THE GLOBAL
INFORMATION
INFRASTRUCTURE:
AGENDA FOR COOPERATION

Ronald H. Brown, Secretary of Commerce
Chair, Information Infrastructure Task Force

Larry Irving, Administrator
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
U.S. Department of Commerce
Chair, IITF Telecommunications Policy Committee

Arati Prabhakar, Director
National Institute of Standards and Technology
U.S. Department of Commerce
Chair, IITF Committee on Applications and Technology

Sally Katzen, Administrator
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Office of Management and Budget
Chair, IITF Information Policy Committee 

____________________________________________________________

THE GLOBAL
INFORMATION
INFRASTRUCTURE:
AGENDA FOR COOPERATION



Table of Contents

PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   1

I.  INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3

A.  Technological Convergence and the New Information Age . .   3
B.  New World Vision through Communications: The GII as a Product 
    of Technological Convergence and Competition  . . . . . .   3
C.  Cornerstone of the GII: A Community of Global Interest  .   6

II. BUILDING A FOUNDATION FOR THE GII - 
    FIVE BASIC PRINCIPLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9

A.  Encouraging Private Investment  . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
B.  Promoting Competition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
C.  Providing Open Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
D.  Creating a Flexible Regulatory Environment  . . . . . . .  16
E.  Ensuring Universal Service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18

III.  ENCOURAGING THE USE OF THE GII. . . . . . . . . . . . .  21

A.  Information Policy & Content Issues . . . . . . . . . . .  21
B.  Applications: Delivering the Benefits of the GII. . . . .  25

IV.  IMPLEMENTING THE GII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29

V.  CONCLUSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  31

APPENDIX A - SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . . . . . .  35

APPENDIX B - GII HEARING TESTIMONY. . . . . . . . . . . . . .  41

APPENDIX C - GII KEY CONTACTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  43


Version 1.0                                 
_______________________________________________________________
PREFACE


     Let us build a global community in which the people of    
     neighboring countries view each other not as potential
     enemies, but as potential partners, as members of the 
     same family in the vast, increasingly interconnected 
     human family.

With these words, Vice President Al Gore introduced the U.S.
vision for the Global Information Infrastructure (GII) at the
first World Telecommunication Development Conference in March
1994.

The Conference, held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, signalled a new
undertaking by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
Vice President Gore called upon every nation to establish an
ambitious agenda to build the GII, using the following five
principles as the foundation: 

  o  Encouraging private sector investment;
  o  Promoting competition;
  o  Providing open access to the network for all information
     providers and users;
  o  Creating a flexible regulatory environment that can keep
     pace with rapid technological and market changes; and
  o  Ensuring universal service.

Leaders from the world telecommunications community incorporated
these five principles into the ITU's "Buenos Aires Declaration on
Global Telecommunication Development for the 21st Century."

The purpose of this GII: Agenda for Cooperation is to amplify
these five principles and to identify the steps the United
States, in concert with other nations, can take to make the
vision of the GII a reality. We hope that it will also serve as
the basis for engaging other governments in a consultative,
constructive, and cooperative process that will ensure the
development of the GII for the mutual benefit of all countries. 

In proposing this initiative, we recognize that market forces and
technological advances have already begun to expand existing
interconnections among our respective nations:

  o  Current state-of-the-art fiber optic systems can now
     transmit the equivalent of 80,000 simultaneous telephone
     conversations over a single optical fiber and will soon
     carry 320,000 conversations over a fiber pair; 
  o  Advances in digital compression have vastly improved the
     performance and capacity of existing networks by allowing
     more volume, including data and video, to be transmitted;
  o  Advances in computer technology will soon offer storage
     capacity so great that an individual using a hand-held
     device will be able to carry the informational equivalent of
     a small library and remotely access many times this amount;
     and
  o  New digital wireless systems and proposed constellations of
     telecommunications satellites have the potential to provide
     telephone and data services to any point on the planet.

A nascent GII already exists. What we seek is a superior GII, one
that has higher capacity, is fully interactive, faster, and more
versatile. One that is less expensive to use than existing
systems, and more accessible to all the people of the world. But
our goal is not merely technological advancement - more
bandwidth, faster switching, more powerful processing capability,
and greater compression and storage capacity. We view technology
not as an end in itself but as the means through which the GII
can realize its potential to improve the well-being of all people
on this planet.

This Agenda for Cooperation sets forth the U.S. Government's
vision for developing a GII that can yield the benefits described
above and more. It identifies specific areas where
intergovernmental, as well as government-private sector,
cooperative efforts are needed. Also identified are proposals for
concrete actions that the United States can take, by itself or
with other nations, to accelerate the pace
of development of the GII. While we believe the private sector
will build, own, and operate the GII, governments have the power
to take actions that can either accelerate or retard its
development. We believe that a concerted and coordinated
international effort can achieve the former and avoid the
latter, and we invite other countries to join us in this
cooperative venture.
                                       
I.  INTRODUCTION


A.  Technological Convergence and the New Information Age

As we approach the end of the twentieth century, information is a
critical force shaping the world's economic system. In the next
century, the speed with which information is created, its
accessibility, and its myriad uses will cause even more
fundamental changes in each nation's economy. 

These changes will be the result of technological convergence of
the previously distinct telecommunications, information, and mass
media industries. Boundaries that once separated the types of
networks used to deliver voice, data, and video services are
increasingly blurred. In a digital world, these services can
be combined and offered over the same transmission system.

Multiple networks composed of different transmission media, such
as fiber optic cable, coaxial cable, satellites, radio, and
copper wire, will carry a broad range of telecommunications and
information services and information technology applications into
homes, businesses, schools, and hospitals. These networks will
form the basis of evolving national and global information
infrastructures, in turn creating a seamless web uniting the
world in the emergent Information Age. The result will be a new
information marketplace, providing opportunities and challenges
for individuals, industry, and governments. 

B.  New World Vision through Communications: The GII as a Product 
    of Technological Convergence and Competition

The Clinton Administration has made the development of an
advanced National Information Infrastructure (NII) and the GII
top U.S. priorities. A major goal of the NII is to give our
citizens access to a broad range of information and information
services. Using innovative telecommunications and information
technologies, the NII -- through a partnership of business, labor,
academia, consumers, and all levels of government -- will help the
United States achieve a broad range of economic and social goals. 

Similarly, other governments have come to recognize that the
telecommunications, information services, and information
technology sectors are not only dynamic growth sectors
themselves, but are also engines of development and economic
growth throughout the economy. With this realization, governments
have sharply focused their public policy debates and initiatives
on the capabilities of their underlying information 
infrastructures. The United States is but one of many countries
currently pursuing national initiatives to capture the promise of
the "Information Revolution." Our initiative shares with others
an important, common objective: to ensure that the full potential
benefit of advances in information and telecommunications
technologies are realized for all citizens. 

The GII is an outgrowth of that perspective, a vehicle for
expanding the scope of these benefits on a global scale. By
interconnecting local, national, regional, and global networks,
the GII can increase economic growth, create jobs, and improve
infrastructures. Taken as a whole, this worldwide "network of
networks" will create a global information marketplace,
encouraging broad-based social discourse within and among all
countries. 

The GII will depend upon an ever-expanding range of technology
and products, including telephones, fax machines, computers,
switches, compact discs, video and audio tape, coaxial cable,
wire, satellites, optical fiber transmission lines, microwave
networks, televisions, scanners, cameras, and printers -- as well as
advances in computing, information, and networking technologies
not yet envisioned.

But the GII extends beyond hardware and software; it is also a
system of applications, activities, and relationships. There is
the information itself, whatever its purpose or form, e.g., video
programming, scientific or business databases, images, sound
recordings, library archives, or other media. There are also
standards, interfaces, and transmission codes that facilitate
interoperability between networks and ensure the privacy and
security of the information carried over them, as well as the
security and reliability of the networks themselves. Most
importantly, the GII includes the people involved in the creation
and use of information, development of applications and services,
construction of the facilities, and training necessary to realize
the potential of the GII. These individuals are primarily in the
private sector, and include vendors, operators, service
providers, and users.

The GII will both stimulate and respond to global demand for new
information technologies and services./1/ The GII can offer
consumers in each country unprecedented access to information
from a variety of sources on a global basis. With appropriate
changes in regulatory structure, the GII can also help usher in
an environment more responsive to user demands by providing
companies opportunities to offer any information or
telecommunications product or service to any customer, rendering
obsolete past regulatory labels or technological niches. 

The business community has become the principal force for the
pro-competitive restructuring of telecommunications and
information markets. Business users, whose commercial activities
are becoming increasingly global, require access to advanced
services at higher speeds and capabilities, and at lower costs,
to manage their global operations effectively. When the national
carriers cannot provide the unified international networks and
services that companies need to conduct business and research,
frustrated users develop their own international "private"
networks, often leasing private lines from different national
carriers. However, these private networks -- even the most
sophisticated -- still suffer from the high cost of leased lines in
most countries and the difficulties inherent in attempting to
create global networks based on a patchwork of services subject
to widely varying capabilities and regulation.

The scientific and academic communities also have stringent
demands for access to information resources and powerful
computing capacity around the world. The international research
and academic community was instrumental in developing the
Internet, an already global mass of interconnected computer
networks. The astonishing growth rate of the Internet
network -- over ten per cent per month for more than five years -- is
just one indication of the growing demand for and supply of
digital information. 

C.  Cornerstone of the GII: A Community of Global Interest 

The nations of the world are diverse in size, levels of economic
development, political, economic and social structures, and
language and culture. We believe, however, that despite these
differences a broad community of interest exists among countries
to better the lives of the citizens of the world -- all citizens.
Regardless of a country's overall level of technological
development, active participation in the evolving GII can provide
the tools to improve the quality of life.

For example, the GII can facilitate health care delivery through
telemedicine, linking rural physicians to major medical
facilities for off-site consultations on difficult diagnoses. If
only a computer and a wireless link are available, they can
provide a data base search and on-line questioning of a
consulting expert. If fiber optic networks are available,
telemedicine services can include remote visual examination. Such
services are a boon to rural physicians. Similarly, the GII can
quicken response time for disaster relief. It can transform
education with computer-based multimedia systems that teach with
both sight and sound, greatly increasing retention rates and
providing children access to greater educational opportunities.
It can provide new tools to assist persons with disabilities. The
GII can also make factories more efficient, speed the creation of
new and better goods and services, cut the cost of business by
improving efficiency, develop new jobs and markets, increase
trade, and facilitate flows of information across borders. 

