[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 37 (Friday, February 24, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10359-10371]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-4546]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
[Docket No. 950217053-5053-01]
The Global Information Infrastructure: Agenda for Cooperation
AGENCY: National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
ACTION: Administration policy statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: On February 15, 1995, the Administration released an ``Agenda
for Cooperation'' for the Global Information Infrastructure. The Agenda
for Cooperation sets forth the Administration's vision for developing a
GII that meets the needs of the people around the world. The Global
Information Infrastructure: Agenda for Cooperation incorporates and
expands upon five principles Vice President Gore presented last year to
the first World Telecommunication Development Conference: Encourage
private investment; promote competition; provide open access to the
network for all formation providers and users; create a flexible
regulatory environment that can keep pace with rapid technological and
market changes; and ensure universal service.
The report addresses the policy issues critical to encouraging the
use of the Global Information Infrastructure (GII), including
information policy and content issues and measures by governments and
industry to demonstrate the benefits of the GII. The report also is
intended to serve as the basis for engaging other governments in a
consultative, constructive, and cooperative process that will ensure
the productive development of the GII.
DATES: Comments may be filed at any time.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent to: IITF Secretariat, NTIA, U.S.
Department of Commerce, Room 4898, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue
NW., Washington, DC. 20230.
Comments may also be sent electronically by Internet e-mail to
nii@ntia.doc.gov''. The GII: Agenda for Cooperation will be available
over the Internet via ftp, telnet (login = gopher), gopher, or World-
Wide Web at the Internet address iitf.doc.gov or dialup via modem (202)
501-1920. It will be located in the Documents and Papers directory. For
hard copies, please write or call Openness Program, 1617 HCHB, 14th and
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC. 20230, (202) 482-3999 (voice)
or (202) 501-6198 (fax).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: NTIA Office of International Affairs,
(202) 482-1304.
Authority: 47 U.S.C. 901 et seq.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Global Information Infrastructure
Agenda for Cooperation
Table of Contents:
Preface
I. Introduction
A. Technological Convergence and the New Information Age
B. New World Vision through Communications: The GII as a Product of
Technological Convergence and Competition
C. Cornerstone of the GII: A Community of Global Interest
II. Building a Foundation for the GII--Five Basic Principles
A. Encouraging Private Investment
B. Promoting Competition
C. Providing Open Access
D. Creating a Flexible Regulatory Environment
E. Ensuring Universal Service
III. Encouraging the Use of the GII
A. Information Policy & Content Issues
B. Applications: Delivering the Benefits of the GII
IV. Implementing the GII
V. Conclusion
Preface
Let us build a global community in which the people of neighboring
countries view each other not as potential enemies, but as potential
partners, as members of the same family in the vast, increasingly
interconnected human family.
With these words, Vice President Al Gore introduced the U.S. vision
for the Global Information Infrastructure (GII) at the first World
Telecommunication Development Conference in March 1994. The Conference,
held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, signalled a new undertaking by the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Vice President Gore called
upon every nation to establish an ambitious agenda to build the GII,
using the following five principles as the foundation:
Encouraging private sector investment;
Promoting competition;
Providing open access to the network for all information
providers and users;
Creating a flexible regulatory environment that can keep
pace with rapid technological and market changes; and
Ensuring universal service.
Leaders from the world telecommunications community incorporated
these five principles into the ITU's ``Buenos Aires Declaration on
Global Telecommunication Development for the 21st Century.''
The purpose of this ``GII: Agenda for Cooperation'' is to amplify
these five principles and to identify the steps the United States, in
concert with other nations, can take to make the vision of the GII a
reality. We hope that it will also serve as the basis for engaging
other governments in a consultative, constructive, and cooperative
process that will ensure the development of the GII for the mutual
benefit of all countries.
In proposing this initiative, we recognize that market forces and
technological advances have already begun to expand existing
interconnections among our respective nations:
Current state-of-the-art fiber optic systems can now
transmit the equivalent of 80,000 simultaneous telephone conversations
over a single optical fiber and will soon carry 320,000 conversations
over a fiber pair;
Advances in digital compression have vastly improved the
performance and capacity of existing networks by allowing more volume,
including data and video, to be transmitted;
Advances in computer technology will soon offer storage
capacity so great that an individual using a hand-held device will be
able to carry the informational equivalent of a small library and
remotely access many times this amount; and
New digital wireless systems and proposed constellations
of telecommunications satellites have the potential to provide
telephone and data services to any point on the planet.
A nascent GII already exists. What we seek is a superior GII, one
that has higher capacity, is fully interactive, [[Page 10360]] faster,
and more versatile. One that is less expensive to use than existing
systems, and more accessible to all the people of the world. But our
goal is not merely technological advancement--more bandwidth, faster
switching, more powerful processing capability, and greater compression
and storage capacity. We view technology not as an end in itself but as
the means through which the GII can realize its potential to improve
the well-being of all people on this planet.
This ``Agenda for Cooperation'' sets forth the U.S. Government's
vision for developing a GII that can yield the benefits described above
and more. It identifies specific areas where intergovernmental, as well
as government-private sector, cooperative efforts are needed. Also
identified are proposals for concrete actions that the United States
can take, by itself or with other nations, to accelerate the pace of
development of the GII. While we believe the private sector will build,
own, and operate the GII, governments have the power to take actions
that can either accelerate or retard its development. We believe that a
concerted and coordinated international effort can achieve the former
and avoid the latter, and we invite other countries to join us in this
cooperative venture.
I. Introduction
A. Technological Convergence and the New Information Age
As we approach the end of the twentieth century, information is a
critical force shaping the world's economic system. In the next
century, the speed with which information is created, its
accessibility, and its myriad uses will cause even more fundamental
changes in each nation's economy.
These changes will be the result of technological convergence of
the previously distinct telecommunications, information, and mass media
industries. Boundaries that once separated the types of networks used
to deliver voice, data, and video services are increasingly blurred. In
a digital world, these services can be combined and offered over the
same transmission system.
Multiple networks composed of different transmission media, such as
fiber optic cable, coaxial cable, satellites, radio, and copper wire,
will carry a broad range of telecommunications and information services
and information technology applications into homes, businesses,
schools, and hospitals. These networks will form the basis of evolving
national and global information infrastructures, in turn creating a
seamless web uniting the world in the emergent Information Age. The
result will be a new information marketplace, providing opportunities
and challenges for individuals, industry, and governments.
B. New World Vision Through Communications: The GII as a Product of
Technological Convergence and Competition
The Clinton Administration has made the development of an advanced
National Information Infrastructure (NII) and the GII top U.S.
priorities. A major goal of the NII is to give our citizens access to a
broad range of information and information services. Using innovative
telecommunications and information technologies, the NII--through a
partnership of business, labor, academia, consumers, and all levels of
government--will help the United States achieve a broad range of
economic and social goals.
Similarly, other governments have come to recognize that the
telecommunications, information services, and information technology
sectors are not only dynamic growth sectors themselves, but are also
engines of development and economic growth throughout the economy. With
this realization, governments have sharply focused their public policy
debates and initiatives on the capabilities of their underlying
information infrastructures. The United States is but one of many
countries currently pursuing national initiatives to capture the
promise of the ``Information Revolution.'' Our initiative shares with
others an important, common objective: to ensure that the full
potential benefit of advances in information and telecommunications
technologies are realized for all citizens.
The GII is an outgrowth of that perspective, a vehicle for
expanding the scope of these benefits on a global scale. By
interconnecting local, national, regional, and global networks, the GII
can increase economic growth, create jobs, and improve infrastructures.
Taken as a whole, this worldwide ``network of networks'' will create a
global information marketplace, encouraging broad-based social
discourse within and among all countries.
