========================================================================= SUBSCRIBERS This new newsletter COM NET NEWS (CNN) will provide a brief monthly roundup of news and information that is important to the community networking community. COM NET NEWS, will, by choice, also contain editorial comment, which hopefully will stimulate discussion, argument, and action. I will cover community networking, conferences, educational, and commercial applications. ****************************************************************** COM NET NEWS is solely under my editorship, and is unrelated and independent of the La Plaza Telecommunity, of which I am vice president. The editorial comment is my own and does not reflect in any way on La Plaza. You may reproduce or publish any parts of this newsletter and distribute it electronically or in paper format. However, any reproduction or publishing of CNN material must be accompanied by the following reference: >From COM NET NEWS: Richard W. Bryant, Ph.D., Editor & Publisher RW Bryant Associates P.O. Box 1828 El Prado, NM 87529 Tel/fax: 505-758-1919 rbryant@hydra.unm.edu *********************************************************************** *********************************************************************** COM NET NEWS Vol. 1 No. 1 APRIL 1994 ALBUQUERQUE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY SEMINAR The first Information Superhighway Seminar in Albuquerque, New Mexico was held on Thursday and Friday, March 24th and 25th. This meeting was jointly sponsored by the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, US West, MCI, Jones Intercable, and NM Technet. It was held in conjunction with the Albuquerque Business Fair. The two- day meeting was very well attended, implying a serious interest in the so-called Information Superhighway. The keynote speakers were Jim O'Brien, President of Jones Intercable Inc. and Roanne Robinson, Deputy Director of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. Other speakers on the first day of the conference included: Chris Bowick, Group Vice President, Technology, Jones Intercable; Jon Curran, Regional Manager, AT&T; Rob Smith, Vice President, Advanced Systems Networks, Microelectronics & Computer Corporation (MCC); Jeff Sterba, Vice President, Finance Development, Public Service Company of New Mexico; Tom Garcia, Vice President New Mexico, US West; Mort Aaronson, Vice President, Large Accounts and Global Marketing, MCI Business Markets. Speakers for the second day of the conference included: Robert Raisch, President, The Internet Company; Fred Smith, President, High Tech Computer Crime Investigations Association; Peter Broullire, Attorney; Teresa M. Johnson, Attorney, Keleher & McLeod; Steve Beffort, Superhighway Seminar Committee; Irwin Kirmer, Consultant. The overriding theme of the conference was commercial applications for the Information Superhighway--how will money be made on this new highway. All of the industry speakers during the first day of the conference discussed their company's plans for providing commercial services over the new highway. Essentially, this relates to the so-called "500 channels." Services would include such things as movies on-demand, the golf channel and other specialized entertainment channels, banking, "smart homes," healthcare, telework (telecommuting), national defense, and purchasing goods on home-shopping channels. Some attention was paid to educational applications, but little was actually said. Ironically, US West Vice President for New Mexico, Tom Garcia, noted that in surveys that they had seen indicated that approximately 80% of the public poled felt that educational services were the most important and would be used the most. Yet, none of the speakers treated education as a major feature of the National Information Infrastructure (NII). Garcia also noted that in the US West United Kingdom venture to provide television and other services through telephone lines in a testbed location, that they started with 2,100 services two years ago and now provide over 71,000 services. The types of services were not discussed. Overall, the industry participants were promoting their own company's approach to the development of the Information Superhighway. Unfortunately, most participants were more interested in advertizing their own approach, rather than trying to deal with the substantive issues facing the NII's development and utilization. MCI even showed its television commercials advertizing its network. Jon Curran of AT&T made the point that the information superhighway is actually a "global" information infrastructure. He cited applications such as the "smart" home, learning, healthcare, banking and finance, retail sales, telework, national defense, and disaster recovery. Curran, who is the southwestern regional manager for AT&T indicated that he knew very little about the Internet and had never heard of community networks, nor was he aware of community network concepts. However, he did indicate an interest in the concept when informed about the community network movement in the U.S. Rob Smith from MCC discussed his organization's project to build better tools and interfaces which would overlay networks to provide better access and ease of use for ordinary people. MCC is studying the managing and understanding of information and information