From: IN%"rre@weber.ucsd.edu" 14-FEB-1997 07:16:51.99 To: IN%"rre@weber.ucsd.edu" CC: Subj: Fear and Loathing at the FCC [Forwarded with permission. This is the closest thing I've found to real research on the FCC-access-charges-for-ISP's action alert you have no doubt seen recently. Right or wrong, this was an incredibly badly designed alert. Please let me recommend that you *never* forward any kind of alert message unless it is signed, includes detailed background information or at least a URL that points to background information, and includes a time-out date. For more information on the proper construction of Internet action alerts, see http://communication.ucsd.edu/pagre/tno/january-1994.html#action ] =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= This message was forwarded through the Red Rock Eater News Service (RRE). Send any replies to the original author, listed in the From: field below. You are welcome to send the message along to others but please do not use the "redirect" command. For information on RRE, including instructions for (un)subscribing, send an empty message to rre-help@weber.ucsd.edu =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Date: Thu, 13 Feb 1997 20:18:54 -0600 From: Patrick Douglas Crispen <crispen@campus.mci.net> Subject: TOURBUS -- 13 FEBRUARY 1997 -- EDUPAGE / FEAR AND LOATHING AT THE FCC /~~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~~|~~~~~~~~~~~~/~~~|~~\ | FREE FUGEES CD - WIN AT WWW.MEDIADOME.COM / | \ |__________|__________/___________|__________|__________/ | \ / /______|-----\ | Haven't come to Mediadome(sm) yet? We're still |//////| | | giving away free Fugees CDs. Just sign up for |//////| | | our digital dispatch-better hurry, only 4 more |//////| | | days! Come see our Fugees Webisode & play the |//////| | | 'Video' game - based on the Fugees' hit song & |//////| | | video, 'Ready Or Not'- only at www.mediadome.com |//////| | ~~~/~~~\~~/~~~\~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/~~~\~~~~~ \___/ \___/ T h e I n t e r n e t T o u r B u s \___/ TODAY'S STOP: EDUPAGE / FEAR AND LOATHING AT THE FCC TODAY'S ADDRESSES: http://www.worldvillage.com/wv/hotel/tourbus/archives.htm http://www.educom.edu/web/edupage.html http://www.eff.org/papers/eegtti/eeg_83.html#SEC84 http://www.fcc.gov/isp.html Hi, kids! Put your seat belts on, because our latest adventure is about to get under way! Before we pull out of the terminal, though, can I interest anyone in a magazine or two? :) +--- HUGE TOURBUS SAVINGS ON THE HOTTEST MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS! ----+ Time, Newsweek, Money, PC Magazine, ZD Internet, Net, Yahoo, and tons more! Plus, pick from 50 FREE subscriptions. Send email now to: +-------------------- ( tourbus@magazines.com ) ---------------------+ By the way, I have a sinking feeling that a few of you may want to forward part of today's post to some of your friends. I would be happy if you did this -- just make sure that you give credit where credit is due. :) EDUPAGE ------- I think I am losing my mind. I distinctly remember pulling our little bus of Internet happiness into Edupage before, but for the life of me I can't find a copy of that post anywhere in the TOURBUS archives (which, by the way, can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.worldvillage.com/wv/hotel/tourbus/archives.htm). Anyway, Edupage is an absolutely wonderful, free, e-mail-based "summary of news items on information technology, and is provided three times each week as a service by Educom -- a consortium of leading colleges and universities seeking to transform education through the use of information technology." Edupage is actually a misnomer, because Edupage doesn't really talk about education. Rather, Edupage send you one paragraph summaries of technology stories printed in leading newspapers and magazines (like Business Week, Information Week, Forbes, etc.). Each issue of Edupage usually contains between 6 and 10 of these summaries. If you want to subscribe to Edupage (remember, it's FREE), just send an e-mail letter to LISTPROC@EDUCOM.UNC.EDU with the command SUBSCRIBE EDUPAGE YOURFIRSTNAME YOURLASTNAME in the body of your e-mail letter, replacing YOURFIRSTNAME and YOURLASTNAME with your first and last names. You can also find Edupage on the Web at http://www.educom.edu/web/edupage.html Edupage is clearly one of my favorite resources on the Net. It provides cutting-edge technology information in a size that is easy to digest, and as a professional college student I *often* find myself quoting and applying the information that I have found in Edupage. FEAR AND LOATHING AT THE FCC ---------------------------- Over the past couple of weeks, you may have received e-mail letters telling you that Many local telephone companies have filed a proposal with the FCC [The United States' Federal Communications Commission] to impose per minute charges for Internet service. They contend that use of Internet has or will hinder the operation of the telephone network. At first, I thought that this was simply a new version of the old "modem tax" hoax (http://www.eff.org/papers/eegtti/eeg_83.html#SEC84) that has been floating around the Net since *1987*. After all, the current FCC story has all of the markings of a classic urban legend: 1. It uses official-looking language; 2. It mentions a government agency or an organization with which everyone is familiar; 3. It contains a plea for you to take some sort of immediate action; and 4. It requests that you forward the warning letter to as many people as possible. Besides, according to an article that appeared in this morning's Edupage, ONLINE COMPANIES ASK TELCOS, "WHERE'S THE BEEF?" Tired of telephone companies' complaints that Internet usage is overwhelming their network capacity, the Internet Access Coalition has released findings contending that Net usage is, in reality, a bonanza for the Bells. The study found that local carriers received a total of $1.4 billion in 1995 in revenues resulting from the installation of second lines in homes, while spending only $245 million to beef up their networks for the additional usage. A Bell Atlantic spokesman says the real problem is that the telcos have no idea when a line will be used for data rather than voice, and thus tied up longer. Both sides agree that the ultimate solution is higher capacity