The GII will depend upon an ever-expanding range of technology and
products, including telephones, fax machines, computers, switches,
compact discs, video and audio tape, coaxial cable, wire, satellites,
optical fiber transmission lines, microwave networks, televisions,
scanners, cameras, and printers--as well as advances in computing,
information, and networking technologies not yet envisioned.
But the GII extends beyond hardware and software; it is also a
system of applications, activities, and relationships. There is the
information itself, whatever its purpose or form, e.g., video
programming, scientific or business databases, images, sound
recordings, library archives, or other media. There are also standards,
interfaces, and transmission codes that facilitate interoperability
between networks and ensure the privacy and security of the information
carried over them, as well as the security and reliability of the
networks themselves. Most importantly, the GII includes the people
involved in the creation and use of information, development of
applications and services, construction of the facilities, and training
necessary to realize the potential of the GII. These individuals are
primarily in the private sector, and include vendors, operators,
service providers, and users.
The GII will both stimulate and respond to global demand for new
information technologies and services.1 The GII can offer
consumers in each country unprecedented access to information from a
variety of sources on a global basis. With appropriate changes in
regulatory structure, the GII can also help usher in an environment
more responsive to user demands by providing companies opportunities to
offer any information or telecommunications product or service to any
customer, rendering obsolete past regulatory labels or technological
niches.
\1\In general throughout this report, references to
``information services'' are meant to be broad and to include all
services, content, and applications to be provided over the networks
of the GII. However, for specific statistics cited from other
sources, the definitions from those sources apply.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The business community has become the principal force for the pro-
competitive restructuring of telecommunications and information
markets. Business users, whose commercial activities are becoming
increasingly global, require access to advanced services at higher
speeds and capabilities, and at lower costs, to manage their global
operations effectively. When the national carriers cannot provide the
unified international networks and services that companies need to
conduct business and research, frustrated users develop their own
international ``private'' networks, often leasing private lines from
different national carriers. However, these private networks--even the
most sophisticated--still suffer from the high cost of leased lines in
most countries and the difficulties inherent in attempting to create
global networks [[Page 10361]] based on a patchwork of services subject
to widely varying capabilities and regulation.
The scientific and academic communities also have stringent demands
for access to information resources and powerful computing capacity
around the world. The international research and academic community was
instrumental in developing the Internet, an already global mass of
interconnected computer networks. The astonishing growth rate of the
Internet network--over ten per cent per month for more than five
years--is just one indication of the growing demand for and supply of
digital information.
C. Cornerstone of the GII: A Community of Global Interest
The nations of the world are diverse in size, levels of economic
development, political, economic and social structures, and language
and culture. We believe, however, that despite these differences a
broad community of interest exists among countries to better the lives
of the citizens of the world--all citizens. Regardless of a country's
overall level of technological development, active participation in the
evolving GII can provide the tools to improve the quality of life.
For example, the GII can facilitate health care delivery through
telemedicine, linking rural physicians to major medical facilities for
off-site consultations on difficult diagnoses. If only a computer and a
wireless link are available, they can provide a data base search and
on-line questioning of a consulting expert. If fiber optic networks are
available, telemedicine services can include remote visual examination.
Such services are a boon to rural physicians. Similarly, the GII can
quicken response time for disaster relief. It can transform education
with computer-based multimedia systems that teach with both sight and
sound, greatly increasing retention rates and providing children access
to greater educational opportunities. It can provide new tools to
assist persons with disabilities. The GII can also make factories more
efficient, speed the creation of new and better goods and services, cut
the cost of business by improving efficiency, develop new jobs and
markets, increase trade, and facilitate flows of information across
borders.
That is not all. A well-developed GII can enhance democratic
principles and limit the spread of totalitarian forms of government.
Representative democracy is founded on the premise that the best
political processes are those in which each citizen has the knowledge
to make an informed choice and the power to express his or her view.
The GII will allow wider and greater citizen participation in decision-
making by providing the additional means for individuals to keep
informed, as well as to express their opinions. Through the GII, the
world's citizens will have the opportunity to share information and
cultural values, fostering a greater sense of global community. By
encouraging exchanges of ideas, goods, and services among all
countries, the GII can contribute to a framework for lasting peace.
Realizing these benefits will not be easy--our vision of the GII
presents a challenge that cannot be undertaken by a single country, nor
overcome by government fiat. Rather, its success will depend in large
measure on innovation and investment by the private sector. As the
principal source of expertise and capital, the private sector should,
in response to marketplace demands, determine what technologies to
pursue, set the pace of development, establish the appropriate
standards, and develop new services and applications. For their part,
governments can facilitate these activities by creating a legal and
regulatory environment that supports efficient investment and
innovation, and promotes full and fair competition. Governments can
also provide leadership by supporting testbeds for new technologies,
fostering the transfer of resulting technologies to the private sector,
promoting the assimilation and use of applications and technology
through government procurement, and developing applications that
support government operations and dissemination of government
information.
II. Building a Foundation for the GII--Five Basic Principles
The United States believes that five basic principles--encouraging
private investment, promoting competition, providing open access to
networks and services for providers and users, creating a flexible
regulatory environment to keep pace with technological and market
developments, and ensuring universal service--should serve as the
foundation for the development of the GII. In our view, this foundation
will facilitate information infrastructure development in individual
countries and the interconnection of networks on a global basis. It
will also accelerate development of useful applications, and increase
sharing of information among people around the world. We believe these
principles apply equally to the telecommunications, information
technology, and information services industries. In partnership with
the private sector and all users, we believe that governments should
take action to adopt, apply, and advance these principles at national,
regional, and global levels.
A. Encouraging Private Investment
Given the facts that the worldwide market for information
technology, products, and services is currently valued at $853 billion,
and that worldwide investment in telecommunications infrastructure
alone is expected to exceed $200 billion by 2004, both developed and
developing countries need to find ways to share in this growth and
prosperity. Attracting private sector investment is the most effective
way for countries to do so--as well as to improve their networks and
services, promote technological innovation, and succeed within the
competitive global economy. The reasons extend beyond the purely
financial: In addition to providing inflows of capital, private
investment also stimulates development of new technologies, equipment,
services, new sources of information, and managerial skills--all of
which help speed infrastructure growth and improvements, increase
efficiency in the provision of services, and permit greater
responsiveness to consumer needs.
To attract greater investment from both domestic and foreign
sources into their telecommunications sectors, nations are adopting a
variety of approaches, ranging from revenue sharing initiatives and
joint ventures to direct foreign investment, licensing of privately-
owned competitors, build-operate-own or -transfer schemes, and
privatization of government-owned public telecommunications operators.
Countries as diverse as Chile, India, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia, New
Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Venezuela have
encouraged multiple private companies to provide telecommunications
services, drawing in private investment to varying degrees and leading
to lower service prices and improved communication.
In other countries where privatization is not currently considered
a politically viable option, governments have taken steps to attract
foreign investment in the form of joint ventures for the provision of
new services, such as cellular telephone and Very Small Aperture
Terminal (VSAT)-based overlay networks for business users. Some
countries have permitted lease and franchise arrangements that include
private expansion of part of the [[Page 10362]] telecommunications
infrastructure, often allowing the private equity share in the network
operation to build up over time. Although providing fewer benefits than
full privatization might, these approaches can also be attractive to
private investors, and they provide quantifiable benefits--new lines,
upgraded switching capabilities, new services and sources of
information, and lower costs to consumers.
The need for capital investment is particularly acute in countries
with underdeveloped telecommunications infrastructures, where limited
government resources often make private financing a necessary
complement. To attract private capital, many countries that seek to
improve their information infrastructures, which will improve
interconnection to the evolving GII, are taking concrete steps to:
Create a stable operating environment supported by
transparent regulation;
Establish fair and open bidding practices for all
communications and information infrastructure projects;
Recognize the return on capital that potential investors
require;
Establish sound repatriation policies; and
Demonstrate a political commitment to private investment
through appropriate modifications in the legal framework.
