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Subject: Department of Commerce Private Sector Meeting on NII
Date: Sun, 26 Sep 93 21:05:53 -0400
From: "Craig A. Summerhill" <craig@cni.org>
Subject: Department of Commerce Private Sector Meeting on NII
On Friday September 24, 1993, the U.S. Department of Commerce held a
private sector meeting on the National Information Infrastructure at the
United States Department of Commerce Auditorium (14th and Constitution
Avenues, Washington, DC). I took the following notes at the meeting, and
thought that I would share them with you.
- --
Craig A. Summerhill, Systems Coordinator and Program Officer
Coalition for Networked Information, 21 Dupont Circle, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036 Internet: craig@cni.org
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information Infrastructure Task Force
Private Sector Meeting on the National Information Infrastructure
U.S. Department of Commerce
Friday September 24, 1993
Welcome and Introductions
(Mary Lowe Good, Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology)
As people entered the auditorium at the Department of Commerce, there was a
videotaped demonstration of the NCSA Mosaic (X Windows) system running. The
document being viewed (with hyperlinks) was _The National Information
Infrastructure: Agenda for Action_. Good made some comments on the video,
and thanked the Department of Defense ARPA for assiting in its presentation.
Good noted that several thousand copies of the _NII Agenda for Change_ have
been distributed over the Internet. She noted that these copies would not
otherwise have been distributed without the presence of the network, and
that the dissemination of electronic copies accounted for a roughly 250%
greater level of dissemination than would otherwise have been possible
using conventional print-based distribution only.
Good then introduced Ronald Brown, Secretary of Commerce.
Opening Comments
(Ronald Brown, Secretary of Commerce)
Brown opened with some statistical information regarding the current state
of telecommunications infrastructure development, the most illuminating of
which is that United States companies have invested roughly $50 billion per
year in each of the last several years toward developing telecommunications
services to meet their business needs.
On September 15, 1993, President Clinton signed an Executive Order
authorizing the creation of the United States Advisory Council on the
National Information Infrastructure (hereafter referred to as USAdCNII) and
the President has convened a Federal inter-agency Information Infrastructure
Task Force (IITF) to work with Congress and the private sector to develop
policies and initiatives to fulfill the NII vision. The Executive Order
authorizes Secretary of Commerce Brown to appoint members of the private
sector to the USAdCNII.
Brown emphasized that 'universal access' is a fundamental component of the
President's NII plan. Both he and the President feel strongly that this
activity should not simply be a prelude to the development of an
'entertainment revolution.' Libraries, schools, local and state governments,
colleges and universities, are all going to be important players in the
development of the NII. Another important area of focus will be in health
care applications (Brown mentioned the President's health care reform plan
which was unveiled this week) such as tele-medicine, universal claims,
patient information systems, etc. Brown stated that 'experts believe' NII
health care developments could result in $36-100 billion savings per year
over methods employed in the current health care system.
Brown went on to outline some of the key people in the Department of
Commerce's NII team:
Dave Barram, Deputy Secretary-designate of Commerce will oversee the
IITF process (Thursday September 23, 1993 the United States House
or Representatives confirmed Barram's appointment, the Senate is
expected to follow.)
Larry Irving, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and
Information will chair the IITF Telecommunications Policy
Committee.
Arati Prabhakar, Director, National Institute of Standards and
Technology, will chair the IITF Applications Committee.
Sally Katzen, Administrator, Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, will chair the IITF
Information Technology Committee.
In addition to the individuals listed above, Mike Nelson, Senior Policy
Analyst, Office of Science and Technology Policy and Tom Kalil, Director
of Science and Technology, National Economic Council, were present to
participate in the question and answer session.
Overview of the IITF and the USAdCNII
(Dave Barram, Deputy Secretary-designate of Commerce)
Barram emphasized that the IITF/USAdCNII plan was to bring together business
and labor, the private and the public sectors, and in short all interested
parties to develop the policies and initiatives needed to fulfill the NII
vision. He briefly provided an overview of the areas of focus:
telecommunications policy, information policy, and applications policy.
Each of these committees will have several working groups formed to address
specific aspects of their larger areas of focus.
U.S. Advisory Council will consist of 25 members who will provide feedback
and advisement to the Department of Commerce on the IITF process. In
addition, there will be many opportunities for input (such as hearings, an
Internet BBS, mailing lists, etc.) for those who feel they are not
represented in the USAdCNII.
Barram concluded with the observation that people should not be afraid of
change -- change is what this is process is all about.
Introduction to the Panel
(Mary Lowe Good, Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology)
Good then introduced each member of the panel that was present to answer
questions and hear comments. These people were Larry Irving, Arati
Prabhakar, Sally Katzen, Mike Nelson, and Tom Kalil (see above).
