| 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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CISCO GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS HAS ENTERED THE BLOGOSPHERE!!! |
| This Week@WASHINGTON, DC |
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TELECOM REFORM MAY BE BACK IN PLAY ON THE HILL - The Internet rated only a footnote in the landmark 1996 Telecommunications Reform Act. Now, the Net is such serious business for the telecom industry that many lawmakers favor at least “tinkering with” the 1996 act. DOD’S IT BUDGET BOOST IS BIGGEST IN FOUR YEARS - The president’s fiscal 2006 Defense Department budget proposal calls for raising IT spending by the largest margin in the past four years. DAVIS KICKS IT OVERSIGHT UPSTAIRS TO FULL COMMITTEE - IT is so entrenched across government programs that it demands the attention of a full committee - that’s the reasoning behind Rep. Tom Davis’ decision to elevate IT oversight to his House Government Reform Committee. AIR FORCE DEAL OFFERS A MODEL FOR OUTSOURCING IT SECURITY - The Air Force’s recent enterprise deal with Microsoft Corp. could serve as an example of what future IT security services contracts could look like, Transportation Department CIO Dan Matthews said. BELLS CHALLENGE NEW FCC NETWORK LEASING RULES - Major U.S. local telephone carriers went to court to challenge new federal regulations that required them to keep leasing to competitors some access to their networks. ON THIS DAY, THE “E” IN E-GOV STANDS FOR EXCELLENCE - Government and industry officials gathered this month at a Washington lunch to honor agencies that received Excellence.gov Awards for their e-government systems. AT&T, SBC SEEK APPROVAL - Citing a variety of benefits from greater technological innovation to national security enhancements, SBC and AT&T officials launched the formal approval process today of their planned merger with a joint Federal Communications Commission filing. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2005/0221/web-att-02-22-05.asp HHS SECRETARY LEAVITT SEES INTEROPERABILITY AGE - We may be moving past the Information Age and entering the early stages of the Interoperability Era. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2005/0221/web-leavitt-02-22-05.asp HEALTH INDUSTRY UNDER PRESSURE TO COMPUTERIZE - Dr. David J. Brailer, the federal official who is trying to prod the nation's health care system into the computer age, has delivered a warning to the health care industry: take steps soon to make it happen or the government will probably impose a solution. http://news.com.com/Health+industry+under+pressure+to+computerize/2100-1028_3-5583786.html |
| This Week@EMEA |
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BRITAIN LAUNCHES VIRUS ALERTS - Britain has launched a website aimed at helping computer users avoid damage from internet viruses and other online threats. The government-funded IT Security Awareness for Everyone site (www.itsafe.gov.uk) will give free advice on data protection and issue virus alerts to those who sign up. http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,12366563%5E15322%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html NORTH IRELAND HERALDS 100% BROADBAND COVERAGE - The final nine telephone exchanges in Northern Ireland have now been enabled with ADSL technology giving broadband availability to 98.5 per cent of the region. BROADBAND HELPS ITALIA WITH PROFIT - Telecom Italia on Thursday reported a 34 percent drop in net profit last year. BAHRAIN: WIFI AT MACCAS - Bahrain based Batelco and McDonald's have teamed up to provide a broadband WiFi service to patrons of the restaurant chain. DUBAI EGOV PUSHES ONLINE - Dubai eGovernment aims to offer 90 per cent of government services through electronic channels, including the internet, mobile devices and fixed line telephones, by the end of 2007. UAE-LINKSYS LANDS ECOMPANY BROADBAND DEAL - Home networking vendor Linksys has put together a special promotion alongside UAE internet service provider eCompany and security software vendor Symantec. AFRICAN WOMEN LEAD THE WAY IN GLOBAL IT INITIATIVE - Two African NGOs are turning the digital divide on its head by taking the cyber dialogues pioneered by one of them to the Beijing Plus Ten Review in New York in early March. AFRICAN INTERNATIONAL BANDWIDTH SET TO GROW BY 81 PERCENT TO 2008 DRIVEN BY MOBILE AND BROADBAND - The transmission capacity required to carry Africa's international voice and data traffic increased by 91% in the three years to 5.09 Gbps 2002, will increase by at least 137% to 12.09 Gbps in the three years to 2005, and a further 81% to 21.9 Gbps in the three years to 2008 according to a new report published by Balancing Act. TELECOMS GIANT PICKS KENYA AS ITS LAUNCH PAD - A China-based telecommunications equipment giant, ZTE Communications, plans to use Kenya to expand into several countries in the East African region. REPORT- NIGERIAN COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION CAN CREATE