THE NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE:                            AGENDA FOR ACTION                             TABLE OF CONTENTS                                                    Executive Summary                                                    Tab AThe NII:  Agenda for Action                                          Tab BBenefits and Application Examples                                    Tab CInformation Infrastructure Task Force                                Tab DU.S. Advisory Council on the NII                                     Tab ENII Accomplishments to Date                                          Tab FKey Contacts                                                         Tab G                             TAB A           THE NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTR                        AGENDA FOR ACTION                        EXECUTIVE SUMMARY         All Americans have a stake in the construction of anadvanced National Information Infrastructure (NII), a seamlessweb of communications networks, computers, databases, andconsumer electronics that will put vast amounts of information atusers' fingertips.  Development of the NII can help unleash aninformation revolution that will change forever the way peoplelive, work, and interact with each other:o        People could live almost anywhere they wanted, without         foregoing opportunities for useful and fulfilling         employment, by "telecommuting" to their offices through an         electronic highway;o        The best schools, teachers, and courses would be available         to all students, without regard to geography, distance,         resources, or disability;o        Services that improve America's health care system and         respond to other important social needs could be available         on-line, without waiting in line, when and where you needed         them.         Private sector firms are already developing and deployingthat infrastructure today.  Nevertheless, there remain essentialroles for government in this process.  Carefully craftedgovernment action will complement and enhance the efforts of theprivate sector and assure the growth of an informationinfrastructure available to all Americans at reasonable cost.  Indeveloping our policy initiatives in this area, theAdministration will work in close partnership with business,labor, academia, the public, Congress, and state and localgovernment.  Our efforts will be guided by the followingprinciples and objectives:         o Promote private sector investment, through appropriate taxand regulatory policies.           o Extend the "universal service" concept to ensure thatinformation resources are available to all at affordable prices. Because information means empowerment--and employment--thegovernment has a duty to ensure that all Americans have access tothe resources and job creation potential of the Information Age.          o Act as a catalyst to promote technological innovation andnew applications.  Commit important government research programsand grants to help the private sector develop and demonstratetechnologies needed for the NII, and develop the applications andservices that will maximize its value to users.          o Promote seamless, interactive, user-driven operation ofthe NII.  As the NII evolves into a "network of networks,"government will ensure that users can transfer information acrossnetworks easily and efficiently.  To increase the likelihood thatthe NII will be both interactive and, to a large extent, user-driven, government must reform regulations and policies that mayinadvertently hamper the development of interactive applications.         o Ensure information security and network reliability.  TheNII must be trust- worthy and secure, protecting the privacy ofits users.  Government action will also ensure that the overallsystem remains reliable, quickly repairable in the event of afailure and, perhaps most importantly, easy to use.         o Improve management of the radio frequency spectrum, anincreasingly critical resource.          o Protect intellectual property rights.  The Administrationwill investigate how to strengthen domestic copyright laws andinternational intellectual property treaties to prevent piracyand to protect the integrity of intellectual property.         o Coordinate with other levels of government and with othernations.  Because information crosses state, regional, andnational boundaries, coordination is critical to avoid needlessobstacles and prevent unfair policies that handicap U.S.industry.         o Provide access to government information and improvegovernment procurement.  The Administration will seek to ensurethat Federal agencies, in concert with state and localgovernments, use the NII to expand the information available tothe public, ensuring that the immense reservoir of governmentinformation is available to the public easily and equitably. Additionally, Federal procurement policies for telecommunicationsand information services and equipment will be designed topromote important technical developments for the NII and toprovide attractive incentives for the private sector tocontribute to NII development.         The time for action is now.  Every day brings news ofchange:  new technologies, like hand-held computerizedassistants; new ventures and mergers combining businesses thatnot long ago seemed discrete and insular; new legal decisionsthat challenge the separation of computer, cable, and telephonecompanies.  These changes promise substantial benefits for theAmerican people, but only if government understands fully theirimplications and begins working with the private sector and otherinterested parties to shape the evolution of the communicationsinfrastructure.         The benefits of the NII for the nation are immense.  Anadvanced information infrastructure will enable U.S. firms tocompete and win in the global economy, generating good jobs forthe American people and economic growth for the nation.  