dissemination. MCC also is working on security issues, particularly as they relate to banking and finance. Smith discussed the development of "virtual companies" which are formed when several companies come together for a specific project or projects, yet physically, they may be located in geographically disparate regions around the country or world. Once the job is done, the virtual company dissolves. The business, research, development, etc. of the virtual company is accomplished mainly through electronic means. The legal issues surrounding virtual companies (and other electronic issues) were discussed during the second day of the conference by Teresa M. Johnson, an attorney with Keleher & McLeod, who gave an excellent overview of some of the legal issues facing Internet and software entrepreneurs. Smith suggested that electronic online systems, the information superhighway, is probably the most valuable business opportunity since the development of the railroads. Smith also noted that he has finally reached the point where over half of his mail is electronic mail. Jeff Sterba from the Public Service Company of New Mexico discussed the power company's role in on the information superhighway. Usually, when one thinks of the types of organizations becoming involved in the superhighway, one does not think of power companies, except when they plug-in their computer or television. However, power companies are interested in the NII for a number of reasons. First, the power companies are looking at the NII because it could provide real-time pricing for the customer so that power usage could be better monitored to reduce costs to the consumer and to the power company. NII technology also could provide for better feedback on the condition of power stations, transformers, etc. for improved predictions of failures and other potential problems. Meter reading also could be done more efficiently electronically. Power companies already utilize a significant amount of fiber-optic lines to provide communications in its systems. Some of the bandwidth of this fiber could be used for telecommunications applications. In addition, power companies have obtained rights of way which could be leased to NII providers. Mort Aaronson from MCI discussed MCI's approach to the information superhighway, which is essentially to provide access to video on-demand and other commercial services. Much of MCI's presentation comprised promotional videos advertizing its NetworkMCI* systems. Aaronson was one of the more aggressive speakers, and clearly indicated by his comments, the intense rivalry between MCI and AT&T. Aaronson indicated that it was important for MCI "to control the content" of what was being delivered. This statement seemed to go un-noticed among the audience and other panelists. He also indicated that MCI was emphasizing partnering among companies. Aaronson, a top executive of MCI, had never heard of community networks, and was completely unfamiliar with the concepts. He indicated an interest, when informed about community network concepts. Robert Raisch, President of the Internet Company, discussed commercial applications on the Internet. His company provides the network resources for Counterpoint Publishing, a company that processes government information and sells it online. The Internet Company also runs the Electronic Newsstand, which provides sample articles, tables of contents, and information about how to subscribe to a number of magazines. According to Raisch, the Electronic Newsstand receives 40,000 to 45,000 requests per day for information through this gopher site. Raisch suggested that there are six main methods of making money on the Internet: 1. Hardware--servers, routers, etc. 2. Access Provider--connections, accounts, and dial-ins 3. Software--protocols, archie, wais, gopher, front-ends, etc. 4. Services--distribution, publishing, etc. 5. Expertise--Technology transfer, training, seminars, etc. 6. Content--information for a price. He made the point that one of the most frequently made mistakes is to try to do too many things. That is, companies have problems when they try to tackle two or more of the above methods. He suggested that a company or organization should only do one of the above. The point was made that at the present time, he estimates that there are only 500,000 megaPel, multi-mip workstations out of about 2 million Internet hosts. This means that the fancier graphic interface systems, such as mosaic can be used by only a relatively small number of users. All of his company's information is in text form only. Raisch also discussed electronic publishing and the difference between value and cost of the published product. Using the example of a Stephen King novel, if it is available in a bookstore for $28.95, should Simon and Schuster charge $28.95 when selling it online? The answer is no. He suggested that the appropriate way of charging for online publications is by time or volume. For instance, charging 25" per x amount of time to read the novel, or by a certain volume of the work. This approach can be profitable because the cost of electronic dissemination in minuscule compared to the cost of paper volumes and their dissemination. Obviously, the cost of reading the Stephen King novel online should be considerably less than in paper format. Raisch was the only presenter that discussed