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diff --git a/doc/rfc/rfc1259.txt b/doc/rfc/rfc1259.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a2c9ff9 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/rfc/rfc1259.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1291 @@ + + + + + + +Network Working Group M. Kapor +Request for Comments: 1259 Electronic Frontier Foundation + September 1991 + + + Building The Open Road: + The NREN As Test-Bed For The National Public Network + + +Status of this Memo + + This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does + not specify an Internet standard. Distribution of this memo is + unlimited. + +Introduction + + A debate has begun about the future of America's communications + infrastructure. At stake is the future of the web of information + links organically evolving from computer and telephone systems. By + the end of the next decade, these links will connect nearly all homes + and businesses in the U.S. They will serve as the main channels for + commerce, learning, education, and entertainment in our society. The + new information infrastructure will not be created in a single step: + neither by a massive infusion of public funds, nor with the private + capital of a few tycoons, such as those who built the railroads. + Rather the national, public broadband digital network will emerge + from the "convergence" of the public telephone network, the cable + television distribution system, and other networks such as the + Internet. + + The United States Congress is now taking a critical step toward what + I call the National Public Network, with its authorization of the + National Research and Education Network (NREN, pronounced "en-ren"). + Not only will the NREN meet the computer and communication needs of + scientists, researchers, and educators, but also, if properly + implemented, it could demonstrate how a broadband network can be used + in the future. As policy makers debate the role of the public + telephone and other existing information networks in the nation's + information infrastructure, the NREN can serve as a working test-bed + for new technologies, applications, and governing policies that will + ultimately shape the larger national network. Congress has indicated + its intention that the NREN + + would provide American researchers and educators with the computer + and information resources they need, while demonstrating how + advanced computer, high speed networks, and electronic databases + can improve the national information infrastructure for use by all + + + +Kapor [Page 1] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + + Americans. (1) + + As currently envisioned, the NREN + + would connect more than one million people at more than one + thousand colleges, universities, laboratories, and hospitals + throughout the country, giving them access to computing power and + information -- resources unavailable anywhere today -- and making + possible the rapid proliferation of a truly nationwide, ubiquitous + network... (2) + + The combined demand of these users would develop innovative new + services and further stimulate demand for existing network + applications. Library information services, for example, have + already grown dramatically on the NREN's predecessor, the Internet, + because the + + enhanced connectivity permits scholars and researchers to + communicate in new and different ways.... Clearly, to be + successful, effective, and of use to the academic and research + communities, the NREN must be designed to nurture and accommodate + both the current as will as future yet unknown uses of valuable + information resources. (3) + + So as the NREN implementation process progresses, it is vital that + the opportunities to stimulate innovative new information + technologies be kept in mind, along with the specific needs of the + mission agencies which will come to depend on the network. + + Far from evolving into the whole of the National Public Network + itself, the NREN is best thought of as a prototype for the NPN, which + will emerge over time from the phone system, cable television, and + many computer networks. But the NREN is a growth site which, unlike + privately controlled systems, can be consciously shaped to meet + public needs. For a wide variety of services, some of which might + not be commercially viable at the outset, the NREN can + + provide selective access that proves feasibility and leads to the + creation of a commercial infrastructure that can support universal + services.... If we fully focus on ...[current] goals and work our + way through a multitude of technical and operational issues in the + process, then the success of the NREN will fully support its + extension to broader uses in the years to follow. (4) + + In order to function as an effective test-bed, one that promotes + broad access to a range of innovative, developing services, the NREN + must be built so that it is easy for developers to offer new kinds of + applications, and is accessible to a diversity of users. For + + + +Kapor [Page 2] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + + example, to encourage the development of creative, advanced library + services, it must be easy for libraries to open their data bases to + users all across the network. And if these library services are to + flourish through the NREN, then the services must be available to + researchers and students all over the country, through a variety of + channels. Though the NREN itself is intended to meet the + supercomputing and networking needs of the government-financed + research community, Congress has wisely recognized that it can also + function as a channel for delivery of a wide range of privately- + developed information services. To + + encourage use of the Network by commercial information service + providers, where