National Information Infrastructure (Agenda for Action)

All Americans have a stake in the construction of an advanced National Information Infrastructure (NII), a seamless web of communications networks, computers, databases, and consumer electronics that will put vast amounts of information at users' fingertips. Development of the NII can help unleash an information revolution that will change forever the way people live, work, and interact with each other:

* People could live almost anywhere they wanted, without foregoing opportunities for useful and fulfilling employment, by "telecommuting" to their offices through an electronic highway;

* The best schools, teachers, and courses would be available to all students, without regard to geography, distance, resources, or disability;

* Services that improve America's health care system and respond to other important social needs could be available on-line, without waiting in line, when and where you needed them.

Private sector firms are already developing and deploying that infrastructure today. Nevertheless, there remain essential roles for government in this process. Carefully crafted government action will complement and enhance the efforts of the private sector and assure the growth of an information infrastructure available to all Americans at reasonable cost. In developing our policy initiatives in this area, the Administration will work in close partnership with business, labor, academia, the public, Congress, and state and local government. Our efforts will be guided by the following principles and objectives:

* Promote private sector investment, through appropriate tax and regulatory policies.

* Extend the "universal service" concept to ensure that information resources are available to all at affordable prices. Because information means empowerment--and employment--the government has a duty to ensure that all Americans have access to the resources and job creation potential of the Information Age.

* Act as a catalyst to promote technological innovation and new applications. Commit important government research programs and grants to help the private sector develop and demonstrate technologies needed for the NII, and develop the applications and services that will maximize its value to users.

* Promote seamless, interactive, user-driven operation of the NII. As the NII evolves into a "network of networks," government will ensure that users can transfer information across networks easily and efficiently. To increase the likelihood that the NII will be both interactive and, to a large extent, user- driven, government must reform regulations and policies that may inadvertently hamper the development of interactive applications.

* Ensure information security and network reliability. The NII must be trust-worthy and secure, protecting the privacy of its users. Government action will also ensure that the overall system remains reliable, quickly repairable in the event of a failure and, perhaps most importantly, easy to use.

* Improve management of the radio frequency spectrum, an increasingly critical resource.

* Protect intellectual property rights. The Administration will investigate how to strengthen domestic copyright laws and international intellectual property treaties to prevent piracy and to protect the integrity of intellectual property.

* Coordinate with other levels of government and with other nations. Because information crosses state, regional, and national boundaries, coordination is critical to avoid needless obstacles and prevent unfair policies that handicap U.S. industry.

* Provide access to government information and improve government procurement. The Administration will seek to ensure that Federal agencies, in concert with state and local governments, use the NII to expand the information available to the public, ensuring that the immense reservoir of government information is available to the public easily and equitably. Additionally, Federal procurement policies for telecommunications and information services and equipment will be designed to promote important technical developments for the NII and to provide attractive incentives for the private sector to contribute to NII development.

The time for action is now. Every day brings news of change: new technologies, like hand-held computerized assistants; new ventures and mergers combining businesses that not long ago seemed discrete and insular; new legal decisions that challenge the separation of computer, cable, and telephone companies. These changes promise substantial benefits for the American people, but only if government understands fully their implications and begins working with the private sector and other interested parties to shape the evolution of the communications infrastructure.

The benefits of the NII for the nation are immense. 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.

I. The Promise of the NII

Imagine you had a device that combined a telephone, a TV, a camcorder, and a personal computer. No matter where you went or what time it was, your child could see you and talk to you, you could watch a replay of your team's last game, you could browse the latest additions to the library, or you could find the best prices in town on groceries, furniture, clothes -- whatever you needed.