the issues surrounding providing true two-way communications in networks. Most companies consider interactivity to mean buying products or services. He used Prodigy as an example. When Prodigy was designed, it was believed that its customers would only want to consume. Thus, a big "pipe" went to the customer, with only tiny tubes coming back (for purchasing). Prodigy found that instead of purchasing, people wanted to talk. According to Raisch, "...the Internet is the only major medium in which the individual can talk back and communicate with his or her peers..." It was announced by Raisch that his company will be starting a series of Usenet news groups specifically for advertizing on the Internet. This is a new approach to commercialization on the Internet. One of the scarier presentations was by Fred Smith, President of the High Tech Computer Crime Investigation Association. Citing numerous articles which have discussed the highwaymen on the Information Superhighway, he proceeded to describe all of the potential (note potential) horrors that could befall travelers on this highway. The Information Superhighway began to sound like the highway to hell. He suggested that sex was driving the highway and organized crime was beginning to infiltrate the Internet--with no substantiation. As in any other human endeavors, crimes will no doubt occur on this new highway. However, the draconian approaches Smith was implying suggested little regard for the First Amendment. Basically, he seemed to see demons and shady characters behind every news group sign post. And his approach to solving these purported problems was, in essence, what I would interpret as an Internet police. I told you it was getting pretty scary. One of the glorious characteristics of the Internet is its freedom. It is one of the most democratic institutions ever devised--even if by accident. Rob Raisch made the comment that one could consider the Internet a city of 25 million people--who actually, for the most part, cooperate. Moreover, I will suggest that it is also a huge neighborhood watch. Its inhabitants have been very successful at policing their own neighborhoods--without an Internet police. The last presentation of the conference was by Irwin Kirmer, an Internet consultant, who attempted to take the audience on a tour of the Internet. Actually, his demonstration amounted to a series of frustrating attempts to gopher, ftp, or telnet to sites which were overcrowded. It demonstrated very clearly the traffic jams already on the highway. (It should be noted, to the panelist's credit, all thought the notion of community networks was an excellent idea. I brought up the topic of community networks at the end of the first day's session. It was encouraging to see a lot of affirmative nodding in the audience, as well as on the dais. However, it is unsettling to realize some of the key players in the Information Superhighway business had a complete lack of knowledge about community networking. For us in the community networking trenches, we must realize that many of those sitting in corporate offices trying to figure out how to deal with the Information Superhighway and how to wring the most money out of it, have never heard of, or considered community-based networks--a sobering thought.)[\\ ======================================================= SPACE COMMERCE '94--10th NATIONAL SPACE SYMPOSIUM Space Commerce '94 is the 10th National Space Symposium, sponsored by the United States Space Foundation, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This year's conference was attended by approximately 400 executives from the aerospace industry, government officials, military officers, astronauts, and others. The conference's main theme was commercial applications in space. New business opportunities, technology transfer, and related topics were discussed. Of particular interest to those with an interest in the NII, was a strong emphasis on utilizing space assets for the development and implementation of the Information Superhighway. It appears as if everyone is ready to jump onto the highway, even from Low-Earth Orbit. Syed Shariq, Manager of Technology Commercialization, NASA/Ames Research Center, noted that NASA's approach to technology transfer has been reactive, rather than proactive. Now, NASA wants to be more proactive, and to this end, it is developing its NASA Commercial Technology Network that is accessible through a Mosaic interface on the Internet. He indicated that NASA wants to use the Internet for dissemination of proposals, RFPs, and be part of the "NII Test Bed." To connect to the NASA Commercial Technology Network Home Page using the NCSA Mosaic client, the URL is: http://nctn.oact.hq.nasa.gov NCSA Mosaic client software is available via anonymous ftp at: ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu in directory: mac/mosaic/ NCSA Mosaic for Microsoft Windows is available via anonymous ftp at ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu in directory: pc/mosaic/ The contact point for help on this network is Murray Altheim at OACT, NASA HQ email: murray.altheim@hq.nasa.gov \\ ==================================================== POT HOLES IN THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY POT HOLES is a column in this newsletter that will cover potential problems and difficult issues