Message-ID: <Pine.SUN.3.91.950509182620.20148A-100000@solar.rtd.utk.edu> Date: Tue, 9 May 1995 18:29:46 -0400 From: Tak Utsumi <mailto:utsumi@SOLAR.RTD.UTK.EDU> Subject: Urgent request of your support letter to FCC To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L
May 9, 1995 <<17:31:57>>Dear Electronic Colleagues:
(1) Attached below is a copy of my letter sent to Mr. Reed Hundt, Chairman of FCC, asking him to provide us with an experimental authorization for the use of INMARSAT within the U.S. during our CAADE project.
I would appreciate it very much if you can kindly send him your letter of support (cc to me) at your earliest convenience. Thank you.
BTW, his fax is at 202-418-2801.
(2) Yoko in Osaka, Japan:
Many, many thanks for your introduction to him.
(3) Roger MacKenzie in New Zealand:
Many, many thanks for your introduction to Yoko -- and also to Mr. Johan Ernberg of ITU.
(4) Incidentally, for those people who are not familiar;
NSF/NIE: National Science Foundation/Networking Infrastructure for Education,
DOC/NTIA/TIIAP: U.S. Department of Commerce/National Telecommunica- tions and Information Administration/Telecommunica- tions and Information Infrastructure Assistance Pro- gram
Thanks in advance.
Best, Tak ****************************************
May 8, 1995
Honorable Reed Hundt Chairman Federal Communications Commission, Room 814 1919 M Street, N.W. Washington DC 20554
Dear Mr. Chairman:
This letter respectfully request your providing our project with an experimental authorization for our use of INMARSAT within the U.S. Our project is of the Consortium for the Advancement of Affordable Distance Education (CAADE). Enclosed is its outline (press release) for your refer- ence. I received your address and others from Ms. Yoko Takagi in Osaka, Japan -- see below.
CAADE will develop and demonstrate a new high-performance electronic communications infrastructure which combines efficiently and affordably the power of Computer-Mediated Multimedia Systems (CMMS) via Plain Old Telephone Services (POTS), low-to-medium speed terrestrial Internet and (where appropri- ate) wireless telecommunications, and direct digital broadcasting satellite (DDBS) technologies as a new model for distance education. This infrastruc- ture will increase access to richer learning environments while enhancing interactivity and sharing of information among teachers and students. The result will be improved and reformed education instruction for the underserved population in the U.S. (and later around the world). This approach will also help to take bandwidth pressures off the now-overburdened Internet. In not so distant future, students in any remote locations with laptop computers can receive educational and training courses from America (later from any other countries), and they can earn degrees from our Global (electronic) University (GU) -- see its synopsis enclosed herewith. On the other hand, teachers and professors (active or retired) can also transmit their courses from their offices or homes through ordinary telephone lines for worldwide broadcasting. GU has already gained wide support of prominent educational institutions, information technology specialists and industry in many countries. GU is an evolutionary concept with no global precedent. GU attempts to provide collaborative, experiential learning opportunities on the widest possible scale for fostering peace and sustainable development. The time is ripe for global electronic distance education.
As you may know, International Telecommunications Union is now estab- lishing a Global Telecommunications University as following our prece- dent, albeit on the training of only telecommunication specialists.
We learned that the FCC regulation prohibits the use of INMARSAT for linking the parties in the U.S., but it can be used if the downlinking party (or parties) are in overseas countries when we will uplink to it from the U.S. -- i.e., it can be used only when the connection will be made to cross the national boundary of the U.S.
Although our current CAADE project focuses the application of its proposed technology to the U.S. domestic end-users (due to the con- straints of the funds available from NSF/NIE and DOC/NTIA/TIIAP), we want to test/demonstrate the feasibility of our proposed technology in
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the U.S. first with available funds. After our successful conduct of the projects, we intend to apply our technology to overseas countries.
