A hearing was held on Senate Bill 335, the Emerging Telecommunications Technologies Act of 1993, a bill that requires the federal government to transfer 200 megahertz of spectrum to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for new technologies. Integral to this measure, a bipartisan effort, is a provision that will allow the FCC to use competitive bidding on a trial basis to assign licenses for use of up to 30 megahertz of the spectrum. The shortage of available spectrum and the potential of new spectrum-based technologies are the catalysts for this bill. Opening statements were presented by Senators Burns, Gorton, Hollings, Inouye, and McCain. The following witnesses addressed the issues involved in the use of the spectrum and auctioning its use: (1) Robert S. Foosaner, of Fleet Call, Inc.; (2) Edward O. Fritts, of the National Association of Broadcasters; (3) Jay Kitchen, of the National Association of Business and Educational Radio; (4) Phillip C. Nelson, of the Rural Telephone Coalition; (5) Wayne Perry, of McCaw Cellular Communications, Inc.; and (6) Thomas P. Stanley, of the FCC. An appendix contains prepared statements from other associations and interested individuals. (SLD)

Guide to Telecommunications Technology focuses on the technology that forms the basis for all voice and data networks. The book discusses fundamental signaling principles and explains how early telephone and computer inventions influenced modern technology. Chapters explore topics such as switching, datatransmission, broadband, wireless LANs, and network access methods. Techniques and tools involved in recognizing and addressing information security threats are also covered. The book concludes with a chapter on voice-over-network and convergence technologies, encouraging students to synthesize what they have learned about the traditionally separate fields of telephony and data technologies. Guide to Telecommunications Technology provides a solid foundation for more advanced studies in voice and data networking.

This report presents a synoptic view of the research on the subject of new information technologies that has been supported by Unesco and of research conducted outside Unesco's program. The report attempts to single out the main findings of this body of research and to identify new avenues of investigation and action that may be able to contribute to the growth of the research effort. An interdisciplinary approach is taken to the main problem areas in new communication technologies, and the issues discussed range over the fields of economics, law, culture, sociology, and education. The report is divided into eight chapters: (1) Unesco's Activities in the Research Field; (2) Research on New Communication Technologies: The State of the Art; (3) The Explosion of Information Production (audiovisual communication, telematics, and computer networks); (4) The New Legal and Political Issues (legal and institutional dimensions, computer and video piracy, and the law and the concept of information); (5) The Cultural Issues Involved in the New Communication Technologies (cultural imperialism, emergence of new forms of culture, and cultural assimilation of new technologies; (6) The New Technologies in Education (media education, informatics and education, and new distance education technologies); (7) The Social Aspects of the New Technologies; and (8) The Interaction between Technology and Society. A two-part bibliography lists 45 Unesco studies on information technology, and a general section lists more than 250 items. A list of research and Comnet centers concludes the report. (DB)