December 2007 InfoTech & Technology News (PDF)

The December 2007 issue of IT&T News questions whether the Universal Service Fund, special access fees, and other subsidies to rural telecom companies are helping--or hindering--the spread of broadband to rural areas. On page 1:

• A Connecticut Superior Court is considering an AT&T appeal of contradictory state policy decisions that kept the telecom company from using a legal fast-track for introduction of U-verse, an Internet Protocol-based television service.

• Congress is planning to revisit network neutrality legislation by year end, amid reports that cable TV giant Comcast has been slowing down large volumes of traffic headed for peer-to-peer file-sharing sites.

• With the federal deadline for issuing drivers' licenses that meet the criteria of the REAL ID Act of 2005 barely five months away, few if any states appear ready to comply.

• A Cook County, Illinois proposal to impose a $4 tax on all wireline and wireless phone lines has drawn fire from all sides, including the local phone company, consumer advocates, and the local utilities watchdog group.

Also in this issue: wiretapping, flat-rate pricing, municipal wi-fi, media cross-ownership, health IT, using RICO against information technology firms, and more.