Questions and Answer Session:
NOTE: I have omitted references to names and companies/organizations
represented rather than accidently misrepresent these comments/questions.
Also, the questions and answers are paraphrased (they are not quotes).
Q - Is this group trying to reach a consensus? Or will they accept that we
can't reach a consensus on some of these issues and move forward anyway?
(Irving): We will try to achieve consensus wherever possible, but you might
be right that we can't. We will try to reach consensus within the varying
agencies of the Federal Government if nothing else.
Q - Is it possible to get National Information Infrastructure legislation
done during this Congress (i.e. prior to December, 1994)? Or does the
Administration have too much going already to actually get this
accomplished?
(Irving): Yes, we believe it can be done. In many ways, the process has
already begun. [I believe] virtually everyone involved understands the
issues now, which has not been the case before. Now that there is a much
wide understanding of the issues, we need to begin seeking solutions to
some of these issues. We can't wait.
(Nelson): The Clinton Administration believes in parallel processing.
[laughs] We think we can get more than one job done at a time.
Q - Will focus be only on the metropolitan areas, or will there be a focus
on rural areas as well?
(Irving): There is already a Federal commitment to universal access,
especially through many programs that are currently in operation. Through
these existing programs and a focus on newer technologies we can begin to
solve some of the communications problems of rural areas experience.
(Kalil): The Administration has a high level of interest in the potential
of telecommunications to server rural areas.
Q - Is competition in content markets important? What will [the Task
Force] do about outrageous abuses by companies like Viacom? What
about anti-competitive practices?
(Irving): We [the Department of Commerce] do not intend to intercede in a
private law suit. There is a functioning anti-trust division already in
place that can focus on the problems you speak of. We are interested in
getting product out into the marketplace -- and need to focus on the
policies needed to do that. There are other divisions of government that
will handle anti-competitive practices, if they really do exist.
Q - How will the USAdCNII take input from the sectors they represent?
(Nelson): We will use members of the USAdCNII to chair working groups
under the IITF Committees to address specific working issues. We believe
this process will result in reaching many of the sectors involved.
Q - What will the process for selection to the USAdCNII be? Who do you
want?
(Nelson): We will focus on trade associations, public institutions, and
other associations who represent more than a single interest (i.e. more
than one company). This will be our clearly be our first strategy.
However, it will be another two more weeks before we really get into the
selection process. We've been in touch with several groups already, but
will wait to see who responds before final decisions are made.
Q - Recently, there have been budget cuts in several existing program
areas that are intimately related to the NII development. What is
the Administration doing to get cuts in federal budget restored?
(Kalil): The Administration is focused on this already. We're basically
camped out on Capital Hill.
Q - What will be done to bring school system (K-12) into NII?
(Irving): There is the NTIA pilot program. And we will work with local
and state governments to develop technology demonstration projects. We
also believe in educating school administrators and teachers to what can
be done with existing technologies.
(Nelson): There are already a lot of programs focusing on K-12. The
HPCC program has been expanded to incorporate K-12, and there is the NTIA
program. I believe that you will find schools turn to technology in order
to contain operating costs. We're already beginning to see this in some
areas. Ultimately, the economic incentive will be more important than
anything we can do.
Q - How do you plan to approach issues of compatibility and standards?
(Prabhakar): The current standards process is focused on private
participatory systems of developing standards. Companies basically pay
to send representation to standards bodies. We're [National Institute of
Standards and Technology] already looking at alternatives for standards
development, even before the NII agenda.
Q - What about small businesses and minority owned enterprises?
(Kalil): The Administration is looking at capital gains tax cuts and
upon programs to stimulate investment.
(Irving): We're interested in looking more closely at telecommunication
department zones. There are a variety of minority programs already in
place, and I expect we'll see more. The IITF will be looking to seek as
much information as possible on this issue.
Q - Are there any funds to support pilot projects for [electronic/
networked] information service centers in the Federal government?
There appears to be no funding for this.
(Prabhakar): Actually, I've found that most Federal agencies now have a
plan in the works for making information services products available
electronically. The IITF Information Technology Committee is trying to
capture and identify these efforts, and more draw attention to them.
(Katzen): I would refer you to the recent revision of the Office of
Management and Budget's circular OMB A-130.
(Nelson): It isn't likely that much new money will be programmed for
this, but there is a lot of money already in budgets that is being
reprogrammed.
Q - My organization is finding that there isn't a very good understanding
of the most recent and most promising technologies in many companies.
Executives aren't sure how they will use technologies like asynchronous
transfer mode (ATM) in their businesses? Mainstream America isn't as
well informed about products and services, and the choices they have in
available to them. How will the Federal Government steers development
of these 'choice' technologies.