Asimportantly, the NII can transform the lives of the Americanpeople -- ameliorating the constraints of geography, disability,and economic status -- giving all Americans a fair opportunity togo as far as their talents and ambitions will take them.INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE:                  THE ADMINISTRATION'S AGENDA FOR ACTION                             Version 1.0I.  The Promise of the NII         Imagine you had a device that combined a telephone, a TV, acamcorder, and a personal computer.  No matter where you went orwhat time it was, your child could see you and talk to you, youcould watch a replay of your team's last game, you could browsethe latest additions to the library, or you could find the bestprices in town on groceries, furniture, clothes -- whatever youneeded.         Imagine further the dramatic changes in your life if:         o       The best schools, teachers, and courses were available                 to all students, without regard to geography, distance,                 resources, or disability;         o       The vast resources of art, literature, and science were                 available everywhere, not just in large institutions or                 big-city libraries and museums;                  o       Services that improve America's health care system and                 respond to other important social needs were available                 on-line, without waiting in line, when and where you                 needed them;         o       You could live in many places without foregoing                 opportunities for useful and fulfilling employment, by                 "telecommuting" to your office through an electronic                 highway instead of by automobile, bus or train;         o       Small manufacturers could get orders from all over the                 world electronically -- with detailed specifications --                 in a form that the machines could use to produce the                 necessary items;          o       You could see the latest movies, play the hottest video                 games, or bank and shop from the comfort of your home                 whenever you chose;           o       You could obtain government information directly or                 through local organizations like libraries, apply for                 and receive government benefits electronically, and get                 in touch with government officials easily; and         o       Individual government agencies, businesses and other                 entities all could exchange information electronically                 -- reducing paperwork and improving service.           Information is one of the nation's most critical economicresources, for service industries as well as manufacturing, foreconomic as well as national security.  By one estimate, two-thirds of U.S. workers are in information-related jobs, and therest are in industries that rely heavily on information.  In anera of global markets and global competition, the technologies tocreate, manipulate, manage and use information are of strategicimportance for the United States.  Those technologies will helpU.S. businesses remain competitive and create challenging, high-paying jobs.  They also will fuel economic growth which, in turn,will generate a steadily-increasing standard of living for allAmericans.              That is why the Administration has launched the NationalInformation Infrastructure initiative.  We are committed toworking with business, labor, academia, public interest groups,Congress, and state and local government to ensure thedevelopment of a national information infrastructure (NII) thatenables all Americans to access information and communicate witheach other using voice, data, image or video at anytime,anywhere.  By encouraging private sector investment in the NII'sdevelopment, and through government programs to improve access toessential services, we will promote U.S. competitiveness, jobcreation and solutions to pressing social problems.II.  What Is the NII?         The phrase "information infrastructure" has an expansivemeaning.  The NII includes more than just the physical facilitiesused to transmit, store, process, and display voice, data, andimages.  It encompasses:           o       A wide range and ever-expanding range of equipment                 including cameras, scanners, keyboards, telephones, fax                 machines, computers, switches, compact disks, video and                 audio tape, cable, wire, satellites, optical fiber                 transmission lines, microwave nets, switches,                 televisions, monitors, printers, and much more.  The NII will integrate and interconnect these physicalcomponents in a technologically neutral manner so that no oneindustry will be favored over any other.  Most importantly, theNII requires building foundations for living in the InformationAge and for making these technological advances useful to thepublic, business, libraries, and other nongovernmental entities. That is why, beyond the physical components of theinfrastructure, the value of the National InformationInfrastructure to users and the nation will depend in large parton the quality of its other elements:         o       The information itself, which may be in the form of                 video programming, scientific or business databases,                 images, sound recordings, library archives, and other                 media.  Vast quantities of that information exist today                 in government agencies and even more valuable                 information is produced every day in our laboratories,                 studios, publishing houses, and elsewhere.         o       Applications and software that allow users to access,                 manipulate, organize, and digest the proliferating mass                 of information that the NII's facilities will put at                 their fingertips.