IP: The Unpredictable Certainty: Information Infrastructure

[Dave Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

                      The Unpredictable Certainty:
                 Information Infrastructure Through 2000


                           NII 2000 Committee
              Computer Science and Telecommunications Board
                        National Research Council




The Unpredictable Certainty explores the national information
infrastructure (NII) as the collection of all public and private
information services.  But how and when will the NII become a
reality?  The Unpredictable Certainty examines who will finance
the NII; who will pay for ongoing services and how they will pay;
and the underlying technologies, appliances, and services needed
before the NII becomes a reality.  The book reviews key features
of important technologies; current levels of deployment in
telephone, cable and broadcast television, and wireless systems;
and the challenges for interconnection among different systems. 
It explores the challenge of open interfaces that stimulate new
applications but also facilitate competition, the trend toward
the separation of infrastructure from specific services, the
tension between mature services and new contenders, the role of
the Internet, and more.  The roles that governments at different
levels might play in fostering NII deployment are outlined.  


The final product of the NII 2000 project of the Computer Science
and Telecommunications Board, The Unpredictable Certainty was
created by people who lead in the development, implementation,
and marketing of the technologies and services that make up the
information infrastructure.  The NII 2000 Steering Committee
blends executives from several industries with researchers; it
combines insights into familiar communications and information
businesses with insider perspectives on the Internet.  This
talented group organized and synthesized the products of a
workshop, forum, and invited white papers.  The white papers,
quoted throughout The Unpredictable Certainty, will be published
separately.




                            Table of Contents


Introduction and Summary
Making Technology Work:  Individual
  and Organized End Users
Where is the Business Case
Technology Options and Capabilities:
  What Does What, How
Technology Choices:  What are the Providers
  Deploying
Public Policy and Private Action
Bibliography
Appendixes


6 X 9, 304 pages, paperbound, $24.95 (volume discounts available)
Order from: National Academy Press 1/800-624-6242,
amerchan () nas edu, or www.nap.edu