINA SEEKS 'UNIVERSAL TELECOM' WITHIN 5 YEARS— Universal telecom service will remain an important part of China's information industry development plan in the next five years, a government official said. The Ministry of Information Industry official added that the government is also looking at giving telephone services to more than 95% of administrative villages throughout the country at the end of 2005. http://www.telecomasia.net/telecomasia/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=183264

CHINA DOWNPLAYS NEW INTERNET RULES— The Chinese government has defended its new restrictions on online news content, saying that every country regulates the Internet and that "there's no need to make a fuss about it. "An AFP report also quoted foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang as saying that "any media in any country have to observe laws and regulations," http://www.telecomasia.net/telecomasia/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=182700

FBI, CHINESE TO DISCUSS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW— A senior FBI official will visit Beijing in November for talks with law-enforcement counterparts and military officials on a range of issues, including intellectual property theft and computer hacking. "We have a number of mutual law-enforcement concerns, whether it be hackers, intellectual property [or] white-collar crime," FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III said. http://www.washtimes.com/national/20050927-104957-6059r.htm

INDIA'S TCS LAUNCHES R&D LAB FOR EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES— India’s largest software services company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has opened "iLab," an R&D facility in New Delhi. iLab will focus on emerging technologies that could drive disruptive change in the global technology industry and develop re-usable frameworks using these. http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=WD0EXU4JOPT54QSNDBECKH0CJUMEKJVN?articleID=171201932

MAHARASHTRA TO SET UP INTERNET KIOSKS IN 10,000 VILLAGES— The Maharashtra government is planning to set up internet kiosks in 10,000 villages across the state. The move is aimed at bringing more and more parts of the state on an information superhighway and also to help rural unemployed youth, chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said at a special meet in Mumbai http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1246117.cms

POWERCOMM BANNED FROM ENLISTING NEW BROADBAND CUSTOMERS—Thailand's Powercomm Co., South Korea's third-largest Internet provider affiliated with the LG Group, will be banned from signing up new subscribers for up to five months, starting in October, for violation of government regulations, a state panel said. The Korea Communications Commission under the Ministry of Information and Communication said that Powercomm was found to have violated the so-called interconnection regulation. http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20050926/460100000020050926201444E3.html

BROADBAND INTERNET USER SHARE IN US TOPS 61%— The share of active Internet users in the US who rely on broadband instead of slower dial-up connections jumped 10 percentage points in the last year to 61 per cent, according to a survey by Nielsen// NetRatings. http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/sub/bizit/story/0,4574,171103,00.html?

NEW YORK STATE LAUNCHES $2B WIRELESS PROJECT— The state of New York announced that it is ready to begin work on a new statewide public safety radio network and that the prime contractor will assume full risk on the mammoth project. http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/mobile-wireless/37125-1.html

VIRGINIA GOVERNOR WARNER KICKS OFF NEXT PHASE OF SOUTHSIDE BROADBAND NETWORK— Virginia Governor Mark R. Warner helped install broadband fiber at the major connection hub for the Southside Regional Broadband Initiative, a 700-mile high-speed Internet network. The Appomattox Point of Presence (POP) will provide open-access interconnectivity with a major fiber backbone network called National Lambda Rail. http://www.govtech.net/news/news.php?id=96772

SOME WEB TELEPHONES CAN'T RE-USE NUMBERS— As so-called voice over Internet protocol, or VoIP, gets more popular, providers are faced with a relatively new issue: how to handle customer turnover. There are no exact figures on how many customers have tried to switch their numbers away from VoIP providers, but the Federal Communications Commission says that a total of 41.7 million phone numbers got transferred last year, including land lines and cellular. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-VoIP-Numbers.html?ex=1128657600&en=fdf58d50f7bc197e&ei=5070&emc=eta1

PAINS OF LONG-DISTANCE HOME BUYING EASED BY INTERNET— The Internet has forever changed the way people buy and sell property. The days when real estate agents held the only set of keys to Multiple Listing Services (MLS) are long gone. Today buyers can tour hundreds of homes online while sitting at their desks at home or work. http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2005/09/26/focus1.html?from_rss=1

GLOBAL WI-FI HOTSPOT COVERAGE APPROACHING 100,000— There will be over 100,000 public Wi-Fi hotspots globally by the end of this year, with Europe and North America beginning to challenge the Asia-Pacific region’s early dominance, according to market research from Informa Telecoms & Media.According to the company’s Wireless Broadband Analyst series, there were just over 84,000 hotspots operating at the end of the second quarter of this year, with most of the growth still concentrated on the Asia Pacific region, which expanded by 35 percent from 20,119 in the second half of last year to 27,171 in 2Q05. http://www.networkingpipeline.com/news/171200650

PDAS EXPECTED TO CHANGE HEALTH CARE IN FUTURE— Personal digital assistants (PDAs) could change the way health care is delivered in the future by providing doctors with easy access to patient data and the latest information on treatment. http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1865526,00.asp

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