Oct. 17, 2000
8:00 AM ET.
Alert No. 43. |
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| News Briefs |
10/16. The NTIA
released its annual "digital divide" report, titled
"Falling Through the Net: Toward Digital Inclusion." See, full report [139 pages
in PDF] and NTIA
release. Commerce Sec. Norman Mineta stated in an introduction
that "the data in this report show that, overall, our Nation is
moving toward full digital inclusion. The number of Americans who
are utilizing electronic tools in every aspect of their lives is
rapidly increasing. However, a digital divide still remains."
He also advocated government programs. "With this information,
we can better target and enact policies and programs to close the
disparities in access to computers and the Internet that still are
being experienced by some in our Nation." Bill Clinton released
a statement
in which he said that "To ensure that we continue to make
progress in bridging the digital divide, I urge Congress to fund the
initiatives that I have proposed ..." The report found that the
share of U.S. households with Internet access rose from 26.2% in
Dec. 1998 to 41.5% in Aug. 2000. However, the report concluded that
a "divides still exist between those with different levels of
income and education, different racial and ethnic groups, old and
young, single and dual-parent families, and those with and without
disabilities."
10/16. The FCC released a letter
[MS Word] to SBC containing
further instructions regarding its provision of DSL service
by separate affiliates. Specifically, the letter addressed SBC's
incumbent LEC's
authority to provide network planning, engineering, design, and
assignment services for ADSL service beyond a 180-day time period
specified in the Merger
Conditions imposed by the FCC on Oct. 8, 1999. At issue was the
meaning of ¶3(c)(3) of these conditions. SBC
argued that its ILECs could provide network planning and engineering
services to their separate affiliates after April 5, 2000. The FCC
disagreed. The letter was issued in CC Docket No. 98-141, the FCC's
antitrust merger review proceeding regarding the merger of SBC and
Ameritech. The letter was signed by Carol Mattey, Deputy Chief of
the Common Carrier Bureau. See
also, FCC's web
site section on its SBC-Ameritech merger review proceeding.
10/16. The FCC held an en banc
hearing on the content of television broadcasts. See, statement
of Chairman
Kennard (D) and statement
of Comm'r
Tristani (D).
10/16. USITC issued a
limited exclusion order in its proceeding
based upon a complaint by Atmel against Sanyo,
Winbond,
and Macronix
alleging violation of §337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 for
importing into the U.S. certain EPROM
and EEPROM
flash memory, and flash microcontroller semiconductor devices in
violation of various of Atmel's U.S.
patents. The USITC issued its notice of final
determination, in which it found a violation of §337 of Act, and
issued a limited exclusion order. It also denied a motion for
dismissal of Atmel's complaint for unclean hands. See, USITC release.
See also, USITC
docket for Inv. No. 337-TA-395 on reconsideration (with
hyperlinks to documents), and USITC
docket for Inv. No. 337-TA-395 (also hyperlinked).
10/16. Olivia Morgan, Director of Calif. Gov. Gray Davis's Washington DC
office, is leaving to set up a public relations business. See, Davis
release.
10/16. The ITAA
announced that it conducted a poll of attitudes about computer
security and privacy. However, neither the ITAA, nor Fabrizio McLaughlin and Associates,
which conducted the poll for the ITAA, released the poll questions
or responses. The ITAA is selling it for $500-$750.
10/13. Visteon filed a
complaint in Massachusetts state court (Suffolk County) against Lernout & Hauspie (LH) alleging
breach of contract. Visteon, a maker of automotive parts, alleges
that LH, a speech recognition software producer, breached a May 25,
2000 Operating Agreement for the establishment of the joint venture.
See, LH
release.
Editor's Note: This column includes all News Briefs added to
Tech Law Journal since the last Daily E-Mail Alert. The dates
indicate when the event occurred, not the date of posting to Tech
Law Journal. |
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| New Documents |
NTIA:
Falling Through the
Net: Toward Digital Inclusion, a report on the "digital
divide", 10/16 (PDF, NTIA).
FCC:
letter
to SBC re DSL separate affiliates, 10/16 (MS Word, FCC).
|
| New and Updated Sections |
Calendar
(updated daily).
News
from Around the Web (updated daily).
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| Quote of the Day |
"This year’s report presents the results from the first
systematic data collection on user access to high-speed broadband
service that has been undertaken in a large scale personal interview
survey with a very high response rate. In August 2000, 10.7% of
online households (about 4.5% of all U.S. households) had broadband-
speed access. The remaining 89.3% of online households (37.0% of all
U.S. households) connect to the Internet by regular dial-up phone
service. Among total broadband households, the overwhelming majority
either procure cable modems (50.8%) or DSL (33.7%) ... Wireless and
satellite (4.6%) and other telephone- based technologies such as
ISDN (10.9%) account for much lower percentages."
NTIA report. |
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