Government Affairs

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U.S. PHONE COMPANIES SET OFF A BATTLE OVER INTERNET FEES — Large phone companies, setting the stage for a big battle ahead, hope to start charging Google Inc., Vonage Holdings Corp. and other Internet content providers for high-quality delivery of music, movies and the like over their telecommunications networks. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113651664929039412.html (Paid subscription required)

FCC CHIEF WANTS CHEAP BROADBAND EVERYWHERE— You can check phone messages on your television, watch a movie on your cell phone and soon use one phone that works over land lines at home, cell phone networks on the road and Wi-Fi hotspots at coffee shops. "The changes that are occurring in telecommunications today are affecting every aspect of the way people are interacting," said Kevin J. Martin, who took over in March as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/technology/story/B7E59921C7B2B0CB862570E80037AA69?OpenDocument

GOVERNMENT WEB SITES ARE KEEPING AN EYE ON YOU— Dozens of federal agencies are tracking visits to U.S. government Web sites in violation of long-standing rules designed to protect online privacy, a CNET News.com investigation shows. http://news.com.com/Government+Web+sites+are+keeping+an+eye+on+you/2100-1028_3-6018702.html?tag=nefd.top

TOP U.S. OFFICIAL PREPS FOR MORE INTERNET — A top State Department official expects the debate over Internet governance to resurface this year when the U.N. International Telecommunication Union meets to determine its role in adopting global standards. David Gross, the coordinator for international communications and information policy at the department, said the looming discussion will be complicated and important. http://www.washtimes.com/business/20060106-120241-6967r.htm

TECH ENTREPRENEUR JOINS CIA'S VENTURE CAPITAL ARM— In-Q-Tel, the nonprofit venture-capital arm of the Central Intelligence Agency, plans to name entrepreneur Amit Yoran its chief executive. Yoran, who previously served as the Department of Homeland Security's cyber-security chief, replaces Gilman Louie, who has run the organization since its 1999 launch. Louie resigned to spend more time with his family on the West Coast. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/03/AR2006010301401.html

BROADER WIRETAP RULE DRAWS RESISTANCE — A recent FCC decision that applies government wiretapping authority to Internet telephony is causing a stir in the technology sector and university community. The recent FCC decision to extend the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act to Internet traffic as well as telephone calls in order to make wiretapping easier for the government is receiving resistance. http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB113581972188433505-PaWj2Pjt_ChMc79CK_4rMkUYXXw_20070102.html?mod=rss_free

SUNLIGHT POWERS STREETLIGHTS, WI-FI ACCESS— A Scottish university is testing solar-powered streetlights that also deliver wireless Internet access. The Project Starsight technology is being tested as part of a deal between Compliance Technology, a company based in Fife, Scotland, and the Abertay Center for the Environment (ACE) at the University of Abertay in Dundee. The solar panels provide a free energy source for the streetlight and also for the Wi-Fi or WiMax connection. http://news.com.com/Sunlight+powers+streetlights%2C+Wi-Fi+access/2100-7351_3-6019582.html

UK TOP EURO BROADBAND NATION, SAY ANALYSTS— The UK has leapfrogged France as Europe's number-one broadband nation, according to estimates by research outfit Point Topic. Having totted up the latest numbers available, analysts reckon that, as of New Year's Day, the UK had 9.8m broadband lines compared to 9.7m in France. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/03/broadband_france_uk/

U.K. CITIES TO GET BLANKET WI-FI COVERAGE— The United Kingdom has unveiled plans for citywide Wi-Fi networks that will give residents in nine cities high-speed wireless Internet access from laptops, PDAs and mobile phones. The first phase of the project, due to be completed by March 2006, will see citywide Wi-Fi hot spots rolled out in Birmingham, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham and Oxford, along with the London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea, Camden and Islington. http://news.com.com/U.K.+cities+to+get+blanket+Wi-Fi+coverage/2100-7351_3-6016122.html

LONDON INTERNET EXCHANGE, TELEHOUSE FORGE TRANSATLANTIC DEAL LINKING 3 INTERNET EXCHANGES— Telehouse America, which operates The New York Internet Exchange (NYIIX) and The Los Angeles Internet Exchange (LAIIX), and is a provider of collocation facilities, and The London Internet Exchange (LINX) have signed an agreement under which they will work jointly to promote connections between their members and customers. http://www.dmeurope.com/default.asp?ArticleID=12333

YORKSHIRE BOASTS BLANKET BROADBAND— Every telephone exchange in Yorkshire has been wired up for broadband following the injection of £2.2m of public sector cash. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/05/yorkshire_broadband/

FRANCE TELECOM WITHDRAWS BID FOR TELINDUS— Telco France Telecom has withdrawn from the bidding for Belgian telecoms equipment maker Telindus. France Telecom has decided not to increase its initial bid and to withdraw its offer, saying, 'the strategic and financial criteria of France Telecom’s industrial project for the acquisition of Telindus are no longer met.' http://www.dmeurope.com/default.asp?ArticleID=12409

GLOBETEL TO INSTALL WIMAX NETWORK IN 30 RUSSIAN CITIES— Globetel Wireless, a subsidiary of Globetel Communications, has entered into an agreement to install wireless communications networks in 30 cities throughout the Russian Federation, providing broadband, VOIP and DECt technologies. http://www.dmeurope.com/default.asp?ArticleID=12368

MALTA-ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS MARKET REVIEW: BROADBAND CONNECTIONS UP 178% IN THREE YEARS— Broadband connections in Malta have increased by 178 per cent since 1 January 2003, and at 10.4 per cent, penetration locally is at the same level as the average penetration in the EU. http://217.145.4.56/ind/news.asp?newsitemid=26282

