[I recommend we] act now to create a level and competitive playing field for private network carriers, (whether for-profit or not-for-profit) to compete. Do not give a monopoly to any carrier … Encourage information entrepreneurship through an open architecture (non-proprietary) platform, with low barriers to entry … Everyone agrees in the abstract with universal service … But that’s only a platitude unless accompanied by an inclusive pricing plan … The ideal means of accessing the NPN will not be a personal computer as we know it today, but a much simpler, streamlined information appliance – a hybrid of the telephone and the computer … The National Public Network will need an integrated suite of high-level standards for the exchange of richly formatted and structured information, whether as text, graphics, sound, or moving images … full support for First Amendment values.
Predictor: Kapor, Mitchell
Prediction, in context:In a September 1991 submission to the Network Working Group’s Request for Comments (Request for Comments 1259), Mitchell Kapor, co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, writes: ”Whatever details of the vision and names gives to the final product, a network that is responsive to a wide spectrum of human needs will not evolve by default. Just as it is necessary for an architect to know how to make a home suitable for human habitation, it is necessary to consider how humans will actually use the network in order to design it. In that spirit, I offer a set of recommendations … I. Encourage Competition Among Carriers … act now to create a level and competitive playing field for private network carriers, (whether for-profit or not-for-profit) to compete. Do not give a monopoly to any carrier … II. Create an Open Platform for Innovation. Encourage information entrepreneurship through an open architecture (non-proprietary) platform, with low barriers to entry … III. Encourage Pricing for Universal Access. Everyone agrees in the abstract with universal service … But that’s only a platitude unless accompanied by an inclusive pricing plan … IV. Make the Network Simple to Use. The ideal means of accessing the NPN will not be a personal computer as we know it today, but a much simpler, streamlined information appliance – a hybrid of the telephone and the computer. V. Develop Standards of Information Presentation. The National Public Network will need an integrated suite of high-level standards for the exchange of richly formatted and structured information, whether as text, graphics, sound, or moving images … VI. Promote First Amendment Free Expression by Affirming the Principles of Common Carriage. In a society which relies more and more on electronic communications media as its primary conduit for expression, full support for First Amendment values requires extension of the common carrier principle to all of these new media. VII. Protect Personal Privacy. The infrastructure of the NPN should include mechanisms that support the privacy of information and communication. Building the NREN is an opportunity to test various data-encryption schemes …
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: September 1, 1991
Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: Requests For Comments
Title, headline, chapter name: Building the Open Road: The NREN As Test-Bed for the National Public Network
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.eff.org/Publications/Mitch_Kapor/nren_npn_nii_kapor_eff.rfc
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney