Themes:
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Universal Internet

[Theme Questions]
[Essays]
[Articles and Reports]
[News Stories]
[Online Resources]

Please send in your submissions.

The primary theme for Thursday, May 7 and Friday, May 8, 1998.

The Internet is more than just the web or e-mail. Open Internet standards allow computers and other devices to communicate across a global "network of networks." The "Universal Internet" theme includes both access to the network itself as well as to the Internet's content and services.

Here are some questions we thought might stir discussion. Please send your questions in via our comment form.

1. NUA estimates that there are 70 million North Americans online (over 30 percent of the total population) and 115 million world-wide. What can we learn from examining national or regional statistics and demographics? Which segments of society are most rapidly coming online? Who is not online? Why? Why do some people "drop off" the Internet?



2. The U.S. has extended the Universal Service Fund to promote advanced telecommunications, including Internet access, in schools, libraries, and rural health care facilities. What is the current status of these initiatives? How are they affecting both institutional Internet access as well as broader community access? What government/regulatory support is there for connectivity in other countries?



3. What aspects of the Internet and advanced telecommunications might become more universal than others (i.e. low cost local Internet dial-up, direct high-speed connections to the home, e-mail versus streamed digital video etc.) What policy issues will be addressed by the FCC as it relates to Section 706 of the 1996 Telecommunication Act? What is 706 about?



4. Public access to the Internet from libraries and increasingly diverse community locations represent the first opportunities for those without the necessary technology to go online. What are the trends with public access initiatives? What has been learned? What are some of the better access models for harder-to-reach populations? What are good examples of community-oriented technology and information-literacy training and education programs?



5. An essential aspect of a "Universal Internet" is access to technology and content regardless of disability. What is being done to ensure broad access to the Internet's content and services? What are some recent successes? What challenges remain? Will designing for accessibilty incorporate access through non-computers devices?

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Essays

Essays on this theme are available in the E-Mail for All Archive.

• FCC Chief on Bandwidth and 706 - William E. Kennard.
• Learning from Internet Demographics - David S. Birdsell.
• Hispanic Computer/Internet Use - Anthony Wilhelm.
• Universal Access and Developing World - Jonathan Peizer.
• Health Information and 55+ Online - Paul A. Paulson.
• Connecting Schools and Libraries - Mickey Revenaugh.
• UK IT for All - Philip Brady.
• NTIA and Expanding Universal Service Concept - Larry Irving.
• U.S. Vice President on Connecting Communities - Albert Gore.

Comments & Notes

• Universal Internet and Other Notes Steven Clift.
• Universal Internet general comments 1.
• Universal Internet general comments 2.
• Universal Internet general comments 3.

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Articles and Reports

Links to articles and reports will be added throughout the event.

• Please use the submission form to nominate the best reports and articles.
• The Effectiveness of Educational Technology and the Conditions Under Which it is Most Effective - From John Cradler, Educational Support Systems.
• Internet Service Provider's Guide to the Universal Service $2.25 Billion Fund For Schools and Libraries - By Robert Cannon, Internet Telecommunications Project.
• Bridging the Digital Divide: The Impact of Race on Computer Access and Internet Use - From Donna Hoffman and Thomas Novak, Project 2000.
• Internet Trend Watch for Libraries - Monthly web-based newsletter.
• Canada's Community Access Project Workbook.
• Digital Tornado: The Internet and Telecommunications Policy - From the FCC.
• Internet Dropouts: The Invisible Group - An important report from 1996 by James E. Katz, Bellcore and Philip Aspden, CRIS.
• Universal Design, Principles, and Guidelines - From Trace Center.
• Universal Access to the Net: Requirements and Social Impact - Speech by Jeff Johnson made at CHI 97 Electronic Publications, March 22-27, 1997.
• The Public Perspective - top of list: Web Users Are Looking More Like America

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News Stories

Links to recent news stories.

• Use the submission form to help us establish more news links.
• Gore Proposes School Internet Plan - AP from AllPolitics.
• Web demographics changing: Disparities in access along racial, economic lines remain - MSNBC.
• Senate Panel Is Told Disabled May Fall Behind in Information Age - New York Times.
• Study Shows Students Use Internet Primarily for Research - New York Times - Cybertimes.
• Schools and libraries seek $2 billion to connect to the Internet - Philadelphia Enquirer.
• FCC rethinking Internet subsidy plan: Program to help schools and libraries get Net connections has drawn criticism - MSNBC.
• Lawmakers Debate Bandwidth Logjam - CMPNet TechWeb News.

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Online Resources

We won't recreate the wheel. Visit these "best of" sites for extensive information and background on this theme. See the Public and Private Roles online resources for similar resources.

• Looking for numbers? Visit Nua Internet Surveys, CyberAltas, EStats, for statistics from multiple sources.
• Universal Service and Universal Access Virtual Library - Benton Foundation.
• Internet Telecommunications Project - Home of the CYBERTELECOM discussion.
• Schools and Libraries Corporation - Administers USF for schools and libraries.
• U.S. Federal Communications Commission Universal Service Section.
• Consortium for School Networking.
• Information Society Project Office - Eurpean Commission.
• Community Technology Centers' Network - Network of 250 centers.
• Canada's Community Access Program - An innovative approach.
• Innovative Internet Applications in Libraries.
• U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
• Web Accessibility Initiative and the Trace Center - Leading accessibility resources.
• Association for Computing Machinery Policy '98 conference - Access related documents and links.
• International Association of Cybercafes.
• Universal Service: An Overview - American Library Association.
• Multilingual Web at the ACF.
• On-Line Seminar: Universal Service/Network Democracy -Information Renaisance, August 26 - September 27, 1996.
• IT for All - U.K. Information Society Initiative.
• La Sociedad de la Informacion en Latinoamerica: Oportunidades y Desafinos - Latin American Information Society Project.

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