That is not all. A well-developed GII can enhance democratic
principles and limit the spread of totalitarian forms of
government. Representative democracy is founded on the premise
that the best political processes are those in which each citizen
has the knowledge to make an informed choice and the power to
express his or her view. The GII will allow wider and greater
citizen participation in decision-making by providing the
additional means for individuals to keep informed, as well as to
express their opinions. Through the GII, the world's citizens
will have the opportunity to share information and cultural
values, fostering a greater sense of global community. By
encouraging exchanges of ideas, goods, and services among all
countries, the GII can contribute to a framework for lasting
peace. 

Realizing these benefits will not be easy -- our vision of the GII
presents a challenge that cannot be undertaken by a single
country, nor overcome by government fiat. Rather, its success will 
depend in large measure on innovation and investment by the
private sector. As the principal source of expertise and capital,
the private sector should, in response to marketplace demands,
determine what technologies to pursue, set the  pace of
development, establish the appropriate standards, and develop new
services and applications. For their part, governments can
facilitate these activities by creating a legal and regulatory
environment that supports efficient investment and innovation,
and promotes full and fair competition. Governments can also
provide leadership by supporting testbeds for new technologies,
fostering the transfer of resulting technologies to the private
sector, promoting the assimilation and use of applications and
technology through government procurement, and developing
applications that support government operations and dissemination
of government information.                            

II. BUILDING A FOUNDATION FOR THE GII --                                    
FIVE BASIC PRINCIPLES

The United States believes that five basic principles -- encouraging
private investment, promoting competition, providing open access
to networks and services for providers and users, creating a
flexible regulatory environment to keep pace with technological
and market developments, and ensuring universal service -- should
serve as the foundation for the development of the GII. In our
view, this foundation will facilitate information infrastructure
development in individual countries and the interconnection of
networks on a global basis. It will also accelerate development
of useful applications, and increase sharing of information among
people around the world. We believe these principles apply
equally to the telecommunications, information technology, and
information services industries. In partnership with the private
sector and all users, we believe that governments should take
action to adopt, apply, and advance these principles at national,
regional, and global levels. 

A.  Encouraging Private Investment

Given the facts that the worldwide market for information
technology, products, and services is currently valued at $853
billion, and that worldwide investment in telecommunications
infrastructure alone is expected to exceed $200 billion by 2004,
both developed and developing countries need to find ways to
share in this growth and prosperity. Attracting private sector
investment is the most effective way for countries to do so -- as
well as to improve their networks and services, promote
technological innovation, and succeed within the competitive
global economy. The reasons extend beyond the purely financial:
In addition to providing inflows of capital, private investment
also stimulates development of new technologies, equipment,
services, new sources of information, and managerial skills -- all
of which help speed infrastructure growth and improvements,
increase efficiency in the provision of services, and permit
greater responsiveness to consumer needs.

To attract greater investment from both domestic and foreign
sources into their telecommunications sectors, nations are
adopting a variety of approaches, ranging from revenue sharing
initiatives and joint ventures to direct foreign investment,
licensing of privately-owned competitors, build-operate-own or -
transfer schemes, and privatization of government-owned public
telecommunications operators. Countries as diverse as Chile,
India, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom,
the United States, and Venezuela have encouraged multiple private
companies to provide telecommunications services, drawing in
private investment to varying degrees and leading to lower
service prices and improved communication.

In other countries where privatization is not currently
considered a politically viable option, governments have taken
steps to attract foreign investment in the form of joint ventures
for the provision of new services, such as cellular telephone and
Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT)-based overlay networks for
business users. Some countries have permitted lease and franchise
arrangements that include private expansion of part of the
telecommunications infrastructure, often allowing the private
equity share in the network operation to build up over time.
Although providing fewer benefits than full privatization might,
these approaches can also be attractive to private investors, and
they provide quantifiable benefits -- new lines, upgraded switching
capabilities, new services and sources of information, and lower
costs to consumers.

The need for capital investment is particularly acute in
countries with underdeveloped telecommunications infrastructures,
where limited government resources often make private financing a
necessary complement. To attract private capital, many countries
that seek to improve their information infrastructures, which
will improve interconnection to the evolving GII, are taking
concrete steps to: 

  o  Create a stable operating environment supported by
     transparent regulation;
  o  Establish fair and open bidding practices for all
     communications and information infrastructure projects;
  o  Recognize the return on capital that potential investors
     require;
  o  Establish sound repatriation policies; and
  o  Demonstrate a political commitment to private investment 
     through appropriate modifications in the legal framework.

The information services sector, traditionally privately-owned,
has experienced tremendous growth due to the largely open
investment and competitive market environments in most countries
around the world. In the United States, for example, the largely
unregulated information services market is projected to have
reached $135.9 billion in revenues in 1994./2/ Removing barriers
to private investment -- and providing incentives for the creation
and dissemination of information services through effective
protection of intellectual property rights -- is the best means of
sustaining this worldwide growth.

Recommended Action

From the wide range of available options, governments can develop
a strategy best suited to their particular needs. At the same
time, they must institute the appropriate regulatory,
legislative, and market reforms to create the conditions
necessary to attract private investment in their
telecommunications, information technology, and information
services markets. To facilitate this process, the United States
will join with other governments to:

  o  Identify and seek to remove barriers to private investment,
     and develop policies and regulations that improve investment
     incentives in both growing and mature telecommunications and
     information markets;
  o  Ensure that applicable laws, regulations, and other legal
     rules governing the provision of telecommunications and
     information services and equipment are reasonable,
     nondiscriminatory, and publicly available;
  o  Engage in bilateral, regional, and multilateral discussions
     to exchange information on the various options that have
     been successfully pursued to attract private investment,
     including, but not limited to, privatization,
     liberalization, and market reforms;
  o  Work with major international lending institutions, such as
     the World Bank and the regional development banks, and major
     private financial institutions to determine the best means
     of attracting both private and public capital, and establish
     workshops to train officials in the different liberalization 
     approaches; and
  o  Encourage international lending institutions to recognize
     the ways in which funded social projects, such as the
     delivery of education and health care services, can be
     advanced through improved information infrastructures.

B.  Promoting Competition

Nationally and internationally, the information technology and
information services markets have flourished in the past decade.
The highly competitive computer equipment, software and
networking industries are among the most dynamic in global
markets, providing users with steadily increasing computing power
and functionality and stimulating further demand for more
advanced, integrated capabilities. Similarly, the information
services industry has expanded as barriers to cross-border trade
and investment have been removed. In many countries there are few
or no restraints on the services provided. In other markets there
are varying, but fairly light, degrees of regulation. As a
result, the world market for information services is expected to
grow from $275 billion in 1993 to $465 billion in 1998, a growth
rate of 11 percent annually./3/

One important exception has been a tendency in a few countries to
erect barriers to foreign competition in entertainment
programming services. There is no body of evidence that limiting
foreign competition has been successful in achieving the desired
effect of stimulating local entertainment programming indus-
tries.  The effects of such measures in retarding the development
of private investment in infrastructure also deserves greater
attention.

In contrast to the liberal market and regulatory environment for
information technology and information services, the pace and
scope of liberalization and privatization in the
telecommunication sector is varied, ranging from competition in
particular market segments to full liberalization. For example,
there has been a discernable trend over the past decade toward
increased competition in the provision of both value-added
services and telecommunications terminal equipment. Some
countries have liberalized further, taking steps to open their
long distance, local fixed telephony, cellular, communications
satellite, cable, and broadcast markets.

Evidence of positive results from such increased competition is
mounting: Networks have steadily incorporated innovative
technologies, producing greater efficiencies; both residential
and business users enjoy lower prices and greater choices in
equipment and services; service providers are more responsive to
user needs; and lower costs of service have stimulated increased
network usage.

However, in the largest and most profitable market segments -- basic
public voice telephone services and the underlying network
infrastructure -- both competition and foreign investment have been
restricted. Maintaining barriers against potential new entrants
in these markets will inhibit infrastructure deployment.
Moreover, these barriers will retard the introduction of new
information and telecommunications services that require
competitive access to underlying networks in order to flourish.

Competition in basic telecommunications services has been
growing, however, in a number of key markets around the globe. In
countries such as Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, New Zealand,
Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the
introduction of alternative service providers and networks, which
often deploy advanced technologies at lower costs, has reduced
bottleneck control by the dominant facilities-based providers.
These results have spurred other countries to reconsider their
policies. The member countries of the European Union (EU), for
example, have agreed to introduce competition in the provision of
basic telecommunications services and infrastructure by 1998. The
EU considers these steps to be critical to advancing the goals of
their action plan to create a European Information Society.

Increasingly, countries with national monopoly operators have
begun to question whether they can compete effectively in the
dynamic international telecommunications market. Difficulties in
raising capital and in meeting users' demands for low cost,
sophisticated network capabilities and services are forcing a
reconsideration of the monopoly approach to telecommunications. A
recent Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD) study comparing the relative cost of providing
international service among OECD members found that the
performance of countries with competitive international markets
was superior to the average of all OECD members. Furthermore, the
OECD study revealed that the quality of service had improved
simultaneously with the implementation of competition./4/

Competition within the communications satellite market has also
burgeoned. The intergovernmental International Telecommunications
Satellite (Intelsat) and International Mobile Satellite
(Inmarsat) organizations now face competition from several
separate satellite systems, including Astra, Columbia, AsiaSat,
Orion, and PanAmSat. Due in part to competitive pressures from
these separate satellite systems and from alternative
technologies, serious consideration is being given to
restructuring both Intelsat and Inmarsat. Each of these
organizations is engaged in an internal effort to review a range
of options for reorganization, from reform of the cooperative
model, to corporatization, to full privatization.

As governments liberalize particular market segments, regulators,
operators, and new market entrants must grapple with evolving
definitions of the boundary between those networks and services
reserved to the monopoly operator and those open to competition.
During the transition from monopolistic to competitive
telecommunications markets, incumbent operators still play a
dominant role as network infrastructure providers. Incumbent
operators not only control underlying facilities and services
that new entrants often need to deliver their services, but
frequently compete directly with these new service providers in
particular market segments. In these circumstances, effective
competition cannot emerge and flourish unless incumbents are
subject to competitive safeguards while they maintain market
power over critical bottleneck facilities and services. 

Competitive safeguards serve two main purposes. Some are intended
to eliminate or reduce barriers to entry for new service
providers that are seeking to challenge the incumbent operator.
Other safeguards serve to ensure that incumbent firms with market
power do not employ anticompetitive means to prevent or hinder
the development of truly competitive markets. Market entry
opportunities are effective only if the incumbent service
provider is required to compete fairly. For this reason, some
administrations have required incumbent carriers to permit resale
of their networks and services. Resale provides an important
source of competition in markets in which telecommunications
infrastructure costs are high. Similarly, market entrants that
choose to provide facilities-based services in competition with
the incumbent service provider typically will need to
interconnect their facilities with a dominant service provider's
network. In a pro-competitive environment, the terms and
condition of interconnection would be reflected in published
rates that include nondiscriminatory cost-based access charges
and technological "equal access" to bottleneck facilities.

