Ensuring Access for All

The United States, indeed the world, now stands in the midst of the information revolution. This Nation must ensure that the enormous empowering capabilities these new information and communications services afford will be available to all Americans and not create a society of information "have" and "have nots." Only if Americans are able to be both consumers and producers of information in all forms can this country fully realize the benefits of this information revolution.

The United States Advisory Council on the National Information Infrastructure proposes universal access and universal service principles, as well as action recommendations.

Universal Access and Services

Over 60 years ago, this Nation set a goal of making available "to all people of the United States . . . communications service with adequate facilities at reasonable charges. . ." That goal, articulated in the Communications Act of 1934, has become known as "universal service." Today, the goal of universal service has been generally achieved: more than 94 percent of all American households have basic telephone service (the highest ratio in the world), and 98 percent have at least one television set. Yet disparities remain. There are groups within our society whose rates of access to communications services are significantly lower. For example, only 50 percent of rural Native American homes have basic telephone service.

Historically, universal service has been characterized in terms of "plain old telephone service," the standard voice services with which we are all familiar. Today, however, voice services are rapidly converging with video and data technologies to form a new Information Age. As a result, this Nation once again faces the challenge of providing all Americans access to basic communication and information services. The United States, indeed the world, now stands in the midst of the information revolution. This Nation must ensure that the enormous empowering capabilities these new information and communications services afford will be available to all Americans and not create a society of information "haves" and "have nots." Only if all Americans are able to be both consumers and producers of information in all forms can this country fully realize the benefits of this information revolution.

In the face of this Information Age, traditional concepts that have existed within the communications industry for decades must be reevaluated. In addition, new paradigms must be created if the public is to understand more fully what this information revolution can bring to every American. The traditional concept of universal service must be redefined to encompass a concept more in line with the Information Superhighway of the future. Universal service will take on a different meaning to include the evolving array of basic communications and information services ubiquitously available on the Information Superhighway. Furthermore, the concept known as universal access must be formally introduced into the lexicon of the communications and information industries. There have been several informal definitions of universal access used within the industry, but going forward, universal access should be defined as affordable, ubiquitous, convenient, and functional connection to the Information Superhighway. These definitions for universal service and universal access, while relating to two distinct concepts, are closely interrelated.

Based on these themes, the Council proposes universal access and universal services principles.

Principles of Universal Access and Service

A national goal should be set to enable every individual to have access to the Information Superhighway by the year 2005. This goal would include defining basic levels of access and service capabilities and the deployment of an interactive, multimedia infrastructure.
A short-term national goal should be set to deploy Information Superhighway access and service capabilities to all community-based institutions that serve the public such as schools and libraries by the year 2000. This effort would involve technologies available today and access to publicly available networks.
Commercial and competitive initiatives should be the driving force behind the Information Superhighway and regulatory disincentives should be removed. The role of all levels of government is to ensure fair access regardless of geography; to ensure basic levels of service; to ensure interoperability of the Information Superhighway; and to encourage women- and minority-owned business, as well as small businesses and not-for-profit organizations, to participate in the Information Superhighway.
All individuals should be able to be both consumers and producers of information and services on the Information Superhighway.
Individuals with disabilities should have access to the Information Superhighway, and, therefore, design issues should be addressed as the infrastructure is developed to ensure access for all individuals with disabilities.
Consistent with existing laws, information from all levels of government should be readily accessible over the Information Superhighway.
If commercial and competitive forces do not achieve the goal of universal access and service, support mechanisms such as incentives and subsidies should be evaluated and implemented as appropriate to meet the goal. Any support mechanism should apply equally in a competitively neutral manner to all market participants.

Action Recommendations for Universal Access and Services

Principles 1 and 2 underscore the universal access goals of the Council, with specific timeframes for the near and long term. Principles 3 through 7 identify the manner in which those goals can be achieved, with an emphasis on the criteria that would allow all Americans to enjoy full access to the benefits of the Information Superhighway. As such, the following action recommendations detail the specific actions required to achieve universal access and service by the year 2005.

Action Recommendations to Implement Principle 3

The deployment of the Information Superhighway is based on offerings from a variety of suppliers of products, services, and infrastructures in a competitive marketplace. Federal, State, and local governments should be participants in these markets and promote these markets, providing content and services over the Information Superhighway.
Government should continue to offer research and development tax credits to stimulate the growth of the Information Superhighway.
Government in concert with business should continue co-funding small-scale pilot projects to stimulate new technology and capabilities associated with the Information Superhighway.
Government should continue grant programs directed at stimulation of Information Superhighway projects associated with schools, libraries, and community centers.
Government should aggressively initiate cost-effective purchasing policies encouraging stimulation of Information Superhighway leading-edge architecture and development.
Government should accelerate the declassification of military technology that could be applicable to accelerate development and implementation of the Information Superhighway without compromising national security considerations.
Government should accelerate efforts to make more efficient use of its own spectrum and to reallocate government spectrum for non-government uses, such as for commercial uses and not-for-profit organizations, taking into consideration the requirements of all levels of government (e.g., local governments' usage of frequency for public safety).
Government should work with the private sector to establish a national mechanism for gathering and sharing the experiences gained in the deployment and applications of the Information Superhighway.
In order to ensure the efficient introduction of new information technologies, government and business should devote adequate resources to prepare America's workforce to meet the needs of the Information Superhighway for properly trained personnel. All who work with the new technology must be educated to understand how to access the Information Superhighway, what resources are available on the Information Superhighway, and how to productively use the Information Superhighway.
So that their employees can make an optimum contribution to the development of the Information Superhighway, government and business should institute programs to train, retrain, counsel, and financially assist workers as they make the transition from using old technologies to utilizing new information technologies.

Action Recommendations to Implement Principle 4

Both government and business should encourage an architecture that is open and interoperable. The Internet is a helpful starting point for these issues and should continue to serve as a way to gain experience for future developments.
Open and interoperable systems are key ingredients to consumers and producers as the Information Superhighway evolves. The government should give priority in granting research and development money to efforts that promote open systems.

Action Recommendations to Implement Principle 5

The Federal Government should facilitate the development of the Information Superhighway architecture and system design for access for persons with disabilities through R&D funding and R&D tax credits to corporations that take on development efforts in this area.
The Federal Government, under the guidance of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), should promote industry standards and heighten awareness in this area by taking the lead in convening meetings that facilitate the development of "UL type standards" or "seal of approval" type criteria for software and hardware that meet agreed-to criteria in design and implementation.
All levels of government should ensure that their procurement and equipment solicitations be consistent with the requirements under section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 19861 and that procurement waivers not be granted without scrutiny, justification, and documentation.2
The private sector should be encouraged to take the affirmative responsibility to promote policies and to develop products and technologies that are accessible and usable by people with disabilities.

Action Recommendations to Implement Principle 6

No later than January 1, 1998, Federal Government agencies should have the capability to provide government-produced information in electronic format readily accessible initially through the Internet. As the Information Superhighway capability evolves, either as an evolution of the Internet and/or separately, the government should ensure continued accessibility of information.
The Federal Government should be encouraged to convert historical information into electronic format. The scope of this endeavor should be left to the discretion of the agency and should be guided by public demand and prioritized based on the nonavailability of information from other sources.
As a means of funding the capability to provide Federal Government information in electronic format for accessibility via the Information Superhighway, a percentage of the Information Technology Budget currently allocated annually to each Federal Government agency should be designated solely for the development and implementation of electronic information systems within each agency. The specific percentage should be decided on an agency-by-agency basis. This process should be implemented no later than the next government fiscal year and incorporated into the current fiscal cycle where possible.
Each Federal agency should be encouraged to establish an index of publicly available published and electronically disseminated information, via the current Government Information Locator Service (GILS), which is updated and made available in a timely manner. This index should be electronically available via the Information Superhighway.
The Federal Government should refrain from asserting intellectual property protection, contractual restrictions, or any other restrictions that would impede free and open access to all government information that is publicly disclosable under existing law, for all users on the Information Superhighway.
The Federal Government should encourage the private sector to take the lead in providing value-added information and services over the Information Superhighway.
State and local government should strive to provide government-produced information in electronic format and convert historical information into electronic format.
State and local government should strive to adhere to the implementation strategies identified in numbers 1 through 7 above to the degree feasible and appropriate and consistent with existing laws.

Action Recommendations to Implement Principle 7

Support mechanisms including, but not limited to, subsidies and incentives, should be made explicit and as understandable as possible. The government should evaluate the need to provide support or incentives when the marketplace falls short of enabling universal service and access at reasonable prices. The government, not industry, should continue to be responsible for making the determination of who should receive a subsidy, the timing of when the subsidy should be initiated and how the subsidy should be administered.
Funding to low-income support mechanisms should be competitively neutral among all market participants.
The government should provide support mechanisms to provide universal service and access for individuals in geographic areas where the Information Superhighway does not reach as a result of commercial and competitive forces.
People with disabilities should not have to pay more than others to have access to basic and advanced Information Superhighway services. If a user with a disability requires adaptive technology to have access to the Information Superhighway, support should be available to defray the cost of such disability-related needs. Support mechanisms should be explicit and cost-effective as technically feasible. Such mechanisms may include but not be limited to supplier tax incentives, vouchers, access line charges, or various discounts.
Under all circumstances, direct assistance will strive to be neutral with regard to technological options, transmission medium, and with regard to supplier choice.
When the adoption of common protocols and other architectural standards is required to enable or accelerate the deployment of the Information Superhighway, the government will explore appropriate means to facilitate agreements on such standards between suppliers.
Subsidies are intended to be directed to the enduser. There will be circumstances where it will be appropriate for the subsidy to go to an entity other than the enduser to ensure the most cost-effective means of access.

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