The information services sector, traditionally privately-owned, has
experienced tremendous growth due to the largely open investment and
competitive market environments in most countries around the world. In
the United States, for example, the largely unregulated information
services market is projected to have reached $135.9 billion in revenues
in 1994.2
\2\International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of
Commerce, ``U.S. Industrial Outlook 1994'', at 25-1, January 1994.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Removing barriers to private investment--and providing incentives
for the creation and dissemination of information services through
effective protection of intellectual property rights--is the best means
of sustaining this worldwide growth.
Recommended Action
From the wide range of available options, governments can develop a
strategy best suited to their particular needs. At the same time, they
must institute the appropriate regulatory, legislative, and market
reforms to create the conditions necessary to attract private
investment in their telecommunications, information technology, and
information services markets. To facilitate this process, the United
States will join with other governments to:
Identify and seek to remove barriers to private
investment, and develop policies and regulations that improve
investment incentives in both growing and mature telecommunications and
information markets;
Ensure that applicable laws, regulations, and other legal
rules governing the provision of telecommunications and information
services and equipment are reasonable, nondiscriminatory, and publicly
available;
Engage in bilateral, regional, and multilateral
discussions to exchange information on the various options that have
been successfully pursued to attract private investment, including, but
not limited to, privatization, liberalization, and market reforms;
Work with major international lending institutions, such
as the World Bank and the regional development banks, and major private
financial institutions to determine the best means of attracting both
private and public capital, and establish workshops to train officials
in the different liberalization approaches; and
Encourage international lending institutions to recognize
the ways in which funded social projects, such as the delivery of
education and health care services, can be advanced through improved
information infrastructures.
B. Promoting Competition
Nationally and internationally, the information technology and
information services markets have flourished in the past decade. The
highly competitive computer equipment, software and networking
industries are among the most dynamic in global markets, providing
users with steadily increasing computing power and functionality and
stimulating further demand for more advanced, integrated capabilities.
Similarly, the information services industry has expanded as barriers
to cross-border trade and investment have been removed. In many
countries there are few or no restraints on the services provided. In
other markets there are varying, but fairly light, degrees of
regulation. As a result, the world market for information services is
expected to grow from $275 billion in 1993 to $465 billion in 1998, a
growth rate of 11 percent annually.3
\3\U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade
Administration, Office of Service Industries, 1994.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
One important exception has been a tendency in a few countries to
erect barriers to foreign competition in entertainment programming
services. There is no body of evidence that limiting foreign
competition has been successful in achieving the desired effect of
stimulating local entertainment programming industries. The effects of
such measures in retarding the development of private investment in
infrastructure also deserves greater attention.
In contrast to the liberal market and regulatory environment for
information technology and information services, the pace and scope of
liberalization and privatization in the telecommunication sector is
varied, ranging from competition in particular market segments to full
liberalization. For example, there has been a discernable trend over
the past decade toward increased competition in the provision of both
value-added services and telecommunications terminal equipment. Some
countries have liberalized further, taking steps to open their long
distance, local fixed telephony, cellular, communications satellite,
cable, and broadcast markets.
Evidence of positive results from such increased competition is
mounting: Networks have steadily incorporated innovative technologies,
producing greater efficiencies; both residential and business users
enjoy lower prices and greater choices in equipment and services;
service providers are more responsive to user needs; and lower costs of
service have stimulated increased network usage.
However, in the largest and most profitable market segments--basic
public voice telephone services and the underlying network
infrastructure--both competition and foreign investment have been
restricted. Maintaining barriers against potential new entrants in
these markets will inhibit infrastructure deployment. Moreover, these
barriers will retard the introduction of new information and
telecommunications services that require competitive access to
underlying networks in order to flourish.
Competition in basic telecommunications services has been growing,
however, in a number of key markets around the globe. In countries such
as Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, the United
Kingdom, and the United States, the introduction of alternative service
providers and networks, which often deploy advanced technologies at
lower costs, has reduced bottleneck control by the dominant facilities-
based providers. These results have spurred other countries to
reconsider their policies. The member countries of the European
[[Page 10363]] Union (EU), for example, have agreed to introduce
competition in the provision of basic telecommunications services and
infrastructure by 1998. The EU considers these steps to be critical to
advancing the goals of their action plan to create a European
Information Society.
Increasingly, countries with national monopoly operators have begun
to question whether they can compete effectively in the dynamic
international telecommunications market. Difficulties in raising
capital and in meeting users' demands for low cost, sophisticated
network capabilities and services are forcing a reconsideration of the
monopoly approach to telecommunications. A recent Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) study comparing the
relative cost of providing international service among OECD members
found that the performance of countries with competitive international
markets was superior to the average of all OECD members. Furthermore,
the OECD study revealed that the quality of service had improved
simultaneously with the implementation of competition.4
\4\``The Benefits of Telecommunications Infrastructure
Competition,'' (DSTI/ICCP, TISP(93)/Rev 1), p. 23, February, 1994.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Competition within the communications satellite market has also
burgeoned. The intergovernmental International Telecommunications
Satellite (Intelsat) and International Mobile Satellite (Inmarsat)
organizations now face competition from several separate satellite
systems, including Astra, Columbia, AsiaSat, Orion, and PanAmSat. Due
in part to competitive pressures from these separate satellite systems
and from alternative technologies, serious consideration is being given
to restructuring both Intelsat and Inmarsat. Each of these
organizations is engaged in an internal effort to review a range of
options for reorganization, from reform of the cooperative model, to
corporatization, to full privatization.
As governments liberalize particular market segments, regulators,
operators, and new market entrants must grapple with evolving
definitions of the boundary between those networks and services
reserved to the monopoly operator and those open to competition. During
the transition from monopolistic to competitive telecommunications
markets, incumbent operators still play a dominant role as network
infrastructure providers. Incumbent operators not only control
underlying facilities and services that new entrants often need to
deliver their services, but frequently compete directly with these new
service providers in particular market segments. In these
circumstances, effective competition cannot emerge and flourish unless
incumbents are subject to competitive safeguards while they maintain
market power over critical bottleneck facilities and services.
Competitive safeguards serve two main purposes. Some are intended
to eliminate or reduce barriers to entry for new service providers that
are seeking to challenge the incumbent operator. Other safeguards serve
to ensure that incumbent firms with market power do not employ
anticompetitive means to prevent or hinder the development of truly
competitive markets. Market entry opportunities are effective only if
the incumbent service provider is required to compete fairly. For this
reason, some administrations have required incumbent carriers to permit
resale of their networks and services. Resale provides an important
source of competition in markets in which telecommunications
infrastructure costs are high. Similarly, market entrants that choose
to provide facilities-based services in competition with the incumbent
service provider typically will need to interconnect their facilities
with a dominant service provider's network. In a pro-competitive
environment, the terms and condition of interconnection would be
reflected in published rates that include nondiscriminatory cost-based
access charges and technological ``equal access'' to bottleneck
facilities.
Incumbent carriers may also be required to ``unbundle'' network
facilities and services so that telecommunications and information
service providers can order only those elements of the dominant
provider's network they need to provide a service. Finally,
establishment of a transparent regulatory scheme open to all interested
parties, and administered by a regulatory authority independent of the
incumbent service provider, helps ensure that rules governing
competition are fair and that private investment is given a reasonable
degree of security.