Imagine further the dramatic changes in your life if:

* The best schools, teachers, and courses were available to all students, without regard to geography, distance, resources, or disability;

* The vast resources of art, literature, and science were available everywhere, not just in large institutions or big-city libraries and museums;

* Services that improve America's health care system and respond to other important social needs were available on-line, without waiting in line, when and where you needed them;

* You could live in many places without foregoing opportunities for useful and fulfilling employment, by "telecommuting" to your office through an electronic highway instead of by automobile, bus or train;

* Small manufacturers could get orders from all over the world electronically -- with detailed specifications -- in a form that the machines could use to produce the necessary items;

* You could see the latest movies, play the hottest video games, or bank and shop from the comfort of your home whenever you chose;

* You could obtain government information directly or through local organizations like libraries, apply for and receive government benefits electronically, and get in touch with government officials easily; and

* Individual government agencies, businesses and other entities all could exchange information electronically -- reducing paperwork and improving service.

Information is one of the nation's most critical economic resources, for service industries as well as manufacturing, for economic as well as national security. By one estimate, two- thirds of U.S. workers are in information-related jobs, and the rest are in industries that rely heavily on information. In an era of global markets and global competition, the technologies to create, manipulate, manage and use information are of strategic importance for the United States. Those technologies will help U.S. businesses remain competitive and create challenging, high- paying jobs. They also will fuel economic growth which, in turn, will generate a steadily-increasing standard of living for all Americans.

That is why the Administration has launched the National Information Infrastructure initiative. We are committed to working with business, labor, academia, public interest groups, Congress, and state and local government to ensure the development of a national information infrastructure (NII) that enables all Americans to access information and communicate with each other using voice, data, image or video at anytime, anywhere. By encouraging private sector investment in the NII's development, and through government programs to improve access to essential services, we will promote U.S. competitiveness, job creation and solutions to pressing social problems.

II. What Is the NII?

The phrase "information infrastructure" has an expansive meaning. The NII includes more than just the physical facilities used to transmit, store, process, and display voice, data, and images. It encompasses:

* A wide range and ever-expanding range of equipment including cameras, scanners, keyboards, telephones, fax machines, computers, switches, compact disks, video and audio tape, cable, wire, satellites, optical fiber transmission lines, microwave nets, switches, televisions, monitors, printers, and much more.

The NII will integrate and interconnect these physical components in a technologically neutral manner so that no one industry will be favored over any other. Most importantly, the NII requires building foundations for living in the Information Age and for making these technological advances useful to the public, business, libraries, and other nongovernmental entities. That is why, beyond the physical components of the infrastructure, the value of the National Information Infrastructure to users and the nation will depend in large part on the quality of its other elements:

* The information itself, which may be in the form of video programming, scientific or business databases, images, sound recordings, library archives, and other media. Vast quantities of that information exist today in government agencies and even more valuable information is produced every day in our laboratories, studios, publishing houses, and elsewhere.

* Applications and software that allow users to access, manipulate, organize, and digest the proliferating mass of information that the NII's facilities will put at their fingertips.

* The network standards and transmission codes that facilitate interconnection and interoperation between networks, and ensure the privacy of persons and the security of the information carried, as well as the security and reliability of the networks .

* The people -- largely in the private sector -- who create the information, develop applications and services, construct the facilities, and train others to tap its potential. Many of these people will be vendors, operators, and service providers working for private industry.

Every component of the information infrastructure must be developed and integrated if America is to capture the promise of the Information Age.

The Administration's NII initiative will promote and support full development of each component. Regulatory and economic policies will be adopted that encourage private firms to create jobs and invest in the applications and physical facilities that comprise the infrastructure. The Federal government will assist industry, labor, academia, and state and local governments in developing the information resources and applications needed to maximize the potential of those underlying facilities. Moreover, and perhaps most importantly, the NII initiative will help educate and train our people so that they are prepared not only to contribute to the further growth of the NII, but also to understand and enjoy fully the services and capabilities that it will make available.

REFERENCES FOR THE ABOVE QUOTED INFORMATION

NII

"SkyNet"

Table of Contents

What is your opinion on this initiative? I personally am curious to know more...

Notice they keep referring to the "Administration". This seems like a government funded program and although they present many valid benefits and solutions as points in their text, I think there is more to the story than they tell. I would really like to know what the true purpose of this program is...

Reading the rest now.


[edit on 3/27/2008 by StarChild]