The national information infrastructure : myths, metaphors and realities

Abdullah Al-Shehri & Jeff J. Jones

Abstract
In recent years the subject of the National Information Infrastructure (NII) has been receiving greater attention in both scholarly and trade publications. The issue is expected to have significant implications for the use of electronic communication in education, business, industry and government. Interestingly, the origins of NII were in the sector of higher education. Despite the significantly broader applications of the NII that have been legislated over the last few years, there is scarcity of research that has attempted to integratively review the key issues and principles that underlie the concept of the NII, the primary stakeholders participating in its implementation, the current status of these issues and the future implications for education, business, industry and government. By providing an integrative perspective of the issues discussed above, such research is expected to inform the study of electronic communication and information exchange. This article based on an exhaustive review of the printed and on-line literature on the NII is expected to fulfill this objective. Keywords: history of NII, GII, national information infrastructure, global information infrastructure, deregulation, information superhighway, data highway, digital highway, information policy,information society, NII task force, personal privacy issues, privacy rights, privacy guidelines, information security issues, computer security, stakeholders of NII, consumer protection groups, government agencies, internet content, censorship, internet activism, government resources, legal aspects of NII, articles, reports, publications, speeches, USA, United States. INTRODUCTION In a global economy that is increasingly information intensive, almost everyone agrees that an advanced information infrastructure is the key to economic growth and value creation (Egan, 1994). U.S. economy is increasingly dependent upon the capture, manipulation, transmission and consumption of information. The ongoing information revolution is expected to influence every facet of American life, be it work or leisure (Verity, 1994). Companies in all industries are using information technology to re-engineer themselves and to become globally competitive. Businesses are gearing up to be a part of today's global information economy and tomorrow's world knowledge economy. Customers of tomorrow are expected to buy knowledge-based products with more intelligence built into them. Businesses are expected to build knowledge bases that will grow and evolve organically and help managers understand existing usage trends and plan new opportunities (Seybold, 1995). The impact of the information revolution has been so significant that it has been suggested that some of the key US Government economic indicators may not reflect the reality of the information-based economy (Mandel, 1994). Various estimates suggest that between one-half and two-third of the American workforce is employed directly or indirectly in the information sector of the economy. A recent report released by the White House underscores the "critical" role of information in the national economy (Clinton, 1993). Furthermore, the strategic and global implications of the

information-based national economy are highlighted in the following extract from the Title 47 Chapter 8 of the US Code. Telecommunications and information are vital to the public welfare, national security, and competitiveness of the United States. Rapid technological advances being made in the telecommunications and information fields make it imperative that the United States maintain effective national and international policies and programs capable of taking advantage of continued advancements. Telecommunications and information policies and recommendations advancing the strategic interests and the international competitiveness of the United States are essential aspects of the Nation's involvement in international commerce. There is a critical need for competent and effective telecommunications and information research and analysis and national and international policy development, advice, and advocacy by the executive branch of the Federal Government. As one of the largest users of the Nation's telecommunications facilities and resources, the Federal Government must manage its radio spectrum use and other internal communications operations in the most efficient and effective manner possible. Considering the vital role of the information and communication infrastructure, and realizing that the national telecommunications and information policy had not kept pace with the latest developments in telecommunications and computer technology, the US Administration determined that there was a need for accelerated deployment of a National Information Infrastructure (NII). The primary objective of this initiative was to facilitate development of a national policy that would encourage competition and rapid deployment of new technology. This was expected to provide a regulatory environment in which the private sector would feel encouraged to make the investments necessary to build the national information network that the country needs for competing successfully in the next century (Clinton, 1993). Background of the NII Concept The concept of a national data superhighway was first suggested in the initial draft of the High Performance Computing Act (HPCA) of 1991 by Al Gore, then a U.S. senator (Moeller, 1993). This legislation outlined a plan to link US supercomputing research centers together on a high-speed network and support other work into high-performance computing. The notion of building a data superhighway to stimulate the U.S. economy was expounded in the Democratic presidential campaign and later became a key component of the Democratic Administration's economic reconstruction policy. Although, it is generally recognized that the U.S. Government was the initiator of the NII, the private industry also played an active role in this process. In the beginning of 1993 the CEOs of thirteen major U.S. computer companies lobbied for legislation that would extend the Government's existing high-performance computing and communications program, the National Research and Education Network, beyond the realm of Government and university laboratories into offices and homes across the US. These CEOs, who are members of the Computer Systems Policy Project (CSPP) proposed building a National Information Infrastructure, a broadband digital network. They further recommended that the Government develop a public information program for the NII and make Government data more accessible to the public (Anthes, 1993).

In April 1993, the House of Representatives received a proposal from Congressman Boucher to amend the 1991 HPCA. Boucher's bill (High Performance Computing and High Speed Networking Applications Act of 1993) proposed that all schools, libraries, and local government offices be joined to the Internet and also for purely local networks to be set up to link various institutions, all of which will be using the superhighway (Moeller, 1993). This legislation recognized the significance of the High Performance Computing Program (HPCP) and National Research and Education Network (NREN) established by Congress in 1991 and recommended that their scope be widened to include fields other than defense and research, such as education, libraries, government dissemination, and health care to benefit all Americans. Further, it recommended the need for a coordinated, interagency undertaking to identify and promote applications of High-Performance Computing Program which will provide large economic and social benefits to the Nation. The suggested benefits included new tools for teaching, the creation of digital libraries of electronic information, the development of standards and protocols for making the stores of Government information readily accessible by electronic means, and computer systems to improve the delivery of health care. Within this context, Vice President Al Gore and Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown announced the Administration's National Information Infrastructure (NII) initiative in September 1993, establishing an agenda for a public-private partnership to construct an advanced NII. The various milestones in the development of NII are listed in Appendix 1. The National Information Infrastructure (NII) is a phrase coined by the Government to describe the convergence of telecommunications, information technology, and the entertainment industry. The NII has also been referred to as the Information Superhighway, Infobahn, or the IWay. Much of the Information Superhighway already exists in the national communications web comprised of fiber-optic strands, coaxial cables, RF, satellites, and copper wire. Still, in terms of infrastructure, better policy, organization, and homogeneous support of the players are needed, while in terms of technology, improved access, encryption, protocols, and bandwidth are needed (Chan, 1994). The following section provides an overview of the NII concept. Section 2 provides a discussion on the key issues relevant to the implementation of the NII. Section 3 provides a description of the various stakeholders involved in the implementation of the NII. The concluding discussion examines the alternative interpretations of the NII concept and the fundamental issues that shall determine the success or failure of this initiative. I. NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE: AN OVERVIEW The National Information Infrastructure is expected to provide for "the integration of hardware, software, and skills that will make it easy and affordable to connect people with each other, with computers, and with a vast array of services and information resources" (from Information Infrastructure Executive Order, 1993). It is anticipated to be "a seamless web of communications networks, computers, databases, and consumer electronics that will put vast amounts of information at users' fingertips" (Information Infrastructure Task Force, 1993). This seamless web "of communications networks including computers, televisions, telephones and satellites" is expected to forever alter the way Americans "live, learn, work and communicate with each other both here in the United States and around the world" (Letter from Vice President Al Gore, September 13, 1994). The U.S. administration has indicated its commitment to build the NII to meet the information needs of its citizens. This

