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BP-385E
INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY
Prepared by Daniel Brassard
Science and Technology Division
March 1994
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
BACKGROUND
CONCEPT AND BENEFITS
TECHNOLOGIES FOR DELIVERING INFORMATION
A. Digital Communication
B. Wireless Communication
C. Fibre-Optic Transmission
D. High-Capacity Delivery to Consumers
DEVELOPMENTS IN CANADA
A. Government
1. General Developments
2. CANARIE
B. Industry
1. General Developments
2. Recent Initiatives
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE U.S.
A. Government
B. Industry
ISSUES OF CONCERN
WHAT CAN GOVERNMENT DO?
CONCLUSION
SELECTED REFERENCES
INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY
BACKGROUND
Over the past 10
years, Canadians have become increasingly aware that in the society of
the future knowledge will be more important than natural resources to
the global economy and products and services will be deliverable anywhere
on the planet. This society is taking shape before our eyes; many of the
basic enabling technologies are already in place.
The important components
of a knowledge-based society are data collection, dissemination and processing.
The amount of information in all forms has been increasing more rapidly
than the ability of the infrastructure to distribute it. Development of
a modern information highway that would allow full exploitation of the
available information is paramount if the potential of the new society
is to be realized. Much of the primary transmission capability is already
available; still lacking are the necessary high-speed "on and off
ramps" allowing universal access.
This paper reviews
the major technological components of the highway, the current situation
in Canada and the U.S., and some of the future options. Also covered will
be some actions that can be taken to expedite the availability and use
of an effective Canadian information superhighway.
CONCEPT AND BENEFITS
The term "information
superhighway" has many different meanings, depending on the context.
The superhighway consists of three key elements in addition to the communications
infrastructure (the telephone and cable systems) that permit two-way communication.
These elements are:
-
the software
that permits the easy use of the services and information available
on the highway;
-
information
appliances, such as TVs, telephones and computers, and new products
combining all three; and
-
information
providers local broadcasters, digital libraries, information
services (where most of the new jobs are anticipated), and millions
of individuals.
The development
and integration of all the components will produce the total system. The
very wide range of applications envisaged for such a system will affect:
Public Institutions:
The superhighway is seen as a means of improving the delivery of public
services and permitting citizens to have easy access to government
information. In the health field, specialist physicians would be able
to consult with patients in outlying areas while having direct access
to the results of X-rays, ultrasound, CAT scans, etc. located with
the patient. Similarly, in the field of education, students could
have access to specialized support personnel and to much more extensive
information than is now possible.
Private
Sector: The information
superhighway could more readily enable the formation of more effective
teams with members located at various centres; thus, information-related
businesses could be located virtually anywhere. The superhighway would
also provide an opportunity to establish numerous value-added information-related
services.
Private
Citizen: In addition
to the services mentioned above, this highway would give private citizens
access to at-home shopping, video on demand, and up-to-date information
through news, electronic books, on-line databases, etc.
TECHNOLOGIES FOR DELIVERING INFORMATION
Over the last two
decades, and particularly in the 1980s, communications and information
technology have undergone a profound revolution. The computer has evolved
from an esoteric big business and scientific tool to a consumer good found
in an ever-growing percentage of homes. Similarly, communications technology
has evolved from the basic voice telephone into a complicated system
one that includes cellular phones, faxes and video conferencing
on which we will depend for the delivery of information in the future.
The three major
types of technological innovation that have driven fundamental changes
in the communications sector are: digital communication (particularly
digital switching), wireless communication, and fibre-optic transmission.
Below is a summary of each of these, followed by an overview of possible
methods of delivering high volumes of information to the homes of consumers.
A. Digital Communication
The first digital
switching equipment was introduced in the late 1970s. It consists of digital
switches, essentially specialized computers that allow networks to be
customized and reconfigured through relatively simple software changes.
This digital technology makes possible such services as caller identification.
