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    FCC Approves Low-Orbit Satellite
Licenses 02/01/95 WASHINGTON, D.C.,
U.S.A., 1995 FEB 1 (NB) -- Pushing
the advent of worldwide wireless
communications, the Federal
Communications Commission has awarded
licenses to three companies that plan
to launch fleets of small, low-earth
orbit satellites.

    The FCC signed off on licenses
for: Iridium, a consortium headed by
Motorola; Globalstar, a Loral and
Qualcomm joint venture; and TRW.  The
regulators denied licenses for two
smaller companies, Constellation
Communications and Mobil
Communications Holdings, saying they
had not demonstrated financial muscle
needed to launch the systems. They
may apply again next year.

    Iridium plans a $3.3 billion
system of 66 satellites, beginning in
1998. The venture has lined up $1.6
billion in capital from partners
around the world, including Sprint,
Bell Canada, and a German
telecommunications company.

    Globalstar would orbit 48
satellites at a cost of about $1.8
billion, using simpler satellites
than Iridium. Loral and Qualcomm say
they have raised about $492 million
and plan to raise another $300
million in a public stock offering.

    TRW has proposed a $2 billion
system using 12 satellites. It would
provide owned, data and fax service
in the US, beginning in 1999.

    The biggest potential competitor
in the satellite communication
business has not applied for a
federal license. That competitor is
the International Maritime Satellite
Organization, or Inmarsat, which has
raised $1.4 billion from 38 telephone
companies around the world.

    Inmarsat is an inter-governmental
treaty organization made up of 76
international, government-run phone
systems. Comsat Corp., the US
government's representative in
Inmarsat, is expected to apply for an
FCC license later.

    The firms that just won licenses
are expected to oppose Comsat,
arguing that Inmarsat must open
itself to private investors before it
is allowed into the market.

    (Kennedy Maize/19950201/Press
Contact: Rosemary Kimball, FCC, 202-
418-0500)


    President Ford Goes Online
02/06/95 NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK,
U.S.A., 1995 FEB 6 (NB) -- Former US
President Gerald is going from the
hallowed halls of the White House to
the electronic bandwidth of
cyberspace this Friday, February 10th
at 1:00 pm EST, when he signs on to
the Scholastic Network on America
Online (AOL).  He'll "chat" with
students live and online about the
presidency.

    John Lent, Scholastic Network
director, told Newsbytes that
President Ford's appearance online is
the first in what's hoped to be
several appearances by living
presidents during the month of
February, which is being dubbed
"America's President's" month. In
fact, "he (Ford) and his chief-of-
staff have been practicing for the
event," Lent said. A dedicated modem
line has already been installed in
Ford's California home for the
event.

    Lent said that talks are underway
with President Clinton's staff to
bring the current leader online this
month. Lent said he's also speaking
with former presidents Carter and
Bush about appearing in cyberspace.
Lent said that former President
Reagan "graciously" turned down the
Network's "chat" offer.

    As far as what students and
teachers can access, "we've created
many rich resource libraries for
teachers to get ready not only for
the online event, but for America's
President's Month," Lent said. Among
other features, users can tap into
libraries on each president, play an
interactive game on the presidents,
and participate in many online
"discussions" via posting on bulletin
boards. Lent said that NBC White
House Correspondent Andrea Mitchell
is also answering questions and
bringing her experience to students
online via board postings.

    The Network, which is a
partnership between Scholastic Inc.
and AOL, claims it is the first
online service that is designed with
the student and the teacher in mind.
The Scholastic Network is a premium
service on AOL.

    (Bob Woods/19950206/Press
Contact: Drew Reid Kerr, Scholastic
Network, 212-924-4735; Reader
Contact: Scholastic Network, 800-864-
0425)


    CEOs Map Govt Role On Information
Highway 02/13/95 WASHINGTON, D.C.,
U.S.A. 1994 FEB 13 (NB) -- The chief
executive officers (CEOs) of 13 major
American computer companies have
called for the private sector to lead
the development of a global
information infrastructure. In a
report by the Computer Systems Policy
Project, the CEOs call for
governments to remove regulatory and
trade barriers that limit the growth
of the information highway.

    The report, "Perspectives on the
Global Information Infrastructure,"
describes the infrastructure as a
"worldwide assembly of systems that
integrate five components: networks,
information equipment (such as
telephones, televisions and
computers), information resources,
applications and people."

    The report makes seven major
points: the global information
infrastructure is already being
established; the private sector must
take the lead; the policy agenda must
go beyond issues of concern to the
telecommunications sector;
deregulation and competitive markets
are critical; governments and the
private sector must work together to
achieve global access, addressing
issues of interoperability, market
access, security, privacy and
intellectual property protection;
commercial testbeds, sponsored
jointly by industry and government,
will help identify potential barriers
to fully developing the information
highway and point the way to
solutions.

    "The U.S. government should work
aggressively with other governments
and within the appropriate
international organizations to
achieve competitive, deregulated
markets," says the report.

    On the issue of universal access,
the report says that, as the
infrastructure evolves, "the private
sector has a responsibility to work
with governments to identify
strategies, other than government
mandates, for making essential
services and information sources
broadly accessible to people and
communities."

    Michael Spindler, Apple CEO and
chairman of the project's working
group, said "The administration has
done an outstanding job of launching
the debate and creating significant
international forums to discuss the
(information infrastructure). Now it
is up to the private sector to be a
full participant in those
discussions."

    The CSPP member companies include
Apple, AT&T, Compaq, Cray Research,
Data General, Digital Equipment,
Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Silicon
Graphics, Stratus, Sun Microsystems,
Tandem and Unisys.

    (Kennedy Maize/19950213/Press
Contact: Beverly Barnes, CSPP, 202-
393-1010)



    Govt Technology Spending Battle
02/14/95 WASHINGTON DC, U.S.A., 1995
FEB 14 (NB) -- Abandoning the
traditional pruning shears, House
Republicans have taken a chain saw to
the Clinton administration's
technology spending plans. The House
Appropriations Committee has voted
33-18 to eliminate the Technology
Reinvestment Project, a controversial
program that involves Pentagon and
private sector financing of
research.

    The committee cut $425 million
from the program's fiscal 1995 budget
and $77 million from fiscal 1994,
essentially zeroing out the TRP
program. The cuts are technically
known as a "rescission" and were part
of rescissions aimed at finding money
for military readiness.

    "We hoped there would be an
opportunity to debate these policy
issues," Leo Reddy, president of the
National Coalition for Advanced
Manufacturing, told Newsbytes. He
said he hoped the program would get a
hearing in the Senate.

    Budget cutters and congressmen
skeptical about Clinton's government-
industry partnerships have also
introduced a rescission to hack $107
million in funding from the Commerce
Department's advanced technology
program, run out of the National
Institute of Standards and
Technology.

    House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-
Ga.) acknowledged that getting the
spending cuts through the Senate is
"a fair question." While Senate
Appropriations Committee Chairman
Mark Hatfield (R-Ore.) is not a
Pentagon fan, he has supported the
technology partnership programs in
the past.

    As the House was savaging
Clinton's spending programs, the
president and