networks. (Business Week 17 Feb 97) Well, out of curiosity -- and out of a deep-felt desire to avoid studying for the two major economics tests that I have next week -- your fearless bus driver decided to call the FCC in Washington to see if anyone there was willing to talk about this rather explosive issue. Unfortunately, I soon discovered that the FCC only has one employee, she is a secretary, and her job is to transfer all incoming telephone calls into voice mail hell. :) Actually, I talked to some nice people at the FCC who faxed me a 10 page explanation of what's *really* going on. Unfortunately, the 10 page explanation was written in "FCC-ese," so I am going to have to translate their explanation into English for you (and I can assure you that, since I know *NOTHING* about telephony, my translation will probably contain a few inaccuracies; if it does, please let me know). First, some local telephone companies have indeed asked the FCC to allow them to assess a per minute access charge on the telephone lines used by Internet Service Providers. Local telephone companies currently charge long-distance carriers (like AT&T and MCI) an interstate access charge for the long-distance traffic that travels over their local lines, and the local telephone companies would like to see this charge extended to include the high-speed lines that your local Internet Service Provider uses to access the Internet. In December, the FCC rejected the telephone companies' request and tentatively concluded "that the existing pricing structure for information services should remain in place." In other words, the FCC has tentatively concluded that Internet service providers should *NOT* be subject to the interstate access charges that local telephone companies currently assess on long-distance carriers. The FCC now seeks the public's comments on this conclusion. Unfortunately, the "warning" letter that is currently circulating around the Internet gives the impression that some sort of sinister operation is afoot here, that the FCC and the telephone companies are trying to sneak this proposal through without anyone noticing, and that it is up to each and every one of us to stop the evil FCC. What garbage. In fact, the FCC has, at least tentatively, REJECTED the telephone companies' proposal. The FCC is now simply asking you if you agree or disagree with their decision. The most disappointing aspect of this whole situation is that because of the misinformation that has been distributed across the Internet over the past couple of weeks, the FCC has received 100,000+ e-mail letters, most of which flame them for making a decision that EVERYONE AGREES WITH! Hands down, the flaming of the FCC is one of the Internet's most shameful acts ever. I also discovered another thing about the FCC that increased my respect for their organization one-hundred-fold. Part of the 10 page explanation that the FCC sent me states that their "existing rules have been designed for traditional circuit-switched voice networks, and thus may hinder the development of emerging packet-switched data networks." Because of this, the FCC is also seeking the public's comments on the implications of the Internet and its usage through the public switched telephone network. Folks, *ANY* government agency that stops and says 'hey, we can ALWAYS use some more information so that we are better prepared for whatever happens in the future' has earned my respect and admiration. By the way, most of the information that I have shared with you today can be found on the FCC's "ISP" homepage at http://www.fcc.gov/isp.html If you would like to send your comments to the folks at the FCC (the deadline for comments about their decision not to impose interstate access changes on Internet service providers is Friday, February 14th), make sure that you check the FCC's ISP Web page first. At the bottom of this page are some pretty specific instructions on what you need to put in the subject line of you e-mail letter before you submit it to the FCC. Personally, I'm going to leave the poor folks at the FCC alone for a while. They seem to be doing a great job in the face of unnecessary (and misinformed) opposition. TODAY'S ADDRESSES ----------------- http://www.worldvillage.com/wv/hotel/tourbus/archives.htm http://www.educom.edu/web/edupage.html http://www.eff.org/papers/eegtti/eeg_83.html#SEC84 http://www.fcc.gov/isp.html That's it for this week. Have a safe and happy weekend, and make sure that you visit all 3 sponsors who made today's TOURBUS post possible: Mediadome, Magazines.Com, and ... *--------------------------- MASS MUSIC -----------------------------* More Music For Your Money! Over 185,000 Titles Just A Click Away. FREE Weekly Music Zine - Buy 7 Get 1 FREE Everyday - Treasure Hunt! TOURBUS Rider Discount code: SAVENOW! use it and save 5% *------------------( http://www.Mass-Music.com )-------------------* -------------------------------- TODAY'S SOUTHERN WORD OF THE DAY -------------------------------- LAYMAN (noun). A tart fruit. Usage: "Hunny, git me some more of that layman aid!" (Special thanks goes to Tom Bates for today's word) YOU CAN FIND ALL OF THE OLD SOUTHERN WORDS OF THE DAY ON THE SOUTHERN WORD HOMEPAGE AT http://ua1vm.ua.edu/~crispen/word.html ====================================================================== Join : Send SUBSCRIBE TOURBUS Your Name to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.AOL.COM Leave : Send SIGNOFF TOURBUS to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.AOL.COM Info : On the Web at http://www.worldvillage.com/tourbus.htm Advertising: E-mail BobRankin@MHV.net w/ Subject: SEND TBRATES =--------------------------------------------------------------------= For info on my new book "Atlas for the Information Superhighway" send an e-mail letter to LISTSERV@UA1VM.UA.EDU that says GET ATLAS INFO F=MAIL in the body of your e-mail letter ====================================================================== TOURBUS - (c) Copyright 1997, Patrick Crispen and Bob Rankin All rights reserved. Redistribution is allowed only with permission. Send this copy to 3 friends and tell them to get on the Bus! (\__/) .~ ~. )) /O O ./ .' Patrick Douglas Crispen {O__, \ { The University of Alabama / . . ) \ crispen@campus.mci.net |-| '-' \ } http://ua1vm.ua.edu/~crispen/ .( _( )_.' '---.~_ _ _& Warning: squirrels.