Developed countries like Canada have been moving rapidly to adopt digital
technology in their telephone networks. By 1992, it was being used in
85% of Bell Canada's trunk lines and 35% of its local lines and it is
anticipated that by 1995 virtually the entire Bell Canada network will
be digital.(1)
B. Wireless Communication
In parallel with
the swift growth of hard-wired delivery technology, innovations in wireless
communication, particularly cellular telephones, have also progressed
very quickly. The cellular network began its first full year of operation
in Canada in 1986. Both Canada and the United States have experienced
very high growth rates in this field and the number of users is expected
to increase rapidly as quality improves and costs decrease still further.
These changes will be brought about in part by the switch from conventional
analog to digital radio transmissions which began in 1994. Most carriers
are not expected to go digital until 1995 or later.(2)
In developing countries, it is quite possible that cellular networks will
supersede conventional land-based networks by the late 1990s.
C. Fibre-Optic Transmission
The major virtue
of optical fibre is its huge capacity to carry information. This can be
illustrated by a comparison of the relative amount of information each
type of line can carry:(3)
Telephone
wire 1 to 24,
Coaxial cable
1,000,
Fibre-optic cable 10,000.
Fibre-optic transmission
also offers several other advantages:(4)
-
Signals are
of very high quality and noise-free. This corresponds to very low
error rates for data communications.
-
The signals
are free from the disruptive environmental interferences that often
degrade copper or wireless communications. Fibre-optic cables can
operate reliably in electrically noisy environments without requiring
shielding.
-
Fibre-optic
cables do not emit radiation and thus do not cause external interference.
Moreover, they are relatively secure as the fibres are very difficult
to tap without being detected.
-
At a few cents
per metre, the cables are less expensive, lighter and smaller than
copper cable; they are thus cheaper and easier to install.
D. High-Capacity Delivery to Consumers
The current trend
is for digital communications and fibre-optic networks to come closer
to the end user; however, covering the last portion of a high-capacity
delivery system remains the critical problem. Numerous options exist and
their cost and current technical feasibility vary.
Connection via
fibre-optics is still prohibitively expensive for individual households.
According to Bell Canada, the cost of bringing optical fibre into the
home is $2,000 to $3,000 per subscriber.
Cable TV companies
are also expanding the use of fibre-optics in their networks. Both Toronto
and Ottawa either have, or are in the process of being upgraded with,
a fibre-optic main circuit. Fibre-optic cable has two principal advantages
over coaxial cable: a much greater capacity to transmit information and
a much lower rate of attenuation of signal strength. Coaxial cable signals
must be boosted by a broad-band amplifier every few hundred metres or
so, which inhibits two-way communication. To minimize the costs, the cable
system can be upgraded to fibre optics to within 1.5 km of the user
for a cost of $200 to $300 (U.S.) per customer, excluding the essential
upgrading costs to the switching system used by the cable companies.(5)
Another option
is to use fibre-optics for the most part, but to employ either wireless
communication methods or coaxial cable for the last segment. Fibre-optics
could be extended to within 100 metres of the end user, after which an
alternative medium would complete the delivery, possibly employing encryption
to enhance the privacy aspects and digital data compression to increase
capacity.(6) Although feasible
now, the implementation of a plan using wireless communication would require
improvements in both cost effectiveness and higher transmission throughputs.
The use of fibre-optic
cable or a wireless-based system to replace copper wire and coaxial cable
would vastly expand the range and type of services available to the consumer.
Services such as dial-up high definition TV movies, video tele-conferencing,
interactive television, and electronic catalogue shopping would become
feasible. The massive investment required to provide individual households
with fibre-optic lines will, however, likely prevent the telephone and
cable industries from installing separate complete networks.
DEVELOPMENTS IN CANADA
Government and
industry are the major players in the development of an information superhighway
and, while each views the highway with its own interests and expectations,
both consider it to be a key element in their future plans.
A. Government
The federal government
is responsible for the regulation of telecommunications and is also a
major provider of information. The other levels of government are involved
because of the close link between the information highway and education/training,
a provincial responsibility.