concerning the development of the NII. Most of us in the community networking world believe that community-based networks is one of the best approaches to providing democratic access to information and communications resources. However, not everyone thinks the way we do. It is very important to pay close attention to the corporate world, which as Herbert Schiller remarks below, "...are doing the most natural thing in the world to them..." For-profit corporations are in the business of making money--and I have no quarrel with that. Yet, like the public library, the citizenry must have free to very affordable access to information and communications which can be provided by community networking and the Internet. As pointed out in the article on the Albuquerque Information Superhighway Seminar, several high-level executives from companies, presumably on top of the development of the NII, had never heard of community networks. This was not an isolated case. When I attended the Berkeley Roundtable for International Economics' Technology Summit meeting in San Francisco in November, the same problem was observed. Most of the top telecommunications and computer industry executives that I spoke with were unaware of the community network movement in the country. Perhaps, those in the community networking world, despite all of our sophisticated methods of communications, haven't paid enough attention to communicating with the corporate world. It is critical that those who believe that community networks are valuable, if not essential, tools for using the NII, spread the word to the corporate world. Corporate executives are not ignoring community networks, but in many cases they simple don't know about them. When I have explained what we are doing in the La Plaza Telecommunity project, most executives with which I have spoken, have been responded very favorably. Now, whether favorable comments translate into action on the part of companies, is yet to been seen.\\ THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY: PAVING OVER THE PUBLIC >From the March, 1994 issue of *Z Magazine* "...Huge companies are doing the most natural thing in the world to them; following their own corporate interest..." Herbert Schiller Open Magazine Interview with Herbert Schiller "Q- Your article in the Nation (July 12, 1993) suggests that commercial expansion [of information/Internet] is resulting in the extinction of the public sphere. Can you comment more on this? A- Yes. A clear example of this can be seen in the case of public libraries. The public library has been one of the most democratic institutions in American history. When you read biographical statements of this country's most distinguished writers, many times you'll find them describing what a tremendous debt, or what gratitude they owe to the public libraries. It was a place they entered without any real barriers, picked up a book, and read. The public library has been one of the most progressive institutions in American history. Yes, it's got deficiencies. No one's saying it's a perfect institution. But, by and large, in comparison, it's been a much more democratic institution than others. And one of the cardinal principles of the public library system is that information is to be available for everyone, and it's to be available without cost. Free. Funding comes from the community. Therefore, the principle of unlimited and free public access has been the cornerstone of this democratic institution. And what's happening now? As with so many other things in this society, information is being turned into a good for sale. A good that's made available on the basis of payment, a commodity. Of course, information has always been part of commodities. Books and newspapers were always sold. But a really massive change has been under way due to the technologies that can transfer and reorganize bits of data and information, and now an area that never had the attention of private enterprise is being regarded as source of massive profit. An information industry has been developing since 1968. Companies involved in the industry say they are doing very valuable things. It's true that they are creating certain information services that were never available before. One wouldn't argue with that. But they're doing it on a commercial basis, which means that information which once was or could have been available free, now is available for a charge. If you have any experience hooking your computer in with databases, you know that you have to pay."\\ SMOKING OUT THE OPPOSITION The following came from Edupage, a summary of news items on information technology, that is provided several times each week online as a service by EDUCOM -- a consortium of leading colleges and universities seeking to transform education through the use of information technology. Lawyers for the American Tobacco Co. were granted a subpoena for the membership list of a computer network used by anti-smoking groups. The move to acquire SCARCNet's (Smoking Control Advocacy Resource Network) records is believed to be the first legal action of this kind. The subpoena also demands the names of those funding the network and copies of all posted strategy sessions. Attorneys for the Advocacy Institute have filed papers seeking to deny the subpoena on First Amendment grounds. (Wall Street Journal 3/30/94 B1)\\