Incumbent carriers may also be required to "unbundle" network
facilities and services so that telecommunications and
information service providers can order only those elements of
the dominant provider's network they need to provide a service.
Finally, establishment of a transparent regulatory scheme open to
all interested parties, and administered by a regulatory
authority independent of the incumbent service provider, helps
ensure that rules governing competition are fair and that private
investment is given a reasonable degree of security.

While the political challenges posed by attempting to restructure
the telecommunications market are significant, the increased
opportunities provided by introducing competition far outweigh
the potential difficulties of pro-competitive market reform.
Further, the interconnection of competitive national information
infrastructures can increase the pace of development of the GII.
The more competitive an information and telecommunications
market, the more productive will be its interaction with other
markets participating in the development of the GII. 

Recommended Action


The most effective means of promoting a GII that delivers
advanced products and services to all countries is through
increased competition at local, national, regional, and global
levels. To that end, the United States will join with other
governments to:

  o  Assess, through information exchanges and existing
     multilateral organizations, the positive experiences 
     of different countries in introducing competition and
     progressively liberalizing their telecommunications,
     information technology, and information services markets;
  o  Work constructively to remove barriers to competition in
     telecommunications, information technology, and information
     services markets;
  o  Include timetables for increased competition in basic
     telecommunications infrastructure and services in national
     information infrastructure development plans, and, as an
     interim step, increase the pace of liberalization through
     the expansion of resale;
  o  Encourage new entrants by adopting competitive safeguards to
     protect against anticompetitive behavior by firms with
     market power, including measures designed to prevent
     discrimination and cross-subsidization;
  o  Implement specific regulations to facilitate competitive
     entry in the telecommunications sector, including the
     following essential elements: 1) interconnection among
     competing network and service providers; 2) "unbundling" of
     bottleneck facilities of dominant network providers; 3)
     transparency of regulations and charges; and 4)
     nondiscrimination among network facilities operators and
     between facilities operators and potential users, including
     resellers; 
  o  Ensure that government-sponsored technical training
     activities incorporate programs specifically related to the
     development of pro-competitive markets and regulations
     (including such issues as competitive safeguards and
     interconnection);
  o  Pursue a successful conclusion to the General Agreement on
     Trade in Services (GATS) discussions on basic
     telecommunications to obtain the opening of markets for
     basic telecommunications services through facilities-based
     competition and the resale of services on existing networks
     on nondiscriminatory terms and conditions; and
  o  Consider the full range of options for promoting competition
     in Intelsat and Inmarsat, including: 1) pursuing changes
     designed to increase the operational efficiency of Intelsat
     and Inmarsat, retaining their fundamental intergovernmental
     character, but substantially reducing the scope of the
     current intergovernmental agreements by removing provisions
     that convey unfair advantage and inhibit efficient
     functioning; 2) transforming the organizations into private
     corporations; and 3) transforming the organizations into
     multiple private service providers that compete with one
     another, as well as with others. In selecting among these
     options, the goal must be to enhance competition and not
     diminish it. 


C.  Providing Open Access

Achieving the goal of a global information market will require
government action to ensure that all information service
providers have access to facilities, networks, and network
services on a nondiscriminatory and low cost basis. By ensuring
open access to facilities and networks, and thus promoting
competition, governments can dramatically increase the
availability of information services to all consumers.

Maximizing consumer choice among diverse sources of information
should be the primary objective. As the information needs among
consumers will vary, both within and among nations, attempts to
predict the information resource requirements of citizens should
be avoided. Rather, governments should foster market and
regulatory climates conducive to the broadest possible access to
and distribution of information. As countries accelerate the
development of their respective information infrastructures, more
and more consumers will seek access to networks and services that
cross national and international boundaries. Improving consumer
access to diverse sources of information has direct social and
economic benefits. The ability to generate, exchange, and use
information, technology, and ideas is central to economic growth
and development, increased competitiveness in a range of
industries, and to the improvement of the quality of life.

An essential technical element of the open access concept is
interoperability, i.e., the ability to connect applications,
services, and/or network components so that they can be used
together to accomplish tasks. As the GII will be based on many
different existing and emerging components at local, national,
and global levels, it is imperative that these components be
interoperable. The key to interoperability is the development of
global standards. We believe such standards should be voluntary
and developed through a process that is largely market-driven and
that takes into account the views of both the large and well
established and the smaller, newer market players.

Three principal international standards organizations involved in
the development of information technology and telecommunications
standards are the International Organization for Standards (ISO),
the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the
International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The ISO and IEC
develop information technology standards through the ISO/IEC
Joint Technical Committee 1, while the ITU concentrates on
telecommunications standards. Further, there has long been
coordination and collaboration between the ISO/IEC Joint
Technical Committee 1 and the ITU, which has helped minimize the
duplication of standards development work and the possibility of
conflicting information technology and telecommunication
standards.

The vast majority of countries adhere to the processes of
developing international standards and the resulting
recommendations from all three organizations. In the U.S., and
increasingly in other countries, the private sector plays an
essential role in these international standards development
processes by providing the technical expertise and resources to
develop standards at national and international levels.

It may also be constructive to consider encouraging greater
collaboration and cooperation both domestically and
internationally among the different standards bodies, including
less formal organizations. In recent years in the United States,
a significant number of new standards consortia, whose principal
focus is in the standards implementing arena, have been
established outside of the traditional national standards
development organizations. These new consortia have often sped up
the widespread adoption of internationally generated standards,
and their memberships have included small and medium-sized
companies.

Given the convergence of technologies and the rapid changes in
national and international market structures, the development and
acceptance of voluntary, international standards are critical to
the development of the GII. The international standards
organizations and their memberships must redouble their efforts
to ensure that standards are developed that assist the rapid
delivery of information. Moreover, the pace of the work in
international bodies must continue to increase to better reflect
marketplace needs for technological development, so as not to
impede the realization of the GII. In the absence of timely
development and implementation of standards on a global basis,
the benefits of improved interoperability will be delayed.

Recommended Action

In partnership with the private sector, governments can take
action to improve access to facilities and networks, and promote
the availability of a wide range of diverse services and
information, including strong support for the development of
international standards that promote interoperability. To achieve
these goals, the United States will join with other governments
to:

  o  Develop appropriate policies that encourage increased access
     by citizens to diverse sources of information;
  o  Provide unrestricted and equitable access to networks for
     providers and consumers of services and content, based on
     sound commercial practices;
  o  Hold regular bilateral and multilateral dialogues on ways of
     increasing the flow of information across borders to
     facilitate greater access to content by consumers;
  o  Encourage an open, voluntary standards-setting process that
     does not denigrate intellectual property rights and which
     includes the participation of a broad group of interests,
     including the private sector, consumers, and, as
     appropriate, government agencies;
  o  Work through regional and international bodies to increase
     the pace of consensus-based, voluntary, and transparent
     standards development and adoption, and to promote the broad
     dissemination of standards-related information;
  o  Work together and with national, regional, and international
     standards bodies to identify priority areas for increased
     coordination among different private national and 
     international bodies in support of interoperability of
     networks and services on the GII.

D.  Creating a Flexible Regulatory Environment

Policymakers worldwide face a daunting challenge: Creating an
appropriate regulatory regime that minimizes regulation and
fosters competition through transparent rules and processes and
is sufficiently flexible to be responsive to changing
technologies and markets. As the pace of technological innovation
quickens, this will become increasingly difficult and yet
increasingly necessary.

With the U.S. experience as our guide, we offer the following
observations about the characteristics of telecommunications
legislation that are necessary to respond to changes in this
dynamic sector. The optimal regulatory and legislative frameworks
will:

  o  Identify the goals and objectives of the law, including the
     promotion of competition;
  o  Be sufficiently flexible to permit the introduction of new
     services and technologies without requiring amendments to
     the legislation;
  o  Delegate broad powers to a regulatory authority independent
     of a national operator and charge that independent authority
     with keeping abreast of technological and market
     developments;
  o  Establish a transparent and open process whereby the public
     and interested parties are informed and can participate in
     rulemaking and adjudicatory proceedings; and
  o  Aim towards open market access based on nondiscrimination
     principles.

We recognize that regulatory reform can take many paths. Some
countries have established a regulatory entity responsible for
both formulating and implementing telecommunications and mass
media policy, as well as overseeing the activities of these
sectors. Others have relied on the separation of operational and
regulatory functions of the government-owned and/or franchised
national operator, with government bodies assuming responsibility
for regulatory decisions. Still others rely more heavily on
national competition law and policy for oversight.

Regardless of the regulatory model that countries adopt,
regulations should clarify the respective rights and obligations
of incumbent operators and new entrants. New market entrants need
assurances that incumbent operators will not be allowed to use
their dominant market positions to hinder the evolution of
successful competition. Similarly, public and transparent
regulatory processes create stable commercial environments, which
are necessary to attract private investment. As such, rules and
regulations should clearly indicate:

  o  The scope of permissible competition, e.g., the particular
     market segments open to new entrants; 
  o  The means by which new entrants can gain market access,
     e.g., private investment, licensing requirements, and
     cross-border services;
  o  The nondiscriminatory terms and conditions of
     interconnection to an incumbent operator's network and of
     supplying information services over the network; and 
  o  The procedures by which new entrants and users can bring
     complaints and obtain redress from the regulator, e.g.,
     enforcement mechanisms. 

Additionally, it is critical that a pro-competitive regulatory
regime ensure:

  o  The establishment of other structural or nonstructural
     safeguards to protect against the anticompetitive
     exploitation of market power by the incumbent service
     provider to the detriment of the new entrants;
  o  The appropriate balancing of public service obligations
     among operators/carriers;
  o  Charging and pricing policies that are based on the costs of
     providing service; and
  o  The efficient, effective, and pro-competitive management of
     scarce resources, especially the radio frequency spectrum.

In light of the increasing demands on the radio spectrum for the
introduction of new wireless communications systems and services,
the last point merits particular emphasis. Among these new
technologies, none better embodies the need for an open
regulatory model embracing competition andcareful management of
the spectrum than the nascent hand-held mobile satellite
services. If these services are to achieve their global
potential, cooperation among national spectrum regulators will be
required, as will a willingness to permit multiple market
entrants to ensure that new satellite services do not become
the exclusive property of a sole provider. 