1. General Developments
In its study of
the information highway over many years, the Government of Canada has
set up numerous committees. It also commissioned a study on how best to
accelerate the development of the highway which culminated in a report,
"The Electronic Connection: An Essential Key to Canadians' Survival,"
written by Bernard Ostry and published in 1993. This made a large number
of recommendations on how Canada's electronic highway could be in place
within five years.
Subsequently, on
2 February 1994, the Secretary of State for Science, Jon Gerrard,
announced that the federal government envisions the information highway
as a "national network of networks" incorporating both telephone
and cable television traffic. As the various technologies merge, the government
will apply policies favouring a competitive environment.(7) The government is ready to
allow cable and telephone companies to operate in each other's area, but
does not foresee an immediate convergence of broadcasting and telecommunication
laws.
The government's
objectives for the information highway continue to be: creating jobs,
reinforcing Canadian sovereignty and cultural identity, and ensuring universal
access at reasonable cost. The government is establishing an advisory
council on information and communications to be chaired by David Johnson
of McGill University; an interim report is expected by September 1994.
2. CANARIE
The Canadian Network
for the Advancement of Research, Industry and Education (CANARIE) project
is a seven-year, $1.2-billion project that will eventually link industry,
universities, and government through a fibre-optic and satellite data
expressway. The project is expected to have important applications in
areas as diverse as health care, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, the resource
industries, finance and banking industries, education and training, media
communications, and urban planning. A national, high-speed telecommunications
backbone is seen as essential to making Canada more competitive internationally.
The project addresses a serious weakness in a country that prides itself
on its strength in the telecommunications sector: Canada is seen as lagging
"far behind what the technology would allow and what most other developed
countries already have in place."(8)
The CANARIE project
states as its mission:(9)
To support
the development of the communications infrastructure for a knowledge-based
Canada, and thereby contribute to Canadian competitiveness in all
sectors of the economy, to prosperity, job creation, and to our quality
of life.
The three main
elements of the CANARIE project are to:
-
upgrade the
operational network from 56 kilobits per second to 1.544 megabits
per second (T1), an increase of over 27 times the data transfer rate,
with the objective of attaining a multi-gigabit per second rate, an
increase of 1,000 times, over a seven-year period;
-
establish a
gigabit test facility to support the development of the next generation
network technology; and
-
put in place
a Technology Development and Technology Diffusion Program.(10)
The project will
be implemented in three phases. In Phase 1, which will run from April
1993 to March 1995, the national R&D and research network CAnet, launched
in October 1990, will be upgraded and a high-speed experimental test network
will be established. Phase 1 will also see the initiation of product
and service development for CANARIE. Total direct and indirect investment
in Phase 1 will be $115 million, of which $26 million will be contributed
by the federal government.
Phase 2 will
last from April 1995 until March 1998. In Phase 2, the high-speed
experimental network will be tested; the development of networking technologies,
products, applications, and software will be continued; and CAnet will
be further upgraded. Phase 2 is expected to cost $450 million.
During Phase 3,
which will last from April 1998 to March 2000, applications and technologies
will be shifted to operational networks and the completed network will
be launched. The cost is expected to be $600 million.
Some observers
have been critical of a number of aspects of CANARIE. A major concern
is that the government, although it will pay up to a third of the cost
and generate much of the traffic on the highway, has no seat on the board
and will have little direct say in the development of the system. The
government has effectively turned over the project to the private sector
in order to save costs and speed up the project. This is in contrast to
the situation in other countries, where the government is a major stakeholder
in information highways. Building infrastructure is regarded by some as
one of government's main responsibilities in economic development. This
issue raises other concerns, such as who will eventually have access to
the system.(11)
It is also claimed
that CANARIE will not be able to keep pace with the rapidly developing
telecommunications technologies, will be susceptible to conflicts of interest
among its commercial sponsors, and may ultimately not be particularly
useful to Canadian business.(12)
B. Industry
1. General Developments
The major commercial
players are the telephone companies, the cable companies (such as Vidéotron
and Rogers Communications Inc.), the computer industry, the information
delivery system, and the entertainment industry. Each sees the information
highway as its future.
The delivery of
information has changed and information is becoming increasingly digital.