While the political challenges posed by attempting to restructure
the telecommunications market are significant, the increased
opportunities provided by introducing competition far outweigh the
potential difficulties of pro-competitive market reform. Further, the
interconnection of competitive national information infrastructures can
increase the pace of development of the GII. The more competitive an
information and telecommunications market, the more productive will be
its interaction with other markets participating in the development of
the GII.
Recommended Action
The most effective means of promoting a GII that delivers advanced
products and services to all countries is through increased competition
at local, national, regional, and global levels. To that end, the
United States will join with other governments to:
Assess, through information exchanges and existing
multilateral organizations, the positive experiences of different
countries in introducing competition and progressively liberalizing
their telecommunications, information technology, and information
services markets;
Work constructively to remove barriers to competition in
telecommunications, information technology, and information services
markets;
Include timetables for increased competition in basic
telecommunications infrastructure and services in national information
infrastructure development plans, and, as an interim step, increase the
pace of liberalization through the expansion of resale;
Encourage new entrants by adopting competitive safeguards
to protect against anticompetitive behavior by firms with market power,
including measures designed to prevent discrimination and cross-
subsidization;
Implement specific regulations to facilitate competitive
entry in the telecommunications sector, including the following
essential elements: (1) Interconnection among competing network and
service providers; (2) ``unbundling'' of bottleneck facilities of
dominant network providers; (3) transparency of regulations and
charges; and (4) nondiscrimination among network facilities operators
and between facilities operators and potential users, including
resellers;
Ensure that government-sponsored technical training
activities incorporate programs specifically related to the development
of pro-competitive markets and regulations (including such issues as
competitive safeguards and interconnection);
Pursue a successful conclusion to the General Agreement on
Trade in Services (GATS) discussions on basic telecommunications to
obtain the opening of markets for basic telecommunications services
through facilities-based competition and the resale of services on
existing networks [[Page 10364]] on nondiscriminatory terms and
conditions; and
Consider the full range of options for promoting
competition in Intelsat and Inmarsat, including: (1) Pursuing changes
designed to increase the operational efficiency of Intelsat and
Inmarsat, retaining their fundamental intergovernmental character, but
substantially reducing the scope of the current intergovernmental
agreements by removing provisions that convey unfair advantage and
inhibit efficient functioning; (2) transforming the organizations into
private corporations; and (3) transforming the organizations into
multiple private service providers that compete with one another, as
well as with others.
In selecting among these options, the goal must be to enhance
competition and not diminish it.
C. Providing Open Access
Achieving the goal of a global information market will require
government action to ensure that all information service providers have
access to facilities, networks, and network services on a
nondiscriminatory and low cost basis. By ensuring open access to
facilities and networks, and thus promoting competition, governments
can dramatically increase the availability of information services to
all consumers.
Maximizing consumer choice among diverse sources of information
should be the primary objective. As the information needs among
consumers will vary, both within and among nations, attempts to predict
the information resource requirements of citizens should be avoided.
Rather, governments should foster market and regulatory climates
conducive to the broadest possible access to and distribution of
information. As countries accelerate the development of their
respective information infrastructures, more and more consumers will
seek access to networks and services that cross national and
international boundaries. Improving consumer access to diverse sources
of information has direct social and economic benefits. The ability to
generate, exchange, and use information, technology, and ideas is
central to economic growth and development, increased competitiveness
in a range of industries, and to the improvement of the quality of
life.
An essential technical element of the open access concept is
interoperability, i.e., the ability to connect applications, services,
and/or network components so that they can be used together to
accomplish tasks. As the GII will be based on many different existing
and emerging components at local, national, and global levels, it is
imperative that these components be interoperable. The key to
interoperability is the development of global standards. We believe
such standards should be voluntary and developed through a process that
is largely market-driven and that takes into account the views of both
the large and well established and the smaller, newer market players.
Three principal international standards organizations involved in
the development of information technology and telecommunications
standards are the International Organization for Standards (ISO), the
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU). The ISO and IEC develop information
technology standards through the ISO/IEC Joint Technical Committee 1,
while the ITU concentrates on telecommunications standards. Further,
there has long been coordination and collaboration between the ISO/IEC
Joint Technical Committee 1 and the ITU, which has helped minimize the
duplication of standards development work and the possibility of
conflicting information technology and telecommunication standards.
The vast majority of countries adhere to the processes of
developing international standards and the resulting recommendations
from all three organizations. In the U.S., and increasingly in other
countries, the private sector plays an essential role in these
international standards development processes by providing the
technical expertise and resources to develop standards at national and
international levels.
It may also be constructive to consider encouraging greater
collaboration and cooperation both domestically and internationally
among the different standards bodies, including less formal
organizations. In recent years in the United States, a significant
number of new standards consortia, whose principal focus is in the
standards implementing arena, have been established outside of the
traditional national standards development organizations. These new
consortia have often sped up the widespread adoption of internationally
generated standards, and their memberships have included small and
medium-sized companies.
Given the convergence of technologies and the rapid changes in
national and international market structures, the development and
acceptance of voluntary, international standards are critical to the
development of the GII. The international standards organizations and
their memberships must redouble their efforts to ensure that standards
are developed that assist the rapid delivery of information. Moreover,
the pace of the work in international bodies must continue to increase
to better reflect marketplace needs for technological development, so
as not to impede the realization of the GII. In the absence of timely
development and implementation of standards on a global basis, the
benefits of improved interoperability will be delayed.
Recommended Action
In partnership with the private sector, governments can take action
to improve access to facilities and networks, and promote the
availability of a wide range of diverse services and information,
including strong support for the development of international standards
that promote interoperability. To achieve these goals, the United
States will join with other governments to:
Develop appropriate policies that encourage increased
access by citizens to diverse sources of information;
Provide unrestricted and equitable access to networks for
providers and consumers of services and content, based on sound
commercial practices;
Hold regular bilateral and multilateral dialogues on ways
of increasing the flow of information across borders to facilitate
greater access to content by consumers;
Encourage an open, voluntary standards-setting process
that does not denigrate intellectual property rights and which includes
the participation of a broad group of interests, including the private
sector, consumers, and, as appropriate, government agencies;
Work through regional and international bodies to increase
the pace of consensus-based, voluntary, and transparent standards
development and adoption, and to promote the broad dissemination of
standards-related information;
Work together and with national, regional, and
international standards bodies to identify priority areas for increased
coordination among different private national and international bodies
in support of interoperability of networks and services on the GII.
D. Creating a Flexible Regulatory Environment
Policymakers worldwide face a daunting challenge: Creating an
appropriate regulatory regime that minimizes regulation and fosters
competition through transparent rules and processes and is sufficiently
flexible to be responsive to changing technologies and markets. As the
pace [[Page 10365]] of technological innovation quickens, this will
become increasingly difficult and yet increasingly necessary.
With the U.S. experience as our guide, we offer the following
observations about the characteristics of telecommunications
legislation that are necessary to respond to changes in this dynamic
sector. The optimal regulatory and legislative frameworks will:
Identify the goals and objectives of the law, including
the promotion of competition;
Be sufficiently flexible to permit the introduction of new
services and technologies without requiring amendments to the
legislation;
Delegate broad powers to a regulatory authority
independent of a national operator and charge that independent
authority with keeping abreast of technological and market
developments;
Establish a transparent and open process whereby the
public and interested parties are informed and can participate in
rulemaking and adjudicatory proceedings; and
Aim towards open market access based on nondiscrimination
principles.
We recognize that regulatory reform can take many paths. Some
countries have established a regulatory entity responsible for both
formulating and implementing telecommunications and mass media policy,
as well as overseeing the activities of these sectors. Others have
relied on the separation of operational and regulatory functions of the
government-owned and/or franchised national operator, with government
bodies assuming responsibility for regulatory decisions. Still others
rely more heavily on national competition law and policy for oversight.
