Volume 2, Issue 2

11 January 2002

Brought to you by Cisco Government Affairs Online: http://www.cisco.com/gov

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 state, federal and international policymakers. To subscribe, send a message with “subscribe” in the subject line to “Subscribe-eUpdate@cisco.com

TECHNET TO RELEASE BROADBAND PRINCIPLES THIS TUESDAY – TechNet, a nationwide network of 250 technology leaders, will release its broadband principles this Tuesday, January 15.  The principles will be available on TechNet’s website at www.technet.org and Cisco’s Government Affairs website at  www.cisco.com/gov.

This Week@WASHINGTON, DC

FOCUSING ON HOME FRONT, BUSH SIGNS EDUCATION BILL - President Bush continued to emphasize domestic politics over war today as he signed into a law a major education bill that he reminded his listeners had been a central promise of his presidential campaign. "We're going to win the war overseas, and we need to win the war against illiteracy here at home as well," the president told a cheering crowd before signing the bill in the gymnasium of Hamilton High School in Hamilton, Ohio, the home district of Representative John A. Boehner, a leading Republican supporter of the bill. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/09/politics/09BUSH.html

STATEMENT BY CISCO PRESIDENT & CEO JOHN CHAMBERS On Signing Of “No Child Left Behind” Education Bill Into Law:  “A sound education levels the playing field for all children.  Enactment of this education bill - with better testing, e-learning and other new technology tools for teachers - is a true bipartisan achievement by the President and Congress on behalf of millions of students across the United States.  This achievement will help our students develop the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in life, and it will help provide the well-educated workforce that is necessary for America's continued prosperity.”

WHO'S HOLDING BACK BROADBAND? - The revival of the country's technology sector, according to Internet scholar Lawrence Lessig, will be an essential part of the American economy's recovery from recession. Like many others, Lessig believes the key is "broadband." But, he observes, "American consumers have been slow to adopt broadband because, while there may be an infinite number of channels, there is still nothing on." Lessig believes this is a result of the tight grasp that major copyright holders have over broadband-intensive content. The hesitance of these copyright holders to free their content to the net has slowed broadband technologies in general. Lessig urges Congress to pass balanced laws that address the evolution of technology. Laws that give copyright owners a right to compensation, but also give innovators a right to access content. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11361-2002Jan7.html

RUMSFELD NAMES CEO TO BE SPECTRUM PROTECTOR - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld deems an area of radio frequency bands used by the Defense Department as so crucial that he has hired a telecommunications industry executive to focus on protecting that electromagnetic spectrum.  Rumsfeld has named Steven Price, former president and chief executive officer of LiveWire, as a deputy assistant secretary of Defense for spectrum and command, control and communications policy. LiveWire, of White Plains, N.Y., is an investment and management company that concentrates on companies providing software and Internet products and services for the media, telecom, utility, advertising and new media industries.  Since 1990, the government has ceded 247 MHz of bandwidth to industry. Today, the Defense Department is battling with the wireless industry over a portion of its 1,755- to 1,850-MHz band.  http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173472.html, http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0107/web-spec-01-08-02.asp

GOVERNMENT SITES DRAW WEB TRAFFIC - Business With Agencies More Popular Than Online Stock Trades, Study Says - More Americans did business with a government Web site last year than paid their credit card bills or traded stocks online, according to a study to be released today.  About 55 percent of adults with access to the Internet visited a government Web site last year, said the National Technology Readiness Survey, which was conducted by the Center for e-Service at the University of Maryland and Rockbridge Associates Inc., a Great Falls research company. Twenty-one percent of online adults conducted a government transaction online, the survey said, while only 15 percent paid a credit card bill and 10 percent traded stocks last year.  "There's a huge range of things people are doing online now -- car registration, voter registration, paying fines, enrolling in schools, filing taxes. . . ." said Charles Colby, president of Rockbridge.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16998-2002Jan8.html

FIRSTGOV SEARCHES FOR A NEW SEARCH ENGINE - On Tuesday, the General Services Administration called for bids for a new search engine for FirstGov, the one-stop Web portal touted as the citizen's window to the federal government.  Built at the end of the Clinton administration, FirstGov is a joint project of the federal government and the private FedSearch Foundation, created by the software firm Inktomi Corp. of San Francisco to finance FirstGov at no cost to taxpayers. FirstGov averages 1 million visitors a month. GSA expects that to increase to 5.4 million visitors in the next five years, according to the request for proposals. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0102/010902t1.htm

www.firstgov.gov

AN E-GOVERNMENT PILL FOR THE TECH SECTOR -  The federal government has unsuccessfully promoted the idea of e-government for years, but a confluence of events may give the idea—and the tech industry--a significant boost next year.  Under the concept of electronic government, all internal processes and

dealings with citizens would be streamlined, efficient, cheap and, ideally, paperless. Dealing with the Internal Revenue Service, for example, would be as easy as buying a book on Amazon.com. http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1007-200-8182655.html