Digital information, whether the source is video, data, sound, or textual,
is an organized stream of 0s and 1s (binary representation that can be
coded as electrical pulses for data transmission) which can be delivered
by many different means. Further, digital data permit many forms of digital
processing; digital compression techniques that greatly expand the effective
transmission rate of any medium are particularly important.
Until recently,
the telephone and cable industries, encouraged by regulation, had developed
quite separately, providing distinctly different services which used different
technology and had differently configured networks. Fibre-optic technology
is, in effect, driving a convergence between the telephone and cable industries
companies that will enable both industries to provide a much wider range
of services.
Both the telephone
lines and coaxial cables to households could be replaced by a single fibre-optic
line or a wireless system; however, the revenue from advanced services
would be required to pay for the investment. Both industries would like
to be able to install fibre-optics cable from the main networks into the
home and have the rights to deliver more sophisticated interactive services.
There is now debate
over how this issue can be best resolved. A recent report of the Co-chairs
of the Local Networks Convergence Committee(13)
found that preserving the "dual wire" infrastructure would make
the telephone and cable industries more efficient than a single integrated
network. It favoured, however, a flexible regulatory environment that
would support increased competition and at the same time facilitate co-operative
ventures by telephone and cable companies.
In addition, many
of the players are grouping themselves together for mutual support. Of
the many competing systems, some will be winners and some losers. What
people will want or be willing to pay for, however, remains uncertain.
2. Recent Initiatives
Major industrial
stakeholders have recently taken some initiatives. The telephone companies
continue to introduce digital communications and to extend the use of
fibre-optics. The cable companies have already received approval from
the CRTC for an increase in fees that would allow them to upgrade their
systems. Maclean Hunter Ltd., a major cable and publishing company, has
accepted an offer of purchase from Rogers Communications; this transaction
would effectively create a super Canadian cable company, but remains to
be ruled on by the CRTC.
Groupe Vidéotron
Ltée, a major Quebec cable company, is leading a project to launch shop-at-home
service in the province's homes. At a cost of $750 million over eight
years, it will offer consumers numerous two-way electronic services, including
browsing, shopping, banking, voting and adjusting energy consumption.
The target is to bring the service to 34,000 homes in the Saguenay region
by June 1995 and to 80% of Quebec homes by 2002.
Vidéotron has promised
80% penetration to its partners in this venture. Members of the consortium
will pay for consumers to be issued with a personalized electronic "smart
card" and reader, a special converter wand and a small transaction
printer. International Business Machines Corp (IBM) has joined with Vidéotron
to develop the electronic boxes used by the system and IBM will integrate
the hardware, software and cabling needed for providing two-way electronic
services.(14) The company
hopes to launch a national platform by promising involvement with other
cable companies in launching this service.(15)
Stentor, a consortium
of Canadian telephone companies, has launched several multi-media trials.
In one trial, 400 students at Carleton University are using personal computers
and standard telephone lines to test video on demand. The trial is based
on a new technology developed by Northern Research that allows digitized
video signals to be sent over standard phone lines and uses the new international
video compression standard Motion Picture Experts Group 1. Other
trials are underway to test the delivery of multi-media information through
conventional phone lines.(16)
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE U.S.
Many important
events are taking place in the U.S. both at the government level and in
industry.
A. Government
Vice-President
Al Gore has been a long-standing proponent of information superhighways,
having proposed such a scheme as early as 1979. The current High-Performance
Computing Act is a five-year, $3-billion initiative intended to facilitate
research and development in high-performance computing. It commits $400 million
(U.S.) to the construction of the National Research and Education Network
(NREN), which will begin by making use of the current U.S. Internet. Initially,
the NREN will connect more than a dozen leading research centres in the
U.S. through a 1-3 gigabit-per-second(17)
fibre-optic-based network using primarily fibre-optic cables already laid
by the centres, the telephone companies, and the government.
Eventually, NREN
is expected to displace the current computer network, Internet, which,
although it is well suited to transmitting limited textual information,
is prohibitively slow for transmitting large texts such as complete books,
data bases, high resolution graphics, or full-motion video.
