As the federal government prepares to pour billions of stimulus dollars into increased broadband Internet access, colleges are trying to claim much of the money and shape the emerging national networking policy. Their focus is $4.7-billion that will be doled out under a new grant program administered by a small Commerce Department agency called…

The economic and social future of the United States depends on answering the growing demand for very high-speed broadband connectivity, a capability termed "big broadband." Failure to take on the challenge could lead to a decline in global competitiveness and an inability to educate students. (Contains 20 notes.)

Industrial policy is a highly controversial issue. The European Union (EU) justifies its industrial policy on the grounds of common problems across countries, its capacity to coordinate and reduce duplication of efforts, its capacity to control and limit member-state subsidies to industries, and its mandate for foreign trade and competition…

The Internet has great difficulty coping with the sharp increase in mobile devices like cellphones and laptops, and handling bandwidth-hungry traffic such as video, now demanded by an increasing number of users. According to Ellen W. Zegura, chairwoman of computer sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Internet is like a big…

Three papers consider the effect of divestiture on the research and development capacity of Bell Telephone. The first paper, "Forecasts of the Impact of Divestiture on Bell Telephone Laboratories: An Assessment" (David C. Mowery), discusses the operation of Bell Telephone Laboratories (BTL) prior to divestiture in 1984 and reviews…

Because its problems are unique, each telecommunication center requires innovative hardware that cannot be developed, mass-produced, and sold in quantity, such as the hardware used in the Indiana Higher Education Telecommunication System. (CMV)

This article shows how and why particular higher education?industry research and development networks articulate with the South African telecommunications sector. The range of competing and complementary data telecommunications technologies available in the South African market provide varying opportunities for enterprises to engage in R&D. Two…

This brief report on a visit to Athabasca University, a distance education institution in Alberta (Canada), and ACCESS-Alberta, an educational communications system, indicates the numbers and types of courses offered by the University, and describes the types of media used in the program. These types of media include: print-based, telephone…

This paper describes the origin and work of an independent research and development facility whose role is to catalyse the development of broadband applications for education. The paper describes how a three pronged approach is helping content developers understand the opportunities and make use of good research and practice in learning to develop…

Describes Internet, a collection of telecommunications networks that links government agencies, educational institutions, and other research organizations so that users can share access to databases and files. Topics discussed include problems in identifying what is available; access concerns; ethical behavior; support and training issues for…

The federal High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) program was created to accelerate the development of future generations of high performance computers and networks and the use of these resources in the federal government and throughout the American economy. This report describes the HPCC program which is developing computing,…

This discussion of the progress made in the fields of technology and communications in India describes a number of government projects, leading manufacturers and industries, advances made in various areas, and the current status of information technologies in India. (CLB)

This article discusses two meetings which dealt with developments regarding the National Research and Education Network (NREN). In November 1990, the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University held a symposium entitled "Information Infrastructure for the 1990s," whose participants represented a wide spectrum of economic,…

This policy paper explores key trends in information and communication technology, highlights the potential opportunities and problems these trends present for people with disabilities, and suggests some strategies to maximize opportunities and avoid potential problems and barriers. Specifically, this paper discusses technology trends that present…

This information sheet defines teleconferencing as a meeting of three or more people at different locations by telephone and communicating via audioconferencing, audio plus graphics, slow scan television, or full motion video conferencing, and discusses some of the advantages and various applications of this technology. Three major projects that…