Regardless of the regulatory model that countries adopt,
regulations should clarify the respective rights and obligations of
incumbent operators and new entrants. New market entrants need
assurances that incumbent operators will not be allowed to use their
dominant market positions to hinder the evolution of successful
competition. Similarly, public and transparent regulatory processes
create stable commercial environments, which are necessary to attract
private investment. As such, rules and regulations should clearly
indicate:
The scope of permissible competition, e.g., the particular
market segments open to new entrants;
The means by which new entrants can gain market access,
e.g., private investment, licensing requirements, and cross-border
services;
The nondiscriminatory terms and conditions of
interconnection to an incumbent operator's network and of supplying
information services over the network; and
The procedures by which new entrants and users can bring
complaints and obtain redress from the regulator, e.g., enforcement
mechanisms. Additionally, it is critical that a pro-competitive
regulatory regime ensure:
The establishment of other structural or nonstructural
safeguards to protect against the anticompetitive exploitation of
market power by the incumbent service provider to the detriment of the
new entrants;
The appropriate balancing of public service obligations
among operators/carriers;
Charging and pricing policies that are based on the costs
of providing service; and
The efficient, effective, and pro-competitive management
of scarce resources, especially the radio frequency spectrum.
In light of the increasing demands on the radio spectrum for the
introduction of new wireless communications systems and services, the
last point merits particular emphasis. Among these new technologies,
none better embodies the need for an open regulatory model embracing
competition and careful management of the spectrum than the nascent
hand-held mobile satellite services. If these services are to achieve
their global potential, cooperation among national spectrum regulators
will be required, as will a willingness to permit multiple market
entrants to ensure that new satellite services do not become the
exclusive property of a sole provider.
Governments should avoid burdensome regulation that stifles
innovation and new service offerings. Governments must guard against
the expansion of regulation into market segments that have not
traditionally been subject to regulations and that have functioned
extremely well on an unregulated basis. The examples of Australia,
Canada, and the United States in computer and business information
services are illustrative. They are among the leading nations in
personal computer penetration rates among consumers. Not
coincidentally, they also provide an open, dynamic, and almost totally
unregulated market for information technology and services. Equally
important, while some government regulation is necessary as a
marketplace transitions from a monopoly to a competitive structure,
once competition is achieved, continued regulation can be unnecessary
or even counterproductive in promoting efficiency, innovation, and
customer responsiveness. In short, governments must be prepared, and
must invest their regulatory agencies with the authority, to adjust
regulatory structures as the demands of the marketplace and technology
require.
Just as national regulatory environments need to be responsive to
emerging market and technological developments, so too must the
overarching international environment continually adapt to new
developments. The successful efforts of governments and industry to
improve global interconnectivity and liberalize international
telecommunications demonstrate the value of working together in various
international fora to promote progressive and flexible national
regulations. These efforts must continue.
Recommended Action
Although national regulatory environments necessarily reflect the
specific social, economic, and political needs of each individual
country, the essentially global nature of the markets for
telecommunications, information technologies, and information services
require that national regulations be responsive to global developments.
The United States will join with other governments to:
Re-examine and adapt regulations and legislation to
accommodate market and technological developments at national and
global levels in support of the five GII principles;
Create, through regulatory and/or legislative reform, a
pro-competitive, technology-neutral regulatory environment to maximize
consumer choice, to provide fair access to networks, and to stimulate
infrastructure development, the introduction of new services, and the
wider dissemination of information;
Exchange views and information on national regulatory and
legislative initiatives and seek to identify common challenges and
options for developing flexible and transparent regulations in support
of the development of the GII;
Work collectively in regional and international
organizations to convene meetings devoted specifically to encouraging
the adoption of regulatory policies that will promote the GII; and
Encourage creation of independent national regulatory
authorities for telecommunications separate from the operator that
shall promote the interest of consumers and ensure effective and
efficient competition. Such authorities should have sufficient powers
to carry out their missions and should operate [[Page 10366]] with
transparent decisionmaking processes that are open to all interested
parties.
E. Ensuring Universal Service
The goal of providing access and affordable service to all members
of society is fundamental to the development of the GII. The definition
of universal service, however, necessarily varies from country to
countryranging from the provision of high quality telephone service to
every home and business in most industrialized countries to access to a
public telephone in many developing countries.
The ability to provide universal service on a national basis
depends upon a number of factors, including the level of infrastructure
development, the reach and technological capabilities of national
networks, and the cost of access to the network and services. Other
factors to be considered include the availability and use of advanced
methods of network planning and maintenance, and explicit performance
and service quality goals.
The definition of universal service is also being expanded by the
advent of digital technologies. In many countries, including the United
States, policymakers face increasing pressure to expand universal
service beyond ``plain old telephone service'' to include a broader
array of new telecommunications and information services. In fact,
universal service has always been an evolutionary concept, expanding as
the capabilities of the network and the types of service demanded by
the great majority of users have increased. For example, in the United
States fifty years ago, a party-line was deemed sufficient for
universal service purposes; now an individual line for each subscriber
is generally viewed as a component of universal service, together with
such features as direct dialing for long distance calls and 911
emergency service.
In both developed and less developed countries, wireless
technologies can help meet the needs for both basic and more advanced
services. For example, by augmenting terrestrial-based facilities with
satellite facilities and services, national networks can maximize their
potential. The point-to-multipoint and mobile communications
capabilities of satellites, which are global in reach, permit the
extension of services to even the most remote regions.
Moreover, in helping meet universal service goals, one option for
governments to consider is the establishment of community ``access
points.'' For example, institutions such as schools, libraries, or
hospitals could be equipped with basic and advanced information and
communications technologies for use by members of the public. Such
community access points would facilitate the efficient provision of
broader public access to a core set of services.
Although several countries have raised concerns that competition
diverts revenues from the public operator and undermines its ability to
provide universal service, experience shows that access to the
telephone has been improved in the most liberal national markets. In
the United Kingdom, for example, many customers are ordering a
telephone for the first time largely because increased competition--
cable television companies are now offering telephone service--has made
it more affordable. In the United States, concerns were raised a decade
ago that increased competition in the provision of long distance
services, which had traditionally subsidized basic local rates, would
threaten universal service. These concerns abated as competition
spurred innovation and price reductions, which in turn have expanded
universal service. Further, studies by the OECD indicate that telephone
penetration has not been eroded in any member country that has
introduced infrastructure competition. The OECD concluded, ``Universal
service has not been impaired by market liberalization; (rather)
facilities competition can be applied to complement and enhance
universal service.''5 Indeed, many now argue that full and open
facilities-based competition, by reducing prices, is the most effective
way to promote universal service.
\5\Ibid, p.3.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As together we strive to expand the worldwide telecommunications
infrastructure and build the GII, we must all keep the goal of
universal service constantly in mind. With significant decreases in the
costs of information transmission and processing, the creation of the
Information Society has the potential to improve the quality of life of
all citizens. Recognizing that information leads to empowerment, the
nations of the world must work together to ensure that as many citizens
as possible in all societies have access to the resources of the
Information Age.
Recommended Action
Although the provision of universal service varies from country to
country, the goal of providing all people with greater access to both
basic and advanced services is a crucial element of the GII. The United
States will join with other governments to:
Consider, at the local and national levels, the benefits
afforded by the introduction of competition and private investment in
meeting and expanding universal service;
Exchange information at the bilateral and multilateral
level to address the range of available options to meet universal
service goals; and
Consider, at the national and international levels, ways
to promote universal access as a means of providing service to
currently underserved and geographically remote areas.