LEBANON TO GET BROADBAND— Authorities in Lebanon yesterday confirmed in a public statement that there are now plans to implement much delayed measures to offer faster and less expensive Broadband internet access across the country, reported the Arab Press Digest. DSL services at prices comparable to Europe should become available in March or April, said the statement http://www.ameinfo.com/75283.html

MIDDLE EAST-REGIONAL AUTHORITIES WEIGH UP ANTI-VOIP SOLUTION— Incumbent telecommunications providers and regulators across the region are in talks with the British creator of VoIP blocking systems, Bitek, with the aim of buying the firm's 'Guardian' solution and putting a stop to unauthorised internet calls http://www.itp.net/news/details.php?id=19169&category=

KENYA ENTERS GLOBAL DATA HIGHWAY— Kenya makes a dramatic entry into the information superhighway early in the new year with the completion of an optic fibre project from the Indian Ocean town of Mombasa to Nairobi http://allafrica.com/stories/200601031096.html

INCREASED RELEVANCE FOR IT IN 2006 [ANALYSIS] — The dawn of the twenty-first century came with a digital revolution and economic globalization. We are now moving towards a global knowledge society where information skills and competence become the driving forces of social and economic development. http://allafrica.com/stories/200601050165.html

ARGENTINA-INTERNET USERS UP 33%— The number of internet users in Argentina reached 10 million in 2005, up 33% compared to the 7.5 million recorded at the end of 2004, staff at Argentine consultancy Prince & Cooke confirmed for BNamericas. With this number of users, internet penetration in the country reaches 26.3%. http://www.bnamericas.com/story.jsp?idioma=I§or=2¬icia=340364

VOIP IN ASIA TO NEARLY DOUBLE BY 2009— VoIP in Asia is expected to grow from $5.5 billion in 2004 to more than $10 billion by 2009, according to an In-Stat report released. Revenue for 85.4 percent of VoIP traffic came from traditional public switched telephone networks in 2004, the high tech market research firm said. http://www.techweb.com/wire/networking/175800641;jsessionid=UJ1JMIALN1VCWQSNDBCSKH0CJUMEKJVN

BSNL EARMARKS $4.3B FOR EXPANSION BINGE— State-run BSNL (India) is planning to invest over 194 billion rupees ($4.3 billion) during the next financial year mainly on the expansion of its mobile and broadband services, a top company official said. http://www.telecomasia.net/telecomasia/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=279444

THAILAND OPENS VOIP MARKET, INTERNET GATEWAYS— Thailand's National Telecommunications Commission has issued a ruling allowing ISPs to offer VoIP services without getting a new license, The Nation reports. http://www.telecomasia.net/telecomasia/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=279302

TELKOM READIES $81M TO DEVELOP SERVICES IN EAST JAVA — Indonesia's Telkom will invest 800 billion rupiah ($81 million) to develop and expand its services in East Java province. The carrier, in a statement, also said it plans to develop its "Flexi" cable phone service and its "Speedy" broadband access Internet in the province in 2006. http://www.telecomasia.net/telecomasia/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=279307

SOUTH KOREAN 2005 TECH EXPORTS HIT $78 BILLION— South Korea's electronics exports rose $78.02 billion in 2005, up a modest 5 percent from a year ago, due mainly to surging sales of LCDs, digital TVs and semiconductors, the Ministry of Information and Communication reported. http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=UJ1JMIALN1VCWQSNDBCSKH0CJUMEKJVN?articleID=175800992

JAPAN-EXPERIMENT IN WORKS TO BEAM BROADBAND TO REMOTE ISLANDS— The government is experimenting with a superhigh-frequency radio system in Kagoshima Prefecture to provide broadband Internet communications to a group of remote islands, making information, as well as movies and music, available to the residents. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20060103f5.htm

ADEL, GA., A "SMART 21 COMMUNITY"— The small town of Adel (population: 7500) in south Georgia now ranks among the top 21 "Intelligent Cities" in the world due to their visionary deployment and application of wireless and fiber-based broadband services. http://www.govtech.net/magazine/channel_story.php/97773

INTERNET PROVIDER WINS $11 BILLION SPAM SUIT— An Iowa-based Internet provider has won an $11 billion judgment against a Florida man for sending millions of unsolicited commercial e-mails. http://www.press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060105/NEWS01/601050310/1079

VIRGINA-HE'S NO TECHNOLOGIST, BUT MOVES IN TECH CIRCLES — Virginia's new secretary of technology is not a technologist and has never served in government before. No matter. Aneesh Chopra has a few other characteristics that put him in line for the position, which oversees the state's technology infrastructure and is responsible for fostering the development of Virginia's technology industry. The 33-year-old is a policy junkie, a rising star in Washington's Indian American executive circles, and he's got friends with tight ties to Gov. Mark R. Warner 's administration http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/28/AR2005122801491_pf.html

GOOGLE SUED OVER VOIP PATENT— New York-based Rates Technology is suing Internet giant Google for what it claims as patent violation in the VoIP software used by Google, an AFP report said. http://www.telecomasia.net/telecomasia/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=279116

VERIZON COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF MCI— Verizon Communications closed on its $8.6 billion acquisition of MCI and began the integration process of the firm that was best known for its long distance offerings. http://www.techweb.com/wire/networking/175801952

ONLINE SPENDING REACHES 6 PERCENT OF TOTAL RETAIL SALES— Online buying accounted for 6 percent of all consumer retail spending last year, making it an important metric in determining trends in consumer spending. http://internetweek.cmp.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=175801825

REPORT- IP VPN REVENUES WILL DOUBLE TO $658 MILLION— Network-based IP VPN revenues will nearly double from 2004 to 2009, to reach $658 million in sales, according to a new report by In-Stat. http://www.networkingpipeline.com/news/175801374

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