Governments should avoid burdensome regulation that stifles
innovation and new service offerings. Governments must guard
against the expansion of regulation into market segments that
have not traditionally been subject to regulations and that have
functioned extremely well on an unregulated basis. The examples
of Australia, Canada, and the United States in computer and
business information services are illustrative. They are among
the leading nations in personal computer penetration rates among
consumers. Not coincidentally, they also provide an open,
dynamic, and almost totally unregulated market for information
technology and services. Equally important, while some government
regulation is necessary as a marketplace transitions from a
monopoly to a competitive structure, once competition is
achieved, continued regulation can be unnecessary or even
counterproductive in promoting efficiency, innovation, and
customer responsiveness. In short, governments must be prepared,
and must invest their regulatory agencies with the authority, to
adjust regulatory structures as the demands of the marketplace
and technology require.

Just as national regulatory environments need to be responsive to
emerging market and technological developments, so too must the
overarching international environment continually adapt to new
developments. The successful efforts of governments and industry
to improve global interconnectivity and liberalize international
telecommunications demonstrate the value of working together in
various international fora to promote progressive and flexible
national regulations. These efforts must continue. 

Recommended Action

Although national regulatory environments necessarily reflect the
specific social, economic, and political needs of each individual
country, the essentially global nature of the markets for
telecommunications, information technologies, and information
services require that national regulations be responsive to
global developments. The United States will join with other
governments to:

  o  Re-examine and adapt regulations and legislation to
     accommodate market and technological developments at
     national and global levels in support of the five GII
     principles;
  o  Create, through regulatory and/or legislative reform, a
     pro-competitive, technology-neutral regulatory environment
     to maximize consumer choice, to provide fair access to
     networks, and to stimulate infrastructure development, the
     introduction of new services, and the wider dissemination of
     information; 
  o  Exchange views and information on national regulatory and
     legislative initiatives and seek to identify common
     challenges and options for developing flexible and
     transparent regulations in support of the development of the
     GII;
  o  Work collectively in regional and international
     organizations to convene meetings devoted specifically to
     encouraging the adoption of regulatory policies that will
     promote the GII; and
  o  Encourage creation of independent national regulatory
     authorities for telecommunications separate from the
     operator that shall promote the interest of consumers and
     ensure effective and efficient competition. Such authorities
     should have sufficient powers to carry out their missions
     and should operate with transparent decisionmaking processes
     that are open to all interested parties.

E.  Ensuring Universal Service

The goal of providing access and affordable service to all
members of society is fundamental to the development of the GII.
The definition of universal service, however, necessarily varies
from country to country -- ranging from the provision of high
quality telephone service to every home and business in most
industrialized countries to access to a public telephone in many
developing countries.

The ability to provide universal service on a national basis
depends upon a number of factors, including the level of
infrastructure development, the reach and technological
capabilities of national networks, and the cost of access to the
network and services. Other factors to be considered include the
availability and use of advanced methods of network planning and
maintenance, and explicit performance and service quality goals. 

The definition of universal service is also being expanded by the
advent of digital technologies. In many countries, including the
United States, policymakers face increasing pressure to expand
universal service beyond "plain old telephone service" to include
a broader array of new telecommunications and information
services. In fact, universal service has always been an
evolutionary concept, expanding as the capabilities of the
network and the types of service demanded by the great majority
of users have increased. For example, in the United States fifty
years ago, a party-line was deemed sufficient for universal
service purposes; now an individual line for each subscriber is
generally viewed as a component of universal service, together
with such features as direct dialing for long distance calls and
911 emergency service.

In both developed and less developed countries, wireless
technologies can help meet the needs for both basic and more
advanced services. For example, by augmenting terrestrial-based
facilities with satellite facilities and services, national
networks can maximize their potential. The point-to-multipoint
and mobile communications capabilities of satellites, which are
global in reach, permit the extension of services to even the
most remote regions.

Moreover, in helping meet universal service goals, one option for
governments to consider is the establishment of community "access
points." For example, institutions such as schools, libraries, or
hospitals could be equipped with basic and advanced information
and communications technologies for use by members of the public.
Such community access points would facilitate the efficient
provision of broader public access to a core set of services.

Although several countries have raised concerns that competition
diverts revenues from the public operator and undermines its
ability to provide universal service, experience shows that
access to the telephone has been improved in the most liberal
national markets. In the United Kingdom, for example, many
customers are ordering a telephone for the first time largely
because increased competition -- cable television companies are now
offering telephone service -- has made it more affordable. In the
United States, concerns were raised a decade ago that increased
competition in the provision of long distance services, which had
traditionally subsidized basic local rates, would threaten
universal service. These concerns abated as competition spurred
innovation and price reductions, which in turn have expanded
universal service. Further, studies by the OECD indicate that
telephone penetration has not been eroded in any member country
that has introduced infrastructure competition. The OECD
concluded, "Universal service has not been impaired by market
liberalization; [rather] facilities competition can be applied to
complement and enhance universal service."/5/ Indeed, many now
argue that full and open facilities-based competition, by
reducing prices, is the most effective way to promote universal
service.

As together we strive to expand the worldwide telecommunications
infrastructure and build the GII, we must all keep the goal of
universal service constantly in mind. With significant decreases
in the costs of information transmission and processing, the
creation of the Information Society has the potential to improve
the quality of life of all citizens. Recognizing that information
leads to empowerment, the nations of the world must work together
to ensure that as many citizens as possible in all societies have
access to the resources of the Information Age. 

Recommended Action

Although the provision of universal service varies from country
to country, the goal of providing all people with greater access
to both basic and advanced services is a crucial element of the
GII. The United States will join with other governments to: 

  o  Consider, at the local and national levels, the benefits
     afforded by the introduction of competition and private
     investment in meeting and expanding universal service;
  o  Exchange information at the bilateral and multilateral level
     to address the range of available options to meet universal
     service goals; and
  o  Consider, at the national and international levels, ways to
     promote universal access as a means of providing service to
     currently underserved and geographically remote areas.
                             

III.  ENCOURAGING THE USE OF THE GII

While we believe that the adoption, application, and advancement
of the five core principles are necessary to create an
environment in which the GII can realize its full potential, such
actions alone are insufficient to guarantee it. Regardless of the
sophistication of the technology or services being offered, users
must be assured that they can allow the GII entry into their
homes, offices, and lives to access and share information safely
and without forfeiting any of their rights. Governments,
companies, and public-interest groups, by working together on
information policy and content issues, must address these
concerns.

An equally important task for governments and private sectors is
to demonstrate the potential benefits of the GII to citizens. It
is only when people see tangible results of applications that
they will begin to appreciate how it can be used to improve their
lives. This appreciation is the key to stimulating demand for the
services and content of the GII, which in turn will provide the
impetus to remove institutional and regulatory barriers to its
full utilization.

A.  Information Policy & Content Issues

Developing an effective information policy will provide
governments with perhaps their greatest challenge. The central
objectives of information policy include ensuring that: 1) the
privacy of individuals and organizations using the GII is
protected; 2) the security and reliability of the networks and
the information that passes over them are preserved; and 3) the
intellectual property rights of those who create the infor-
mation, education, and entertainment content are protected. To
assure the growth of an information infrastructure accessible and
accountable to the citizens of the world, governments must
develop and implement these objectives in close partnerships with
each other and with representatives from business, labor,
academia, and the public.

1.  Privacy Protection

By bringing news and information to people on a global basis, and
thereby allowing them to communicate more freely with each other,
communications technologies serve a democratizing function. These
same technologies also permit both governments and the private
sector to transmit, process, and store vast amounts of
information about individuals. While these capabilities are
increasingly essential for governments to function effectively
and for businesses to operate efficiently, questions continue to
grow about an individual's right to privacy and the accompanying
responsibilities of holders and transmitters of this information
to safeguard this right.

In many nations, the past two decades have seen the primary
gatherers and users of personal data shift from government
entities to private sector firms. In the 1970's and 1980's,
businesses were quick to exploit the explosive growth in low
cost, high performance computers, adapting this technology to a
wide range of economic, financial, and marketing applications. As
electronic commerce spread during the 1980's, there was growing
recognition that the electronic transfer of data across national
boundaries required an international consensus on individual
privacy protection. 

In 1980, the OECD developed and adopted a set of voluntary
privacy guidelines that were accepted by its 24 member countries.
In 1981, the Council of Europe, whose membership consists of the
European Union Member States and other European countries,
adopted "fair information practices" similar to those of the OECD
to regulate the collection, storage, and automated processing of
personal data, and transborder data flow. Both the OECD and
Council of Europe privacy guidelines, which generally recognize
that the free flow of information is critical to transborder
economic activity, provide a framework for domestic legislation
that has been used by both member and non-member nations. They
also recognize diverse means of protecting information privacy,
including self-regulation and industry codes of conduct. The
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the General
Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) Annex on Telecommunications
also contain provisions that recognize national privacy
protection regulations.

The United States and other countries around the world are
re-examining existing privacy policies to ensure that they apply
comprehensively to the transfer of personal data over global
networks. A balanced privacy policy -- preserving the individual's
right to privacy while maintaining the free flow of information
across national borders -- is important to the development of global
networks and services. Working together, nations should ensure
that the transport of personal data adequately takes into account
the following agreed-upon international privacy principles:

  o  Personal data should be collected only for specified,
     legitimate purposes;
  o  The dissemination, sharing, and reuse of information should
     be compatible with the purposes for which it was originally
     collected;
  o  Personal data should be accurate, relevant, and up-to-date;
  o  Individuals should be informed how personal data will be
     used and should be allowed to examine and correct this
     information; and
  o  Transmission of personal data should not be unduly
     restricted or subject to burdensome authorization
     procedures.

Recommended Action

In order to foster consumer confidence in the GII and to
encourage the growth of interconnected global networks, users
must feel that they are afforded adequate privacy protection. To
this end, the United States will join with other governments to:

  o  Identify key privacy issues that need to be addressed in
     relation to the development of national and global
     information infrastructures;
  o  Work with both the public and private sectors to achieve
     consensus on a set of fair information principles for the
     collection, transfer, storage, and subsequent use of data
     over national and global information infrastructures;
  o  Ensure that privacy protection does not unduly impede the
     free flow of information across national borders; 
  o  Share information on new privacy protection policy
     developments and on new technologies and    
     standards for privacy protection; and 
  o  Encourage the use of voluntary guidelines developed by
     international bodies, such as the OECD, as the best means of
     ensuring the protection of privacy on an international
     basis.

