MySpace has just announced that it will enter the digital music industry by
offering an estimated 3 million songs from various independent bands.

The popular teen Web site is the latest firm to challenge market leader
iTunes Music Store. Despite having just joined the online music business,
MySpace is expected to be a threat to the Apple unit since it already has
106 million users and has the full support of parent firm New Corp.

MySpace is bent on challenging Apple for a big share of the market. The new
player is optimistic that it will attract many users since clamors for
alternative services to iTunes are growing.

MySpace.com was the most visited Web site in America last year. Its
audiences are mostly teenagers who log on to the site to socialize and
exchange multimedia files.

Songs will be sold on the bands’ respective Web sites in MySpace. The file
can be opened in most digital players, even on the Apple iPod. The price of
each song would depend upon the rate that will be imposed by the artist.
MySpace would also be imposing a fixed distribution fee for each MP3 file.

Company officials said that copyrighted songs from big record labels would
eventually be included in the service.

AOL may soon open up its Internet services to non-subscribers as company
executives try to push profits up amidst the continuous exodus of its
dial-up customers.

If approved, any user with an Internet access would be able to sign up or
use any AOL service, including e-mail, free of charge.

The company stands to lose as much as $2 billion in income from online
service subscriptions. However, company officials believe that the gamble
would soon pay off as they expect advertisements to pour in once consumers
take advantage of the company’s free Internet features and other services.

Despite the plan, AOL dial-up clients would still have to pay their monthly
subscription charges.

The company is expecting around 8 million of its current dial-up clients to
drop their subscriptions to take advantage of the free services. It also
estimates that almost one-third of its 18.6 million customers already have
broadband Internet access.

AOL’s dial-up unit is experiencing massive customer loss to broadband
Internet. Around 850,000 subscribers opted out of their subscription
contracts with the company during the first three months of the year alone.

AOL’s Chief Executive Jonathan Miller has already transmitted the plan to
the top officials of Time Warner. The latter has yet to comment on the
proposal.

Thanks to the growing popularity of Internet-based calling, many believe
that the day of ‘free’ phone calls is fast approaching.

The thought comes as no surprise as everyday, more and more people are
relying on the Internet for numerous things such as getting the news,
checking the weather, and shopping. As such, expecting to make free calls
from an Internet connection is fast becoming ‘just another service’ that
people expect to get from the Internet. As Henry Gomez, general manager of
Skype, put it… “People are going to look at voice communications as
something they expect to get for free.”

This of course creates a highly competitive market, with companies such as
SunRocket and Vonage trying to twist the arms of traditional phone giants
such as AT&T and Verizon by selling phone services on their lines. To fight
back, AT&T and Verizon are offering huge discounts and encouraging consumers
to purchase service packages that offer more advanced features.

But again, it is those companies offering free PC-to-PC phone services that
are really driving phone prices down. As such, the prediction of research
firm TeleGeography that Internet phone providers will capture 1/4 of
traditional local phone business does not seem far-fetched at all.

The demand for wireless Internet in Loveland, Colorado is growing.

Although Wi-Fi is available in several downtown business establishments,
residents want the local government to sponsor a network which would allow
them to connect to the Internet wherever they may be in the city.

The Downtown Loveland Association is spearheading the campaign to wirelessly
connect Loveland to the Internet. The group is already talking with
officials about the possibility and feasibility of putting up a wireless
system at least in the downtown area.

Loveland officials are open to the idea. However, they do not want to commit
on anything yet.

The association wants the wireless service to be free or at least
inexpensive. If ever the city agrees to the proposal, it is expected to
adopt a model wherein a private company would shoulder the cost of the
network’s installation and handle its operation as well. The cities across
the country that are building their own municipal Internet access systems
are following a similar business blueprint.

Businesses in downtown Loveland are also supporting the move, saying that
free wireless Internet would draw many consumers to the area.

Some commercial establishments, such as bookstores and coffee shops, have
already taken the initiative of providing their customers with free Internet
access since many are already demanding for it.

The underserved towns of Central Vermont will soon be able to surf the Net
wirelessly as Cloud Alliance is set to install three signal repeaters that
will expand the coverage of its original equipment in Plainfield.

Calais, Marshfield, and East Montpelier will be the beneficiaries of the
expansion.

Marshfield officials have already approved the installation of the device in
their area as early as May 31.

On the other hand, the necessary permits were already dispensed with in
Calais and East Montpelier since the repeaters, and the manner by which it
will be installed, were deemed by many as unobtrusive.

The officials and residents of the three towns welcome the expansion, saying
that Internet access is essential for the development of their areas.

Larger Internet service providers such as Verizon and Comcast declined to
invest in Central Vermont because the towns therein are perceived to be
unprofitable. The area’s rural topography consists of hills and valleys. The
locale’s low population density is also another turn off for service
operators.

While Cloud Alliance agrees with its bigger counterparts in some aspects of
their observation, it also acknowledges that there is a big demand for
Internet access in Central Vermont.

The installation of the repeaters is expected to commence by the second week
of this month, and is expected to be finished two days thereafter.

Internet users are protesting the approval of a bill that they believe would
lead to restrictive or discriminatory access to online content.

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee has recently
approved a bill that would help phone and other telecommunications firms
compete with cable companies in the video industry.

The committee did not accept the amendment by Senators Olympia Snowe
(R-Maine) and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) that would disallow phone and cable
firms from restricting or regulating access to their broadband networks for
site content reasons.

Hundreds of interest groups fear that network operators might use this
prerogative to favor partners or discriminate certain Web sites or users.

They further cited the fact that the successful development of the Internet
is mainly due to the absence of restrictions regarding its use and access.
They argue that the bill would impede the Internet’s current rapid growth.

On the other hand, the proponents of the bill, along with cable and phone
companies, contend that the proposed amendment would actually stifle the
Internet’s development. They said that network providers would be
discouraged to invest more on their broadband systems if they would not be
allowed to charge consumers for the use of their systems.

Seven bidders are vying to cover all 1,500 square miles of Silicon Valley
with wireless Internet access.

Among the prospective Wi-Fi providers that were able to submit their
proposals before the deadline include MetroFi and Cisco Systems.

MetroFi has a considerable background on municipal Internet systems. It has
already installed networks in several locations in the Bay Area.

Curiously, though, Internet giants EarthLink and Google did not participate
in the bid. Both companies are currently collaborating on a similar venture
in San Francisco.

The other companies who were able to beat the deadline are Community
Wireless, NextWLAN, Fire2Wire, and the Blue Horizon Group.

The Wireless Silicon Valley initiative involves the creation of a vast
wireless system where thousands of transceivers would broadcast Internet
signals from South San Francisco and Fremont to Santa Cruz.

The proponents and supporters of the project are optimistic that the network
would bring desirable results in the covered areas. Among the goals that the
venture aim to achieve include free or low cost Internet access to poor
households, improvement of the public safety workers’ communications system,
and rationalization of city services.

However, skeptics doubt if the winning bidder and the local governments
involved would be able to sustain the network, citing the flaws and problems
that the municipal Wi-Fi systems in Sacramento and St. Cloud, Florida are
encountering.

The bidders have not yet revealed their plans to the public. The winner will
be proclaimed by September 12.