“National” in the context of e-mail is at best a misnomer; at worst, it could mislead policy. Policies that derive specifically from a commitment to universalize e-mail within this country will interact with and affect events far beyond the domestic milieu.
If a U.S. goal is to exploit the potential of electronic networks to equalize opportunities between haves and have-nots, making computers and training available will be essential. Also, access and training in combination is important – making computers available with no training or technical support is unlikely to lead to effective use – in the same way that introducing computers into classrooms positively influences outcomes only when teachers and students are trained to use them and have opportunities to do so regularly as a part of their routine educational activities.
Facilitating access to information on, for example, education and employment opportunities should benefit traditionally disadvantaged groups relatively more than their socioeconomically advantaged counterparts. It should have the effect of “leveling the playing field.” In addition, network access promises to facilitate organizational formation and restructuring. This is a particular benefit for nonprofit and community-based organizations that typically operate under severe human, financial, and technical resource constraints.
Concerns that boundary-spanning networks might facilitate a breakdown of community affiliation, or disinterest in local affairs, appear unfounded … Also the fear that individuals will be overwhelmed by a deluge of “junk mail,” or subjected to defamatory or otherwise inappropriate message content, appears to be, although not a trivial issue, at least not one requiring too much attention at this point.
Obligating service providers to offer subscriptions to large classes of customers at low rates that are financed by contributions from other services, a policy that was successfully used in the telephone industry for many years, is unlikely to succeed in the competitive messaging industry. Instead, e-mail assistance will require public funding from an industrywide tax or from general revenues. Subsidies will need to be narrowly targeted to reach consumers who would not otherwise subscribe.
Democracy in the nations of the world is positively correlated with interconnectivity. For nations emerging into democracy, or attempting to, connectivity is likely to have a positive influence on democratization … The United States should support increased interconnectivity abroad, since this may aid the spread of democracy.
There are international dimensions to “universal” e-mail within the United States. Policies to influence the development of a national e-mail system should recognize the borderless nature of this technology. Perhaps more than other national systems, an e-mail system will affect and be affected by worldwide standards, policies, and events.
[There is a] need for a simple e-mail address system that gives every U.S. resident a “default” e-mail address by which they can be reached. Such a development would “jump start” a universal access system, because governmental and other organizations could then assume that “everyone” was reachable by this means and design procedures and systems accordingly … A simple e-mail address provision scheme should be developed giving every U.S. resident an e-mail address, perhaps based on a person’s physical address or telephone number.
With only about half of U.S. households containing personal computers by the year 2000, a robust set of alternative devices and locations is needed, including keyboard attachments to TV set-top boxes and video game machines, and extended telephones providing e-mail (and likely integrated voice mail) access. Public access is vital, with libraries, post offices, kiosks, and government buildings each playing a role. There might well be a market for “pay” terminals analogous to the ubiquitous pay telephones.
Policy interventions should give priority to widespread home access [for participation in online communications]. In addition, and not as a substitute, multiple options for network access located in convenient places (including, for instance, libraries, schools, public buildings, hotel lobbies, business centers, and the like) are important auxiliary access sites. Such common facilities could be considered good locations for help or training centers as well … Specific policies might be designed to facilitate and support the development of online civic activities offered by government agencies and nonprofit organizations.