infrastructure is expected to expand the level of interactivity, enhance communication, and allow easier access to various kinds of services. It is expected to accelerate the transformation of this society to the Information Age, and provide increased accessibility to a vast array of electronic information resources and services. Overview of the NII Concept The concept of the National Information Infrastructure is based upon the following fundamental principles. Encouraging private investment in the NII; Promoting and protecting competition; Providing open access to the NII by consumers and service providers; Preserving and advancing universal service to avoid creating a society of information "haves" and "have nots"; Ensuring flexibility so that the newly-adopted regulatory framework can keep pace with the rapid technological and market changes that pervade the telecommunications and information industries. The National Information Infrastructure Agenda for Action, the first comprehensive statement of the Administration's visions and goals for the NII initiative, provides an overview of the goals and objectives of NII. According to this document, the implementation of the NII is expected to: . Promote private sector investment to increase and expand competition in communication and information markets, where that is needed for communication reform, legislation of the markets that have been dominated by monopolies, and revision of tax policies to provide incentive to the private sector for doing R&D on the NII; . Extend the "universal service" concept to assure that information resources are easyily available to all Americans at affordable prices; . Promote technological innovation and new applications in both private and public sectors, and continue to fund basic, risky and expensive projects; . Promote seamless, interactive, user-driven operation of the NII to ensure interoperability and openness of the NII components with effecient, high-capacity, and standardable multimedia services; . Ensure information security and privacy of the information systems , networks and media of communications for all individuals and organizations, and to ensure network reliability and reduce its vulnerability; . Improve management of the radio frequency spectrum to ensure that spectrum scarcity does not impede the development of the NII;

. Protect intellectual property rights, and balance that with the public interest in promoting the dissemination of information, and to apply these rights to all forms of information in the electronic environment, and to reexamine and strengthen the copyright laws domestically and internationally; . Coordinate with other levels of Government and with other nations on the regulatory policy , and on export control policies to remove restrictions and eliminite barriers; and . Provide access to Government information and improve Government procurement of information. The NII seeks to enhance national competitiveness and improve quality of life of the general populace. The development of NII is promised to be one of the most important contributions to the nation's economic and social challenges. Regardless of diverse professions, needs and desires, all Americans will, expectedly, be able to access enormous benefits in terms of Government services, commerce, business, health care, and education. Some expected possibilities of NII include greater citizen participation in deliberative democracy, advances in medical treatment and research, creation of jobs, increase in economic growth and productivity, reduced heath care costs, and quick verification of critical information. Increased availability and accessibility of services and products provided through the NII is expected to dramatically affect the way in which individuals conduct their everyday affairs. To facilitate this process, GILS (Government Information Locator Services) has been set up. As part of the Federal role in the National Information Infrastructure, GILS will identify and describe information resources throughout the Federal Government, and provide assistance in obtaining the information. The public will use GILS directly or through intermediaries, such as the Government Printing Office, the National Technical Information Service, the Federal depository libraries, other public libraries, and private sector information services. Direct users will have access to a GILS Core accessible on the Internet without charge. Intermediate access may include kiosks, "800 numbers," electronic mail, bulletin boards, FAX, and offline media such as floppy disks, CD-ROM, and printed works. For example, citizens may be able to learn about federal benefits programs through public kiosks, or may receive their social security payments through direct deposit to their bank accounts. As the U.S. transportation infrastructure becomes more complex, Americans can benefit from the application of the NII to such operations as toll collection, motor vehicle registration, and traffic routing. As the NII becomes more interconnected, citizens and organizations are expected to engage in multimedia communications, as well as sell goods and services electronically, share data resources, and receive Federal benefits. According to the U.S. Administration's projections, NII is expected to add $100 billion to the US economy in 1995 alone, and further to add 500,000 jobs before Dec 1996 by doubling the investment in telecommunications and information services (Jessel, 1994). Scope of the NII The NIIAC (National Information Infrastructure Advisory Council) defined its vision to include the following four specifications for the NII.

