Information Policy

US: Government Awards $20B Telecom Contract

WASHINGTON -- Five companies -- AT&T Inc., Level 3 Communications, Verizon Communications Inc., Qwest Communications International Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corp. -- on Thursday were awarded a federal telecommunications contract worth up to $20 billion over 10 years.

Getting on the so-called Networx Enterprise contract is the first step. The winners must now compete with each other to win business from agencies looking to improve their voice, data and other telecom services.

It's the second telecom contract awarded by the General Services Administration in about two months.

In late March, Qwest Communications International Inc., AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. were winners of the much larger Networx Universal contract, the government's largest telecom contract ever awarded. That deal is potentially worth up to $48 billion over a decade.

Universal requires companies to not only maintain current agencies' needs, but also offer advanced services, such as Internet-based telephone service, network security and video and Web conferencing, domestically and internationally.

Enterprise has far fewer requirements than the much larger Universal contract and covers a smaller geographic area.

http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/130/24650?7649

100 community groups connects of with South Dublin SDCC's online portal

More than 100 community groups in South Dublin have signed a contract to use South Dublin Co Council's (SDCC) online portal Connect.

Connect Web allows SDCC communities to create an online presence. The creation and hosting of their presence is free of charge and community leaders are trained to update and manage their group. SDCC has launched the online portal in association with Connect School, a resource for St Aidan's Community School. The community portal runs on open source software and allows users to avail free facilities for hosting their websites for online SDCC-based groups and associations. The software is based on an open source e-Learning platform, Moodle, which allows teachers to easily post quizzes and tests, monitor their students' progress and interact with them on the online forum.

http://www.egovonline.net/news/news-details.asp?NewsID=9259

Pakistan Govt to cover 75% house-holds via Internet by 2015

Pakistan is moving forward to bridge the digital divide in the country by improving the access to ICT for low income groups. The government is targeting to provide 1.6 million broadband connections in next three years.

The Pakistan government is planning to develop infrastructure, which will cover 75 percent of house holds in the country with high speed Internet by 2015. While speaking at the World Telecommunications and Information Society Day, Prime Minister, Shaukat Aziz said the theme of the year is "Connecting the Young: the Opportunities of Information and Communication Technology". The National Information and Communication Technology Research and Development Fund will provide the funds for this project.

http://www.egovonline.net/news/news-details.asp?NewsID=9235

Web Site Error Rocks Global Oil Markets

World oil prices jumped briefly yesterday after a television station in Tulsa, Oklahoma posted an erroneous story about a refinery fire on its Web site. At 10:14 EDT, CBS affiliate KOTV reported that a lightning strike had caused a fire at an Oklahoma refinery, sparking a flurry of excitement among energy traders and boosting U.S. crude prices 40 cents.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/30/AR2007053001700.html

U.S. Authorities Arrest "Spam King"

A man nicknamed the "spam king" for allegedly sending out millions of junk e-mails has been arrested in the US. Robert Soloway was arrested in Seattle, Washington, after being indicted on charges of mail fraud, identity theft and money laundering.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6707333.stm

Wireless Broadband Utopia: Are We There Yet?

Although these developments could be the Next Big Thing in broadband wireless access, it's too early to say where this will all end up. For years, the industry has had a crystal clear vision of how users will connect to the Internet in the future: High-speed wireless devices will allow consumers to watch videos, share pictures, socialize and do many activities that haven't even been thought up yet. The big unknown is when technology -- or a combination of technologies -- will make that vision a reality.

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1739&source=rss

Connecting Military Nets Through Open Source Collaboration

The U.S. military is developing a suite of software applications Get the facts on wireless solutions suited to your industry. that will allow secure communications between different national computer networks. This capability is essential to both coalition operations and disaster relief missions. The Cross Domain Collaborative Information Environment (CDCIE) is designed to meet combatant commanders' near-term needs to share data with a variety of networks operating at the secret level and below. The CDCIE uses an open software architecture that allows it to interoperate with other systems, and to be rapidly modified to meet warfighters' needs.

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/rsstory/57586.html

NL: Dutch Cabinet launches web-based policy consultation

A website launched by the new Dutch Cabinet aims to get feedback from citizens on ways to improve government performance.

Called ‘Working on the Netherlands together’ – Samen werken aan Nederland – the site seeks input on the outline programme put forward by the Dutch coalition in February 2007. After consultation over the internet and at local meetings, the outline will be converted into detailed government policy by this summer.

The Cabinet has identified six key issues for the coming legislative period:

• The Netherlands in Europe and the world
• Security, stability and respect
• A sustainable society
• Governance by and for the citizens
• The Dutch economy
• Living together in the Netherlands

One topic is being highlighted each week up to the end of May. Site users can start their own discussion thread, react to an ongoing discussion or simply indicate agreement or disagreement with other responses.

Contributions must be no more than 300 words long and by topic. Source references are allowed, but comments must amount to more than just copies of existing texts or links to other sites. Offensive, discriminatory, irrelevant or otherwise unsuitable material may be deleted. Direct questions to the authorities are not catered for as another site already exists for that. The Cabinet promises to keep the site’s readership informed about policy developments and the use that is made of their suggestions.

http://ec.europa.eu/idabc/en/document/7027/194

IFC-Financial Times Essay Competition: Through Sept. 30

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Financial Times invite entries to our 2nd annual essay contest about the role of the private sector in international development. Our competition offers entrants an unparalleled opportunity to share their research and ideas with a prestigious expert jury panel and to reach an international audience. The top prize is a US$20,000 cash award. Winning essays will be published on the IFC and FT web sites. The winners will be announced in early 2008.

We are accepting entries from Wednesday, April 25, 2007 to Sunday, September 30, 2007. For details on how to apply, and to view all six of last year's winning entries, please visit us at: http://www.ifc.org/competition.

THEREPORT.AMNESTY.ORG

Is the politics of fear "fuelling a downward spiral of human rights abuse in which no right is sacrosanct and no person safe?" Amnesty International thinks so, and has the evidence to back it up with "Report 2007", its annual assessment of human rights worldwide - available on a special website in English, French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic. Search by country (153 are featured) or theme to find out how your government fed the "human rights meltdown." Check out the multimedia section for a video report summary.

http://thereport.amnesty.org/