(Prabhakar): I see this as a market development problem, not necessarily
a Federal regulatory problem. The Federal Government can develop pilot
programs of research and development in newer technologies.
Followup: We see education as a critical factor in this. What focus will
there be on programs to educate the public?
(Prabhakar): I don't see how this is going to happen as part of the NII.
(Nelson): One of the reasons we've focused the HPCC, NREN, NTIA programs
on schools is that the students are the future. When they leave school,
they carry this technology with them into the marketplace.
(Katzen): The Office of Management and Budget is very focused on privacy
issues, and education regarding security and privacy. We feel this is
important so that people will feel comfortable using these new technologies.
The whole focus of the NII program is to bring a high level of attention to
issues such as these. But, education will come from many directions all at
once, rather than through a single program.
Q - My company has many databases, and more coming in the future. Databases
are open to much misuse and/or abuse in a networked environment. What
will you use to secure them? When and how will security be implemented?
(Katzen): Our Committee [Information Technology] will review what is
currently available, and identify what additional developments are needed in
order to secure resources in the network. We will attempt to develop
policies that will lead to use of the technology is already available before
we attempt to develop new technologies.
Q - There hasn't been much discussion of non-profits. How will you ensure
that not-for-profit organizations are included?
(Nelson): We've [the Administration] already been meeting with a number of
not-for-profits in order to develop a series of benchmarks regarding what
the NII should look like. We're looking at the costs and benefits of the
NII development.
(Kalil): Several foundations have been active in development of prototype
systems.
Q - When will you announce members of IITF?
(Nelson): December will be the first meeting of USAdCNII. There have been
a number of meetings already on various issues. But the IITF has not yet
met. Not all divisions of the Federal Government have given us the names
of their representatives.
On thing we are doing it to organizing around a list of various tasks (i.e.
the Committee/Working Group structure). So we anticipate there will be a
revolving list of people with varying degrees of involvement in this
process.
(Kalil): We want to make this a movement, not just a Government task
force.
Q - Will there be projects to develop technology for people with
disabilities?
(Irving): Yes, these considerations will be at the forefront of our
consideration and discussions throughout the process? There is a strong
desire to make sure that traditionally underrepresented constituencies are
represented in this process?
Q - There is much discussion of the role of the Federal Government as a
leader, a regulator, a guiding force. Another role the Federal Government
assumes is that of the customer. What are you going to do to steer the
buying power of the Federal Government as a customer in the procurement of
these technologies? Should there be a separate task force to focus on
Federal procurement?
[Prabhakar responded briefly to this question, but I missed it... ]
Q - Once you create the infrastructure, what goes through it is
essentially programming. Aren't there copyright issues involved here?
Recognizing the complexity of any copyright reform process, and that there
is not likely to be major revision to the copyright laws, what are you
going to do to address copyright and intellectual property issues?
(Katzen): Copyright is going to be one of the most challenging areas in
the NII development. Our goal is to explore as many options as possible.
Adjournment:
At 11:15 Mary Lowe Good cutoff the question and answer period as several
of the panelists had other commitments. She encouraged people to use the
addresses in the Agenda for Change (see below) to contact IITF members.
Send your questions to the panel members, or the NTIA NII office.
NTIA NII Office
15th Street and Constitution Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20230
Phone: (202) 482-1840
Fax: (202) 482-1635
Email: nii@ntia.doc.gov
Key Administration Contacts:
Ronald H. Brown, Secretary of Commerce
Chair, Information Infrastructure Task Force
15th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20230
Phone: (202) 482-3934
Fax: (202) 482-4576
Email: nii@ntia.doc.gov
Larry Irving, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for
Communications and Information
Chair, IITF Telecommunications Policy Committee
15th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20230
Phone: (202) 482-1840
Fax: (202) 482-1635
Email: li@ntia.doc.gov
Arati Prabhakar, Director, National Institute of
Standards and Technology
Chair, IITF Applications Committee
NIST, Administration Building, Room A1134
Gaithersburg, MD. 20899
Phone: (301) 975-2300
Fax: (301) 869-8972
Email: arati@micf.nist.gov
Sally Katzen, Administrator, Office of Information
and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget
Chair, IITF Information Policy Committee
New Executive Office Building, Room 350
Washington, D.C. 20503
Phone: (202) 395-4852
Fax: (202) 395-3047
Mike Nelson, Special Assistant, Information
Technology, Office of Science and Technology
Old Executive Office Building, Room 423
Washington, D.C. 20500
Phone: (202) 395-6175
Fax: (202) 395-4155
Email: mnelson@ostp.eop.gov
Tom Kalil, Director of Science and Technology,
National Economic Council
Old Executive Office Building, Room 233
Washington, D.C. 20500
Phone: (202) 456-2801
Fax: (202) 456-2223
Email: kalil@arpa.mil
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