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Europe's Advanced Wireless Gamble
by William New
3Com and Palm Chairman Eric Benhamou this week charged that Europe has erred in its establishment of third-generation (3G) wireless spectrum. Benhamou told a New America Foundation event on Tuesday that Europe auctioned large amounts of spectrum to companies that "do not have a credible business case for 3G."
Benhamou said the cost of spectrum in Europe is too high -- the result of poor timing for the auctions -- and now the government subsidization of the companies that obtained spectrum is "almost an admission of failure" and a "huge loss of credibility" for the governments.
"Europe is an example of how 3G will not change our lives," Benhamou said.
In other European news, the Union of Industrial and Employer's Confederations of Europe (UNICE) and the European Consumers' Organization have reached agreement on a European framework for e-commerce "trustmarks" that let consumers know what businesses have adopted minimum standards for conducting business online.
The agreement has been presented to the European Union for consideration. The proposal contains requirements for trustmark schemes and a detailed system for approval and monitoring based on an independent third-party assessment.
Separately, UNICE appointed a new secretary general. Philippe de Buck van Overstraeten begins work Jan. 1. He is on the board of the Europe-based Information Communication Technology Group.
New Zealand Considers U.S.-Style Copyright Protection
The government of New Zealand is considering changes to its copyright law that would strongly resemble the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The potential changes include an expansion of copy-protection provisions, a "middle road" on making Internet service providers (ISPs) liable for copyright infringement by their subscribers and criminal sanctions for circumventing copyright-protection technology.
The government requested and received submissions on a discussion paper on how digital technology relates to the New Zealand's Copyright Act of 1994. Associate Commerce Minister Laila Harre and Information Technology Minister Paul Swain released the paper. It represents the first stage of public consultation with copyright holders.
Other issues in the paper include the right to communicate copyrighted works to the public, including the transmission of works to audiences over the Internet, the retransmission of free-to-air broadcasts using digital technology; and the legal protection of electronic databases.
Several U.S. organizations used the DMCA as a basis for the comments they submitted.
The Right To Circumvent
The Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) urged that New Zealand exclude temporary copying from legal protections, citing three legislative actions that have been required in the United States to provide exceptions to the rule.
CCIA also stressed that New Zealand should follow the DMCA balance on ISP liability and said that any language banning efforts to bypass technological safeguards against illegal copying should be carefully considered. The group called for anti-circumvention exemptions, like those in U.S. law, for "reverse engineering" of software to make products interoperable, and for libraries and educational institutions, law enforcement and intelligence, and encryption research.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, meanwhile, urged New Zealand not to adopt the DMCA model because it has "proven dangerous" to free speech in the United States.
"Copyright owners told us that they needed the DMCA to stop piracy. Instead, it has been used against the press, scientists and computer programmers," EFF senior attorney Fred von Lohmann said in a statement. "We're hoping that other countries will learn from our mistakes."
EFF specifically urged New Zealand not to adopt DMCA-style anti-circumvention provisions because allows copyright owners to "stifle" research. It also said temporary copies made in a computer's memory should not be treated as copyright infringements.
The Rest Of the Tech News In New Zealand
On Sept. 28, Swain also released a discussion paper on auctioning radio spectrum bands for new telecommunication services. The paper contains proposals for allocating spectrum to help communities deploy wireless, high-speed Internet services and for an allowance of nationwide and geographically specific licenses, among other things.
In addition, New Zealand is developing legislation to create a new regulatory framework for the telecom industry.
The Domain Game In Australia ... And Korea
AuDA, the Australian nonprofit company responsible for operating the .au domain-name suffix, issued a request for proposals from domain registries on managing seven second-level .au domains: com.au, net.au, asn.au, org.au, id.au, gov.au and edu.au. Proposals are due by Nov. 12.
The goal is to engender greater competition in the .au domain space. An independent committee will review proposals and make an announcement in late November about which companies' proposals were accepted.
In other domain news, the Korean Information and Communication Ministry will form a committee of legal experts to help settle cyber-squatting disputes that arise over names in the .kr domain, the Korean Herald reports. About 20 domain-name disputes, including those over amazon.ne.kr, altavista.co.kr and dow.co.kr, were pending in court at the end of last year.
India To Open Internet Telephone Market
The Indian government on Friday announced that it would open the country's Internet telephone market to competition starting April 1, 2002, according to Yahoo News. Communication Minister Pramod Mahajan said his goal is to provide cheaper and more technologically advanced services to Indian customers.
Separately, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will visit Washington on Nov. 9. His agenda is to better the two countries' cooperation on security and economic issues.
Meetings, Meetings, Meetings
The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meetings will be in the quiet Canadian capital of Ottawa, Ontario, on Nov. 16-18. The Group of 20 (G-20), an international forum of finance ministers and central bank governors that represents 19 countries and the European Union, the World Bank and the IMF, also will meet in Ottawa at that time.
The World Bank and IMF meetings, originally scheduled for Washington in late September and expected to draw large protests, were postponed after the terrorist attacks in the United States. The G-20 meeting was moved from India for security reasons.
Elsewhere, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development will hold a conference on "telecommunications policies for the digital economy" in Dubai on Jan. 21-22. The objective of the conference will be to share with non-OECD countries the understanding that a competitive telecommunications market helps businesses and consumers.
Finally, European Competition Commissioner Mario Monti will speak on "international cooperation and competition policy" in New York on Nov. 13. The European-American Business Council and several European-focused chambers of commerce are sponsoring the event.
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