[11936] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Announcemennt of OTA Wireless study and the NII
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Stanton McCandlish)
Mon Apr 25 22:34:40 1994
From: Stanton McCandlish <mech@eff.org>
To: comp-org-eff-talk@cs.utexas.edu (eff.talk), eff-activists@eff.org
Date: Mon, 25 Apr 1994 19:08:54 -0400 (EDT)
Cc: alt-politics-datahighway@cs.utexas.edu (alt.politics.datahighway),
alt-activism@cs.utexas.edu (alt.activism),
alt-activism-d@cs.utexas.edu (alt.activism.d),
alt-society-resistance@cs.utexas.edu (alt.society.resistance),
com-priv@psi.com, mech@eff.org (Stanton McCandlish)
This isn't a Request for Comments, but notes that public meetings in relation
to this NII study will be announced well in advance. Some may wish to begin
preparing statements soon.
Forwarded message:
Date: Thu, 21 Apr 94 11:09:00 PDT
>From: Todd LaPorte <tlaporte@tct.ota.gov>
Subject: Announcemennt of OTA Wireless study and the NII
March 27, 1994
Announcement
New OTA Study on Wireless Technology and the National
Information Infrastructure
We are pleased to announce that the Office of
Technology Assessment's study of the implications of
wireless technologies for the National Information
Infrastructure (NII) was formally approved by our
Congressional Technology Assessment Board at its February
8th meeting. The texts of the request letters for the
study, the press release from Representatives Brown and
Boucher, and the proposal for the study, which outlines the
issues we will be considering during the next 14 months, are
all available via ftp at otabbs.ota.gov. Look in
pub\wireless\ for these documents. Other study-related
documents will be posted as they become available.
The objective of this study is to provide a
comprehensive analysis of the problems and promises of
integrating wireless technologies into the NII. Wireless
technologies and systems--such as TV and radio broadcasting,
new personal communications services, and many kinds of
satellite communications--will form an integral part of the
NII, but the role they will play and the implications of
their widespread adoption are not yet clear. In particular,
integrating the many wireless and wireline systems that will
comprise the NII will prove a difficult challenge for
Federal, State, and local regulators. Many factors,
including standards development, interconnection and pricing
arrangements, and differing industry regulation, must be
addressed before radio-based technologies and systems can
become an effective part of the NII.
This study will: identify and discuss the various
wireless technologies that could contribute to the
development of the NII, assess the barriers to greater or
more efficient use of radio-based systems, and explore the
economic, regulatory, and social implications of the
convergence of wireline and wireless technologies in the
NII. The study will also present policy options addressing
relevant wireless/NII issues.
Over the course of the study, we will try to talk to as
many people as we can in order to understand the wide range
of interests and concerns surrounding these complex and
difficult issues. In addition, OTA will also conduct
several (as yet undetermined) workshops that will address
specific issues in more detail. These meetings will be
announced as far in advance as possible. If you would like
more information, please feel free to contact the study team
at our project e-mail address, wireless@ota.gov. Any
suggestions you may have for people we should talk to or
other sources of data and information will be greatly
appreciated.
David Wye, Todd La Porte, Alan Buzacott, Greg Wallace
Wireless Project Team
Telecommunications and Computing Technologies Program
Office of Technology Assessment
U.S. Congress
(202) 228-6760
wireless@ota.gov
--
Stanton McCandlish * mech@eff.org * Electronic Frontier Found. OnlineActivist
"In a Time/CNN poll of 1,000 Americans conducted last week by Yankelovich
Partners, two-thirds said it was more important to protect the privacy of
phone calls than to preserve the ability of police to conduct wiretaps.
When informed about the Clipper Chip, 80% said they opposed it."
- Philip Elmer-Dewitt, "Who Should Keep the Keys", TIME, Mar. 14 1994
