The prediction, in brief:

Private, not public: The private sector, not the government, will build and operate the NII. Despite extensive reports to the contrary, the government’s role will be limited to funding research, leading experiments with ultra-high-speed networks, helping promote standards, and protecting the public interest in privacy, freedom of speech, and other areas. Telephone companies and cable television operators, not the government, will be the principal carriers of traffic into the home.

Predictor: Kapor, Mitchell

Prediction, in context:

In a 1993 article for Wired magazine, Electronic Frontier Foundation co-founder Mitchell Kapor writes:”The emerging consensus between business, government, and policy watchdogs [includes the following point]: Private, not public: The private sector, not the government, will build and operate the NII. Despite extensive reports to the contrary, the government’s role will be limited to funding research, leading experiments with ultra-high-speed networks, helping promote standards, and protecting the public interest in privacy, freedom of speech, and other areas. Telephone companies and cable television operators, not the government, will be the principal carriers of traffic into the home.”

Biography:

Mitchell Kapor founded the Lotus Development Corporation and also founded the Electronic Frontier Foundation with WELL (Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link) members John Perry Barlow and John Gilmore in 1990 in direct response to a threat to free speech. He was an outspoken supporter of open access to the Internet, and was asked to speak in many venues about the issue, including Congressional hearings. (Pioneer/Originator.)

Date of prediction: January 1, 1993

Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure

Subtopic: Role of Govt./Industry

Name of publication: Wired

Title, headline, chapter name: Where is the Digital Highway Really Heading? The Case for a Jeffersonian Information Policy

Quote Type: Direct quote

Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.eff.org/Misc/Publications/Mitch_Kapor/nii_kapor_eff_wired.article

This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Nolan, Diana