The NII must be ubiquitous and affordable enabling all individuals to be both consumers and producers of information in all forms. The NII must be capable of adapting to changing social and market needs. The NII must be driven by its users - both information consumers and producers . It must offer the users convenient access and the initiative to learn and use NII. Further, usability must be provided for any disabled persons. The private sector must have primary responsibility for the design, deployment, and operation of the NII. However, all the levels of Government will have the roles to play in ensuring the effective development and deployment of the NII. The NII must be an integral part of the Global Information Infrastructure (GII). In the globalization of markets, resources, and economics, global accessibility and use of information is very critical. For operationalizing these specifications, the NIIAC defined the scope of the NII in terms of some fundamental principles. These principles have been discussed in the first report of the NIIAC (1995). In this report, NIIAC has delineated a framework which specifies the fundamental principles in five key areas. Universal Access and Services Privacy and Security Intellectual Property Education for Lifelong Learning, and Electronic Commerce. Universal Access and Services Principles: The NIIAC (1995) has proposed a set of universal access and services principles. Over the next decade, the goal is to enable every individual to have access to the NII, with basic level of access and services capabilities and the deployment of an interactive, multimedia infrastructure. By the end of this century, the goal is to have the deployment of the NII access and services capabilities to all communitybased institutions serving public, such as schools and libraries. All Americans would be able to act both as consumer as well as producers of information and services on the NII. Disabled would be able to access the NII without much inconvenience or expense. All public information from all levels of Government will be readily accessible to all individuals. Wherever necessary, Government incentives and subsidies will be provided for accomplishing these goals. Privacy and Security Principles: One of the major concerns of the NII is to ensure "information privacy" of individuals, i.e. their claim to control access or disclosure of information of personal nature. The IITF has suggested a set of general and specific principles that address the issues of privacy, integrity, and quality of the personal information on the NII. These principles can be categorized into four major classes: General Principles

Principles for Users of Personal Information Principles for Information Providers Intellectual Property Principles. General Principles: These pertain to privacy, integrity and quality of the information accessed or disseminated on the NII. Individual's reasonable expectation of privacy regarding access to and use of his or her personal information should be assured. Personal information should not be improperly altered or destroyed. Personal information should be accurate, timely, complete, and relevant for the purpose for which it is provided and used. Principles for Users of Personal Information: These pertain to the aspects of acquisition and use, notice, protection, fairness and education. Acquisition and Use Principle: Users of personal information should recognize and respect the privacy interests that individuals have in the use of personal information. They should assess the impact on privacy of current or planned activities in deciding whether to obtain or use personal information. Further, they should obtain and keep only information that could be reasonably expected to support current or planned activities and use the information only for those or compatible uses. Notice Principle: Those who collect information from individuals should provide adequate, relevant information about their purpose and the safeguards they have provided to prevent any misuse. Further, they need to elaborate the consequences of not providing the required information so that individuals are aware of their options. Moreover, the individuals' rights of seeking redress need to be explained. Protection Principle: Users of personal information should take reasonable steps to ensure that unauthorized disclosure or modification doesn't occur. They should use appropriate managerial and technical controls to protect the confidentiality and integrity of personal information. Fairness Principle: Individuals provide personal information on the assumption that it will be used in accordance with the notice provided by collectors. Therefore, users of personal information should enable individuals to restrict the use of personal information if the intended use is found to be inconsistent with the prior notice provided by collectors. Education Principle: The full effect of the NII on the use of personal information is not readily apparent to most individuals, and many may not recognize how their lives may be affected by the networks of information. It is the responsibility of information users to educate themselves, their employees, and the public about how personal information is obtained, disseminated, stored, processed, and protected, and how these activities affect the individuals and society at large. Principles for Information Providers: These cover the three aspects of awareness, redress and security. Awareness Principle: While information collectors have a responsibility to inform individuals why they want personal information, individuals also have a responsibility to

understand the consequences of providing personal information to others. Therefore, individuals should obtain adequate, relevant information about the purpose for which the information shall be used, the safeguards for avoiding its misuse, their rights to withhold the information and any rights to redressal. Redress Principle: Individuals should be protected from harm caused by the improper disclosure or use of personal information. They should also be protected from harm caused by decisions based on personal information that is not accurate, timely, complete, or relevant for the purpose for which it is used. Security Principles: NII participants must have confidence that the NII is a trustworthy, reliable system, or they will not use it. The security aspects of NII include integrity, confidentiality, and privacy of the information in the NII. In general, people who use NII want to ensure that their information goes where and when they want it, and not elsewhere. Intellectual Property Principles: These principles suggest changes to the existing copyright law to provide the necessary protection for copyrighted works and to place appropriate limitations on those rights. They are expected to influence the distribution, publication, first sale, technological protection, copyright management, public performance, fair use and licensing of works of information. Electronic distribution of copyrighted works for reproduction and display or performance needs to be taken into consideration for defining new legislation. Similarly, the first sales doctrine needs to take into consideration duplication without loss of original copy. Education and Lifelong Learning Principles: The NII can enhance the quality of education provided through educational institutions and libraries by facilitating participation of individuals in electronic communities of learning. Also, by the end of the century, all individuals should be able to conveniently access through NII information and learning resources available in their schools, colleges, universities, libraries, and other communitiescentered institutions. Of course, there is a related need for ensuring the high quality and diversity of these resources provided to cater to society's needs at large. The individuals in various communities should be empowered to participate in shaping the evolution of the NII. Most importantly, the learning resources available thru NII should equip individuals of all ages with the required skills to participate in the new information society. Electronic Commerce Principles: National and international commerce is increasingly dependent on the information highways. The NII, and ultimately the GII, is expected to dramatically enhance the frequency, facility and accuracy of electronic commerce. The competitive environment created by the NII is expected to accelerate the deployment of the NII, and the development of a wide range of products and services for electronic commerce. The process can be encouraged by Government's procurement of goods and services through electronic means and its offering services electronically. All these future expectations are of course dependent upon the developments in ensuring the privacy and security of information. II. KEY ISSUES OF THE NII The key issues that are essential for the implementation of the NII have been discussed in detail in the Issue Paper released by the Committee on Applications and Technology of the Information Infrastructure Task Force (1994b).

