Revolution in the U.S. Information Infrastructure (1995) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
The Promise of the National Information Infrastructure
The Promise of the National Information Infrastructure
Pages 25-38
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From page 25... ...
Underlying the sometimes overblown talk about the information superhighway is a widespread recognition that information technology has the potential to dramatically change many aspects of our lives. We also are recognizing that information systems have the potential to play a central role in reinvigorating many of the institutions of our society.
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From page 26... ...
NII has been described variously as: a 500-channel interactive multimedia video/ cable network; numerous "edutainment" multimedia products and services; the natural evolution of today's telephone system from one that is voice-oriented to one that supports voice, data, image, and video; an electronic marketplace for commercial and/or consumer products and services; a commercial version of the Internet; a public network for government information and services, medical information, and education; not a single network at all but a loose aggregate of many different networks and services with common or related access; a public-policy debate about social rights and access to information; a political battle in which the telecommunication and cable industries may attempt to reassert their monopolies in the name of universal service; and a government-funded initiative, created by the Clinton administration and modeled after the National Highway Project of the late 1950s and 1960s, which could easily turn into a new species of high-technology pork. Whatever the technical description, five key issues dominate policy discussions: Universal service.
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From page 27... ...
Platform providers include vendors of the hardware and software building blocks of personal and corporate computing. Conduit providers establish the electronic highways through which the information flows.
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From page 28... ...
Companies in the computer industry have functioned in this type of partnership model for the last decade. During this time, we have made the transition from an industry that was dominated by vertically integrated players offering solutions that were often proprietary to a horizontally stratified one in which the players specialize in one or a few aspects of the total solution.
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From page 29... ...
Online services and the Internet provide links for chatting and information sharing that are easily accessed and can be precisely focused to the user's particular interests. Children who have been brought up with interactive games are especially drawn to this type of application.
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From page 30... ...
We might one day see PCs loaded with CD-ROM reference "jukeboxes" and linked to office computers and databases used for homebased study or a playroom PC with multimedia and "edutainment" peripherals such as joy sticks and virtual reality helmets. Or imagine a home mobile PC with embedded wireless communications and voice recognition used in the yard for how-to applications such as planting flowers or building a deck.
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From page 31... ...
Information technology holds great promise for this type of cost reduction and has the potential to improve fundamentally the patient-clinician relationship and allow the patient to be a much more informed and active consumer of health services. Systems are being designed that allow patients to access their own medical records, including information on treatment options.
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From page 32... ...
Telecommuting allows employees to spend more time at home with their families, and it will benefit the environment as auto exhaust emissions fall with reductions in commuting. As the infrastructure develops, it will spawn a more efficient operating environment that rewards innovation and high-quality, lowcost products.
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From page 33... ...
The initiative, which uses information technology to reduce paperwork and streamline administrative processes, already is starting to show results in terms of greater government efficiency, faster processing, increased accuracy, improved service levels, and reduced administration costs. The new information technologies are also allowing the government to provide new potentially valuable services.
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From page 34... ...
The interactivity offered by new technologies will allow networked games, full-motion feeds of customized videos, and virtual reality experiences, all available in the home. Either these services will be available using narrow-band technology with processing and compression to allow a near-wideband experience, or they will wait until the investment in higher bandwidth communication is economically justified.
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From page 35... ...
By reducing the regulatory barriers and promoting private sector involvement, by identifying the public interests that must be served, and by aggressively using the GII to provide edu cation, health care and other public services, governments can play a key role in developing the GII in cooperation with industry and others in the private sector." His emphasis on reducing regulatory barriers and on the strong role of the private sector is correct. Untangling the regulatory legacy of the telecommunications and cable industries is critical.
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From page 36... ...
Many individuals advocate universal service to ensure that we do not stratify our society into "information haves and have nots." They promote special support for needy individuals to allow them access to the information infrastructure. Careful thought should be applied to the priority we place on information access relative to other needs in our society.
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From page 37... ...
The Internet is an excellent demonstration of what can be achieved through unconstrained, unregulated innovation. With a minimum of government funding and a lot of collaboration between government and academia -- and most of all by letting a balance develop between what people want and what they are free to supply -- the Internet has grown and will continue to develop at an astonishing pace.
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