The new system,
a first step in the creation of an infrastructure for an information economy,
is viewed as essential if the U.S. is to remain competitive. Japan, like
some of the U.S.'s other main competitors, is already investing heavily
in the fibre-optic cables and digital switches needed to create an information
highway and plans to deliver fibre-optic cable to every household and
school by the year 2015.
The U.S. program
has raised doubts about whether the Canadian government is playing a large
enough role in creating a globally competitive telecommunications infrastructure.(18) The U.S. federal funding is intended to
catalyze investment by a wide variety of private companies, which (as
in the case of CANARIE in Canada) are expected to supply most of the funding.
In fact, the level of U.S. government investment does seem remarkably
low when compared to the $75 billion spent in 1988 alone to build
and maintain highways.(19)
By comparison, the cost of installing fibre-optic lines to all U.S. homes
has been estimated at less than $200 billion.
The creation of
NREN has also raised the issue of access. It has been suggested that NREN
should be more than a tool for scientists; it should be aimed at schools,
hospitals and business from the start; otherwise it could widen the gap
between rich and poor.
In December 1993,
Vice-President Gore stated that the new information marketplace based
on information highways would have involvement from four major groups:
-
owners of the
highways built and paid for by the private sector;
-
makers of the
information appliances, such as TVs, telephones and computers and
new products combining all three;
-
information
providers local broadcasters, digital libraries, information
service providers and millions of individuals; and
-
information
customers, demanding privacy, affordability and choice.
The Clinton Administration
wants to create an environment that stimulates private systems of free-flowing
information. It will support the removal, over time, in appropriate conditions,
of judicial and legislative restrictions on all types of telecommunications
companies: cable, telephone, utilities, television and satellites. These
changes will be carried out in consultation with all the stakeholders
(state, consumers, industry, etc.).
The principles
to be followed by each of the components of the information superhighway
are:
-
encouragement
of private investment (avoidance of over-regulation and monopolies);
-
promoting and
encouraging competition (prevention of unfair cross-subsidies);
-
provision of
open access to networks (to ensure that the companies that own the
network cannot use their control to limit what is available);
-
avoiding creation
of a society of information "haves" and "have nots"
(particularly important with respect to low-cost, universal access
and the education of children); and
-
encouragement
of flexibility (technology is advancing so quickly that all policies
must be broad enough to accommodate change).
On 11 January
1994, Vice-President Gore proposed that the U.S. government would greatly
reduce regulation in many areas of telecommunications. Specifically, this
proposal would allow telephone companies to enter the cable business and
cable companies to enter the telephone business. With the current trade
laws having virtually eliminated boundaries, will Canada have any choice
but to follow the U.S. example in this area?
The American White
House representative, Michael Nelson, made an enlightening comment at
a conference on information superhighways in early February 1994; he said
that access to Canada was a planned extension of the U.S. information
superhighway.(20)
B. Industry
Several major mergers
between American cable, computer, entertainment and telecommunications
companies have been reported in recent months. Some of these have failed,
while others are proceeding at a slow pace.
In 1993, Microsoft,
a major software company, failed in an attempt to establish a system for
interactive TV in a major venture with Time Warner Inc., an entertainment
company, and Tele-Communication Inc. (TCI), the largest cable company
in the U.S. This year, Microsoft and TCI agreed to a more limited joint
venture with a similar aim.(21)
In February 1994,
the attempt to acquire TCI by Bell Atlantic Corp., a major telephone company
providing services to six mid-Atlantic states and Washington, failed.
In early March 1994, Bell Atlantic issued a worldwide call to software
developers to prepare software for its interactive network. By the end
of 1995, the company plans to wire 1.2 million homes in its region for
interactive services.(22)
The Continental
Cablevision Inc. and Performance Systems International Inc. are offering
the first cable service linking home computers to Internet. Starting in
a Boston suburb, the service will eventually be expanded to the 2.9 million
cable homes in New England, the Midwest, California, and Florida. This
system will allow high speed communications between home users and Internet,
data transmission rates up to 200 times faster than 2,400-bit-per-second
transmissions currently available to home users. The cost of this service
will be high: $125 per month for home users and $2,000 to $2,750 per month
for businesses. Other cable companies are also exploring the possibility
of offering this service.(23)
Many different
mergers and strategic alliances and test services are being undertaken
in the U.S. Is this trend an indication of what can be expected? Although
many of these developments will fail, it is likely that others will succeed
in finding cost-effective methods of providing services for which people
are willing to pay.