According to this report, the development of the NII has been evolving since postal services and semaphore were established. The need for a formal NII initiative was spurred by an increasing pace and scope of changes due to the convergence of various digital technologies. The private industry will be primarily responsible for creating and managing the networks, the information tools and applications, and most of the information traversing the NII. Yet, U.S. Government is a major participant by virtue of its national information policy development function. As Vice President Gore has observed, "Our goal is not to design the [information] market of the future. It is to provide the principles that shape that market. And it is to provide the rules governing this difficult transition to an open market for information. We are committed in that transition to protecting the availability, affordability and diversity of information and information technology as market forces replace regulations and judicial models that are simply no longer appropriate." Key Issues Identified Within this perspective, IITF had identified some key issue areas that need to be addressed for the implementation of the NII. These areas have been categorized into: People Issues, concerned with the users of the NII; Information Issues, concerned with the commodity of the NII; Software, hardware, and network Issues, concerned with the media of the NII; and Finance Issues, those concerned with financing the NII. The specific issues under each of these categories is listed below. People issues Providing equitable access to the NII User acceptance of NII applications Privacy safeguards for individuals and organizations User training Organizational learning Private sector acceptance of Government-developed applications technology. Information issues: Intellectual property rights Information security, including confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity Information access, storage, and retrieval

Information and data standards Information conversion from "old" storage to NII media. Software, hardware, and network issues: User friendly hardware and software that maintain accuracy and reliability of the systems Interoperability standards that preserve the system security, accuracy, and reliability Scalability from small pilot projects to widespread use. Finance issues: Cost and pricing of the applications and uses, who will pay, and how that can be economically efficient and socially beneficial Public funding, how it will be used for development and deployment of the applications. Discussion of the Key Issues People issues Providing equitable access to the NII This includes access to information as well as access through the NII to other individuals and citizen groups. For instance, health-care providers need access to health care information as well as to other health care affiliates via the NII. Teachers and students need access to the educational and library services carried on the NII. Commercial establishments and workers need equal access to opportunities for electronic commerce and telecommuting provided by the NII. Citizens must have equal access to Government services provided over the NII. User Acceptance User acceptance will be an important issue in NII, particularly in applications areas that have not been exposed to the information technology applications so far. User Training This issue is related to the last issue since user acceptance may, to a great extent, depend upon the capacity to train the users. Learning how to use new technologies and applications -- will require new approaches in the workplace. Organizational Learning Organizational learning closely parallels user acceptance and training. Several application areas will see the development of new paradigms for doing the job that may involve redefinition of work and the roles of individuals doing that work. Examples include the role of students and teachers in the virtual classrooms, the role of buyers and sellers in electronic commerce, etc. Private-Sector Acceptance of Government Technology Needs of the private sector need to be integrated in the developmental stage so that most of the NII technology developed as a result of Government-sponsored efforts could later be adopted easily. The involvement of the private industries is thus essential in planning, decision-making and developing new technologies to ensure compatibility, interoperability, and usability.

 Information issues: Intellectual Property Rights Ensuring that the creators of information works can be compensated for their work while providing for public "fair use" under the proper circumstances will be a key determinant of the quality and availability of informational goods and materials through the NII. Information Security Given the possibility of potential threats to the security of inter-linked information systems by cyberpunks and computer criminals, this is a significant issue for gaining the confidence of the sellers as well as the buyers to conduct transactions thru the NII. Information security may be broadly classified into three areas - confidentiality, information integrity, and information authenticity. For instance, patients would not like the information in their medical records to be maliciously misused against them. Electronic commerce depends upon the viability of the electronic payment systems used on the NII. Companies using the NII for storage, transmission, dissemination or retrieval of information want adequate protection of their proprietary secrets. Information Access, Storage, and Retrieval Flexible and timely access, of course authorized access, to all information resources on the NII is important. Users need to know what information is available, where it is, and how to get it in a timely fashion and in a useful form. Information and Data Standards Commonly accepted standards for information and data are essential to ensure that information transmitted over NII is complete, unambiguous, and, most importantly, usable. While data standards are critical for assuring technical connectivity, information standards are necessary for companies to exchange information in a useful manner. Conversion of Information Conversion of information stored on traditional storage media, such as books, blueprints, paper, etc., to NII electronic storage media will be essential before that information can be accessed or transmitted. Examples include digitizing of books stored in libraries, medical records and patient information stored in the hospital files. Software, hardware, and network issues: User-Friendly Hardware and Software These are essential for mass applications of NII, especially given the mandate to make NII useful for the general populace of the country. User-oriented hardware and software interfaces that ensure convenient access to accurate and reliable information are necessary for the acceptance of the NII. Interoperability Standards Interoperability standards are needed to ensure secure and uncorrupted transmission of information across different networks, or varying hardware and software platforms. Adobe's Acrobat is one instance of such a standard - anyone with an Acrobat reader can read almost any document created in any format on any type of hardware. New standards need to be compatible with the existing base of installed systems as well as flexible enough to adapt to future changes and permit affordable upgradability. Scalability Scalability would be an important issue for pilot projects developed initially as small prototypes that are later extended to widespread full-scale usage. Prototypes that are developed using skilled people and special funding should be scalable to sites with lesser