2.  Security and Reliability

A network as vast and complex as the GII will pose difficult
security challenges for all nations. The same modern technology
that makes communication faster and easier also makes
communications systems vulnerable to ever greater security risks.
These risks are not new -- most are well-known among security
managers. What is new is that these risks are much more
widespread, are potentially much more serious, and affect a
population of users who do not have the information or training
to deal with them.

The anonymous and impersonal nature of computer crime, for
example, makes this problem particularly unsettling, for legal
systems depend upon their ability to identify the malfeasors. Yet
serious violation of privacy or property rights can be
accomplished by destruction or alteration of information by
anonymous individuals in remote locations, with not a fingerprint
in sight. The technical challenges of protecting the privacy and
integrity of information stored in computer systems are even
greater than those that apply to information transmitted by
telephone. And as was true with the telephone, legal as well as
technological solutions are needed.

Security includes the integrity, confidentiality, and reliability
of the networks and of the information they carry. If users do
not believe that an information infrastructure is a trustworthy,
reliable system, they will be reluctant to use it, thereby
diminishing its value. To gain maximum benefit from global
networks, users must be confident that the messages they receive
are authentic, that sensitive information is available only for
authorized use, and that unauthorized users cannot access, alter,
or destroy information.

In addition to protecting the security of information that is
transported over the GII, governments and industry must guarantee
the reliability of the network itself. In the event of breakage
or service interruption, network operators must work quickly and
cooperatively to repair damage and provide backup systems to
minimize the duration of any such interruptions. To have a truly
global infrastructure, greater emphasis must be placed on
resolving reliability concerns, including such issues as network
performance, network connections and interoperability, the
development of new technology, and regional and demographic
differences in reliability.

Recommended Action

To promote the development of a secure and reliable GII, the
United States will join with other countries
to:

  o  Work collectively to increase the reliability and security
     of national and international information infrastructures;
  o  Initiate a broad international dialogue among users,
     providers, and all other participants in the GII on issues
     related to protecting the confidentiality and integrity of
     information transmitted and stored on global networks;
  o  Exchange information and encourage further cooperation
     within regional and international organizations such as the
     ITU and the OECD on measures to ensure network security and
     reliability, including the sharing of outage information;
  o  Share information regarding the best means available to
     advance security goals while not impeding progress on other
     GII principles, such as the promotion of competition and
     open access; and
  o  Exchange information about, and accelerate efforts to
     develop new technologies needed to improve the security of
     the GII (e.g. encryption, digital signatures, and
     firewalls.)

3.  Intellectual Property Protection

Protection of intellectual property rights is essential to the
development of a successful GII. In order to promote creativity
and provide the broadest possible access to the world's media and
information sectors under viable commercial conditions, countries
will need to protect the creative content of the GII -- text,
images, computer programs, databases, video and sound recordings,
as well as multimedia products.

Providing for adequate and effective protection of intellectual
property in the digital environment requires complex legal and
technical solutions. Some of these solutions may be viewed as
controversial by some users of the system. However, the cost to
society of inadequate intellectual property protection far out-
weighs these concerns. Inadequate protection of intellectual
property discourages the creation of copyrighted works, creates
barriers to innovation, stifles the use of new applications, and
diminishes foreign investment. It jeopardizes the work of
researchers, creative artists, and a wide variety of
entrepreneurs.

It goes without saying that if creative works are not adequately
protected, their creators will be reluctant to permit them to be
distributed over the GII. For this reason, rightsholders must not
be compelled to license rights to their works. Instead, GII
participants should cooperate to find legal, market-based
alternatives to compulsory licensing. Reliable and efficient
means of transferring intellectual property rights must also be
assured. They might, for example, adopt various licensing
arrangements, such as on-line and off-line licensing, direct
licensing, and voluntary collective licensing. More sensitive
issues, however, may have to be addressed on an individual basis.
For example, licensing of rights may be done on a per-use,
per-work, or other basis. Licensing of rights for multimedia
works, which involve a number of copyrights - not all of them
with obvious attributions - could be facilitated by special
licensing arrangements.

Recommended Actions

The GII cannot achieve its promise if authors, producers, and
other content creators are not guaranteed adequate protection of
their intellectual property rights. To achieve this protection,
the United States will join with other governments to:

  o  Cooperate in national, bilateral, regional and international
     fora (such as the World Intellectual Property Organization)
     to achieve high levels of intellectual property and
     technical protection in order to guarantee to rightsholders
     the technical and legal means to control the use of their
     property over the GII;
  o  Ensure that voluntary licensing regimes provide
     rightsholders and potential users of copyrighted works
     maximum flexibility in negotiating the conditions governing
     the use of copyrighted works, eliminate compulsory
     licensing, and guard against the imposition of standards
     that would impede the free-flow of information;
  o  Provide effective enforcement against the unauthorized use
     of a copyrighted work (infringement), including severe legal
     penalties and vigilant monitoring. Enforcement is
     particularly critical as technological innovations
     jeopardize the existing ability of rights holders to protect
     their works;
  o  Encourage the development and use of technological
     capabilities and safeguards, such as software envelopes,
     headers, assurances of authenticity, and encryption methods
     to complement existing copyright management techniques and
     prevent infringement at all levels. Cooperative efforts to
     develop testbeds, define standards, and construct
     infrastructure components for these safeguards should 
     be encouraged, as should measures to prevent or render
     illegal the use of devices to overcome these safeguards; and
  o  Work in collaboration with intellectual property-based
     industries towards greater efforts to educate others about
     the importance of intellectual property protection.

B.  Applications: Delivering the Benefits of the GII

Given that the value of the GII will be determined by how people
benefit from it, governments must cultivate active participation
by consumers and businesses in the application of new
technologies. By working together in creative partnerships, the
public and private sectors can apply information and
telecommunications technology to a variety of critical and
complex issues: improving productivity and economic growth in an
increasingly competitive and interdependent global economy;
providing adequate health care; ensuring the development of
workforce skills through education and training; providing
equitable access to information through public institutions, such
as libraries; enhancing leisure-time activities; protecting
natural resources and the environment; and ensuring the delivery
of government services and information.

Many governments are already examining ways to promote the
development of the information infrastructure and to demonstrate,
through pilot projects and testbeds, the myriad benefits of new
technologies. In the United States, the National Information
Infrastructure (NII) initiative includes a Federal matching grant
program that provides support for planning and demonstration
projects initiated by state and local governments and non-profit
entities in such fields as health care and education./6/ The U.S.
NII initiative also includes a number of other federally
supported applications in the areas of environmental monitoring,
digital libraries, international transportation and trade, and
the electronic dissemination of government information./7/

The reach of applications being developed around the world can be
expanded internationally through collaborative projects among
commercial entities, academic institutions, and private,
voluntary, and multilateral organizations. International
applications have the unique potential to permit countries not
only to bring diverse global resources to bear upon local
problems and needs, but also to find solutions to needs that
transcend national boundaries, such as environmental monitoring
and global trade and commerce.

These applications can transform the possibilities of the GII
into realities for citizens around the world. What follows is an
illustrative, but not exhaustive, list of examples that
demonstrate the value of expanding collaborative efforts in the
development of international applications:

  o  Distance learning projects can make available a wealth of
     educational resources to improve local educational and
     training capabilities, offering cost-saving, effective
     alternatives to overseas studies;
  o  Computer networks linking medical school libraries and
     remote sites can improve the delivery of health care
     services, particularly to rural communities, by expanding
     access to demographic, epidemiological, and medical
     reference materials. In Zambia, district hospitals are being
     linked for clinical consultation, distance learning, health
     literature dissemination, and epidemiological data exchange.
     African medical libraries are linking up with libraries
     overseas for research and document delivery services;  
  o  Satellite and radio-based systems that collect and
     disseminate health statistics can be used to identify
     underserved segments of the population and to target those
     areas for expanded delivery of family health services;
  o  Remote sensing can be used to identify and protect important
     ecological systems. The Administration is promoting an
     international partnership, known as Global Learning and
     Observation to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE), that will
     allow children all over the world to collect and share
     environmental data. Students will work with teachers and
     environmental scientists to expand knowledge about weather,
     air and water chemistry and quality, biodiversity, and other
     "vital signs" of the Earth. The combined data will be
     transformed into striking "pictures" of the entire planet,
     allowing each student to see how their school's observation
     is an important part of the global environment;
  o  Computer and satellite networks can provide monitoring and,
     in some cases, early warning of natural disasters, allowing
     for better coordination of humanitarian assistance efforts
     between host and donor countries, speeding the delivery of
     aid and assistance. In the South Pacific, the PEACESAT
     satellite network has been used to coordinate emergency
     assistance after typhoons and earthquakes, and to summon
     medical teams during outbreaks of cholera and dengue fever;
  o  Computerized market price data for agricultural and
     horticultural products can provide new agribusiness
     opportunities and can facilitate direct links between
     exporters and clients;
  o  Access to international markets, particularly for small and
     medium sized businesses, can be created by providing
     electronic access to information such as transportation
     schedules and costs, insurance and customs data. The United
     Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) trade
     points system uses electronic data interchange and other
     technologies to establish a network of trade points around
     the globe. In Algeria, for example, the introduction of a
     computer-mediated trade point has stimulated an increase in
     the number of companies involved in international trade from
     twenty to 2,500;
  o  Electronic data interchange technologies, which can reduce
     the administrative cost of international trade transactions
     by as much as twenty per cent, can help companies increase
     productivity by streamlining manufacturing and service
     delivery. Through industry-led consortia such as
     CommerceNet, companies can explore collaborative
     engineering, on-line catalogs of products and services, and
     mechanisms for electronic payments;
  o  Scientists can continue to explore the use of
     "collaboratories," tools and virtual environments that allow
     scientists to work together without regard to space or time.
     Scientists need the ability to share data and the tools for
     data analysis, visualization, and modeling, to control
     remote instruments, and to communicate with their
     colleagues;
  o  Using the World Wide Web, individuals and institutions all
     over the globe have begun to create distributed "virtual
     libraries" on specific subjects. As these opportunities
     continue to grow, tools for information discovery and
     retrieval and protection of intellectual property rights
     will become increasingly important.

In our view, public-private sponsorship of GII pilot projects and
testbeds is worthwhile. It will help identify and address a
number of technical, policy, and regulatory barriers to the
realization of the GII. These include issues of privacy,
security, interoperability, and intellectual property protection,
as well as artificially high prices for telecommunications
services and outdated rules and regulations designed for
paper-based transactions. A strategy that concentrates on
"learning by doing" is far more likely to resolve these barriers.

