It is hard to overstate the importance of this initiative. I am proud that NTIA has been able to help develop the vision of this Administration and to vigorously pursue its implementation. Let's look for a moment at Internet access for households. As you probably know, this has been an area of great interest for the Administration. These are disproportionately inhabitants of rural areas and central cities and include the poor, the youngest household heads, minorities in general, and those Americans with little education.
Studies abound but often lack adequate sample size and randomness, or cohesive definitions.
For all of these reasons, last week the Vice President directed NTIA in partnership with our sister agency at Commerce, the Census Bureau, to undertake an update of Falling Through the Net in two phases. More specifically, in late July, we intend to issue an analysis of trend line data on Americans in the Information Age for selected years during the period 1984-97. NTIA will release its analysis by mid-1999. I cannot emphasize enough that the Administration intends to stay abreast of this information revolution. It is clear to me that universal service has served the country well as a policy for most of this century, and that the concept in its modernized form has the potential to assure Americans available and affordable access befitting a new century based on information.