resources and funds. This issue is particularly relevant for wide-spread application areas such as education, libraries, health care and manufacturing. Finance issues: Cost and Pricing This includes issues such as how much a new application costs, how much the user is charged for the service, and how the difference between the price and the cost is made up. Given the high initial development costs and low replication or usage costs of several information products, it will be economically efficient as well as socially beneficial to maintain low prices for applications to stimulate their use, so long as the operating costs for each new user are recovered. Public Funding The issue of public funding is related to that of cost and pricing, since Government assistance might be required to develop technological infrastructure in some application areas (such as K-12 schools). Similarly, how other developments of public [taxpayers'] significance need to subsidized would also need to be determined. For some application areas, some issues are more critical than for other application areas. For instance, in the health-care system in which insurance companies as well as medical researchers need to access portions of patient data, ensuring privacy of data is crucial. In the application areas of education and commerce in particular, organizational learning will be crucial because of the fundamental restructuring of work and the corresponding role modifications of the workers. Similarly, manufacturing applications, such as concurrent engineering and agile manufacturing are not feasible without the ability to exchange manufacturing information and data across activities inside and outside an organization in a timely and useful manner. Conversion of information to digital media is a very crucial issue for the nation's libraries. Although technology for doing that is widely available, yet largescale conversion is not yet economically affordable. IITF has already done preliminary work on some of the issues, while considerable progress is yet to be made in most areas. IITF Committee on Applications of Technology has formed a Technology Policy Working Group to address the issues of interoperability and scalability. Working groups have also been formed as part of the Information Policy Committee and the Telecommunications Policy Committee to address intellectual property rights, privacy, and universal access. A working group of the Committee on Applications and Technology had been formed to address technology policy issues, and the Committee had instituted a public issues discussion program as part of its regular meetings to facilitate a dialog on the issues outlined in this discussion. III. STAKEHOLDERS OF THE NII The stakeholders of the NII include all parties involved in the various aspects of its implementation. Since it has been a U.S. Government initiative, the Administration is a key stakeholder. While the Government is primary playing its rule- making role, its various agencies are instrumental in shaping the policies that are amenable to the success of the initiative. Yet, without the private sector, NII would not be possible. The various companies involved in the creation, publication, transmission, storage, organization, dissemination, recycling or processing of information, or in providing the facilitating hardware or software, would be primarily instrumental in constructing the NII. Most of these companies would do so to satisfy their own strategic or competitive objectives - in most cases related to sustaining existing customers and securing new markets. In other words, all companies involved in one

way or another in providing information products or services would need customers who have the willingness and capability to buy those. Hence, to ensure the long-term viability of the NII, customers should be sufficiently motivated to buy the information products and services available on the NII. In case of the U.S. Government, the information services and products will be accessible at negligible cost to the taxpayers. Various kinds of consumer groups would be involved in ensuring that the interests of the customers using the NII are adequately safeguarded. Due to the key role of information in education and learning, educational institutions, academia and libraries would be involved in the creation as well as usage and dissemination of various kinds of information. The NII has received wide coverage [by the mass media] as a broad-based multimedia national resource accessible to all U.S. citizens. The major players attempting to influence the NII's creation include the White House, the Congress, federal courts, federal departments and agencies, state regulators, industry participants and the public (Pearce, 1994). Figure 1 depicts the roles that various Federal Government Agencies are playing in the NII initiative. The various stakeholders can be divided into four broad categories : . those who will own the information networks, primarily the private sector firms; . those who will create user-end information processing devices such as TVs, telephones, computers, and their composites, etc.; . information providers such as local broadcasters, digital libraries, information service providers, and individuals who want to sell or share information; and most importantly, . information customers, who would demand quality products at affordable prices. The users and providers of information would have different, though, overlapping needs for the NII services. The information users would have the following types of needs (GITS, 1994): searching, discovering, updating, transforming, and retrieving useful information; building and maintaining electronic repositories of information; creating and distributing information electronically; executing and recording commercial, legal, financial, and other business transactions; and, supporting collaborative work efforts among collocated or remote individuals. The suppliers would have a differing, but overlapping, set of needs. They would need the NII to: enable new application product offerings without requiring the creation of all of the supporting software; facilitate the encoding and transport of data between locations and between networks; translate data from one language representation to another; and

support the migration of existing data files, data bases and programs from older legacy systems to more modern systems. If, and whether, suppliers and users start availing the services of the NII, would be dependent upon a conducive infrastructure. Government, by its regulatory and policy-making function, can facilitate creation of such an infrastructure. U.S. Government No single authority, including the U.S. Government, has the capability to develop, mandate or legislate a coherent services framework within which individual commercial competitive solutions can coexist and interact. Nevertheless, Government would provide the leadership and vision to guide this process, to balance the interests of the many NII stakeholders, and to influence the shape of the information infrastructure. The Administration has clearly indicated that the construction of the NII will be undertaken by the private sector. Businesses, on the other hand, are primarily motivated by pursuit of profits and competitive advantage. Paradoxically, the established regulatory processes tend to constrain earnings and market power, and hence represent a formidable roadblock to private investment (Egan, 1994). In this scenario, the primary role of the Government is to prevent the over-regulation of competitive entries into the information service markets. Although the Government will not build the NII, it will coordinate standards and provide monetary support to ensure that low income areas and non-profit organizations are included (Lou, 1994). Its major issues involve universal access. All the levels of Government will have the roles to play in ensuring the effective development and deployment of the NII. The Government will ensure vigorous competition, fair access, basic levels of services, and interoperability , and provide privacy and security protection for all NII's users. Government's main role is in ensuring the coordination of regulatory and policy-making efforts at Federal, state and local levels to complement the NII vision. The Administration, through the formulation of various coordinating agencies for NII and through its rounds of speeches and meetings is following an ongoing political/policy making process that is designed to establish some coordination and cooperation, as opposed to having the different Government and private sector bodies going in different directions (Stewart and Pearce, 1994). The role of the Government as the country's largest user of information technology should not be overlooked. In this role, the Government can develop NII applications to speed and improve the delivery of services. Federal Agencies A number of federal agencies are involved in the commercial development of the NII. Several of them are working together closely to develop, coordinate, and implement R&D strategies and policies in support of the NII initiative. A brief review of some of the key agencies is given here. For more detailed information, please refer Appendix 3. The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) is a permanent, cabinet-level body, chaired by the President of the United States, which prepares R&D strategies that are coordinated across Federal agencies. NSTC, operating through the Committee on Information and Communications (CIC), is responsible for R&D technology policy, strategic planning,