The roles played by governments, the private sector, academic
institutions, and non-profit organizations will vary depending on
the nature of the application. In some cases, such as global
electronic commerce and entertainment services, the private
sector should take the lead, while in other areas, such as
international public health, cooperation between public health
agencies, hospitals, clinics, and universities would be
appropriate. Whatever the application, governments must recognize
that while they can play an important catalytic role in fostering
international collaboration, they should not attempt "top-down"
management of this process. The Administration hopes and expects
that many of the best ideas for global cooperation will bubble up
from the grassroots with little or no government involvement.

Successful applications will set in motion a continuous cycle of
demand that will encourage future development of the GII.
Demonstrating the power of the GII to successfully address
pressing problems will stimulate consumer demand for a variety of
products and services at affordable prices. This demand will
provide the necessary incentive for the private sector to broaden
the reach and expand the capabilities of the GII, enhancing its
ability to deliver benefits to people and again increasing
demand. As a "network of networks" linking people and
information, the GII can leverage the collaborative potential of
existing efforts and provide real solutions to existing and
emerging global issues.

Recommended Action

International applications are the best way to demonstrate the
potential power of the GII to affect lives all over the world.
The United States will join with other countries to:

  o  Support, along with the private sector, the initiation of
     pilot projects and testbeds that demonstrate the benefits of
     the GII, in areas such as electronic commerce, health care,
     digital libraries, environmental monitoring, and life-long
     learning, with opportunities for participation by both
     developed and developing countries;
  o  Cooperate in the facilitation of electronic information
     exchanges in support of global trade and commerce; 
  o  Facilitate the sharing of information in the public domain
     with other countries on government-funded and private sector
     applications projects to promote a broader understanding of
     the diversity of technology that can be applied to meet
     various public needs;
  o  Encourage the assignment of a higher priority for innovative
     applications of information technology, which will encourage
     increased use of the GII;
  o  Encourage private sector-led efforts to develop
     application-level standards (e.g. data interchange formats,
     application program interfaces) to ensure interoperability
     at the application level; and
  o  Work constructively to assess and eliminate the barriers to
     the development and deployment of GII applications./8/
                                   

IV.  IMPLEMENTING THE GII

The various approaches governments have taken in response to the
technological convergence of telecommunications and information
industries have resulted in the development of asymmetric markets
and regulatory environments around the world. These asymmetries
often impede the cross-border transfer of services and
information among business users, entertainment providers, and
consumers. The United States believes that these differences can
be overcome, in part through the work of market forces and
technological developments, but also in part through collective
agreement among all countries to adopt, advance, and apply the
core principles of the GII. By working through existing
international and regional organizations, and engaging in
bilateral efforts, government and industry can remove obstacles
blocking the effective development of the GII.

Multilateral organizations will play a vital role in this effort.
In particular, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU),
the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),
the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) are uniquely able
to contribute practical solutions to problems affecting the
development of the GII.

As the preeminent international organization dealing with
telecommunications issues, the United Nations' ITU was the first
multilateral forum in which the GII was discussed. With its broad
membership of 185 developed and developing countries, the
consensus-based ITU serves as a global forum for technical
discussions ranging from voluntary standards development and
frequency allocation activities to network development.
Accomplishments already achieved under ITU auspices in technical
telecommunications and development issues suggest that the ITU
can play a significant role in the GII development process.

The OECD, an international think tank which undertakes economic
research on various aspects of its members' economies and policy
concerns, has been constructively addressing telecommunications
and information policy issues for several years. Its policy and
statistical analyses have contributed to a broader understanding
of the economic benefits of liberalization in the information and
telecommunications sectors.

Organizations such as the ISO and the WIPO, which deal with
specific cross-sectoral issues, can serve as important fora to
discuss and advance issues of open access and information policy.
For example, any changes made to bilateral or regional
intellectual property regimes may ultimately become issues in the
WIPO.

In addition, both Intelsat and Inmarsat, the treaty-based
satellite communications organizations that have played a
significant role in advancing global telecommunications, are now
contemplating options for restructuring. Because of these
organizations' broad international memberships, they could serve
as useful fora for review of commercialization alternatives.

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a
multilateral agreement setting out the rules and principles by
which countries trade, primarily in the area of goods. The
Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations led to the establishment of
the World Trade Organization (WTO), which deals with services,
investment, and intellectual property -- areas that substantively
affect telecommunications trade. The General Agreement on Trade
in Services (GATS), under the new WTO, includes an Annex on
"access to and use of" the telecommunications networks of WTO
members, and includes substantive commitments from a number of
parties on value-added telecommunications services. More
generally, the GATS "access to and use of" telecommunications
annex applies to all services for which countries have scheduled
market access commitments. Now that it is in effect for the U.S.
and most of its major trading partners, the GATS can
substantially reinforce the principles of the GII. In addition,
there are on-going negotiations, to be concluded by April 1996,
to liberalize basic telecommunications services through the
Negotiating Group on Basic Telecommunications.

Regional organizations also have important roles in achieving
regional consensus on issues pertaining to telecommunications and
information markets. Organizations such as the Inter-American
Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) of the Organization of
American States (OAS), the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC), the Southern Africa Transportation and Communications
Commission (SATCC) and the European Conference on Postal and
Telecommunications Administration (CEPT), among others, fre-
quently serve as fora for the exchange of valuable information
and as test sites for implementation of the most expedient and 
beneficial policies. These bodies also serve as effective vehicles for 
improving and enhancing network development and technical 
cooperation among participants on a regional basis.

Finally, plurilateral and bilateral dialogues can be arranged
among and between nations to focus on particular issues. In
addition to the deliberations in regional and international
organizations, these discussions can become building blocks for
cooperation as together we seek to construct a truly global GII.
For example, the G-7 Ministerial Conference scheduled for
February 1995 is one of several such opportunities for focused,
high-level discussion of the Global Information Infrastructure.

As important as these international governmental organizations
are, perhaps even more important are the numerous formal and
informal groups within the private sector. These groups, which
range from international trade organizations to professional
associations to advocacy groups to industry-led standard-setting
bodies, provide communication channels between the people who
will actually build and use the GII. Such private sector groups
facilitate the international teaming and strategic alliances that
will ensure the development of a truly seamless "network of
networks," rather than a patchwork of incompatible systems and
services.
                                        

V.  CONCLUSION

As Vice President Gore noted in Buenos Aires, it is possible to
create a global information network that transmits messages and
images with the speed of light from the largest city to the
smallest village. Through the interconnection of disparate but
interoperable networks, these information highways will allow us
to communicate as a global community*giving individuals,
businesses, and economies greater access to each other and to a
wider range of information. Equally important, the GII will offer
governments an unprecedented opportunity to equalize global
disparity in telecommunications and maximize the economic and
social benefits of the Information Age for their citizens.

Harnessing the global potential of information and communications
technologies to this end will require collaboration among the
industries that will build, operate, provide, and use services
and information available over the evolving national networks. It
will also require cooperative efforts among countries, working
together bilaterally, regionally, and through multilateral 
organizations, to facilitate the interconnection of their
respective networks and the sharing of information among nations. 

In our interdependent world, technological and regulatory choices
made in one country can affect those made in neighboring
countries, creating a multiplier effect for the GII's
development. To help guide this development, the Administration
proposes five core principles -- private investment, competition,
open access, a flexible regulatory environment, and universal
service. These principles, we believe, along with effective
information policies, will provide a foundation upon which the
GII can be built.

The overarching goal of the Agenda for Cooperation is to foster
the cooperation that will be needed to spur the transformation of
a thousand discrete networks into a connected, interoperable
global information infrastructure. As all nations take steps to
develop and upgrade national information infrastructures, we
invite you to join with us in ensuring that the benefits of the
GII will be available throughout the world.

_________________________________________________________________

ENDNOTES

1.  In general throughout this report, references to "information 
services" are meant to be broad and to include all services, content, and 
applications to be provided over the networks of the GII.  However, for 
specific statistics cited from other sources, the definitions from those 
sources apply.

2.  International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. 
Industrial Outlook 1994, at 25-1, January 1994.

3.  U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, 
Office of Service Industries, 1994.

4.  The Benefits of Telecommunications Infrastructure Competition, 
(DSTI/ICCP, TISP(93)/Rev1), p.23, February, 1994.

5.  Ibid, p.3.

6.  Administered by the National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration, the basic objective of the Telecommunications and 
Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP) is to provide clear 
and visible demonstrations to people at the local level of the advantages 
that can be accrued in their daily lives as a result of having access to 
a modern, interactive information infrastructure.

7.  Additional information on how information infrastructure applications 
can benefit people can be found in two reports from the U.S. Information 
Infrastructure Task Force's Committee on Applications and Technology:  
"Putting the Information Infrastructure to Work," National Institute for 
Standards and Technology Special Publication 857, Gaithersburg, MD, 1994; 
and "The Information Infrastructure:  Reaching Society's Goals," National 
Institute for Standards and Technology Special Publication 868, 
Gaithersburg, MD, 1994.

8.  A report of the Conference on Breaking the Barriers to the National 
Information Infrastructure can be obtained from the Council on 
Competitiveness in Washington, D.C.  The conference was co-sponsored by 
the Council and the Clinton Administration's Information Infrastructure 
Task Force.
_______________________________________________________________________

                       
APPENDIX A - SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

II.  BUILDING A FOUNDATION FOR THE GII -- FIVE BASIC PRINCIPLES

A.  Encouraging Private Investment

From the wide range of available options, governments can develop
a strategy best suited to their particular needs. At the same
time, they must institute the appropriate regulatory,
legislative, and market reforms to create the conditions
necessary to attract private investment in their
telecommunications, information technology, and information
services markets. To facilitate this process, the United States
will join with other governments to:

  o  Identify and seek to remove barriers to private investment,
     and develop policies and regulations that improve investment
     incentives in both growing and mature telecommunications and
     information markets;
  o  Ensure that applicable laws, regulations, and other legal
     rules governing the provision of telecommunications and
     information services and equipment are reasonable,
     nondiscriminatory, and publicly available;
  o  Engage in bilateral, regional, and multilateral discussions
     to exchange information on the various options that have
     been successfully pursued to attract private investment,
     including, but not limited to, privatization,
     liberalization, and market reforms;
  o  Work with major international lending institutions, such as
     the World Bank and the regional development banks, and major
     private financial institutions to determine the best means
     of attracting both private and public capital, and establish
     workshops to train officials in the different liberalization 
     approaches; and
  o  Encourage international lending institutions to recognize
     the ways in which funded social projects, such as the
     delivery of education and health care services, can be
     advanced through improved information infrastructures.