III. Encouraging the Use of the GII
While we believe that the adoption, application, and advancement of
the five core principles are necessary to create an environment in
which the GII can realize its full potential, such actions alone are
insufficient to guarantee it. Regardless of the sophistication of the
technology or services being offered, users must be assured that they
can allow the GII entry into their homes, offices, and lives to access
and share information safely and without forfeiting any of their
rights. Governments, companies, and public-interest groups, by working
together on information policy and content issues, must address these
concerns.
An equally important task for governments and private sectors is to
demonstrate the potential benefits of the GII to citizens. It is only
when people see tangible results of applications that they will begin
to appreciate how it can be used to improve their lives. This
appreciation is the key to stimulating demand for the services and
content of the GII, which in turn will provide the impetus to remove
institutional and regulatory barriers to its full utilization.
A. Information Policy and Content Issues
Developing an effective information policy will provide governments
with perhaps their greatest challenge. The central objectives of
information policy include ensuring that: (1) The privacy of
individuals and organizations using the GII is protected; (2) the
security and reliability of the networks and the information that
passes over them are preserved; and (3) the intellectual property
rights of those who create the information, education, and
entertainment content are protected. To assure the growth of an
information infrastructure accessible and accountable to the citizens
of the world, governments must develop and implement these objectives
in close [[Page 10367]] partnerships with each other and with
representatives from business, labor, academia, and the public.
1. Privacy Protection
By bringing news and information to people on a global basis, and
thereby allowing them to communicate more freely with each other,
communications technologies serve a democratizing function. These same
technologies also permit both governments and the private sector to
transmit, process, and store vast amounts of information about
individuals. While these capabilities are increasingly essential for
governments to function effectively and for businesses to operate
efficiently, questions continue to grow about an individual's right to
privacy and the accompanying responsibilities of holders and
transmitters of this information to safeguard this right.
In many nations, the past two decades have seen the primary
gatherers and users of personal data shift from government entities to
private sector firms. In the 1970's and 1980's, businesses were quick
to exploit the explosive growth in low cost, high performance
computers, adapting this technology to a wide range of economic,
financial, and marketing applications. As electronic commerce spread
during the 1980's, there was growing recognition that the electronic
transfer of data across national boundaries required an international
consensus on individual privacy protection.
In 1980, the OECD developed and adopted a set of voluntary privacy
guidelines that were accepted by its 24 member countries. In 1981, the
Council of Europe, whose membership consists of the European Union
Member States and other European countries, adopted ``fair information
practices'' similar to those of the OECD to regulate the collection,
storage, and automated processing of personal data, and transborder
data flow. Both the OECD and Council of Europe privacy guidelines,
which generally recognize that the free flow of information is critical
to transborder economic activity, provide a framework for domestic
legislation that has been used by both member and non-member nations.
They also recognize diverse means of protecting information privacy,
including self-regulation and industry codes of conduct. The North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the General Agreement on
Trade in Services (GATS) Annex on Telecommunications also contain
provisions that recognize national privacy protection regulations.
The United States and other countries around the world are re-
examining existing privacy policies to ensure that they apply
comprehensively to the transfer of personal data over global networks.
A balanced privacy policy--preserving the individual's right to privacy
while maintaining the free flow of information across national
borders--is important to the development of global networks and
services. Working together, nations should ensure that the transport of
personal data adequately takes into account the following agreed-upon
international privacy principles:
Personal data should be collected only for specified,
legitimate purposes;
The dissemination, sharing, and reuse of information
should be compatible with the purposes for which it was originally
collected;
Personal data should be accurate, relevant, and up-to-
date;
Individuals should be informed how personal data will be
used and should be allowed to examine and correct this information; and
Transmission of personal data should not be unduly
restricted or subject to burdensome authorization procedures.
Recommended Action
In order to foster consumer confidence in the GII and to encourage
the growth of interconnected global networks, users must feel that they
are afforded adequate privacy protection. To this end, the United
States will join with other governments to:
Identify key privacy issues that need to be addressed in
relation to the development of national and global information
infrastructures;
Work with both the public and private sectors to achieve
consensus on a set of fair information principles for the collection,
transfer, storage, and subsequent use of data over national and global
information infrastructures;
Ensure that privacy protection does not unduly impede the
free flow of information across national borders;
Share information on new privacy protection policy
developments and on new technologies and standards for privacy
protection; and
Encourage the use of voluntary guidelines developed by
international bodies, such as the OECD, as the best means of ensuring
the protection of privacy on an international basis.
2. Security and Reliability
A network as vast and complex as the GII will pose difficult
security challenges for all nations. The same modern technology that
makes communication faster and easier also makes communications systems
vulnerable to ever greater security risks. These risks are not newmost
are well-known among security managers. What is new is that these risks
are much more widespread, are potentially much more serious, and affect
a population of users who do not have the information or training to
deal with them.
The anonymous and impersonal nature of computer crime, for example,
makes this problem particularly unsettling, for legal systems depend
upon their ability to identify the malfeasors. Yet serious violation of
privacy or property rights can be accomplished by destruction or
alteration of information by anonymous individuals in remote locations,
with not a fingerprint in sight. The technical challenges of protecting
the privacy and integrity of information stored in computer systems are
even greater than those that apply to information transmitted by
telephone. And as was true with the telephone, legal as well as
technological solutions are needed.
Security includes the integrity, confidentiality, and reliability
of the networks and of the information they carry. If users do not
believe that an information infrastructure is a trustworthy, reliable
system, they will be reluctant to use it, thereby diminishing its
value. To gain maximum benefit from global networks, users must be
confident that the messages they receive are authentic, that sensitive
information is available only for authorized use, and that unauthorized
users cannot access, alter, or destroy information.
In addition to protecting the security of information that is
transported over the GII, governments and industry must guarantee the
reliability of the network itself. In the event of breakage or service
interruption, network operators must work quickly and cooperatively to
repair damage and provide backup systems to minimize the duration of
any such interruptions. To have a truly global infrastructure, greater
emphasis must be placed on resolving reliability concerns, including
such issues as network performance, network connections and
interoperability, the development of new technology, and regional and
demographic differences in reliability.
Recommended Action
To promote the development of a secure and reliable GII, the United
States will join with other countries to:
Work collectively to increase the reliability and security
of national and international information infrastructures;
Initiate a broad international dialogue among users,
providers, and all [[Page 10368]] other participants in the GII on
issues related to protecting the confidentiality and integrity of
information transmitted and stored on global networks;
Exchange information and encourage further cooperation
within regional and international organizations such as the ITU and the
OECD on measures to ensure network security and reliability, including
the sharing of outage information;
Share information regarding the best means available to
advance security goals while not impeding progress on other GII
principles, such as the promotion of competition and open access; and
Exchange information about, and accelerate efforts to
develop new technologies needed to improve the security of the GII
(e.g., encryption, digital signatures, and firewalls.)
3. Intellectual Property Protection
Protection of intellectual property rights is essential to the
development of a successful GII. In order to promote creativity and
provide the broadest possible access to the world's media and
information sectors under viable commercial conditions, countries will
need to protect the creative content of the GII--text, images, computer
programs, databases, video and sound recordings, as well as multimedia
products.
Providing for adequate and effective protection of intellectual
property in the digital environment requires complex legal and
technical solutions. Some of these solutions may be viewed as
controversial by some users of the system. However, the cost to society
of inadequate intellectual property protection far outweighs these
concerns. Inadequate protection of intellectual property discourages
the creation of copyrighted works, creates barriers to innovation,
stifles the use of new applications, and diminishes foreign investment.
It jeopardizes the work of researchers, creative artists, and a wide
variety of entrepreneurs.