and interagency coordination related to information and communications technologies. It leads the Federal R&D community in its support for National and Global Information Infrastructure technology developments. The CIC oversees the Federal High Performance Computing and Communications and Information Technology (HPCCIT) initiative, which is developing the technologies needed for dramatic improvements in information services for the future NII. The goal of the Federal High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) Program is to accelerate the development of future generations of high performance computers and networks and the use of these resources in the Federal Government and throughout the American economy. Scalable high performance computers, advanced high speed computer communications networks, and advanced software are critical components of a new NII. The Information Infrastructure Task Force (IITF), chaired by the Secretary of Commerce, was created by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Economic Council (NEC) to ensure that the entire Federal Government acts in concert to accelerate deployment and use of the NII. The White House formed the IITF to articulate and implement the Administration's vision for the NII. Working together with the private sector, the participating agencies will develop comprehensive technology, telecommunications, and information policies and promote applications that best meet the needs of both the agencies and the country. By helping build consensus on difficult policy issues, the IITF will enable agencies to make and implement policy more quickly and effectively. Three IITF Committees have been established: Telecommunications Policy, Information Policy, and Applications and Technology. The Technology Policy Working Group (TPWG) of the Committee on Applications and Technology (CAT) is designated to work with the technology development community to serve as a catalyst to promote technological innovation, to stimulate the private sector to develop and adopt technologies for a highly capable NII, and to identify and reduce barriers to implementation. Figure 2 illustrates the present organizational structure of the NII. The National Performance Review (NPR) Report and its accompanying report on Reengineering Through Information Technology (NPR IT), recommended the establishment of a Government Information Technology Services (GITS) Working Group. That group, established formally under the IITF's Committee on Applications and Technology, has been empowered to facilitate the implementation of the NPR IT report and act as a focal point for improvements in the way Government uses information technology and the NII to deliver information and services. The National Information Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIIAC) was created by an executive order at the end of 1993. The NIIAC represents many of the key constituencies with a stake in the NII, including private industry; state and local governments; community, public interest, education, and labor groups; creators and distributors of content; privacy and security advocates; and leading experts in NII-related fields. The NIIAC has specifically focused on: defining the roles of the public and private sectors; maintaining the balance of protection of intellectual property rights of creators and copyright owners with the needs of users; generating national strategies for developing applications in electronic commerce, manufacturing, education and lifelong learning, health care, Government information and services, and public safety; conceiving approaches to maximize interconnection and interoperability of networks; and addressing the important issues of privacy and security.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) contributes to the NII by funding high-risk industrial ventures, performing laboratory research, and participating in policy and standards formation to ensure that the technologies are available for real-life applications of the NII. As part of the Government's multi-agency initiative to formulate a vision and strategy for the NII, the NIST Director chairs the Committee on Applications and Technology of the Information Infrastructure Task Force, which is studying how innovative technologies will help people do their jobs in new and different ways. The committee coordinates Government- wide efforts to develop information technology applications and recommend technology policy. The Private Sector The private sector must have primary responsibility for the design, deployment, and operation of the NII. The private sector, in collaboration with a variety of user groups, should continue to design the NII, and develop the high quality products and innovative services. The NII will not be built by a single entity, but by numerous existing institutions that can provide content or the ability for end-users to communicate with one another. The main players will be the telcos, Internet, and the cable companies (Chan, 1994). Private industry will be responsible for virtually every major facet of the NII and the information marketplace it creates. Private industry will build and manage the networks, provide the information tools and much of the information that travels the networks, and develop the many of the applications that use the networks. According to some estimates, the private investment on the NII will be of the order of $2 trillion to $3 trillion, while Government's share will be around $100 billion (Hoving, 1994). An essential step in the evolution of the NII is the convergence of a host of discrete information industries into one. Most important among these is the integration of the telephony and CATV networks. This convergence is occurring primarily because of changing technological and competitive forces. The integration of these networks is not only inevitable but will provide significant benefits in the area of economics, education and the environment (Oliver, 1995). The NII debate has focused too much on the Federal Government's role in building the fiber optic highway. Private providers such as AT&T, NYNEX, Time-Warner, TCI, and Teleport are now building and will continue to build the vast majority of such highways in the U.S. (Hargadon, 1993). Companies such as AT&T, MCI Communications and Sprint Corp are preparing their longdistance networks to provide the bandwidth that will be required by the NII. While cable companies and Baby Bells are establishing broadband on-ramp connections to the NII, the long distance carriers are upgrading their national networks which are to serve as the longterm backbones of the NII. The telecommunications carriers are working to provide sufficient bandwidth for interactive, multimedia services and to make it easier for wide area network users to exchange data at high speed. Sprint and MCI are also quietly participating in test projects and talking with information providers. AT&T is engaging in more aggressive planning and is looking for new opportunities that make use of its telecommunications and computer businesses (Smally and Patch, 1993). The so-called 'information highway,' better referred to as the convergence of computing and telephony, will be centered around the microcomputer and will use PCs to bring new entertainment services at home. Cable TV and telephone companies are betting that consumers will want new interactive and pay- per-view services. Some argue that only the

PC has enough power, flexibility and control to achieve true convergence, while others say that a television equipped with an intelligent cable box will be the primary informationhighway interface. Intel is working with General instruments and Zenith Electronics to prepare devices that will link cable services and PCs. Silicon Graphics Inc has associated with Scientific- Atlanta and Time Warner to deliver on-demand video; Scientific-Atlanta, Kalieda and Motorola are developing a new Malibu Graphics Controller chip for set-top boxes that will act as a 'convergence builder.' The average PC is not yet ready to become a convergence device; 64-bit data paths, a multitasking operating system, fast video and large amounts of storage are needed for PCs to handle video (Derfler, 1994). Various types of collaborations and partnerships will help promote the NII. The Collaboratory on Information Infrastructure will try to make prototypes based on NII technologies. The Collaboratory is promoted by Bellcore along with the Regional Bell Operating Companies and eight companies in other fields. The Cross Industry Working Team (XIWT) will attempt to standardize NII architectures across industries. The XIWT is a group of 28 companies from the computer, telecommunications, cable and information industries. The American Public Information Coalition (APIC) will try to provide access to the NII via means other than cable and telecommunications. The APIC is a collection of public power companies. Analysts say that the alliances show that companies cannot fulfill the NII's vast potential by themselves (Patch, 1993). The development of the NII will also unravel the emergence of new types of service providers that compete with traditional institutions for customers. For instance, high-powered telecommunications and cable giants, such as AT&T, may seek to become the carriers for financial services as well as other products that move along the network and elbow banks out of this loop. Every time consumers perform banking by phone, the telecommunications companies can monitor their transactions and then market directly to them based on the information (Iacobuzio, 1993). The growth of the NII may thus result in redefinition of the roles played by organizations in different industries. In almost all such situations, the battle will be primarily for winning the consumers dollar votes. The Consumers The most significant Internet development of 1993 was the sudden growth of mainstream awareness of the Internet. This represents a dramatic crossover into popular culture for a medium that until very recently was the obscure and private enclave of a technical elite, and portends new Internet demographics that will change the state of the Internet more profoundly than growth, new services, or new technology (Chapin, 1994). The vision of the future looks something like this. By harnessing the National Information Infrastructure (NII), factory workers, teachers, physicians, children, and civil servants will spur growth in the US economy and increase national competitiveness. Information will become an accepted currency in our society (Benhamou, 1994). Yet, a prerequisite for the realization of this vision of the future is the competitiveness of the market for the various information products and services. The experience of the competitive consumer-electronics market suggests that when consumers have access to commercially available equipment, the quality, style, and features of products increase and the prices decrease. The essence of this argument can be grasped by contrasting the highly competitive telephone- equipment and personal-computer markets with the current cable industry. Because of the virtual non-competitiveness of the cable industry,