ISSUES OF CONCERN
Some of the concerns
related to the development and implementation of a Canadian information
highway are:
-
What form of
access will it have? How can we ensure that the poor are not by-passed
in this process?
-
How do we get
there? Will governments provide the regulatory environment and let
businesses fight it out or will the government be more active in building
the system?
-
Who pays and
for what? The proportions paid by the government and private business
will directly affect how much the consumer pays and what, if any,
free core services will be available. Should consumers pay to upgrade
an infrastructure that possibly only a small proportion of individuals
will use in the immediate future? Will the consumer go along with
the new services and be willing to pay for them?
-
What applications
should be available on the system, both commercial and public? Will
the only services be pay-as-you-use commercial services or will public
service applications (e.g., access to libraries, education, government
services) also be available?
-
Will the basic
use of the system be affordable? If not, will only businesses and
government institutions (schools, hospitals, etc.) be able to use
it?
-
Will privacy
be at risk? Information related to spending habits, etc. could be
logged and sold for its commercial value, but would this infringe
on individual privacy?
-
Will a particular
cultural or linguistic content be possible, particularly in Quebec?
With the U.S. connected to the highway, vast quantities of U.S. material
will be readily available. Will people simply bypass services regulated
by the CRTC or another government agency and get them directly from
the U.S.? Censorship and content rules could be difficult if not impossible
to enforce, since alternatives for rerouting information are built
into the system.
-
What will be
the impact of the probable merger of telephone, cable, entertainment
and information companies on the relatively small Canadian market?
This merger is already happening in the U.S. How can the government
provide some protection for consumers?
-
What approach
should be taken with respect to the possible displacement of workers
as new services replace traditional means of shopping, banking, etc.?
-
What impact,
if any, would the highway have on the existing Internet system and
current providers of commercial information, such as Compuserve, etc.?
How can they be integrated into a future system?
WHAT CAN GOVERNMENT DO?
The government
can take a wide range of initiatives to enhance the development of an
information highway in Canada. The Ostry Report provides a comprehensive
initial set of recommendations, one being that the Prime Minister should
make a statement on the vision and purpose of the electronic highway system.
This would encourage all the stakeholders to work on the issues.
The Ostry Report
also proposed the establishment of eight operational, outcome-oriented
task forces, which would report back to the Prime Minister within 18 months.
The various task forces would deal with:
-
architecture
and technology requirements (led by industry Stentor or Unitel);
-
standards,
protocols and regulations (led by the CRTC and consumer and industry
lawyers);
-
education and
training needs (led by education stakeholders);
-
design of new
software for training and education (led by private sector specialists);
-
delivery of
the wide range of existing software;
-
international
concerns (working with CLIN, World ORT, Europe, etc.);
-
concern about
whether the system should be community-based though it serves individuals;
and
-
cost-effective
use of the system.
The consensual
report would then be reviewed by the appropriate Ministers and Deputy
Ministers. This would leave three years, of the proposed five, for pilot
projects, testing and implementation.
As suggested in
a recent report, the government could make clear its support for preserving
the "dual wire" infrastructure, cable and telephone, which would
result in a more efficient system than a single integrated network. The
government could continue to explain measures for making the regulatory
environment more flexible so as to support increased competition and facilitate
cooperative ventures by telephone and cable companies.
CONCLUSION
Canada needs an
electronic highway that should:
-
help us solve
educational problems;
-
improve our
competitive position in international trade by ensuring a highly skilled
workforce;
-
promote self-reliance
in people and Canada;
-
provide business
and universities with improved channels of communication;
-
strengthen
our national identity;
-
integrate government
services so that they are more efficient and effective; and
-
help build
"Team Canada."