It goes without saying that if creative works are not adequately
protected, their creators will be reluctant to permit them to be
distributed over the GII. For this reason, rightsholders must not be
compelled to license rights to their works. Instead, GII participants
should cooperate to find legal, market-based alternatives to compulsory
licensing. Reliable and efficient means of transferring intellectual
property rights must also be assured. They might, for example, adopt
various licensing arrangements, such as on-line and off-line licensing,
direct licensing, and voluntary collective licensing. More sensitive
issues, however, may have to be addressed on an individual basis. For
example, licensing of rights may be done on a per-use, per-work, or
other basis. Licensing of rights for multimedia works, which involve a
number of copyrights--not all of them with obvious attributions--could
be facilitated by special licensing arrangements.
Recommended Action
The GII cannot achieve its promise if authors, producers, and other
content creators are not guaranteed adequate protection of their
intellectual property rights. To achieve this protection, the United
States will join with other governments to:
Cooperate in national, bilateral, regional and
international fora (such as the World Intellectual Property
Organization) to achieve high levels of intellectual property and
technical protection in order to guarantee to rightsholders the
technical and legal means to control the use of their property over the
GII;
Ensure that voluntary licensing regimes provide
rightsholders and potential users of copyrighted works maximum
flexibility in negotiating the conditions governing the use of
copyrighted works, eliminate compulsory licensing, and guard against
the imposition of standards that would impede the free-flow of
information;
Provide effective enforcement against the unauthorized use
of a copyrighted work (infringement), including severe legal penalties
and vigilant monitoring. Enforcement is particularly critical as
technological innovations jeopardize the existing ability of rights
holders to protect their works;
Encourage the development and use of technological
capabilities and safeguards, such as software envelopes, headers,
assurances of authenticity, and encryption methods to complement
existing copyright management techniques and prevent infringement at
all levels. Cooperative efforts to develop testbeds, define standards,
and construct infrastructure components for these safeguards should be
encouraged, as should measures to prevent or render illegal the use of
devices to overcome these safeguards; and
Work in collaboration with intellectual property-based
industries towards greater efforts to educate others about the
importance of intellectual property protection.
B. Applications: Delivering the Benefits of the GII
Given that the value of the GII will be determined by how people
benefit from it, governments must cultivate active participation by
consumers and businesses in the application of new technologies. By
working together in creative partnerships, the public and private
sectors can apply information and telecommunications technology to a
variety of critical and complex issues: improving productivity and
economic growth in an increasingly competitive and interdependent
global economy; providing adequate health care; ensuring the
development of workforce skills through education and training;
providing equitable access to information through public institutions,
such as libraries; enhancing leisure-time activities; protecting
natural resources and the environment; and ensuring the delivery of
government services and information.
Many governments are already examining ways to promote the
development of the information infrastructure and to demonstrate,
through pilot projects and testbeds, the myriad benefits of new
technologies. In the United States, the National Information
Infrastructure (NII) initiative includes a Federal matching grant
program that provides support for planning and demonstration projects
initiated by state and local governments and non-profit entities in
such fields as health care and education.6 The U.S. NII initiative
also includes a number of other federally supported applications in the
areas of environmental monitoring, digital libraries, international
transportation and trade, and the electronic dissemination of
government information.7
\6\Administered by the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration, the basic objective of the
Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program
(TIIAP) is to provide clear and visible demonstrations to people at
the local level of the advantages that can be accrued in their daily
lives as a result of having access to a modern, interactive
information infrastructure.
\7\Additional information on how information infrastructure
applications can benefit people can be found in two reports from the
U.S. Information Infrastructure Task Force's Committee on
Applications and Technology: ``Putting the Information
Infrastructure to Work,'' National Institute of Standards and
Technology Special Publication 857, Gaithersburg, MD., 1994; and
``The Information Infrastructure: Reaching Society's Goals,''
National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication
868, Gaithersburg, MD., 1994.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The reach of applications being developed around the world can be
expanded internationally through collaborative projects among
[[Page 10369]] commercial entities, academic institutions, and private,
voluntary, and multilateral organizations. International applications
have the unique potential to permit countries not only to bring diverse
global resources to bear upon local problems and needs, but also to
find solutions to needs that transcend national boundaries, such as
environmental monitoring and global trade and commerce.
These applications can transform the possibilities of the GII into
realities for citizens around the world. What follows is an
illustrative, but not exhaustive, list of examples that demonstrate the
value of expanding collaborative efforts in the development of
international applications:
Distance learning projects can make available a wealth of
educational resources to improve local educational and training
capabilities, offering cost-saving, effective alternatives to overseas
studies;
Computer networks linking medical school libraries and
remote sites can improve the delivery of health care services,
particularly to rural communities, by expanding access to demographic,
epidemiological, and medical reference materials. In Zambia, district
hospitals are being linked for clinical consultation, distance
learning, health literature dissemination, and epidemiological data
exchange. African medical libraries are linking up with libraries
overseas for research and document delivery services;
Satellite and radio-based systems that collect and
disseminate health statistics can be used to identify underserved
segments of the population and to target those areas for expanded
delivery of family health services;
Remote sensing can be used to identify and protect
important ecological systems. The Administration is promoting an
international partnership, known as Global Learning and Observation to
Benefit the Environment (GLOBE), that will allow children all over the
world to collect and share environmental data. Students will work with
teachers and environmental scientists to expand knowledge about
weather, air and water chemistry and quality, biodiversity, and other
``vital signs'' of the Earth. The combined data will be transformed
into striking ``pictures'' of the entire planet, allowing each student
to see how their school's observation is an important part of the
global environment;
Computer and satellite networks can provide monitoring
and, in some cases, early warning of natural disasters, allowing for
better coordination of humanitarian assistance efforts between host and
donor countries, speeding the delivery of aid and assistance. In the
South Pacific, the PEACESAT satellite network has been used to
coordinate emergency assistance after typhoons and earthquakes, and to
summon medical teams during outbreaks of cholera and dengue fever;
Computerized market price data for agricultural and
horticultural products can provide new agribusiness opportunities and
can facilitate direct links between exporters and clients;
Access to international markets, particularly for small
and medium sized businesses, can be created by providing electronic
access to information such as transportation schedules and costs,
insurance and customs data. The United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) trade points system uses electronic data
interchange and other technologies to establish a network of trade
points around the globe. In Algeria, for example, the introduction of a
computer-mediated trade point has stimulated an increase in the number
of companies involved in international trade from twenty to 2,500;
Electronic data interchange technologies, which can reduce
the administrative cost of international trade transactions by as much
as twenty per cent, can help companies increase productivity by
streamlining manufacturing and service delivery. Through industry-led
consortia such as CommerceNet, companies can explore collaborative
engineering, on-line catalogs of products and services, and mechanisms
for electronic payments;
Scientists can continue to explore the use of
``collaboratories,'' tools and virtual environments that allow
scientists to work together without regard to space or time. Scientists
need the ability to share data and the tools for data analysis,
visualization, and modeling, to control remote instruments, and to
communicate with their colleagues;
Using the World Wide Web, individuals and institutions all
over the globe have begun to create distributed ``virtual libraries''
on specific subjects. As these opportunities continue to grow, tools
for information discovery and retrieval and protection of intellectual
property rights will become increasingly important.
In our view, public-private sponsorship of GII pilot projects and
testbeds is worthwhile. It will help identify and address a number of
technical, policy, and regulatory barriers to the realization of the
GII. These include issues of privacy, security, interoperability, and
intellectual property protection, as well as artificially high prices
for telecommunications services and outdated rules and regulations
designed for paper-based transactions. A strategy that concentrates on
``learning by doing'' is far more likely to resolve these barriers.