many customers are stuck with unattractive set-top cable boxes, which also disable many features of their TVs and VCRs. Despite the mainstream awareness about Information Superhighway, most organizations have yet to realize any tangible applications on the NII. This is evident from a recent survey of IS executives conducted by the CIO magazine (Buchanan, 1994). The survey revealed that about fifty percent of the respondents believe that the information highway would prove useful or critical to their organizations, yet less than 5% of their businesses are currently using the Internet in any formal or systematic way. Nearly seventy-five percent respondents rarely or never used Internet for their own jobs. Most had trouble envisioning applications that NII might eventually generate, although a few are already making strategic progress from the Internet or at least making serious preparations for it (Buchanan, 1994). Another perspective of analyzing the users stakeholders could be the key application areas identified by IITF. The report (IITF Committee on Applications and Technology, 1994a) issued by IITF identified eight potential applications for the NII. The report describes the existing activities in the areas, the goals for future applications and how those goals can be reached. The first application deals with providing access to the Information Superhighway for people with disabilities. The report highlights "full participation by citizens with disabilities in the design, pilot demonstrations and implementation of NII applications is a national priority." The second application identified by the report is electric power, which outlines how communications and computing technologies can improve the production, consumption and management of electric power. The third application, "Intelligent Transportation Systems," delineates how to increase the safety and efficiency of the nation's transportation system by monitoring traffic situations and by providing travel information such as weather, accidents, detours and alternative routes. The fourth application discusses the benefits of speedy information access for telecommuting. The fifth application deals with disaster and emergency management. The seventh application deals with maintenance of non-profit cultural institutions. The final paper deals with the deterrence of violent crime by using the applications from NII in security, law enforcement and criminal justice. The users in these key application areas would also be the stakeholders in the sense that the benefits of the NII are targeted towards them. Consumer Protection Groups Groups like CPSR (Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility), EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation), COCA (Clearinghouse on Computer Accommodation), American Library Association's Intellectual Freedom Committee, etc. would be serving the purpose of protecting the rights of various groups of users of information. Such groups are important for ensuring that consumers rights, such as privacy, security, rights to intellectual property, are not transgressed by overzealous regulators or profit-motivated providers of the networks and the services. Preceding discussion provided a quick perspective of the major stakeholders of the NII - the Government, the federal agencies, the private sector, and the final customers of information. Although, specific stakeholder subgroups have not been identified, previously mentioned groups would include sub-categories such as educational institutions, libraries, various nonprofit agencies, etc.

IV. CONCLUDING DISCUSSION: MYTHS, METAPHORS AND REALITIES OF THE NII As suggested earlier, the NII has been mentioned in terms of several metaphors. To what extent does these methaphors hold? What alternative perspectives are suggested by some other metaphors? The following discussion elaborates on alternative interpretations of the NII concept. The key principle of the NII initiative is the provision of Universal Access. The implementation of this principle may determine whether the utopian goal of the betterment of "all Americans" turns out to be a myth or a reality. The concluding discussion of this section explores this specific issue, which might be treated as the touchstone of the reality of the NII. Although, the NII has been often described as a data superhighway, the caveats in this analogy need to be noted for the sake of avoiding misinterpretation. For example, the NII will not be built. It will evolve through the practical merging of the computer, communications, software, and information industries. While the highway system was largely developed with Government funds, the NII will be created through the traditional forces of the free market system and industrial competitiveness. This approach requires that the federal government be a partner, working with industry to transform the vision for an NII into reality (Kay, 1994). Kinney (1994) suggests that most of tomorrow's information services will evolve from the variety of new digital entertainment technologies. He argues that the new entertainment technologies would influence the shape of the emerging digital markets. Considering the significant role of technology in entertainment industry, he contends that the term NII disregards the significance of this industry. In his opinion, "national digital environment" is a better descriptor of "the sum total of U.S. digital networks, devices, data stores, etc." He suggests the ongoing transition of computers from "manipulating numbers and text" to "manipulating images and sound" portends a radical change in the nature of computing. This perspective called "entertainment, than information" suggests the leading role of entertainment technologies in driving the progress of future information services. Mekelburg (1994) suggests the significance of the "towns, communities and applications we connect to" over the highway - essentially suggesting that the more relevant question is "where you connect" rather than "how you connect." Despite several comparisons that have been made between [especially for universal access on] the NII and the telephone service, such analogies break down on further scrutiny (Wolff, 1994): "The Internet is different from the other communication technologies that have caused great social upheaval: telegraph and telephone, radio and television. The telephone company offers a variety of telephone-related services to its customers - but they are their services, not the customers." The essential difference is that telephone service is defined by the telephone company and the TV's content is defined by the network. In contrast, the NII would be participative in nature where "every client is a server." It treats its users not as consumers of a product or service, but as contributions, as colleagues. One interpretation of the NII as a "convergence of technologies and of cultures" depicts it as an "electronic market" and an "electronic townhall" (Perritt, 1994):