Canada is technically
well equipped to deliver an electronic highway. We have an excellent communication
system and two extensive digital telecommunications organizations (Unitel
and Stentor). The two carriers form an infrastructure that is already
95% digitized, versus 60% in the U.S. In addition, most homes are served
by cable companies. These companies and many of the provinces want the
federal government to take the lead.
The electronic
highway will allow greater possibilities for value-added or knowledge-based
economies. As a nation, Canada can either proceed with the rapid development
of an information highway or lose the critically important edge it needs.
The remaining question
is: how quickly should we build this highway? If it is in place before
effective services for which consumers are willing to pay, who will bear
the cost?
SELECTED REFERENCES
Local Networks
Convergence Committee. Convergence: Competition and Cooperation.
Ministry of Supply and Services Canada, Ottawa, 1992.
Ostry, Bernard.
The Electronic Connection: An Essential Key to Canadians' Survival.
Government of Canada, Ottawa, 1993.
Science Council
of Canada. The Canadian Telecommunications Sector, Sectoral Technology
Strategy. Series No. 1, Minister of Supply and Services, Ottawa,
1992.
Stix, Gary. "Domesticating
Cyberspace." Scientific American, August 1993.
(1) Science Council of Canada, The Canadian
Telecommunications Sector, Sectoral Technology Strategy Series No. 1,
Minister of Supply and Services, Ottawa, 1992, p. 3.
(2) "When Cells Divide," Scientific
American, December 1993, p. 44.
(3) Communications Canada, Communications
for the Twenty-First Century, Minister of Supply and Services, Ottawa,
1987, p. 50.
(4) Department of Communications, Fibre-Optics
in Canada, Information Services, Ottawa, 1986, p. 1.
(5) Gary Stix, "Domesticating Cyberspace,"
Scientific American, August 1993, p. 103.
(6) Ibid., p. 103-104.
(7) Jonathan Chevreau, "Ottawa To Push
`Open' Highway," Financial Post, 3 February 1994.
(8) Doug Powell, "Supernetworks in Canada
Play Catch-up," Computing Canada, 3 February 1992, p. 1, 6.
(9) Background material on CANARIE, CANARIE
Inc., 2 September 1993.
(10) Sommaire, plan d'entreprise CANARIE,
December 1992, p. 3.
(11) Alana Kainz, "Critics Wish Government
Had Caged CANARIE Information Highway," Ottawa Citizen, 29 August
1993, p. A1.
(12) James Bagnall, "Why this CANARIE
Isn't Going To Sing," Financial Times of Canada, 19 December
1992, p. 4.
(13) Co-chairs of the Local Networks Convergence
Committee, Convergence: Competition and Cooperation, Ministry of
Supply and Services Canada, Ottawa, 1992, p. v.
(14) Kevin Dougherty, "Vidéotron Links
Up with IBM," Financial Post, 12 March 1994.
(15) Kevin Dougherty, "Vidéotron Maps
Out Its Electronic Highway," Financial Post, 29 January
1994.
(16) "Phone Companies Out Front,"
Globe and Mail (Toronto), 8 March 1994.
(17) Doug Powell, "Supernetworks in Canada
Play Catch-Up," Computing Canada, 3 February 1992, p. 6.
(18) Ibid.
(19) David Morris, "Information Highways,"
Utne Reader, September-October 1991, p. 117.
(20) Alana Kainz, "Information Super-Overload
at Superhighway Conference," Ottawa Citizen, 3 February
1994.
(21) G. Pascal Zachary and Mark Robichaux,
"Microsoft and Tele-Communications To Launch TV Channel on Computers,"
The Wall Street Journal, 8 March 1994.
(22) "Bell Atlantic Is Issuing World-Wide
Call for Software for Its Interactive Network," The Wall Street
Journal, 8 March 1994.
(23) Jared Sandberg, "Cable That Ties
PCs to Internet To Be Revealed," The Wall Street Journal,
8 March 1994.
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