"Constructing the National Information Infrastructure:
         Ensuring that All Americans Get Connected"

                   Remarks by Larry Irving
   Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information
 National Telecommunications and Information Administration
                 U.S. Department of Commerce

                           at the
              Vermont Telecommunications Forum

                   Winooski Park, Vermont
                       March 20, 1995

                        [as prepared]


     I would like to extend a special thank you to Senator
Leahy for inviting me to join you today.  I would also like
to commend Governor Dean and Pat Urban for their efforts to
promote the development of telecommunications and
information technologies for the good of all Vermonters. 
And I want to thank the Vermont Department of Public Service
and the Vermont Telecommunications Council for sponsoring
this forum and reaching out to all members of the community
-- industry, educators, medical personnel, state and local
government leaders, and many others -- who have an important
role to play in bringing the benefits of telecom and
information technologies to all residents.

     In 1966, Senator Robert Kennedy spoke about the need
for connection and working together as a community.  His
words carry an important message for us today.  He said,

          Even as the drive toward bigness [and]
     concentration . . .  has reached heights never before
     dreamt of in the past, we have come suddenly to realize
     how heavy a price we have paid:  in overcrowding and
     pollution of the atmosphere, and impersonality; in
     growth of organizations, particularly government, so
     large and powerful that individual effort and
     importance seem lost; and in the loss of the values of
     nature and community and local diversity that found
     their nurture in the smaller towns and rural areas of
     America. . . .
          We must attempt . . . to bring people back to
     . . . the warmth of community, to the worth of
     individual effort and responsibility . . . and of
     individuals working together as a community, to
     better their lives and their children's future.

     In essence, that is what the Clinton Administration's
National Information Infrastructure (NII) initiative all
about.  It's about bringing people and communities together
to better their lives.  It's about connecting people to one
another, to services, and to information.  

     Our NII initiative is about connecting Americans to one
another.  We see this happening in the growing use of
electronic mail to communicate with family, friends, and
clients as well as the flourishing of free-nets across the
country.

     It's about connecting Americans to their governments --
bringing new meaning to the word democracy.  Many Americans
are becoming better informed citizens by using the Internet
to obtain information about what their federal and state
governments are doing and to communicate their concerns to
government officials.  Over 10,000 people access the White
House Web Server every day.  Several states are now
distributing government benefits to their residents
electronically.  Two years ago, virtually no federal agency
had a presence on the Internet.  Today, nearly every federal
agency is on the Net, including the Small Business
Administration, FEMA, the Department of Labor, Department of
Commerce, NTIA, even the CIA.

     It's about connecting Americans with the education and
computer- and technology-related skills they need to get
high-paying, quality jobs.  We see this happening in Vermont
as a result of such initiatives as the Vermont Institute of
Math Science and Technology's planning of a statewide
telecommunications system for schools and communities.  And
in Governor Dean's plans to link the state's high schools
and regional libraries to the Internet, the global web of
computer networks, by upgrading Vermont's GOVnet.  I'll talk
about the importance of these initiatives later.

     And it's about connecting businesses and consumers in
new and exciting ways.  At any hour of the day, I can shop
at Vermont businesses, such as the Vermont Teddy Bear
Company and Speeder & Earl's Vermont Roasted Coffee, as they
now have catalogues on the Internet.  Yesterday, I got on my
computer and visited a variety of Vermont places -- Cabot
Creamery, Harrington's, Killington, Blue Chip Designs, Joan
& Annie's Brownies.
 
     The question for all of us here today is how can we
help ensure that the NII will connect all Americans,
especially those living in rural areas such as Vermont, to
one another and to people around the world?

     The Clinton Administration believes that we need to
take two primary steps.  First, we need to reform our
regulatory structure to promote competition in the
telecommunications marketplace.  Second, we need to ensure
that all Americans have affordable access to the NII.


     Promoting Competition

     At the center of our NII initiative is the need to
reform regulations to bring competition to telecom markets,
for this is how we can best accelerate deployment of the
NII, which will bring American consumers lower prices, more
choices, and better quality of telecommunications and
information products and services.

