The National Information Infrastructure Initiative and the Emergence of the Electronic Superhighway

The "information superhighway" has become a multipurpose label for the nation's evolving communications structure. Private investment to extend and enhance communications capacity, convergence of presently disparate technologies, and governmental policy will all play a role in formulating the superhighway's composition. Plainly, the challenges that lie ahead in constructing and regulating the superhighway will confront both the public and private sectors. The Authors begin their discussion by exploring the communications industry's role in developing the information superhighway.

They then examine the details of both pending infrastructure legislation and the Clinton administration's infrastructure proposal. The Authors also discuss the construction and regulatory issues that lie ahead on the information superhighway. They conclude that, given the importance of communications services to our nation's competitiveness in the global economy, careful reconciliation of the various national information infrastructure initiatives is needed.