REMARKS BY CHAIRMAN ALAN GREENSPAN  - At the Bay Area Council Conference, San Francisco, California - January 11, 2002 - In the period immediately prior to September 11, there were tentative signs that some sectors of the U.S. economy had begun to stabilize, contributing to a hope that the worst of the previous cumulative weakness in world economic activity was nearing an end. That hope was decisively dashed by the tragic events of early September. Adding to the intense forces weighing on asset prices and economic activity before September 11 were new sources of uncertainty and risk that began to press down on global demand for goods and services. http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2002/20020111/

This Week@INTERNATIONAL

CHINA PLANS FOUR-WAY PHONE RACE - China is planning to shake up its near-monopolised telecoms market by creating four nationwide carriers to boost competition.  The plans follow the announcement late last year that China Telecom, long the dominant supplier, is to be split into two from the 12 February.  The brace of existing mobile operators, China Mobile and China Unicom, will make up the numbers.  In a change from previous policy, all four will be allowed to compete across the board, from fixed-line and mobile communications to business and data services. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_1748000/1748384.stm,

http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=166389374&i=445375&d=2176019

U.S. FIRM TO TEST CHINA'S ENGLISH SKILLS ON THE NET - Students of English in China will soon be able to have their writing skills tested over the Internet by a U.S. company.  The U.S.-based Educational Testing Service, which created the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), said on Thursday students in China with access to Internet could use new technology to test their preparedness for TOEFL.  ``The whole process, between the time it is submitted and the student receives the score onscreen, is about 10 seconds,'' ETS Technologies' Chief Executive Richard Swartz told reporters in Beijing.  http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20020110/wr/tech_china_learning_dc_1.html

SEOUL BROADBAND OPERATORS SET FOR CONSOLIDATION - Hanaro Telecom and Thrunet, South Korea's second and third largest high-speed internet providers are planning a joint bid for control of cable operator Powercomm in a move that could bring further consolidation to the world's leading broadband market.  http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=166389374&i=445956&d=2179917

EUROPE'S BROADBAND USERS HAVE MUCH IN COMMON - Though broadband adoption levels are still low in Europe, a new Forrester Research study indicates that early broadband adopters share several similarities, regardless of which European country they come from.  "There are a few subtle differences between users, but, generally speaking, European broadband users tend to be young, technically aware and have a relatively high disposable income," said Paul Jackson, an analyst with the information technology research group.  Four percent of European Internet users now have broadband access, the report says.  Jackson told Newsbytes that research suggests Europe's early Broadband adopters spend a lot of time on the Web downloading software, as well as surfing around to buy goods and services.  "What's surprising is that the profile of the early adopters is so similar, regardless of country. Even, taking into account, for example, the German's penchant for looking for information online, or the Italian's fondness of online chatting," he added. http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/173400.html

A TEMPORARY SYSTEM ON VAT FOR E-COMMERCE - The Economic and Finance ministers Council ECOFIN agreed on 13 December 2001 on the principles on VAT on e-commerce. A temporary system will be launched in February and it will be limited to three years. Meanwhile the Member States and the Commission will need to develop a permanent electronic mechanism to charge, declare, collect and allocate the VAT revenues. Electronic services available in the EU will be subject to VAT even if they originate outside the EU area. The VAT rate will be the rate of the country where the service is used. http://www.euractiv.com/cgi-bin/cgint.exe/88658-396?1100=1&204&OIDN=1502745&-home=search  

 

EUROPEAN ELECTRONIC STANDARDS AVAILABLE FREE ON-LINE - As a part of the eEurope Standards Action Plan, the European Committee for Standardisation CEN has published electronic standards on-line free of charge. This is aimed to benefit entrepreneurs by ensuring that new technology standards are well defined and that information and communication technology systems are inter-operable. http://europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/01/1837|0|RAPID&lg=EN&display=

WORLD SUMMIT ON INTERNET AND MULTIMEDIA 2002 - 11-14 June 2002 in Montreux, Switzerland: http://www.internetworldsummit.org. The theme of the summit is Bridging the Digital Divide.