      As a nation and in each state, we must remove
unnecessary, artificial restrictions that prevent natural
competition.  We treat broadcasting, cable, and telephony
under different regulatory schemes.  We're acting like a
painter who is keeping his primary colors in separate,
distinct parts of his palette, and in doing so, is missing
out on the emergence of greens, oranges, purples, and other
creative combinations.  We, too, are missing out on creative
communications combinations -- cable companies providing
telephone service and telephone and satellite companies
providing cable services, or wireless or utility companies
providing local telephone service -- because we continue to
pigeonhole different segments of the communications industry
into discrete markets.

     Competition is a creative force, and it will accelerate
the deployment of the NII and bring a greater variety of
telecommunications and information services to consumers, if
we let it.  Look at the long distance and cellular phone
markets for the benefits of competition.

     Will competition emerge without national legislation? 
Sure -- it already is in several states either through
initiatives adopted by state regulatory commissions or by
court decisions.  But it is happening on a piecemeal basis,
which cuts against our goal of an interoperable and
interconnected infrastructure, and leaves many consumers out
in the cold.

     National legislation is needed to supply us with a
national vision and a national system.  It will promote
private investment by providing regulatory certainty.  And
through national legislation, we can make sure that while we
are deregulating, we also are providing safeguards for
consumers.  Importantly, we know we need the help and wisdom
of the states as we develop new regulatory structures.  

     Where are we on legislation?  Two bills are pending in
the Senate.  On March 2, Assistant Attorney General Anne
Bingaman and I testified before the Senate Commerce
Committee on telecom policy reforms in general and draft
bills in particular.  In my testimony, I made the following
points:

     o    The Administration supports reform in many areas
          that the bills being considered by the Committee
          address.  These include lifting the cable/telco
          cross-ownership ban, preempting state barriers to
          competition in local phone service, reexamining
          broadcast ownership and spectrum rules, and
          providing a process for reviewing the need for
          continuing regulation.  

     o    With respect to local competition, the
          Administration supports the development of
          nationwide regulations designed to ensure
          competition and prevent monopolists from harming
          competitors or consumers.  Rural communities will
          benefit from competition, as new cellular,
          satellite, and other wireless providers emerge.

     o    On the issue of Bell Operating Company entry into
          long distance and manufacturing, the
          Administration supports the establishment of
          preconditions for BOC entry, including a careful
          assessment of competition by the Department of
          Justice and a public interest analysis by the FCC.

     o    Universal service remains a top priority for the
          Administration.  We support the Committee's
          efforts to develop a new concept of universal
          service to serve the information needs of
          Americans in the 21st century, as well as the
          establishment of a Federal/State Joint Board.  And
          any universal service policy must take into
          account the unique attributes of rural communities
          and ensure that they are not bypassed by the
          information superhighway.

     o    With respect to cable television, the
          Administration is concerned about deregulating
          cable rates prior to the establishment of
          effective competition in local markets.

     o    On the issue of foreign ownership, the
          Administration supports reexamining provisions of
          the Communications Act limiting foreign ownership
          of telecom licenses to foster open markets
          worldwide.  We oppose, however, expanding the
          limit on foreign ownership of broadcasting beyond
          the 20-25 percent presently permitted.

     On the international scene, the Clinton Administration
also is pushing hard to promote competition and open up
markets.  Three weeks ago, I travelled to Brussels for the
G-7 Ministerial Conference on the Information Society.  Our
focus of discussion was the evolving Global Information
Infrastructure (GII), which will link national networks,
markets, and people.  We focused not only on what is
happening in the G-7 countries, but also on how the
Information Society will impact and benefit lesser-developed
countries.

     The United States delegation, led by Secretary Brown,
was successful in helping steer discussion and the setting
of goals in a direction that will further the GII as well as
American interests.  We focused a great deal on the five
core principles that the Vice President has set forth for
the GII:  (1) encourage private sector investment; (2)
promote competition; (3) provide open access to the network
for all information providers and users; (4) create a
flexible regulatory environment that can keep pace with the
rapid technological and market changes; and (5) ensure
universal service.  Our efforts were fruitful, as the
ministers pledged to pursue these important principles,
among others.

     In his keynote address at the G-7 Conference, Vice
President Gore called for all countries "to drop our
barriers to foreign investment together."  He pledged that
"whether by new law or new regulation, we intend to open
foreign investment in telecommunications services in the
United States for companies of all countries who have opened
their own markets."