When we will start our overseas operation (i.e., to export American courses to overseas countries), we wish to utilize INMARSAT first. This is because;
(a) INMARSAT covers almost entire globe, (b) Voice, fax, data communications and interface capability with Internet at 64 Kbps, (c) Its narrow band channel is just good for linking ShareView comput- er-mediated multimedia system (CMMS) at 9.6 Kbps, -- the use of INMARSAT-A with ShareView has already been tested between an ocean-going boat in Bering Sea and Seattle for medical care, (d) One-stop-shopping and as-used-pay tariff -- so that the U.S. party can take care of its payment, rather than fund scarce overseas parties, (e) No need to struggle with obtaining frequency allocation for transmission in overseas countries -- which often requires many months' (or sometimes, year's) struggle with their government -- see my experience with Japanese government below, (f) Portability and low-cost of transceivers, etc.
With these in our mind, we want to test/demonstrate its use first in the U.S. with a movable van which will be equipped with all necessary CMMS and a small dish antenna for linking with INMARSAT.
We believe that the use of the movable van can also greatly benefit to K-12 schools, libraries, community networks, and other public centers in rural and underserved areas in the U.S. where there have been no terrestrial Internet set up yet, for the purpose of stimulating their interest in electronic distance education, in worldwide connection of schools (see below of your experience), and information exchange, etc.
Since the deadline of our full proposal to TIIAP is June 22nd, we would greatly appreciate to receive your letter of authorization for our use of INMARSAT within the U.S. at your earliest convenience.
Lastly, albeit very outdated, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the FCC's experimental authorization made on December 14, 1979 (Docket # 24434) to extend the U.S. public data communications networks to Japan by ITT Worldcom, RCA Globcom, and WUI, as relying on the Japanese market survey of our Global Information Services (GIS, my private firm). Our recommendation in favor of the extension was submitted to the FCC on April 18, 1979. Afterward, I was grateful to have a help from the Late Commerce Secretary Malcom Baldrige who took our appeal (which was submitted to the DOC on August 8, 1981) to deregulate Japanese telecommunication policies for the use of email and computer-mediated conferencing (CMC), as one of the first three "Non-Tariff Trade Barrier" issues to the Japanese government, which was later emulated by many other countries (now over 75 with Internet access and 150 with email). Around the same time, I was also lucky to have a help from the U.S. Trade Representatives (USTR) for our marketing a U.S. software as one of the first three procurements made by the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT). These initiated de-monopolization and privatization of
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telecommunication industry in Japan which subsequently became a worldwide trend.
Recently I had a pleasure of a visit by Ms. Yoko Takagi of Osaka, Japan, your and Mrs. Hundt's personal friend, after her stay at your home last March. During our conversations, she asked me to be one of my brain-children which I accepted with my delight, since she is now, as you know, actively pursuing the trail I explored in Japan with many international videoconferencing sessions with Lumaphone and ISDN. You kindly attended one of her sessions on September 21,1994, in Osaka, to witness the Senri High School children conversing with their counterparts at Kalani High School in Hawaii and at Southern Lehigh High School in Philadelphia. The movable van mentioned above is to proliferate such excitements to children of American schools in rural areas.
Yoko's email requests me to convey her best personal wishes to you, Mrs. Hundt and Ms Ruth Milkman, your Senior Legal Advisor.
Looking forward to receiving your favorable reply soon,
Respectfully yours,
Takeshi Utsumi, Ph.D. Laureate of Lord Perry Award for Excellence in Distance Education Founder, Consortium for the Advancement of Affordable Distance Education President, Global University in the U.S.A. (GU/USA) Chairman, GLOSAS/USA ********************************************************************** * Takeshi Utsumi, Ph.D. * * Laureate of Lord Perry Award for Excellence in Distance Education * * Founder of CAADE * * (Consortium for the Advancement of Affordable Distance Education) * * President, Global University in the U.S.A. (GU/USA) * * A Divisional Activity of GLOSAS/USA * * (GLObal Systems Analysis and Simulation Association in the U.S.A.) * * 43-23 Colden Street, Flushing, NY 11355-3998, U.S.A. * * Tel: 718-939-0928; Fax: 718-939-0656 (day time only--prefer email) * * INTERNET: mailto:utsumi@columbia.edu; Tax Exempt ID: 11-2999676 * **********************************************************************