Information superhighway

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rer with a different or consistent style of citation, footnoting, or external li
nking. (October 2011)
The information superhighway or infobahn[1][2] was a popular term used through t
he 1990s to refer to digital communication systems and the Internet telecommunic
ations network. It is associated with United States Senator and later Vice-Presi
dent Al Gore.[3]
Contents [hide]
1
Definitions
2
Earlier similar phrases
3
See also
4
References
5
Further reading
Definitions[edit]
There are a number of definitions of this term. Wired Style: Principles of Engli
sh Usage in the Digital Age defines the term as "the whole digital enchilada - i
nteractive, cable, broadband, 500-channel [...] then-Senator Al Gore Jr. introdu
ced it at a 1978 meeting of computer industry folk, in homage to his father, Sen
ator Albert Gore Sr." (71).
The McGraw-Hill Computer Desktop Encyclopedia defines the term as "a proposed hi
gh-speed communications system that was touted by the Clinton/Gore administratio
n to enhance education in America in the 21st Century. Its purpose was to help a
ll citizens regardless of their income level. The Internet was originally cited
as a model for this superhighway; however, with the explosion of the World Wide
Web, the Internet became the information superhighway" (464).
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) defines the term as "a route or network for
the high-speed transfer of information; esp. (a) a proposed national fiber-optic
network in the United States; (b) the Internet." The OED also cites usage of th
is term in three periodicals:
the January 3, 1983 issue of Newsweek: "...information superhighways being built
of fiber-optic cable will link Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington,
D. C. in a 776-mile system on the East Coast."
In 1972-1974 a prototype of INFOSTRADA was built in Poland. Later it was transla
ted to Information Superhighway in the U.S. and stated in an interview of Al Gor
e in WIRED, December 1995, p. 218. The INFOSTRADA project is described in a book
by Andrew (Andrzej) Targowski, Informatyka, Modele Systemow i Rozwoju (Informat
ics, Models of Systems and Developments), Warsaw, Poland: PWE, 1980, pp. 197-198
.
the December 19, 1991 issue of the Christian Science Monitor: "Senator Gore call
s NREN the 'information superhighway' a catalyst for what he hopes will become one
day a national fiber-optic network."
the October 26, 1993 issue of the New York Times: "One of the technologies Vice
President Al Gore is pushing is the information superhighway, which will link ev
eryone at home or office to everything else movies and television shows, shopping
services, electronic mail and huge collections of data."
The working paper No. 179, 1994, of the Center for Coordination Science at Massa
chusetts Institute of Technology describes the concept as follows: "The informat
ion superhighway directly connects millions of people, each both a consumer of i
nformation and a potential provider. (...) Most predictions about commercial opp
ortunities on the information superhighway focus on the provision of information
products, such as video on demand, and on new sales outlets for physical produc
ts, as with home shopping. (...) The information superhighway brings together mi
llions of individuals who could exchange information with one another. Any conce
ption of a traditional market for making beneficial exchanges, such as an agricu
ltural market or trading pit, or any system where individuals respond to posted
prices on a computer screen is woefully inadequate for the extremely large numbe
r of often complex trades that will be required."[4]

Earlier similar phrases[edit]

