Computer Access: Who should have it? Who wants it? What does it all mean?

Anthony Cukras

1. Why should we create a Global Information Infrastructure? To "share information, to connect, to communicate as a global community?" Are the following goals realistic?
   
   1. To educate our children
   2. Exchange ideas within a community/among nations
   3. Transcend barriers of time and distance
   4. Environmental benefits

2. The GII will "be an assembly of local, national and regional networks, that are not only like parallel computers but in their most advanced state will be a distributed parallel computers." Is this a realistic goal? Is it a worthy goal?

3. How does one construct such GII? What parameters? Where is all the money coming from?
   
   1. Private investment
   2. Competition.
   3. Open Access-Non-discriminatory prices for access to their network
   4. Universal Service-All members of the society. Affordable prices to persons at all income levels.

4. Can we leave it up to telecommunications companies to design our GII & therefore our future? What would that future look like?
   
   1. AT&T/Sprint/MCI want their networks to become the national information infrastructure.
   2. Want govt. out of business of building a competing network.
   3. Will this turn the national network into a total commercialization of the `net and completely deny any goals of universal service?

5. How can we provide Universal Access? Will the rich have to sacrifice quality so that the poor can get it?
   
   1. Idea of access like cable service. Not everyone needs "premium" channels. Rich can pay for that but country can provide "basic" service to all?
   2. Is it merely giving "token" access to the poor in this system?
   3. Is Universal Access a worthy goal? Worthy of the price?
   4. Are market incentives & individual tax credits a reasonable way to increase computer ownership among low-income households?

6. Two tiered society of information--have & have nots. Significant problem?
   
   1. Use of Internet to develop more "weak ties"-- more potential to get job.
   2. Whole point of links on web= "link to previously unknown information resources through a novel connection suggested in the material being browsed. These resource connections often lead one to new acquaintances..."
   3. Is the web currently a serious tool for jobs searching/education.
   4. Our we banking too seriously on our future without thinking about the cost of this future and the problems of the present?

7. An Investigation of the Future
   
   1. Switching to High Bandwidth Networks
   2. No longer "packet switched" data networks.
   3. Fiber Optic to the Home.
   4. Lead to "order of magnitude" improvements in capacity and speed
   jdierkes@cs