"The National Information Infrastructure ("NII") -- today represented by the universally accessible telephone system, broadcast and cable television, libraries, bookstores, remotely accessible databases, and the Internet, and ultimately supplemented by broadband switched networks with digital connections to homes and public facilities -- can be an electronic market for information, and an electronic townhall." Another interpretation of the NII considers it to be a convergence of different cultures representing different segments of users such as broadcasters, telephone companies, and Internet users (Perritt, 1994) . Three desirable attributes of a practical (rather than ideal) information infrastructure are that it 1) be capable of evolution, 2) build upon current and existing capabilities in a cost-effective manner, and 3) support the ability of the user to gain access rights to critical information through online interactive methods (Kahn, 1992). Flexible and effective evolution of the infrastructure must occur in order to support the increasing size of its user community and to dynamically add functionality as user needs grow. By building on the extant collection of systems and databases, the information infrastructure will maximize the likelihood that active users in the field will be comfortable using the resulting system. The conclusion is that the concept of the NII is a somewhat unique concept, although there is controversy regarding its literal interpretation. It is much different than the concept of a highway, or of that of telephone service, because of the increased participation of the users in the creation or manipulation of content. The exact nature of information sought ["to inform" or "to entertain"] may vary from situation to situation, although the interaction of the user with the digital domain will be analogous in most situations. Given that some of the most renowned corporate alliances have been in areas related to entertainment, we need to consider the concept "entertainment, then education" with less skepticism. Most private companies who are investing heavily into the infrastructure of the NII are looking forward to reaping the returns. In most cases, the immediate returns will be from the entertainment-oriented applications. This argument can be supported with the current statistics on telephone and cable TV. A certain percentage of U.S. homes do not have a telephone connection, yet many of such homes have a cable TV. This might suggest that customers are more willing to spend on entertainment than on other communication needs. Although there is broad agreement over the concept of the NII, yet how the concept will be structured and deployed is not evident at present. For instance, one of the key principles is to provide universal access to everyone. Yet, we still do not know how the cable-TV and telephone companies will be dissuaded from not catering only to the rich neighborhoods to derive the fattest profits from the customers. Unless such practices could be avoided, there is possibility of increasing disparity between the "haves" and the "have nots" (Elmer-Dewitt, 1995). The endorsement of equal access implies that a broader reach would benefit everyone, but policy-makers need to pay attention to the hard facts about poverty and communications in the US today. Poor households are already spending too much on basic communication services, such as longdistance phone calls. Choosing fiber optics as the primary technology for building the superhighway will be very expensive, for both middle and lower classes. The poor may be already taking in more bandwidth than the rich, but it is in the form of low-grade information via television, rather than the high-grade information available on Internet (Huber, 1994). Although, in 1994 consumers bought $8 billion worth of PCs - almost the same amount as spent on TVs - yet the disparities between the haves and have-nots are becoming increasingly distinct. Wealthy and upper middle-class families form the majority of the 30% of American households that have computers. Similarly, wealthier school districts have access to more and

better resources. Given the increasingly significant role of information technology in the electronic democracy, the access to the information highway may determine the quality of education, the access to various information sources, and the overall quality of living. There is strong apprehension that the NII initiative might, in the longer run, increase the gap between the rich and the poor (Ratan, 1995). The concept of universal access is ill-defined for operationalization at the grass-roots level. For instance, the primary problem is not if there are enough computers to go around, but what they are used for (Hancock et al., 1995). The following questions provide some perspective of the fuzziness of the issue of universal access: "Does the desired notion of universal access imply a connection, a terminal, and knowledge of how to access the NII? Should the Government enforce fair access? Should providers be required to subsidize those who cannot afford it? Who determines what should be the minimum service? How can the NII be affordable and easily usable, especially for the underprivileged and disadvantaged? How can social risks be dealt with, including sexual harassment and character defamation? Should resources be devoted to ensuring that the NII address the entire spectrum of citizens and decrease the current cultural and gender gaps in technologically oriented services?..." (Simons, 1994). Some policy-makers have suggested that the issue of access could be thought of as having three dimensions (Weingarten, 1994): physical access to the NII: something like the "universal service" goal in telephone regulation; access to resources and services over the NII stemming from the separation between the physical transport system and the application for which it is deployed; and provider access: implying anyone is free to provide an information service on the NII. But, the issue is far from resolved. The bottomline of the whole argument of the NII initiative can be summed up in the following quote by George Heilmeier, president of Bellcore: "The greatest challenge we have to the implementation of the NII is the need to balance the incentives necessary for private investment against the need to meet urgent societal needs. This trade-off is likely to be complicated by the need for simultaneous competition and cooperation among the many firms that will invest in the NII..." (Pelton, 1994). That will indeed be a tough challenge for the policy-making process of the present Administration. The results of this policy-making process will determine if the utopian goal of NII is a myth or a reality. Regardless of the results, the future of electronic communication in the spheres of education, business, industry and government will hardly be same as that in the past.

WIKIPEDIA
The National Information Infrastructure (NII) was the product of the High Performance Computing and Communication Act of 1991. It was a telecommunications policy buzzword, which was popularized during the Clinton Administration under the leadership of VicePresident Al Gore. It was a proposed, advanced, seamless web of public and private communications networks, interactive services, interoperable hardware and software, computers, databases, and consumer electronics to put vast amounts of information at users' fingertips. NII was to have included more than just the physical facilities (more than the cameras, scanners, keyboards, telephones, fax machines, computers, switches, compact disks, video and audio tape, cable, wire, satellites, optical fiber transmission lines, microwave nets, switches, televisions, monitors, and printers) used to transmit, store, process, and display voice, data, and images; it was also encompass a wide range of interactive functions, usertailored services, and multimedia databases that were interconnected in a technology-neutral manner that will favor no one industry over any other.