TRANSPARENT REGULATORY PROCESS - A report released at the just-concluded SATCOM Africa 2005 has stated that the NCC is able to create an accountable and transparent regulatory process. HALF A BILLION DOLLARS NEEDED FOR ICT DEVELOPMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA - Sub-Saharan Africa needs 400 to 600 million dollars annually to eradicate poverty through the application of information communication technologies (ICTs). SOUTH AFRICA: CUASA WANTS MORE BROADBAND COMPETITION - While welcoming the new products and price reductions announced yesterday by Telkom, the Communications Users Association of SA (CUASA) has warned consumers to be cautious about adopting the new offerings. TANZANIA TELECOM MONOPOLY ENDS - The Tanzanian telephone company's monopoly ends next Tuesday as the country's industry regulator announced it was ready to hand over a license to a competitor this week. |
| This Week@Americas International |
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IN CANADA PECENTAGE OF FEMALE IT WORKERS FALLING - There are more highly trained women in the high-tech sector these days, but many are also losing interest in IT. CANADIAN TECHNOLOGY TO REACH PEAK - Canadian technology and architectural design will be put to the test in one of the harshest environments on earth on the upcoming Kanatek-sponsored assault on Mount Everest. When they arrive at base camp at 17,575 feet, a party of Canadian climbers and researchers from Ryerson University and the University of Ottawa will set up a wireless network with a satellite link back to Ottawa. BARBADOS: GOVT. OPENS MARKET, C&WB'S MONOPOLY ENDS - The government of Barbados officially opened up its telecoms market this week, ending the monopoly of Cable & Wireless Barbados (C&WB) and handing new licenses to three competitors. VENEZUELA TELECOMS SECTOR GROWS 10% IN 2004 – The Venezuelan telecoms sector grew 10.2% over 2004 compared to 2003, representing 3% of the country's GDP, according to the central bank BCV. |
| This Week@Asia-Pacific/Japan |
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CHINA WALKS OUT OF WIRELESS LAN SECURITY TALKS - China walked out of a wireless standards meeting this week, accusing the International Organization for Standardization of favoring the IEEE's 802.11i ANSI-certified wireless LAN security scheme over its own controverisal proposal, EE Times has learned. http://www.commsdesign.com/news/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid= JAPANESE GOVERNMENT HIT BY CYBER ATTACKS - A series of cyber attacks disrupted Japanese government computer networks, although no damage was reported, Japan's top government spokesman said. SINGAPORE PLANS CYBER SHIELD - Singapore has unveiled a master plan to combat the rising threat of cyber-attacks by terrorists and hackers against government facilities, infrastructure, businesses and homes. http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,12345358%5E15322%5E%5Enbv%5E15306,00.html AUSTRALIA’S TELSTRA FINED $5 MILLION OVER BROADBAND PRICING - Telstra has avoided fines of more than A$300 million ($23 million) after allegations of anti-competitive behavior relating to its wholesale pricing of broadband technology were investigated by the competition watchdog. AUSTRALIAN WATCHDOG ON SPAM OFFENSIVE - The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it was leading an Internet sweep involving 76 agencies from 25 countries aimed at uncovering frauds using spam to lure. CHINA NETCOM BUILDS 21-CITY CONVERGED NETWORK - China Netcom has announced the completion of the first stage of its GPON (Gigabit Passive Optical Network) deployment, linking an initial 15 cities in the north of the country with six more to follow. TECH GIANTS GO TO U.S. COURTS OVER CHINA IP THEFT - China's new electronics companies, lured by riches in foreign markets, are feeling the bite of well-honed patent protection systems that have become effective weapons of business war for their competitors. HONG KONG TO AUCTION BWA LICENSES - At least seven licenses for new broadband wireless access (BWA) services will be auctioned off by Hong Kong's Telecoms Authority (OFTA) later in 2005 or in early-2006. SPAM EMAILS COST HK $770 MILLION LAST YEAR - Spam emails cost Hong Kong's economy HK$6 billion ($770 million dollars) in lost productivity last year, the city's technology chief said as he declared war on unsolicited mail. SURPRISE GROWTH IN INDIA'S SOFTWARE OUTSOURCING, ONE MILLION EMPLOYED - India's export revenues from software outsourcing have exceeded targets and will reach $17.3 billion US in the fiscal year ending March 2005, the country's software trade body said HUTCH TO BUILD 3G NETWORK IN VIETNAM - Hutchison’s Vietnamese subsidiary has won approval to build a $650 million 3G network, which it will run jointly with Hanoi Telecom. Vietnam's Ministry of Planning and Investment had granted the company a 15-year license to build and operate the cdma2000 network. |
| This Week@US States |
