Spectrum
White House Calls For Spectrum Review
     The White House directed the Commerce Department to review the nation's policy for managing spectrum to modernize the system. The executive memo called for the creation of an interagency task force, which would conduct public meetings to find the best way to encourage more efficient use of the nation's airwaves and to develop policy tools that would encourage the development and deployment of new services and technologies without harming national security. "The radio-frequency spectrum is a vital and limited natural resource and is crucial to our economic growth and national defense," said Commerce Secretary Donald Evans, who will spearhead the task force. He will work with FCC Chairman Michael Powell, who heads the agency that oversees commercially used spectrum, and Nancy Victory, director of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which oversees government-used spectrum.

Intellectual Property
Sen. Brownback Plans Measure To Block Anti-Piracy Mandate
     The FCC could not mandate technology to manage digital rights under a draft bill by Sen. Sam Brownback that sources said the Kansas Republican expects to introduce next week. The 14-page draft bill is being promoted as favorable to consumers, schools and libraries, but it also contains numerous items sought by elements of the technology and telecommunications industries within the past year. In addition to barring a mandate on digital-rights management (DRM), the measure would: exempt Internet service providers from being forced to reveal the names of subscribers under certain circumstances; require labels on products that use DRM technology; permit consumers to donate or sell digital copies of media; and require the FTC to report to Congress about whether DRM technologies, which aim to curtail piracy, impede lawful consumer uses of digital media. Technology and movie companies have been at loggerheads over legislation designed to force computing and electronics companies to include anti-piracy controls.

Courts
Verizon Gives Recording Industry Names Of Subscribers
     Verizon Internet Services gave the recording industry the names of four Verizon Internet subscribers suspected of illegally offering free songs online. A federal appeals court forced the telecommunications provider to submit the names of the customers, whom the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has accused of large-scale piracy of digital songs. RIAA has not decided whether to sue the Verizon customers. RIAA sued Verizon for the information under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Verizon plans to fight the lawsuit to try to prevent future forced disclosures. Many privacy groups have rallied to Verizon's side on the issue.

Telecom
Lawmakers Plan Bill Aimed At Emergency Wireless Systems
     Lawmakers upset that states have been raiding funds designated to help local centers for emergency calls upgrade their facilities to pinpoint the locations of wireless callers plan to offer legislation to remedy the problem and speed the implementation of such "enhanced 911" services. "Every decision to raid those funds is directly related to someone's loss of life," House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman W.J. (Billy) Tauzin, R-La., said at a hearing of his panel's Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee. In 1999, Congress charged the wireless industry, the public-safety community and local telephone providers with making enhancements to their systems to handle emergency calls by installing call-location technology while also protecting callers' privacy. Coordination, technological and financial difficulties have plagued the process, but all parties are now working together to complete it, lawmakers and panelists noted.

Courts
Microsoft Agrees To Change Deal On Software In Schools
     Microsoft has abandoned a provision in a recent antitrust settlement with California consumers to provide free Microsoft software to schools, according to reports. The move could help the firm avoid a challenge to the settlement by Apple Computer. Microsoft will offer vouchers to schools to purchase any manufacturer's technology products, according to court documents filed in San Francisco. Previously, Microsoft pledged to offer schools either free Microsoft software or cash to buy computer products. Apple Computer complained about the initial accord. In 2001, Apple helped derail a proposed antitrust settlement over the issue of software to schools.

Education
Education Secretary Lauds Reform Initiative
     Education Secretary Roderick Paige said he is confident that the Bush administration's education reforms are improving education because schools are being held accountable. "We feel in our bones that people are listening to us across the country," Paige told attendees of a breakfast hosted by the moderate Republican Main Street Partnership. "We can prove that we are moving in the right direction." He said that the department is taking responsibility for parents who do not have the skills to be a part of their children's education and that Congress has provided the agency with plenty of money. "Funding not only is adequate. ... In fact, many schools are struggling to spend the money," he said. On higher education reauthorization, Paige said the department's emphasis will be on improving teacher preparation, affordability, accessibility and accountability, though it will not be a priority for another seven to nine months.

Taxes
Panelists Debate Details Of Proposal To Streamline Sales Taxes
     Critics of state efforts to simplify sales-tax systems cautioned Capitol Hill staff to carefully study the details of the Streamlined Sales Tax Project (SSTP) before recommending that states be allowed to collect taxes on remote sales, such as Internet or catalog sales. "Basically, Congress can't punt," Paul Misener, vice president of global public policy at Amazon.com, said at a Congressional Internet Caucus forum. "The details matter." States have been working to simplify their sales-tax systems through the SSTP, agreeing on uniform definitions of products, a central administration for state and local taxes, and amnesty for participating sellers if they collect incorrect amounts. Thus far, 12 states that represent 12.1 percent of the U.S. population have enacted legislation bringing their tax systems into compliance with the streamlined model.

Science
Security Officials Urge More Research Into Supercomputing
     The nation's investment in supercomputing research and development has played a crucial role in national security, but more investment is needed to resolve numerous computational problems, a key National Security Agency (NSA) official said. George Cotter, chief of NSA's Office of Corporate Assessments, said the conclusion of a congressionally mandated study on high-end computing R&D determined a need for faster computing to enable the military to create better weapons, aircraft and ships, as well as to improve the nation's ability to monitor its nuclear-weapons stockpile. Faster computers also are needed to analyze intelligence data and build better mapping capabilities for the military, he said.