     An exciting part of the G-7 Conference were the
technology demonstrations.  These included the workplace,
library, classroom, and doctor's office of the future using
technology available today.  There were demonstrations of
telemedicine to rural sites, wireless electronic mail, and
kiosks with employment data, among others.  At the
conclusion of the Conference, the ministers agreed to
collaborate on 11 "pilot projects," which will demonstrate
the potential of the Information Age for all nations.


     Ensuring Affordable Access to the NII for All Americans

     Let me now address the issue of providing affordable
access.  Many Americans are wondering whether the
information superhighway will be a toll road or a freeway. 
Unfortunately, many Vermonters living in rural areas are
currently finding it to be an extremely expensive toll road. 
Many Vermont residents are paying high toll charges in order
to get connected to the Internet and other on-line services. 
Moreover, where 800 number access is available, rural
customers typically pay much higher hourly connect time
rates to information providers.  As many of you know, the
higher rates for rural uses is especially burdensome because
rural residents often have a greater need for services
provided by the information superhighway than people living
in urban areas with local sources of information not found
in rural areas.

     In addition, rural residents face infrastructure
barriers.  Many rural communities do not have the underlying
support structure or the equipment to take advantage of new
technologies.  While almost 79 percent of libraries that
serve cities of 250,000 people or more have a connection to
the Internet, only 17 percent of rural libraries do. 
Without computers, modems, microwave towers, satellite
dishes, or cable connections, it is difficult for
communities to get connected to the information
superhighway.  And private industry often finds commercial
pressures favor building out telecom and information
infrastructure in smaller, more densely populated areas.

     Extending the information superhighway to rural America
and ensuring affordable access is a top priority of the
Clinton Administration.  We recognize that competition alone
will not ensure that rural communities are connected to the
NII.  We are actively pursuing this goal through the
following three initiatives:  (1) working to preserve and
extend the concept of universal service, (2) promoting
community partnerships through such means as our NII grants
program, and (3) reaching out to rural communities.

     Universal Service
     First, let me briefly talk about the importance of
"universal service" policies.  In 1949, only 60 percent of
households in rural areas had basic telephone service;
today, over 94 percent do.  This is a result of our country
making a commitment to ensuring that all rural communities
have access to basic telecommunications services. 

     Now, we need to commit ourselves to paving the dirt
roads -- to ensuring that the information superhighway can
and does extend to rural communities.  As we develop new
"universal service" policies, we must ensure that rural
Americans have affordable access to the information
superhighway.  This access is crucial if rural Americans are
to be prepared for the 21st job market.

     The number of education and technology initiatives
happening in Vermont demonstrates that you recognize the
importance of using these technologies to improve education
and well as to equip students with the necessary skills to
perform tomorrow's jobs.  We have been focused as a nation
on ensuring that our 3 and 4 year olds enter school "ready
to learn."  We have to equally committed to ensuring that
our 17 and 18 year olds leave school "ready to earn."

     We need to be thinking about technology not only in the
context of traditional K-12 education, but also for
vocational training.  When I was growing up in Queens, my
high school had 4500 students.  Some were on an academic
track; some on a vocational track.  One friend could take a
car apart and put it back together in an hour.  In 1970, the
typical car contained about $75-worth of electronics, most
of it in a radio.  Today, the average car has about $2,000
worth of electronics.  Even garage mechanics are going to
have to be technologically literate.  Companies are noting
that it is getting harder to find employees who have the
computer and technology-related expertise that is needed for
high-paying jobs.

     People appear to recognize the importance of access to
computers, especially for their children.  According to a
1994 Census Bureau study, of the 54,000 households surveyed,
87.6 percent thought it was important for children to have
access to computers.  It is crucial that access to the
information superhighway is available for all children, not
just "Taffies" -- children from technologically-advantaged
families.
     
     Community Partnerships
     Second, we are working to promote community
partnerships that will provide needed infrastructure and
affordable access and the resulting services to residents.

     Many Americans will access the information superhighway
not from their homes, but from their public libraries,
schools, community centers, and other public institutions. 
To promote development of such public access points, the
Department of Commerce has a grant program, administered by
NTIA, called the Telecommunications Information
Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP).  TIIAP grants are
available to state and local governments, schools and school
districts, hospitals and clinics, libraries, community
centers, and other public institutions.  TIIAP grants
require at least a 50 percent matching grant, which has led
to community partnerships, often between the public and
private sectors.