LIBERTY MEDIA TO LAUNCH GERMAN TELEPHONY SERVICE - Liberty Media is planning to launch a telephony service in Germany as a way to appease local regulators who are concerned about its planned

cable television acquisitions, Robert Bennett, the US media company's chief executive, said.

http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=166389374&i=445958&d=2179996 

DEUTSCHE TELEKOM REACHES 2 MILLION ADSL CUSTOMERS LANDMARK - Many people turned to fast internet connections through Deutsche Telekom's ADSL system in the last three months of 2001.

http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=7533

EXPERTS SAY GOVERNMENT IS NOT PREPARED FOR HACKER ATTACK - An expert group on hackers has advised the German federal government to set up a new office dealing with emergency plans and reconnaissance on hacker attacks.  http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=7528

WESTERN EUROPE SURPASSES US IN NUMBER OF ONLINE USERS - By the end of 2001 the number of internet users in Western Europe exceeded that of the US for the first time, while the region has also surpassed Japan as an e-commerce revenue source, becoming second only to the US, according to IDC research.  http://www.europemedia.net/shownews.asp?ArticleID=7526

 

CONCERN OVER PLANS TO BRING IN ONLINE VOTING - The UK's Electoral Reform Society on Monday voiced concern about reports that Robin Cook, the leader of the House of Commons, wanted to introduce online voting. Mr Cook had been reported as saying that Britain would become the first country to use the internet for voting. However, the society warned that "legitimate questions" remained over the security of online voting.  Mr Cook said he intended to "enfranchise" those who wanted to vote online, as a way of drawing the under-40s into the political process.  He indicated that some parts of the country would be piloting internet voting in the spring local elections.  http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=166389374&i=445373&d=2175943  

NIGERIA TO BOOST TELECOMS COMPETITION - Nigeria's communications minister Dr Bello Muhammed has outlined plans for a second national telephone company aimed at boosting competition in the country's fast-growing telecoms sector.  "We will embark on the licensing of our second national carrier, that will perform the same function as Nitel, including the GSM operation, just to make sure there is competition, not only in the service provision, but also in the network provision so the private operators will have the choice of which national carrier they can attach themselves to," he told the BBC's World Business Report.  http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_1747000/1747461.stm

COMPUTERS FOR THE PEOPLE IN BRAZIL - Brazilian television personality and finance tycoon Silvio Santos is helping to bridge the digital divide in his country by promoting a package offered by Brazil's computer industry, which includes a PC, printer and software with a cost subsidized by the hardware and software companies involved.  According to a study by the Brazilian Electronics Industry Association, 15 million Brazilian households are interested in having a computer, but they can only afford a monthly payment, including the price of Internet service, of $25. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/07/technology/07METR.html

ONLINE SHOPPING TO BOOM IN CANADA - eMarketer reports that the number of Canadians shopping online is set to increase to 7.2 million by 2005, up from 1.3 million this year. http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905357528&rel=true

 

This Week@US STATES

SOUTH DAKOTA TOUTS TECH EDUCATION - South Dakota may be a rural state, but groups like the Progress and Freedom Foundation have ranked the state No. 1 for its use of technology in education. That theme served as one of the legs of Gov. William Janklow's State of the State address this week.

In 1999, Janklow said, only 1,800 K-12 educators used e-mail; now almost 10,000 do, thanks to every school being wired for Internet access.  In the first three months of the 2001 school year, teachers exchanged 4.5 million e-mail messages. And school systems have bought 16,500 computers.  South Dakota inmates also built the $15 million Digital Dakota Network http://www.ddnnet.net/, which has allowed 1,119 current high-school students to take courses like Spanish, anatomy, college algebra and chemistry. (National Journal’s Tech Daily – www.nationaljournal.com)

MICHIGAN - BROADBAND TECHNOLOGY AT TOP OF LAWMAKERS' AGENDA - Governor John Engler wanted to pass a package of legislation loosening the rules on high-speed Internet providers last year.  He says the loosened rules will encourage faster installation of broadband technology - high- speed Internet access - statewide and keep the state on the forefront of technology.  But lawmakers were so perplexed over the issue they held off action until this year. Legislation would establish a statewide financing authority to help fund broadband in under-served areas and a central office for establishing the rights to lay broadband lines.  The bills also would establish a new, 7 cent-per-foot fee that companies would pay for the right of way to lay high-speed lines. The fee would cost those companies about $70 million a year.  Technology experts estimate that more broadband development could mean up to 500,000 more jobs in Michigan and increase the output of state goods and services by $440 billion over the next decade.  Legislative hearings are expected to begin this month and Engler wants the package on his desk by late February. http://www.lsj.com/news/capitol_profile/020101capqanda_1b-2b.html

