[943] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
Future of the NREN
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Public-Access Computer Systems For)
Fri Aug 7 09:38:55 1992
Date: Fri, 7 Aug 1992 08:35:05 CDT
Reply-To: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
From: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <LIBPACS%UHUPVM1.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list PACS-L <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
2 Messages, 63 Lines
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From: Bill Gardner <wpg@ethics.med.pitt.edu>
Subject: Re: Future of the NREN
Howard Pasternack <BLIPS15%BROWNVM.BitNet@pucc.PRINCETON.EDU> quotes
Kenneth King on "The NREN Picture Becomes Clearer". King notes that the
NREN was authorized but not funded. The forecast is that a speed up of
the backbone will happen, but not much more. Pasternack asks for
comments.
I haven't seen King's article, but he presumably wrote it before Al Gore
was chosen as Clinton's VP. Gore has been the chief sponsor of the NREN
legislation. From my reading of the Senate hearings on the NREN, I have
the impressions that (i) Gore is as expert on the issue as you could
reasonably expect and that (ii) he has committed to it. If Clinton
wins, I would expect substantial funding for the NREN. (If the
democrats lose, of course, the NREN may suffer from its association with
Gore.)
I wouldn't, however, take it for granted that every element of the NREN
would be authorized, even during a Clinton / Gore administration. If
you read the hearing transcripts, you get the clear sense that the
legislators find the industrial applications of the NREN (supercomputers
for fluid dynamical calculations for aircraft) more impressive than
their applications in libraries. I don't necessarily think this is
Gore's view -- he says somewhere that he wants to put "the resources of
the Library of Congress in every public school" -- but he may view the
industrial applications as the best way to sell the package to his
colleagues. Keeping in mind that Clinton is a compromiser, I think that
it will take real work to ensure that resources for libraries remain in
the NREN when and if there is an opportunity to fund it.
Of course, there are great political opportunities here. The two wonderful
things about a program to make networked information services available
to public schools are (i) these institutions deserve them and (ii) there
are lots of them in EVERY CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT.
--
[][][][][][][][][][][][] William Gardner [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
[] /_ o / / Psychiatry Dept, School of Medicine 412-681-1102 []
[] /__) / / / University of Pittsburgh wpg@ethics.med.pitt.edu []
[][][][][][][][][][] Pittsburgh, PA 15213 [][][] FAX:412-624-0901 [][]
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From: Sue Martin <SKMARTIN@GUVAX.BITNET>
Subject: Future of the NREN
It is unfortunately (or sometimes fortunately) true that in our
government the acts of authorization and appropriation are very
separate. An authorized act may never have an appropriation.
In the case of NREN, I am not worried about a future. There will be
one. The calendar may be difficult to predict, but the number of
stakeholders is large, and you must remember that the NREN as
described in the law is only that portion of the network that
seriously related to the government agencies that are interested in
the network. The rest of the world is out there, ready to participate
in the creation process.
Sue Martin
Georgetown University