Some other people used the term "superhighway" in application to telecommunicati
ons even earlier.
In 1964, M. Brotherton in his book Masers and Lasers; How They Work, What They D
o on p. 5, wrote about laser beams and used the term "superhighways" for communi
cation.[5]
In 1974, Nam June Paik used the term "super highway" in application to telecommu
nications, which gave rise to the opinion that he may have been the author of th
e term "information superhighway".[6] In fact, in his 1974 proposal to the Rocke
feller Foundation, "Media Planning for the Postindustrial Society
The 21st Centu
ry is now only 26 years away," he used a slightly different phrase, "electronic
super highway":[7]
The building of new electronic super highways will become an even huger enterpri
se. Assuming we connect New York with Los Angeles by means of an electronic tele
communication network that operates in strong transmission ranges, as well as wi
th continental satellites, wave guides, bundled coaxial cable, and later also vi
a laser beam fiber optics: the expenditure would be about the same as for a Moon
landing, except that the benefits in term of by-products would be greater.
See also[edit]
Look up information superhighway in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Al Gore and information technology
National Information Infrastructure
The Superhighway Summit
Knowledge policy
Internet metaphors
Cyberspace
Global village
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Infobahn" was coined as an analogy with the German word Autobahn for
"highway"
Jump up ^ The October 1994 issue of the American Journalism Review, "Panel Visio
n": "Over the last year countless articles have trumpeted the coming of the info
rmation superhighway. Infobahn entrepreneurs promise interactive television with
text, video and audio delivered to living rooms via fiber optic cable or enhanc
ed phone lines."
Jump up ^ Gregory Gromov Roads and Crossroads of the Internet History: Chapter #
1 - First 130 Years of Internet History
Jump up ^ Paul Resnick Roles for Electronic Brokers
Jump up ^ M. Brotherton, "Masers and Lasers; How They Work, What They Do," (McGr
aw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1964).
Jump up ^ An interview with Nam June Paik
Jump up ^ Paik, Nam June. "Media Planning for the Postindustrial Society The 21s
t Century is now only 26 years away". Retrieved 27 May 2013.
Freedman, Alan. McGraw Hill Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. New York: McGraw Hill
, 2001.
Hale, Constance and the editors of Wired. Wired Style: Principles of English Usa
ge in the Digital Age. San Francisco: Hardwired, 1996.
Further reading[edit]
Articles
Andrews, Edmund. "Policy Blueprint Ready for Data Superhighway." New York Times,
Sept. 15, 1993.
Besser, Howard. "The Information SuperHighway: Social and Cultural Impact," 1995
.
Broad, William (November 10, 1992), Clinton to Promote High Technology, With Gor
e in Charge, New York Times
Ferranti, Marc. "Europe Seeks a Lane on Info Highway," International Herald Trib
une, October 1995.
"Information Superhighways: The Next Information Revolution." The Futurist, Janu
ary February 1991, Vol. 25: 21-23.
Kahn, Jeffery. "Building and Rescuing the Information Superhighway," 1993.

Special Issue: TIME magazine, 12 April 1993. "Take A Trip into the Future on the
ELECTRONIC SUPERHIGHWAY"
Gomery, Douglas. "What's At the End of the Infobahn?," American Journalism Revie
w, May 1996.
Magazine covers
Special Issue: TIME magazine, 12 April 1993. "The Info Highway: Bringing a revol
ution in entertainment, news, and communication"
Popular Mechanics, January, 1994. "Understanding the Information Superhighway"
[hide] v t e
Al Gore
45th Vice President of the United States (1993 2001) U.S. Senator from Tennessee (
1985 1993) U.S. Representative from Tennessee (1977 1985) Born March 31, 1948
Family
Tipper Gore (wife, separated) Karenna Gore Schiff (daughter) Kristin Gore (daugh
ter) Albert Gore Sr. (father) Pauline LaFon Gore (mother)
Politics
Electoral history Atari Democrat United States Senate elections, 1984 1990 Preve
ntion of Genocide Act of 1988 1988 presidential campaign 1992 Democratic Nationa
l Convention 1992 presidential election Vice Presidency 2000 presidential campai
gn Bush v. Gore
Environment
Global Marshall Plan Environmental activism Alliance for Climate Protection An I
nconvenient Truth (film) I Need to Wake Up Live Earth
Technology
Role in information technology High Performance Computing Act of 1991 National I
nformation Infrastructure Information superhighway The Superhighway Summit 24 Ho
urs in Cyberspace NetDay Digital Earth Current TV
Recognition
Awards and honors
Books
Earth in the Balance An Inconvenient Truth The Assault on Reason Our Choice
Categories: Internet terminologyHistory of the InternetWord of the yearWords coi
ned in the 1970s
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