WIRED WORKERS SAID TO WATCH LESS TV - It’s not all about online shopping and Web surfing after all. People who go online while at the office say the Internet makes them more productive in their jobs, according to a study released Tuesday by the Online Publishers Association, an industry trade group. The wired workers also say they spend more time online during the week than they do watching TV, underscoring an ongoing and dramatic shift in U.S. consumers’ media usage, the survey concluded. http://www.msnbc.com/news/684147.asp

GEORGIA MAY GET ELECTRONIC VOTE THIS FALL IF MONEY COMES THROUGH - Lever machines, ink-filled bubbles and, yes, chads could become history in Georgia as soon as this fall.   Secretary of State Cathy Cox told state legislators Thursday she will put electronic voting machines in all of Georgia's 159 counties by the November election -- if the General Assembly approves borrowing $54 million to buy the equipment.  Georgia, which recorded a higher number of uncounted votes during the controversial 2000 presidential election than even Florida, would become the first state in the country to adopt a statewide voting system. http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/metro/0102/0111evote.html

PUBLIC POLICY INSTITUE OF CALIFORNIA (PPIC) STATE SURVEY - The PPIC Statewide Survey consists of an ongoing series of surveys designed to provide policymakers, the media, and the general public with objective, advocacy-free information on the perceptions, opinions and public policy preferences of residents throughout the state of California.  Begun in April 1998,the surveys have generated a database that includes the responses of over 44,000 Californians.  This report presents the results of the twenty-second PPIC Statewide Survey.  The current survey is the fifth in a new series that will be conducted on a periodic basis throughout the 2002 election cycle. The series will focus on the social, economic,and political trends and public policy preferences underlying ballot choices in statewide races and citizens ’initiatives.

http://www.ppic.org/publications/CalSurvey24/survey24.pdf (Adobe file)

INDIANA LEGISLATURE WILL BEGIN WEBCASTS - When Indiana lawmakers step to the podium in the General Assembly next week, their remarks will be carried live on the Internet, making   Statehouse business available to Web users anywhere.  Both chambers now have systems in place to broadcast their daily proceedings on the World Wide Web, from the Pledge of Allegiance to debates on major tax legislation. http://www.indystar.com/article.php?legispm0104.html

OTHER TECH STORIES OF THE WEEK

 

LIBRARIES FOCUS ON UPGRADING TECHNOLOGY - Come March, the Cerritos Library is more likely to resemble a theme park than a community center. The suburban Los Angeles public library will unveil its new digs, a $40 million expansion complete with a floor-to-ceiling saltwater aquarium, a life-size replica of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a rainforest room with trees, a stone-paved "Main Street" walkway and souvenir shops. But just as jaw-dropping may be the library's technology effort -- 200 computer workstations, 1,200 laptop ports, wireless headsets and handheld computers for librarians, multimedia rooms, and a more efficient circulation system that uses radio frequency to track books instead of bar codes or magnetic strips. The new circulation system, which alone cost the library about $150,000, automatically checks in books as they fall through the dropoff bin. Eventually, this wireless technology could allow cardholders to borrow books by simply walking out the door. http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB1010616709825732760.htm (Paid subscription required)

CEOS CALL BROADBAND THE DRIVER - The heavyweights of consumer-electronics retailing appeared in danger of violent agreement yesterday as they debated the future of the industry and what consumers can expect.  Yes, the world is going digital. Yes, broadband will drive future growth in the industry. No, "m-commerce" — mobile commerce, buying goods via wireless devices — will not be a significant sales channel. And yes, everyone is bullish about the future of consumer electronics.  http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/134389234_ces10.html

JOINT CHIEFS IDENTIFY BANDWIDTH AS TOP TECH CHALLENGE IN AFGHANISTAN - The No. 1 technology challenge facing warfighters in Afghanistan is the need for more bandwidth, said Air Force Maj. Gen. Charles E. Croom, vice director for command, control, communications and computer systems with the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  “It’s always bandwidth,” Croom said, noting that the Defense Department’s bandwidth need has increased steadily since the Gulf War. “The demand always outruns the capacity.”  http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/daily-updates/17730-1.html

