Law librarians interested in shaping the National Information Infrastructure
should participate in the Virtual Conference described below.
Cheryl Nyberg
University of Illinois Law Library
cnyberg@law.uiuc.edu
NTIA VIRTUAL PUBLIC CONFERENCE
ON
"UNIVERSAL SERVICE AND OPEN ACCESS TO THE
TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK"
Thank you for your interest in the NTIA Virtual Conference
on the National Information Infrastructure. Your insights
and opinions are valuable to us, and we hope that with your
help this conference will prove a success.
The conference will begin on November 14th, 1994, and run
through midnight November 18th, 1994. If there is
sufficient interest, it may be extended an additional week.
At present, you may subscribe to a topic by sending email to
the topic address. Your email address will be saved and
you will be added to the subscription list for the topic.
No actual traffic on the topics will begin until November
14th, though essays by conference hosts will be sent out a
few days before the conference begins.
At his time, if you subscribe to a topic, you will receive
an introductory messsage about the conference. However,
your email address is the only information being retained--
do not send any message destined for a conference topic.
You do not need to supply any information in the subject
line or in the message to presubscribe.
If you wait and subscribe to a conference topic when the
conference begins on November 14, 1994, you need to send
email to a conference topic from the account where you want
to receive the mailings. The message should have the single
line in it:
subscribe topic your name
where subscribe is a keyword and topic is the name of one of
the following topics: redefus, avail, intellec, privacy,
standard, opnacces. Your name in the above example is
strickly for documentation.
Please use these addresses for subscribing to conference
topics:
Redefining Universal Service and Open Access:
redefus@virtconf.ntia.doc.gov
Affordability and Availability:
avail@virtconf.ntia.doc.gov
Interoperability: standard@virtconf.ntia.doc.gov
Intellectual Property:
intellec@virtconf.ntia.doc.gov
Privacy: privacy@virtconf.ntia.doc.gov
Universal Service and Open Access for Individuals with
Disabilities: opnacces@virtconf.ntia.doc.gov
This automated reply will not be sent to you more than once
per week, no matter how many times you send to this
address.
We are glad to have you with us, and look forward to a
productive series of discussions on this aspect of the
National Information Infrastructure. Please feel free to
inspect our information server at:
http://ntiaunix1.ntia.doc.gov:70/0/press/virtcon.txt
For your convenience, we have included the original
conference announcement below.
************************************************************
***********
THE NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND
INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION (NTIA)
and the
UNIVERSAL SERVICE WORKING
GROUP OF THE INFORMATION
INFRASTRUCTURE TASK FORCE
(IITF)
announce a
VIRTUAL PUBLIC CONFERENCE ON "UNIVERSAL
SERVICE AND OPEN ACCESS TO THE
TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK"
November 14-18, 1994
Background
In a landmark effort to broaden participation in the
development of the nation's telecommunication policies and
demonstrate the power of networking technology, the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and
the Universal Service Working Group of the Information
Infrastructure Task Force (IITF) will host an electronic,
Virtual Conference the week of November 14-18, 1994.
The Virtual Conference will culminate a year-long
effort by the Administration to gather information and
opinions about the issue of universal service and open
access as it relates to telecommunications and information
resources. Building upon previous field hearings conducted
by NTIA and the Universal Service Working Group on this
subject, the Conference will allow public input to be
expanded beyond geographic constraints. The
Conference also is part of the Clinton
Administration's initiative to promote the development of a
National Information Infrastructure (NII). The
Administration's document entitled the National Information
Infrastructure: Agenda for Action, released on September
15, 1993, describes the benefits of networking technology
and the potential for using the NII to create an electronic
commons. The report includes the Administration's goals of
extending universal service to the telecommunications
network and using the NII to conduct government business.
To demonstrate these concepts, this conference is
being conducted entirely through electronic networks--using
the Internet, dial-up bulletin board access, public
information service providers, and commercial service
providers. Although most attendees will use their own
computers, NTIA and the Universal Service Working Group are
providing nationwide access by encouraging public
institutions to make their computer facilities available to
the public during the week of the conference.
Information collected during this conference and all
of the previous field hearings is being incorporated into
the Administration's on-going policy deliberations and may
result in a report to Congress and the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC).
How the Conference Will Be Conducted
During the week of November 14-18, 1994, NTIA will
create a series of electronic mail discussion groups. Each
topic will have an Internet mailing list and USENET
newsgroup devoted specifically to discussion of each
relatively narrow area. Each topic will be hosted by an
expert in the field, who will begin each day's discussion.