B.  Promoting Competition

The most effective means of promoting a GII that delivers
advanced products and services to all countries is through
increased competition at local, national, regional, and global
levels. To that end, the United States will join with other
governments to:

  o  Assess, through information exchanges and existing
     multilateral organizations, the positive experiences 
     of different countries in introducing competition and
     progressively liberalizing their telecommunications,
     information technology, and information services markets;
  o  Work constructively to remove barriers to competition in
     telecommunications, information technology, and information
     services markets;
  o  Include timetables for increased competition in basic
     telecommunications infrastructure and services in national
     information infrastructure development plans, and, as an
     interim step, increase the pace of liberalization through
     the expansion of resale;
  o  Encourage new entrants by adopting competitive safeguards to
     protect against anticompetitive behavior by firms with
     market power, including measures designed to prevent
     discrimination and cross-subsidization;
  o  Implement specific regulations to facilitate competitive
     entry in the telecommunications sector, including the
     following essential elements: 1) interconnection among
     competing network and service providers; 2) "unbundling" of
     bottleneck facilities of dominant network providers; 3)
     transparency of regulations and charges; and 4)
     nondiscrimination among network facilities operators and
     between facilities operators and potential users, including
     resellers; 
  o  Ensure that government-sponsored technical training
     activities incorporate programs specifically related to the
     development of pro-competitive markets and regulations
     (including such issues as competitive safeguards and
     interconnection);
  o  Pursue a successful conclusion to the General Agreement on
     Trade in Services (GATS) discussions on basic
     telecommunications to obtain the opening of markets for
     basic telecommunications services through facilities-based
     competition and the resale of services on existing networks
     on nondiscriminatory terms and conditions; and
  o  Consider the full range of options for promoting competition
     in Intelsat and Inmarsat, including: 1) pursuing changes
     designed to increase the operational efficiency of Intelsat
     and Inmarsat, retaining their fundamental intergovernmental
     character, but substantially reducing the scope of the
     current intergovernmental agreements by removing provisions
     that convey unfair advantage and inhibit efficient
     functioning; 2) transforming the organizations into private
     corporations; and 3) transforming the organizations into
     multiple private service providers that compete with one
     another, as well as with others. In selecting among these
     options, the goal must be to enhance competition and not
     diminish it. 

C.  Providing Open Access

In partnership with the private sector, governments can take
action to improve access to facilities and networks, and promote
the availability of a wide range of diverse services and
information, including supporting the development of
international standards that promote interoperability. To achieve
these goals, the United States will join with other governments
to:

  o  Develop appropriate policies that encourage increased access
     by citizens to diverse sources of information;
  o  Provide unrestricted and equitable access to networks for
     providers and consumers of services and content, based on
     sound commercial practices;
  o  Hold regular bilateral and multilateral dialogues on ways of
     increasing the flow of information across borders to
     facilitate greater access to content by consumers;
  o  Encourage an open, voluntary standards-setting process that
     does not denigrate intellectual property rights and which
     includes the participation of a broad group of interests,
     including the private sector, consumers, and, as
     appropriate, government agencies;
  o  Work through regional and international bodies to increase
     the pace of consensus-based, voluntary, and transparent
     standards development and adoption, and to promote the broad
     dissemination of standards-related information;
  o  Work together and with national, regional, and international
     standards bodies to identify priority areas for increased
     coordination among different private national and 
     international bodies in support of interoperability of
     networks and services on the GII.

D.  Creating a Flexible Regulatory Environment

Although national regulatory environments necessarily reflect the
specific social, economic, and political needs of each individual
country, the essentially global nature of the markets for
telecommunications, information technologies, and information
services require that national regulations be responsive to
global developments. The United States will join with other
governments to:

  o  Re-examine and adapt regulations and legislation to
     accommodate market and technological developments at
     national and global levels in support of the five GII
     principles;
  o  Create, through regulatory and/or legislative reform, a
     pro-competitive, technology-neutral regulatory environment
     to maximize consumer choice, to provide fair access to
     networks, and to stimulate infrastructure development, the
     introduction of new services, and the wider dissemination of
     information; 
  o  Exchange views and information on national regulatory and
     legislative initiatives and seek to identify common
     challenges and options for developing flexible and
     transparent regulations in support of the development of the
     GII;
  o  Work collectively in regional and international
     organizations to convene meetings devoted specifically to
     encouraging the adoption of regulatory policies that will
     promote the GII; and
  o  Encourage creation of independent national regulatory
     authorities for telecommunications separate from the
     operator that shall promote the interest of consumers and
     ensure effective and efficient competition. Such authorities
     should have sufficient powers to carry out their missions
     and should operate with transparent decisionmaking processes
     that are open to all interested parties.

E.  Ensuring Universal Service

Although the provision of universal service varies from country
to country, the goal of providing all people with greater access
to both basic and advanced services is a crucial element of the
GII. The United States will join with other governments to:

  o  Consider, at the local and national levels, the benefits
     afforded by the introduction of competition and private
     investment in meeting and expanding universal service;
  o  Exchange information at the bilateral and multilateral level
     to address the range of available options to meet universal
     service goals; and
  o  Consider, at the national and international levels, ways to
     promote universal access as a means of providing service to
     currently underserved and geographically remote areas.

III.  ENCOURAGING THE USE OF THE GII

A.  Information Policy & Content Issues

1.  Privacy Protection

In order to foster consumer confidence in the GII and to
encourage the growth of interconnected global networks, users
must feel that they are afforded adequate privacy protection. To
this end, the United States will join with other governments to:

  o  Identify key privacy issues that need to be addressed in
     relation to the development of national and global
     information infrastructures;
  o  Work with both the public and private sectors to achieve
     consensus on a set of fair information principles for the
     collection, transfer, storage, and subsequent use of data
     over national and global information infrastructures;
  o  Ensure that privacy protection does not unduly impede the
     free flow of information across national borders; 
  o  Share information on new privacy protection policy
     developments and on new technologies and    
     standards for privacy protection; and 
  o  Encourage the use of voluntary guidelines developed by
     international bodies, such as the OECD, as the best means of
     ensuring the protection of privacy on an international
     basis.

2.  Security and Reliability

To promote the development of a secure and reliable GII, the
United States will join with other countries to:

  o  Work collectively to increase the reliability and security
     of national and international information infrastructures;
  o  Initiate a broad international dialogue among users,
     providers, and all other participants in the GII on issues
     related to protecting the confidentiality and integrity of
     information transmitted and stored on global networks;
  o  Exchange information and encourage further cooperation
     within regional and international organizations such as the
     ITU and the OECD on measures to ensure network security and
     reliability, including the sharing of outage information;
  o  Share information regarding the best means available to
     advance security goals while not impeding progress on other
     GII principles, such as the promotion of competition and
     open access; and
  o  Exchange information about, and accelerate efforts to
     develop new technologies needed to improve the security of
     the GII (e.g. encryption, digital signatures, and
     firewalls.)

3.  Intellectual Property Protection

The GII cannot achieve its promise if authors, producers, and
other content creators are not guaranteed adequate protection of
their intellectual property rights. To achieve this protection,
the United States will join with other governments to:

  o  Cooperate in national, bilateral, regional and international
     fora (such as the World Intellectual Property Organization)
     to achieve high levels of intellectual property and
     technical protection in order to guarantee to rightsholders
     the technical and legal means to control the use of their
     property over the GII;
  o  Ensure that voluntary licensing regimes provide
     rightsholders and potential users of copyrighted works
     maximum flexibility in negotiating the conditions governing
     the use of copyrighted works, eliminate compulsory
     licensing, and guard against the imposition of standards
     that would impede the free-flow of information;
  o  Provide effective enforcement against the unauthorized use
     of a copyrighted work (infringement), including severe legal
     penalties and vigilant monitoring. Enforcement is
     particularly critical as technological innovations
     jeopardize the existing ability of rights holders to protect
     their works;
  o  Encourage the development and use of technological
     capabilities and safeguards, such as software envelopes,
     headers, assurances of authenticity, and encryption methods
     to complement existing copyright management techniques and
     prevent infringement at all levels. Cooperative efforts to
     develop testbeds, define standards, and construct
     infrastructure components for these safeguards should 
     be encouraged, as should measures to prevent or render
     illegal the use of devices to overcome these safeguards; and
  o  Work in collaboration with intellectual property-based
     industries towards greater efforts to educate others about
     the importance of intellectual property protection.

B.  Applications: Delivering the Benefits of the GII

International applications are the best way to demonstrate the
potential power that the GII has to affect lives all over the
world. The United States will join with other countries to:

  o  Support, along with the private sector, the initiation of
     pilot projects and testbeds that demonstrate the benefits of
     the GII, in areas such as electronic commerce, health care,
     digital libraries, environmental monitoring, and life-long
     learning, with opportunities for participation by both
     developed and developing countries;
  o  Cooperate in the facilitation of electronic information
     exchanges in support of global trade and commerce; 
  o  Facilitate the sharing of information in the public domain
     with other countries on government-funded and private sector
     applications projects to promote a broader understanding of
     the diversity of technology that can be applied to meet
     various public needs;
  o  Encourage the assignment of a higher priority for innovative
     applications of information technology, which will encourage
     increased use of the GII;
  o  Encourage private sector-led efforts to develop
     application-level standards (e.g. data interchange formats,
     application program interfaces) to ensure interoperability
     at the application level; and
  o  Work constructively to assess and eliminate the barriers to
     the development and deployment of GII applications.
________________________________________________________________


APPENDIX B - GII HEARING TESTIMONY

The International Telecommunications Working Group of the
Information Infrastructure Task Force's Telecommunications Policy
Committee gratefully acknowledges the contribution of all those
individuals and organizations who offered testimony, either oral
or written, at the public hearings on the emerging Global
Information Infrastructure, held in Washington, D.C., on July 27
and 28, 1994. The views and information shared during the hearing
process were invaluable, and helped shape the Global Information
Infrastructure: Agenda for Cooperation.