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LOUISIANA HITS SNAG IN FIBER BUILD - The city of Lafayette, LA, has hit a snag in its plans to build a fiber-optic network to offer citizens cheaper telephone, television and high-speed Internet service. http://news.com.com/Lafayette+hits+snag+in+fiber+build/2100-1034_3-5589315.html WI-FI BATTLE ESCALATES - A group of more than 60 national, state and local organizations released what they termed an open letter to state and federal officials calling on them not to raise barriers to municipalities providing affordable broadband access GEORGIA SIGNS CONTRACT FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES - Georgia has awarded Verizon Wireless, a contract to provide wireless voice and data services to all state, local and county government agencies and municipalities throughout the state. Verizon Wireless will offer discount wireless packages to more than 500,000 state, county and city government employees as well as 61 public universities and colleges. INDIANA BILL TO LIMIT LOCAL GOVT. WIRELESS DIED IN COMMITTEE - A bill that would impede the development of Indiana's technical infrastructure by effectively prohibiting municipalities from providing broadband Internet service died in the House Local Government committee. |
| Other Tech News Of The Week |
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OASIS PATENT POLICY SPARKS BOYCOTT - A who's who of the open-source and free-software movements on Tuesday took aim at a leading Web services standards group, escalating pressure for mandatory royalty-free licensing policies with calls for a boycott of its specifications. http://news.com.com/OASIS+patent+policy+sparks+boycott/2100-7344_3-5585711.html HIGH-TECH TENSION OVER ILLEGAL USES (Preview and Analysis of the Grokster Case) – U.S. Supreme Court Will Consider Devices That Help Users Copy, Share and Steal - In 2002, a young software programmer in Seattle named Bram Cohen solved a vexing Internet problem: how to get large computer files such as home movies or audio recordings of music concerts to travel rapidly across cyberspace. FORGET 'KID' STUFF: ORGANIZED CRIME'S MOVING ONLINE - Now that retailers, banks and just about every other sort of business have set up virtual shop on the Internet, a more nefarious industry is joining them in increasing numbers: organized crime. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/213069_onlinecrime22.html HOW TO STOP JUNK E-MAIL: MAKE THE SENDER PAY A PRICE - Compare our e-mail system today with the British General Post Office in 1839, and ours wins. Compare it with the British postal system in 1840, however, and ours loses. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/213005_nytspam22.html UN PANEL MAY END WEB WAR - A UN-sponsored panel aims to settle a long-running tug of war for control of the internet by July. The panel, set up in December 2003, will lay the groundwork for a final decision in Tunis in November at a UN-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society, where global control of the world wide web may be decided. http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,12334019%5E15318%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html WI-FI EQUIPMENT REVENUES UP 15% IN 2004 - Worldwide Wi-Fi equipment revenue increased 15% to $2.8 billion in 2004 while unit sales rose 51% to 36.1 million, as wireless LAN products continued to gain traction across all geographic regions. BROADBAND OVER POWER LINES SET TO TAKE OFF - Broadband over power lines, the use of the existing power grid to provide high-speed broadband communication services, is on the verge of becoming a viable competitor to existing cable and DSL Internet services. WIRELESS BROADBAND CALLED LONG-TERM WINNER OVER 3G - Technologies such as WiMAX perform better at higher data speeds, making them a better choice in the long-term. http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=60403318 CABLE OPERATORS EMBRACE VOIP— After years of talk about delivering voice services, cable operators are now aggressively moving into that space. "With the maturation of Voice over IP services, cable providers now feel that they have a service that stacks up quite well when compared to traditional telephony services.” AOL: YOU'VE GOT VOIP - America Online is expected to launch an Internet-phone service in the United States next month, leapfrogging rivals in a fast-growing market as it seeks to evolve from an also-ran provider of dial-up Internet access to a broadband services powerhouse. MA BELL TO HAVE LOCAL REBIRTH ONLINE? - In a remarkable turnaround, AT&T's Internet telephone services might anchor next-generation services from SBC Communications, according to executives at the local phone company. EXPENSIVE ANTI-PIRACYWARE THREATENS OPEN STANDARD - A handful of technology companies are overcharging for anti-piracy software needed for digital music stores on the Internet, preventing the emergence of open standards, electronics goods makers said. |
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