The corporate decision today should be: Forget building your own network. The Internet is by far the best buy for a commercial user. It offers the largest network; it has the lowest cost. Uses will be all voice, data and video communications including the listing of all products and services. These listings – not advertisements – will totally change the way industry and the public search for and buy products.
The Internet will be upgraded to ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) as the base network to support the increased bandwidth. TodayÕs voice net supports 600 G bits, and the nationÕs data net will grow to 3,000 G bits by 2020. Putting ATM under the Internet is very easy due to layered protocols and will be done within two years.
The Third Wave sector includes not only high-flying computer and electronics firms and biotech start-ups; it embraces advanced, information-driven manufacturing in every industry … The people in this sector will soon be the dominant constituency in American politics.
As computers become more powerful and less expensive, students may eventually carry hand-held, computer-based “intelligent tutors,” or learn in elaborate stimulated environments.
The NII could be used to create an “electronic commons” and promote public interest in the following ways: Community Access Networks: Grass-roosts networks are springing up all over the country, providing citizens with a wide range of information services. The National Information Infrastructure should expand a citizenÕs capacity for action in local institutions, as it must honor regional differences and the culture diversity of AmericaÕs heritage É Dissemination of government information: The free flow of information between the government and the public is essential to the democratic society. Improvements in the National Information Infrastructure provide a tremendous opportunity to improve the delivery of government information É Universal access: The NII must be used to bring Americans together, as opposed to allowing a further polarization between information “haves” and “have nots.”
Experts estimate that telecommunications applications could reduce health care costs by $36 to $100 billion each year while improving quality and increasing access. [Breakthroughs would come in the areas of:] Telemedicine … Unified Electronic Claims … Personal Health Information Systems … Computer-Based Patient Records.
The National Information Infrastructure will help create high-wage jobs, stimulate economic growth, enable new products and services, and strengthen AmericanÕs technological leadership. Whole new industries will be created, and the infrastructure will be used in ways we can only begin to imagine.
Americans can harness this technology to: Create jobs, spur growth, and foster U.S. technological leadership; reduce health care costs while increasing the quality of service in underserved areas; deliver higher-quality, lower-cost government services; prepare our children for the fast paced workplace of the 21st century; build a more open and participatory democracy at all levels of government.
Imagine you have a device that combines a telephone, a TV, a camcorder, and a personal computer … Imagine … the dramatic changes in your life.
An advanced information infrastructure will enable U.S. firms to compete and win in the global economy, generating good jobs for the American people and economic growth for the nation. As importantly, the NII can transform the lives of the American people – ameliorating the constraints of geography, disability, and economic status – giving all Americans a fair opportunity to go as far as their talents and ambitions will take them.