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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2005 FCC Issues VoIP Decision; Questions Remain FCC Delays 911 VoIP Customer Disconnect Again States to Verify Political Campaign Web Sites Wikibooks Enters Textbook Publishing Field Internet Ads Take Off in U.S. FCC ISSUES VOIP DECISION; QUESTIONS REMAIN The Federal Communications Commission issued a decision that any voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) provider linked to the public telephone network must comply with a set of rules making it easier for police to seek and obtain wiretaps. The affected companies must meet these requirements by spring 2007. Still undecided is what the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) ruling means for universities, nonprofits, companies, and individuals offering wireless or other forms of Internet access. The regulation is based on the argument that CALEA's definition of "telecommunications carrier" applies to broadband and VoIP providers. The FCC plans to issue another decision on the subject by the end of the year. ZDNet, 26 September 2005 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-5883032.html FCC DELAYS 911 VOIP CUSTOMER DISCONNECT AGAIN The Federal Communications Commission again delayed enforcing a deadline for Internet phone service providers to disconnect customers who have not yet verified that they understand they might not be able to reach an emergency dispatcher when they dial 911 on their cellular phones. The FCC noted that status reports from the VoIP service providers indicated that nearly all subscribers have responded to the prompts. Those providers who have received confirmations from 90 percent or more of their subscribers do not need to meet the disconnect requirement, but must continue to seek complete compliance. Other service providers have until October 31 to reach the 90 percent threshold to avoid disconnecting users. Up to 10,000 subscribers faced disconnection under the original ruling. San Jose Mercury News, 27 September 2005 http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/business/technology/12755614.htm STATES TO VERIFY POLITICAL CAMPAIGN WEB SITES The secretaries of state for Kentucky and New Mexico plan to authenticate political campaign Web sites using the Election Security Seal Program developed by Election Mall Technologies of Washington, D.C. The program creates an online registrar directory of legitimate political Web sites, including those set up by candidates for office, political action groups, or other organizations. When registered through the Kentucky or New Mexico Secretary of State's office, sites can post a seal verifying their authenticity. After the office verfies the candidate's identity and the site's authenticity, they are listed in the official directory. Site visitors who scroll over the seal can view the certification. Federal Computer Week, 27 September 2005 http://www.fcw.com/article90943-09-27-05-Web WIKIBOOKS ENTERS TEXTBOOK PUBLISHING FIELD The Wikimedia Foundation launched the Wikibooks project to create a kindergarten-to-college curriculum of textbooks based on an open source development model. Material written for the new texts can be short or long and easily modified, and the resulting Wikibooks would be freely licensed. The goal is to produce thousands of books and smaller entries on a range of topics by employing a worldwide community of writers and editors. Any reader or student could create a personalized book or edit an existing title. Wikibooks currently contains more than 11,000 submissions from volunteers (professionals in many fields, college and graduate students, and professors). The project is still in the early stages and faces competitors such as Google's digital library project, which has run into copyright issues. ZDNet, 28 September 2005 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-5884291.html INTERNET ADS TAKE OFF IN U.S. According to numbers from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers, online advertising revenues in the first half of 2005 hit a new high of about $5.8 billion, an increase of 26 percent over the first half of 2004. The percentage of total online ad revenues earned by keyword-based search ads has held steady at 40 percent, but income increased. The same holds true for display ads, which accounted for 20 percent of total online ad revenue. The Internet Advertising Revenue Report will be published in early October. The Register, 28 September 2005 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/28/us_internet_advertising_soars/ ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your settings, or access the Edupage archive, visit http://www.educause.edu/Edupage/639 Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE RESOURCES The EDUCAUSE Resource Center is a repository for information concerning use and management of IT in higher education. 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