The information superhighway: Some public policy issues for the Commonwealth
| Published date | 01 February 1997 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-162X(199702)17:1<93::AID-PAD925>3.0.CO;2-X |
| Author | ROGERS W'O OKOT‐UMA |
| Date | 01 February 1997 |
The information superhighway:
Some public policy issues for the Commonwealth
ROGERS W'O OKOT-UMA
Commonwealth Secretariat London, UK
SUMMARY
This article examines the signi®cance for Commonwealth governments of the emerging
Information Superhighway. It reviews the nature and the scope of developments in the ®eld of
information technology, then considers policy questions raised by the existence of the Internet
and eventually, of the Information Superhighway. Governments of developing countries run
the risk of being excluded from the bene®ts of information technology unless they frame
National Information Infrastructures. (&1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)
INTRODUCTION
The Information Superhighway is a vision of the convergence of information,
computers and communications media into a single medium. So far, the information
superhighway consists of a data revolution characterized by technical advances in
processing, compression and communication technologies that has led to a point
where it is possible to process, store, retrieve and communicate data in whatever
form. The revolution is not merely the proliferation of data. Data is transformed into
information only when delivered to the right place, at the right time, in the right
form. This article reviews some of the technological developments that will make the
Information Superhighway possible, and gives pointers to the implications for
government policy. It argues that the governments of developing countries must
participate fully in the task of building the `digital society' of the future.
THE TECHNOLOGY OF THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY
The basis of the convergence of information, computer and telecommunications
technologies is the digitization of information, in whatever form, which enables
representation in binary digits, a form amenable to interpretation by computer. Any
medium with the right computer equipment can then send it along its own network,
which may consist of any combination of coaxial cables, twisted copper pairs, optical
®bre cables, satellites, microwave or cellular transmitters and receiving dishes. In an
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND DEVELOPMENT, VOL. 17, 93±101 (1997)
CCC 0271±2075/97/010093±09$17.50
&1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Rogers W'O Okot-Uma is at the Commonwealth Secretariat, Marlborough House, Pall Mall, London
SW1, UK.
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