Attendees will be able to participate in two ways: by
replying to the host in a short response that will be
included in the formal proceedings of the conference, and by
engaging in unmoderated discussion on the mailing list and
newsgroup. This two-tiered system will promote an active
discussion by not moderating or summarizing what anyone has
to contribute, while still creating a shorter precis of the
overall debate. Topics will include:
-- Redefining Universal Service and Open Access: What
is the minimum "basket" of basic services or
capabilities that all Americans should be able to obtain
today? Which services or capabilities, if any,
should be available to all Americans on an optional basis?
What is the proper relationship between universal
service and open access?
-- Affordability and Availability: Who lacks basic
telecommunications service, and why? For more
advanced services, should training be available to all who
wish it? Who should pay for such training? How can
rural concerns and inner city concerns be balanced by a
modern concept of universal service? How can
government balance the need to provide universal
service with the need to allow a competitive environment for
the telecommunications industry?
-- Intellectual Property: Does the traditional legal
framework for intellectual property work with
digital technology? What are the respective roles of the
government and the private sector in determining how
creators are reimbursed? Does the current legal framework
of intellectual property help or hinder the goal of
open access to the telecommunications network?
-- Privacy: What potential is there for the
telecommunications network to compromise personal
privacy? To what extent will perceptions of reduced privacy
hinder open access to the telecommunications
network?
-- Interoperability: How important is the concept of
interoperability to the goals of universal service
and open access? What is the respective role of the market
and the government in determining standards and
protocols for interoperability? What lessons can we learn
from past efforts at standards setting, both
domestically and
internationally?
-- Universal Service and Open Access for Individuals
with Disabilities: What is the current state of
access and service for the disabled? How can
telecommunications help the disabled participate
more fully in society? What design concepts for the
disabled are transferable to all users to improve
overall network functionality?
Additional information about the Virtual Conference,
including instructions on how to join a topic, may be found
on the Conference Gopher: gopher-virtconf.ntia.doc.gov.
This information can also be e-mailed directly to you; send
a message to info@virtconf.ntia.doc.gov and you will receive
an automatic reply.
Participants are encouraged to review the
NTIA/Universal Service Working Group's relevant documents
and post comments and suggestions. These documents include:
NII Field Hearings on Universal Service and Open Access:
America Speaks Out; and Notice of Inquiry (NOI) on Universal
Service and Open Access Issues (written comments in response
to this NOI are being received by NTIA and should be filed
on or before December 14, 1994, to receive full
consideration). These documents already are available
through NTIA's IITF Gopher Server at iitf.doc.gov, dial in
to (202) 501-1920, and NTIA's Bulletin Board Service at
(202) 482-1199, ntiabbs.ntia.doc.gov (telnet, gopher or
world-wide web).
Call for "Public Access Points"
The Administration recognizes that not all citizens
have access to, or experience using, computers and the
Internet. Therefore, libraries and universities, as well as
state and local governments, are encouraged to make their
facilities available to the public. Providing these public
gateways will demonstrate the power of networking and allow
access to those who might not otherwise be able to
participate.
If your institution is interested in participating
as a "public access point," please see the attached
registration form.
For Further Information
For technical assistance, please contact Charles
Franz at (202) 482-1835 (cfranz@ntia.doc.gov). For general
information, please contact Roanne Robinson at (202)
482-1551
(rrobinson@ntia.doc.gov). Fax inquiries should be directed
to (202) 482-1635.
10/3/94
REGISTRATION FORM FOR "PUBLIC ACCESS POINTS"
The National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) and the Universal Service Working
Group of the Information Infrastructure Task Force (IITF)
are hosting an electronic Virtual Conference on the topics
of universal service and open access to the
telecommunications network. The Conference will be
accessible by the public via Internet mailing lists and
network newsgroups.
To broaden the reach of the Conference, the
Administration is encouraging public institutions to provide
the general public a generic e-mail or newsgroup account to
access the Conference Internet mailing lists. This will
allow citizens to read and respond to on-going discussions
on various topics.
Site Responsibilities
While every attempt will be made to make the general
public aware of this conference, "public access points"
(sites) will be responsible for all local publicity, as well
as technical and logistical support. Sites are encouraged
to display the conference announcement and make copies
available to the public. Sites may wish to develop an
additional announcement stating their intent to serve as a
public access point, hours of operation and a local contact
person, who can instruct local citizens on how to
participate. Sites are encouraged to download the relevant
documents outlined in the announcement and make hard copies
available for the public to review prior to the
conference.
In addition, since sites will be providing NTIA with
anonymous e-mail accounts, sites may wish to encourage
individual conference participants to provide their name,
organization, and address at the end of their comments.
Site Registration
Please complete the registration form and e-mail the
form to rrobinson@ntia.doc.gov by November 4, 1994.
Registration will allow us to contact you with updated
conference information.
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