ARMY EXPANDS E-LEARNING OPTIONS - In an effort to expand its online education offerings from simple content to a more complete e-learning environment, the Army today announced a major expansion of its agreement with SmartForce, an e-learning company.  Under the new agreement, SmartForce will provide all Army personnel worldwide with a Web-based, e-learning solution through its hosted MySmartForce platform, said Kevin Duffer, director of federal sales at the Redwood City, Calif.-based company. http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2001/1217/web-army-12-17-01.asp

DIVINING THE FUTURE OF LAW AND TECHNOLOGY - After more than four years of writing on Internet and the law for the New York Times, Carl S. Kaplan is moving on. In his final Cyber Law Journal column, Kaplan asks a group of experts about the 2-3 major Internet law and policy issues over the next year.  http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/11/technology/11CYBERLAW.html

UK Census Website Is Victim Of Its Own Success - As millions of frustrated users have found over the past three days, the popularity of the 1901 census has proved too much for the UK Public Record Office's website.  http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=166389374&i=445956&d=2179921

LUCENT NAMES NEW PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE - Lucent, the US telecommunications equipment maker, named Patricia Russo, the president of photographic group Eastman Kodak, as chief executive, bringing back a former employee to revive its fortunes.  http://tm0.com/sbct.cgi?s=166389374&i=445375&d=2176023

INTERNET GROWING AS NEWS MEDIUM, AT TIMES EXCEEDING TRADITIONAL MEDIA USAGE - Use of the Internet as a news source is approaching, and in some cases surpassing the use of traditional media, according to a recent study conducted for MSNBC.com by Market Facts Inc.  Additionally, the survey concludes that broadband users (high speed Internet connections) are more likely to use streaming audio, video and rich media to optimize coverage of breaking news and live events.  Currently, 65% of the U.S. Internet population report regularly using the Internet as a source for news, exceeding magazines (58%), almost equal to radio (67%), and approaching network TV (89%) and cable (76%) usage.  http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020107/72546_1.html

REPORT: NET USERS ARE DRIVEN - Research from Internet market analysts Nielsen//NetRatings has found that Internet users are increasing purpose-driven, rather than just surfing Web sites.  Andrew Reid, a senior analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings, said last year saw a move from general surfing to more application-based sessions.  The analysts look at areas such as site usage, how deep people go into a site, and whether or not they're accessing a secure environment. The information is gathered from a panel of more than 1000 people on an ongoing basis.  Nielsen//NetRatings found the local Internet market is maturing, with a greater composition of experienced users.  http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2836274,00.html

FACTS AND STATS:

BROADBAND AUDIENCE TO DOUBLE IN EUROPE - Jupiter Media Metrix says that the number of households with broadband Internet access in Europe will double this year.

http://www.nua.com/surveys/index.cgi?f=VS&art_id=905357525&rel=true

ASIA'S NET GROWS - NetValue reports that all four markets in Asia experienced growth in internet access as the number of active online users in households reached 15,098,000 in Korea, 5,521,000 in Taiwan, 1,431,000 in Hong Kong and 920,000 in Singapore in November 2001. Top uses for the net included e-mail in Taiwan (73%), audio-video in Korea (81%) and instant messaging in Hong Kong (63%) and Singapore (51%).

GRAPPLING WITH NEW E-GOVERNMENT ISSUES - Gartner predicts that through 2007, 75% of global government agencies will experience long-term shortages of information technology (IT) professionals if they do not implement comprehensive workforce management strategies. Gartner also believes that through 2005, 75% of Kindergarten through 12th grade educational agencies will experience the same problem if they fail to implement such strategies. Additionally, Gartner says that by 2002 e-government spending will change from front-end to back-end, and through 2005, 90% of organizations that utilize web service models will do so only for internal applications.

For Facts and Stats on the New Economy, visit our Facts and Stats page.  Also, see our special State of the Internet report on this page. For daily, topical Facts and Stats visit our Hot In Tech page.

CISCO GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS@2001

Cisco’s top policy focuses for 2001 are the areas of Education, Broadband Deployment and eGovernment.  To read or listen to our thoughts on these issues, please visit our Government Affairs home page or our visit our multimedia section . http://www.cisco.com/gov/multimedia/index.html

E-UPDATE ARCHIVE

To view past issues of Cisco’s Government Affairs E-Update, visit our E-Update Archive page . http://www.cisco.com/gov/archive/eupdates/index.html

DISCLAIMER

Positions in articles and papers from outside sources are in no way endorsed by Cisco Systems' Office of 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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