Airtouch International
Alliance to Promote Software Innovation
American Committee for Interoperable Systems
American Electronics Association
American Express Company
American Mobile Satellite Corporation
American National Standards Institute
American Petroleum Institute
Association of American Publishers
AT&T
British Telecom
Business Software Alliance
Cable and Wireless North America, Inc.
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Coalition for Networked Information
Committee T1 Telecommunications
Computer and Business Equipment Manufacturers Association
COMSAT Corporation
James D. Earl
Electronic Data Systems
Ericsson Corporation
Eurobit
European-American Chamber of Commerce
Government of the United Kingdom
IDB Communications Group, Inc.
Information Industry Association
Information Technology Association of America
International Intellectual Property Alliance
Internet Society
Iridium
Japan Electronic Industry Development Association
MCI
Brian Moir
Motion Picture Association of America
Motorola
NBC
NYNEX Corporation
ORION
PanAmSat
Qualcomm, Inc.
Recording Industry Association of America
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meaghert & Flom
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan (on behalf of Capital Cities/ABC,
CBS, NBC and TBS)
Telecommunications Industry Association
Teledesic Corporation
U.S. Council for International Business
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Viatel, Inc.                                          

_________________________________________________________________

APPENDIX C
                              
GLOBAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE
                                        
KEY CONTACTS

Ronald H. Brown, Secretary of Commerce
Chair, Information Infrastructure Task Force
Department of Commerce
14th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C.  20230
Phone:   202/482-3934
Fax:     202/482-4576
Internet:  nii@ntia.doc.gov


David J. Barram, Deputy Secretary of Commerce
Department of Commerce
14th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C.  20230
Phone:  202/482-4625
Fax:    202/482-3610
Internet:  dbarram@doc.gov


Larry Irving, Assistant Secretary for Communications and
Information
Administrator, National Telecommunications and Information
Administration
Chair, IITF Telecommunications Policy Committee
Department of Commerce
14th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW - Room 4898
Washington, D.C.  20230
Phone:   202/482-1840
Fax:     202/482-1635
Internet:  li@ntia.doc.gov


Arati Prabhakar, Director
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Chair, IITF Committee on Applications and Technology
Department of Commerce
Administrative Building 101, Room A1134
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899
Phone:   301/975-2300
Fax:     301/869-8972
Internet:  ap-iitf@nist.gov


Sally Katzen, Administrator
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Office of Management and Budget
Chair, IITF Information Policy Committee
Old Executive Office Building, Room 350
Washington, D.C.  20530
Phone:   202/395-4852
Fax:     202/395-3047
Internet:  ipc@al.eop.gov 


Don Abelson, Assistant United 
States Trade Representative
    for Services Investment & Intellectual Property
United States Trade Representative
Room 301
600 17th Street, NW
Washington, D.C.  20506
Phone:   202/395-6864
Fax:     202/395-3891

Richard Beaird, Senior Deputy U.S. Coordinator
International Communications & Information Policy
Department of State
Room 4826
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, D.C.  20520-5818
Phone:   202/647-5832
Fax:     202/647-5957


Dianne Cornell, Chief
Telecommunications Division
International Bureau
Federal Communications Commission
2000 M Street, NW - Suite 800
Washington, D.C. 20554
Phone:  202/418-1470
Fax:    202/418-2824
Internet:  dcornell@fcc.gov


Peter Cowhey, Chief
Multilateral & Development Branch
Telecommunications Division, International Bureau
Federal Communications Commission
2000 M Street, NW - Suite 800
Washington, D.C. 20554
Phone:  202/418-1470
Fax:    202/418-2824
Internet:  pcowhey@fcc.gov


Carol C. Darr, Associate Administrator
Office of International Affairs
National Telecommunications & Information Administration
Department of Commerce
Room 4720
14th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C.  20230
Phone:   202/482-1304
Fax:     202/482-1865
Internet:  cdarr@ntia.doc.gov

Michele C. Farquhar, Chief of Staff
Director, Office of Policy Coordination Management
National Telecommunications & Information Administration
Department of Commerce
14th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW - Room 4892
Washington, D.C.  20230
Phone:  202/482-1835
Fax:    202/482-0979
Internet:  mfarquhar@ntia.doc.gov


Michael Fitch, Deputy U.S. Coordinator
International Communications & Information Policy
Department of State
Room 4826
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, D.C.  20520-5818
Phone:   202/647-5832
Fax:     202/647-5957

Cita Furlani, Director
Office of Enterprise Integration
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Department of Commerce
Building 415, Room 102
Gaithersburg, Maryland  20899
Phone:   301/975-4529
Fax:     301/869-7242
Internet:  cat_exec@nist.gov


John Gilsenan, Director for Telecommunications Policy for Canada
International Communications & Information Policy
Department of State
Room 2529
EB/CIP
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20520-5818
Phone:   202/647-2592
Fax:     202/647-7407

Jack Gleason, Division Director
Office of International Affairs
Department of Commerce
14th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C.  20230
Phone:   202/482-1866
Fax:     202/482-1865
Internet:  jgleason@ntia.doc.gov

Scott Blake Harris, Chief
International Bureau
Federal Communications Commission
Suite 800
2000 M Street, NW
Washington, D.C.  20554
Phone:   202/418-0420
Fax:     202/418-2818
Internet:  sbharris@fcc.gov

Reed Hundt, Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
1919 M Street, NW
Room 814
Washington, D.C.  20554
Phone:   202/418-1000
Fax:     202/418-2801
Internet:  ftp@fcc.gov

Thomas Kalil, Director
Science and Technology
National Economic Council
Room 233
Old Executive Office Building
Washington, D.C.  20500
Phone:   202/456-2802
Fax:     202/456-2223
Internet:  tkalil@arpa.mil


Michael Kirk, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce
Deputy Commissioner of Patents & Trademarks
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Office of Legislation
Box 4
Washington, D.C.  20231
Phone:   703/305-9300
Fax:     703/305-8885


Joanne Kumekawa, Special Assistant for International Affairs
Office of the Assistant Secertary
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Department of Commerce
14th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW - Room 4898
Washington, D.C. 20230
Phone:  202/482-1551
Fax:    202/482-1635
Internet:  jkumekawa@ntia.doc.gov


Richard P. Larm, Attorney
Foreign Commerce Section
Antitrust Division
U.S. Department of Justice
Room 3264
10th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C.  20530
Phone:   202/514-4687
Fax:     202/514-4508

Bruce Lehman, Assistant Secretary of Commerce
Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Department of Commerce
Washington, D.C.  20231
Phone:   703/305-8600
Fax:     703/305-8664

David Lytel, Information Infrastructure Specialist
Office of Science & Technology Policy
Room 423
Old Executive Office Building
Washington, D.C.  20500
Phone:   202/456-6037
Fax:     202/456-6023
Internet:  dlytel@ostp.eop.gov

Vonya McCann, U.S. Coordinator
International Communications & Information Policy
Department of State
Room 4826
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20520 
Phone:   202/647-5212
Fax:     202/647-5957

Bruce McConnell, Chief
Information Policy Branch
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
Office of Management and Budget
Room 10236
New Executive Office Building
Washington, D.C.  20503
Phone:   202/395-3785
Fax:     202/395-5167
Internet:   bruce.mcconnell@eop.sprint.com


Denise Michel, Senior Policy Adviser
Office of the Secretary
Department of Commerce
14th & Pennsylvania Avenue, NW - Room 5835
Washington, D.C.  20230
Phone:   202/482-4127
Fax:     202/482-4191
Internet:  dmichel@doc.gov


Michael Nelson, Special Assistant
Information Technology
Office of Science & Technology Policy
Old Executive Office Building, Room 423
Washington, D.C.  20500
Phone:   202/456-6039
Fax:     202/456-6023
Internet:  mnelson@ostp.eop.gov


Richard Parlow, Associate Administrator
Office of Spectrum Management
National Telecommunications & Information Administration
Department of Commerce
14th and Constitution Avenue, NW - Room 4099A
Washington, D.C.  20230
Phone:   202/482-1850
Fax:     202/482-4396
Internet:  rparlow@ntia.doc.gov


Charles Rush, Chief Scientist
National Telecommunications & Information Administration
Department of Commerce
14th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW - Room 4898
Washington, D.C. 20230
Phone:  202/482-1551
Fax:    202/482-1635
Internet:  crush@ntia.doc.gov


Jonathan Sallet, Assistant to the Secretary
Director, Office of Policy and Strategic Planning
Department of Commerce
Room 5835
14th & Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C.  20230
Phone:   202/482-4127
Fax:     202/482-4191
Internet:  jsallet@doc.gov]

Suzanne Radell Settle, Senior Policy Adviser
Office of International Affairs
National Telecommunications & Information Administration
Department of Commerce
Room 4701
14th and Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C.  20230
Phone:   202/482-1854
Fax:     202/482-1865
Internet:  ssettle@ntia.doc.gov

Greg C. Simon, Domestic Policy Advisor to the Vice President
Office of the Vice President
Old Executive Office Building
17th & Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C.  20501
Phone:   202/456-6222
Fax:     202/456-6231
Internet:  gsimon@arpa.mil

Roger Stechshulte, Director
Office of Telecommunications
Department of Commerce
Room 1009
14th and Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C.  20230
Phone:   202/482-4466
Fax:     202/482-5834

Thomas Sugrue, Deputy Assistant Secretary
National Telecommunications & Information Administration
Department of Commerce
14th and Constitution Avenue, NW - Room 4898
Washington, D.C.  20230
Phone:   202/482-1830
Fax:     202/482-1635
Internet:  tsugrue@ntia.doc.gov

Daniel K. Tarullo, Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business
Affairs
Department of State
Room 6828
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20520
Phone:   202/647-7971
Fax:     202/647-5713

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Assistant Secretary for Telecommunications and Information
Administrator, National Telecommunications and Information
   Administration
Chair, IITF Telecommunications Policy Committee
Larry Irving

Associate Administrator, NTIA, Office of International Affairs
Chair, TPC International Telecommunication Working Group
Carol C. Darr

PROJECT TEAM

Suzanne Radell Settle
Bruce Barnett


PROJECT CONTRIBUTORS


Office of International Affairs

Sharon Bywater
Michael Crowe
Nancy Eskenazi
Greg Francis
Jack Gleason
Larry Palmer
Helen Shaw
Diane Steinour
Tom Wasilewski

Inter-Agency Contributors

Don Abelson, Office of United States Trade Representative
Jonathan Baker, Council of Economic Advisors
Mary Good, Department of Commerce, TA
Scott Blake Harris, Federal Communications Commission
Tom Kalil, National Economic Council
Bruce Lehman, Department of Commerce, PTO
Vonya McCann, Department of State, CIP
Bruce McConnell, Office of Management and Budget
Mike Nelson, Office of Science & Technology Policy
Jonathan Sallet, Department of Commerce
Greg Simon, Office of the Vice President

We wish to thank Jean Grier, Eugenia Barton, Randall Cook, Tony
Mocenigo, and Chris Wise-Mohr who reviewed earlier drafts of
this report, and the key contacts listed above for their
suggestions and input.  We also thank Peter Max for providing the
cover design and Arthur J. Altenburg for the typesetting and
layout of the report.