Caron Carlson

Using a new web crawling system deployed in February, the Business Software Alliance has stepped up its enforcement against Internet-based software piracy at universities, homes and workplaces. The MediaSentry system, the alliances latest and most sophisticated mechanism for detecting online copyright infringements, searches peer-to-peer systems, FTP sites and Web sites for unlicensed copies of software […]

Waiting until the last minute before wireless companies were required to deposit hefty sums of cash to hold their places in the next big spectrum auction, the Federal Communications Commission postponed the auction of the entangled 700MHz frequencies late last Friday for the sixth time. Bowing to the demands of the wireless industry, the FCC […]

After four years of litigation, culminating this spring in nine weeks of testimony from economists, computer scientists, antitrust experts, Microsoft Corp. rivals and Bill Gates himself, it is now up to Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to decide what should be done to remedy the Redmond, Wash., software makers anti-competitive behavior. The Washington District Court judge has […]

Wireless service providers interested in amassing more bandwidth are preparing deposits for the Federal Communications Commissions spectrum auction scheduled for June. But potential bidders arent holding their breath, as theres a strong chance the auction, already postponed five times, will be delayed once again. Though the FCC has set a deadline of June 19 for […]

Many privacy guidelines and security standards are advocated today, and they often confuse, rather than help, network administrators who are trying to employ best practices, particularly with respect to commercial Web sites. In response, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development plans to release in September a set of security principles that might move the […]

In two separate forums in Washington today, regulators and lawmakers pointed to huge fines levied against the nations largest telephone companies as indications that it is more economical for the carriers to pay millions of dollars in penalties than comply with their obligations regarding public safety and competition. The Federal Communications Commission said it plans […]

Responding to a request from the Bush administration, IT and telecommunications industry representatives in Washington filed a plan with the government last week to improve the countrys critical infrastructure and cyber-security. Calling for improved information sharing and private- and public-sector coordination, the groups hope to ward off heavy-handed government mandates in response to the demand […]

In a ruling that consumer advocates hope will prevent a rise in the cost of telecommunications services, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that the century-old RBOCs must abide by a federal pricing scheme when leasing elements of their local networks to rivals. The scheme, developed by the Federal Communications Commission following enactment of […]

Legislation to protect online consumer privacy is moving forward in the U.S. Senate, gathering majority support in its commerce panel last week. But it faces vigorous opposition from the IT industry, which sees it as discriminatory against e-commerce. The Online Personal Privacy Protection Act, sponsored by committee chairman Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., would require commercial Web […]

Senators charged with overseeing commerce and communications this morning approved legislation authorizing the federal government to establish baseline security standards for federal computer systems. Part of an initiative to increase funding for cyber-security research and development, the measure has the information technology community alarmed. The Cyber Security Research and Development Act would direct the National […]

Responding to a request from the Bush administration, the information technology and telecommunications industries representatives in Washington filed a plan with the government last week to improve the countrys critical infrastructure and cyber-security. Calling for improved information-sharing and public/private sector coordination, the groups hope to ward off heavy-handed government mandates in the quest for a […]

Despite its checkered past, DSL (digital subscriber line) service is growing steadily, according to research unveiled today by TeleChoice Inc. The U.S. DSL market has reached almost five million lines, which represents 12 percent growth over last year, according to TeleChoice. Incumbent telephone companies account for the preponderance of the DSL market – 89 percent […]