     Last year NTIA awarded $24 million to TIIAP projects in
46 states.  If I told you that for $24 million, we are:

     *    assisting a project in Alaska in which the
          University of Alaska, the state, the K-12
          education system, public broadcasting, the library
          community, and the community at large will
          integrate networks that will result in 81 percent
          of Alaskans having non-toll access to a combined
          education-government-library network; and

     *    providing a grant to the Siskiyou County Office of
          Education in Yreka, California, to upgrade their
          present computer network service to the 29 local
          school districts in its area.  Upon completion,
          the network will provide Internet, audio-visual,
          library, e-mail, health, and business support
          services to this predominantly rural area; and

     *    assisting a pilot project in South Dakota that is
          connecting 47 schools to networks and providing
          distance learning programs -- the Rural
          Development Telecommunications (RDT) Network; and 

     *    enabling youth services organizations in New
          Haven, Connecticut and East Palo Alto, California
          will link teenagers in the two cities for
          education and skill-building; and

     *    enabling schoolchildren in the District of
          Columbia will go on "virtual visits" to museums in
          New York and Washington using two-way video and
          teleconferencing technology; and

     *    supporting the Native American Public Broadcasting
          Corporation and its partners in their work with
          tribes throughout the country to develop plans for
          using the NII in health care, education, economic
          development, and other important services; and 

     *    assisting the State of North Carolina in linking
          physicians in rural hospitals with major medical
          centers in the state to provide video teleconsults
          and to transfer high-resolution diagnostic images
          for emergency care; and

     *    supporting the development of a community-based
          electronic communication system for the citizens
          of Fairfax, Vermont --

     I hope you agree that this would be pretty incredible
for $24 million.  Actually, the projects I described
involved only $2.3 million of federal funds.  There are 84
other, equally wonderful projects that we also funded. 
Because of this federal seed money, private companies and
public players came together to form community partnerships
and support these projects.  I challenge those of you in
this room today to form similar partnerships, which will
enrich your lives and your community.  TIIAP provides a
tremendous amount of benefit for Americans, with a very
modest budget.

     Yet, TIIAP is under attack on Capitol Hill and it is
questionable whether it will survive.  I believe that our
country cannot afford to eliminate such a valuable program. 
Senator Leahy and John Romano, JP Dosel, and Kim Duell of
his staff -- thank you for your support of this program.


     Outreach to Rural Communities
     Third, we need ensure that rural residents are informed
about the opportunities that exist and the best ways of
harnessing them for their communities.  Rural communities
need to know what technologies and applications are
available, what existing infrastructure they have and need,
and what has worked for similar communities.  The
Administration has just launched a public education campaign
to do just that.

Conclusion
     Can we really accomplish this?  I say yes -- we can and
we will.  But we need to all work together -- at a national,
state, and local level.

     If we are to connect our entire nation, we all need to
make the commitment -- all levels of government, all sectors
of industry, all providers and users of the information
superhighway.  Otherwise, for many Americans, the
information superhighway will be as real as the yellow brick
road to Oz.

     On Friday I received an e-mail that really brings home
the importance of what we are doing.  The e-mail reads:

     Dear Mr. Irving,
     My students and I are participants in the GMU
     project funded from the  Department of Commerce. 
     We are at Mount Vernon Community Center School in
     Alexandria, Virginia.  The students have ties to
     many countries with 75% minority and 80% on free
     or reduced lunch.  Although we are at-risk, they
     have embraced the technology with enthusiasm . . .
     [I]t is a powerful tool to inspire students with
     the immediacy of learning. I believe strongly in
     the African proverb: "It takes a whole village to
     educate a child."  For example, as I was setting
     up some internet screens for my second graders, an
     exciting door opened up.  I called up the
     (ART)WORLD TREASURES which is located in
     Switzerland.  Included in the program are
     treasures from Thailand.  A 7 year old girl became
     very excited.  She said that was "her country." 
     Amanda has been a reluctant visitor to our country
     and often has been upset when her grandmother
     returns to Thailand.  I sensed a "teachable
     moment" and called up the treasures from Thailand. 
     She eagerly identified the ones from Thailand. 
     Other students asked about treasures from their
     other countries.  We are now eagerly waiting for
     equipment and account numbers so that we can send
     e-mail to their countries and expand our "village"
     to include the "world."

     Americans want to be connected to one another; they
want to be ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century. 
The NII is a way for us to come together to do great things. 
Please join with us in connecting the nation.