The roles played by governments, the private sector, academic
institutions, and non-profit organizations will vary depending on the
nature of the application. In some cases, such as global electronic
commerce and entertainment services, the private sector should take the
lead, while in other areas, such as international public health,
cooperation between public health agencies, hospitals, clinics, and
universities would be appropriate. Whatever the application,
governments must recognize that while they can play an important
catalytic role in fostering international collaboration, they should
not attempt ``top-down'' management of this process. The Administration
hopes and expects that many of the best ideas for global cooperation
will bubble up from the grassroots with little or no government
involvement.
Successful applications will set in motion a continuous cycle of
demand that will encourage future development of the GII. Demonstrating
the power of the GII to successfully address pressing problems will
stimulate consumer demand for a variety of products and services at
affordable prices. This demand will provide the necessary incentive for
the private sector to broaden the reach and expand the capabilities of
the GII, enhancing its ability to deliver benefits to people and again
increasing demand. As a ``network of networks'' linking people and
information, the GII can leverage the collaborative potential of
existing efforts and provide real solutions to existing and emerging
global issues.
Recommended Action
International applications are the best way to demonstrate the
potential power of the GII to affect lives all over the world. The
United States will join with other countries to:
Support, along with the private sector, the initiation of
pilot projects and testbeds that demonstrate the benefits of the GII,
in areas such as electronic commerce, health care, digital libraries,
environmental monitoring, and life-long learning, with opportunities
for participation by both developed and developing countries;
Cooperate in the facilitation of electronic information
exchanges in support of global trade and commerce;
Facilitate the sharing of information in the public domain
with other [[Page 10370]] countries on government-funded and private
sector applications projects to promote a broader understanding of the
diversity of technology that can be applied to meet various public
needs;
Encourage the assignment of a higher priority for
innovative applications of information technology, which will encourage
increased use of the GII;
Encourage private sector-led efforts to develop
application-level standards (e.g. data interchange formats, application
program interfaces) to ensure interoperability at the application
level; and
Work constructively to assess and eliminate the barriers
to the development and deployment of GII applications.8
\8\ A report of the Conference on Breaking the Barriers to the
National Information Infrastructure can be obtained from the Council
on Competitiveness in Washington, D.C. The conference was co-
sponsored by the Council and the Clinton Administration's
Information Infrastructure Task Force.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
IV. Implementing the GII
The various approaches governments have taken in response to the
technological convergence of telecommunications and information
industries have resulted in the development of asymmetric markets and
regulatory environments around the world. These asymmetries often
impede the cross-border transfer of services and information among
business users, entertainment providers, and consumers. The United
States believes that these differences can be overcome, in part through
the work of market forces and technological developments, but also in
part through collective agreement among all countries to adopt,
advance, and apply the core principles of the GII. By working through
existing international and regional organizations, and engaging in
bilateral efforts, government and industry can remove obstacles
blocking the effective development of the GII.
Multilateral organizations will play a vital role in this effort.
In particular, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) are uniquely able to
contribute practical solutions to problems affecting the development of
the GII.
As the preeminent international organization dealing with
telecommunications issues, the United Nations' ITU was the first
multilateral forum in which the GII was discussed. With its broad
membership of 185 developed and developing countries, the consensus-
based ITU serves as a global forum for technical discussions ranging
from voluntary standards development and frequency allocation
activities to network development. Accomplishments already achieved
under ITU auspices in technical telecommunications and development
issues suggest that the ITU can play a significant role in the GII
development process.
The OECD, an international think tank which undertakes economic
research on various aspects of its members' economies and policy
concerns, has been constructively addressing telecommunications and
information policy issues for several years. Its policy and statistical
analyses have contributed to a broader understanding of the economic
benefits of liberalization in the information and telecommunications
sectors.
Organizations such as the ISO and the WIPO, which deal with
specific cross-sectoral issues, can serve as important fora to discuss
and advance issues of open access and information policy. For example,
any changes made to bilateral or regional intellectual property regimes
may ultimately become issues in the WIPO.
In addition, both Intelsat and Inmarsat, the treaty-based satellite
communications organizations that have played a significant role in
advancing global telecommunications, are now contemplating options for
restructuring. Because of these organizations' broad international
memberships, they could serve as useful fora for review of
commercialization alternatives.
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a multilateral
agreement setting out the rules and principles by which countries
trade, primarily in the area of goods. The Uruguay Round of GATT
negotiations led to the establishment of the World Trade Organization
(WTO), which deals with services, investment, and intellectual
property--areas that substantively affect telecommunications trade. The
General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), under the new WTO,
includes an Annex on--access to and use of--the telecommunications
networks of WTO members, and includes substantive commitments from a
number of parties on value-added telecommunications services. More
generally, the GATS--access to and use of--telecommunications annex
applies to all services for which countries have scheduled market
access commitments. Now that it is in effect for the U.S. and most of
its major trading partners, the GATS can substantially reinforce the
principles of the GII. In addition, there are on-going negotiations, to
be concluded by April 1996, to liberalize basic telecommunications
services through the Negotiating Group on Basic Telecommunications.
Regional organizations also have important roles in achieving
regional consensus on issues pertaining to telecommunications and
information markets. Organizations such as the Inter-American
Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) of the Organization of American
States (OAS), the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the
Southern Africa Transportation and Communications Commission (SATCC)
and the European Conference on Postal and Telecommunications
Administration (CEPT), among others, frequently serve as fora for the
exchange of valuable information and as test sites for implementation
of the most expedient and beneficial policies. These bodies also serve
as effective vehicles for improving and enhancing network development
and technical cooperation among participants on a regional basis.
Finally, plurilateral and bilateral dialogues can be arranged among
and between nations to focus on particular issues. In addition to the
deliberations in regional and international organizations, these
discussions can become building blocks for cooperation as together we
seek to construct a truly global GII. For example, the G-7 Ministerial
Conference scheduled for February 1995 is one of several such
opportunities for focused, high-level discussion of the Global
Information Infrastructure.
As important as these international governmental organizations are,
perhaps even more important are the numerous formal and informal groups
within the private sector. These groups, which range from international
trade organizations to professional associations to advocacy groups to
industry-led standard-setting bodies, provide communication channels
between the people who will actually build and use the GII. Such
private sector groups facilitate the international teaming and
strategic alliances that will ensure the development of a truly
seamless ``network of networks,'' rather than a patchwork of
incompatible systems and services.
V. Conclusion
As Vice President Gore noted in Buenos Aires, it is possible to
create a global information network that transmits messages and images
with the speed of light from the largest city to the smallest village.
Through the [[Page 10371]] interconnection of disparate but
interoperable networks, these information highways will allow us to
communicate as a global communitygiving individuals, businesses, and
economies greater access to each other and to a wider range of
information. Equally important, the GII will offer governments an
unprecedented opportunity to equalize global disparity in
telecommunications and maximize the economic and social benefits of the
Information Age for their citizens.
Harnessing the global potential of information and communications
technologies to this end will require collaboration among the
industries that will build, operate, provide, and use services and
information available over the evolving national networks. It will also
require cooperative efforts among countries, working together
bilaterally, regionally, and through multilateral organizations, to
facilitate the interconnection of their respective networks and the
sharing of information among nations.
In our interdependent world, technological and regulatory choices
made in one country can affect those made in neighboring countries,
creating a multiplier effect for the GII's development. To help guide
this development, the Administration proposes five core
principlesprivate investment, competition, open access, a flexible
regulatory environment, and universal service. These principles, we
believe, along with effective information policies, will provide a
foundation upon which the GII can be built.
The overarching goal of the ``Agenda for Cooperation'' is to foster
the cooperation that will be needed to spur the transformation of a
thousand discrete networks into a connected, interoperable global
information infrastructure. As all nations take steps to develop and
upgrade national information infrastructures, we invite you to join
with us in ensuring that the benefits of the GII will be available
throughout the world.
Larry Irving,
Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information.
[FR Doc. 95-4546 Filed 2-23-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-60-P