technically feasible, the Network shall have + accounting mechanisms which allow, where appropriate, users or + groups of users to be charged for their usage of copyrighted + materials over the Network. (5) + + Congress can create an environment that stimulates information + entrepreneurship by mandating that the NREN rely on open technical + standards whose specifications are not controlled by any private + parties and which are freely available for all to use. Such non- + proprietary standards will ensure that different parts of the network + built and operated by independent parties, will all work together + properly. By employing widely-used, non-proprietary standards the + NREN will make it easy for new information providers to offer their + wares on the network. The market will snowball: as more services are + offered, more users will be attracted, who will increase overall + demand. The NREN will also be a test-bed for development and + experimentation with new networking standards that facilitate even + broader, more efficient interconnection than now possible on the + Internet. But throughout the stages of the NREN, all concerned + should be sure that these functionalities are fostered. + + The NREN design and construction process is complex and will have + significant effects on future communications infrastructure design: + + Building the NREN has frequently been described as akin to + building a house, with various layers of the network architecture + compared to parts of the house. In an expanded view of this + analogy, planning the NII [national information infrastructure] is + like designing a large, urban city. + + The NREN is a big new subdivision on the edge of the metropolis, + reserved for researchers and educators. It is going to be built + first and is going to look lonely out there in the middle of the + pasture for a while. But the city will grow up around it in time, + and as construction proceeds, the misadventures encountered in the + NREN subdivision will not have to be repeated in others. And + + + +Kapor [Page 3] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + + there will be many house designs, not just those the NREN families + are comfortable with.... The lessons we learn today in building + the NREN will be used tomorrow in building the NII. (6) + + The coming implementation and design of the NREN offers us a critical + opportunity to shape a small but important part of the National + Public Network. + +VISIONS + + At its best, the National Public Network would be the source of + immense social benefits. As a means of increasing social + cohesiveness, while retaining the diversity that is an American + strength, the network could help revitalize this country's business + and culture. As Senator Gore has said, the new national network that + is emerging is one of the "smokestack industries of the information + age." (7) It will increase the amount of individual participation in + common enterprise and politics. It could also galvanize a new set of + relationships -- business and personal -- between Americans and the + rest of the world. + + The names and particular visions of the emerging information + infrastructure vary from one observer to another. (8) Senator Gore + calls it the "National Information Superhighway." Prof. Michael + Dertouzos imagines a "National Information Infrastructure [which] ... + would be a common resource of computer-communications services, as + easy to use and as important as the telephone network, the electric + power grid, and the interstate highways." (9) I call it the National + Public Network (NPN), in recognition of the vital role information + technology has come to play in public life and all that it has to + offer, if designed with the public good in mind. + + To what uses can we reasonably expect people to use a National Public + Network? We don't know. Indeed, we probably can't know -- the users + of the network will surprise us. That's exactly what happened in the + early days of the personal computer industry, when the first + spreadsheet program, VisiCalc, spurred sales of the Apple II + computer. Apple founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak did not design + the spreadsheet; they did not even conceive of it. They created a + platform which allowed someone else to bring the spreadsheet into + being, and all the parties profited as a result, including the users. + + Based on today's systems, however, we can make a few educated guesses + about the National Public Network. We know that, like the telephone, + it will serve both business and recreation needs, as well as offering + crucial community services. Messaging will be popular: time and time + again, from the ARPAnet to Prodigy, people have surprised network + planners with their eagerness to exchange mail. "Mail" will not just + + + +Kapor [Page 4] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + + mean voice and text, but also pictures and video -- no doubt with + many new variations. One might imagine two people poring over a + manuscript from opposite ends of the country, marking it up + simultaneously and seeing each others' markings appear on the screen. + + We know from past demand on the Internet and commercial personal + computer networks that the network will be used for electronic + assembly -- virtual town halls, village greens, and coffee houses, + again taking place not just through shared text (as in today's + computer networks), but with multi-media transmissions, including + images, voice, and video. Unlike the telephone, this network will + also be a publications medium, distributing electronic newsletters, + video clips, and interpreted reports. (10) + + We can speculate but cannot be sure about novel uses of the network. + An information marketplace will include electronic invoicing, + billing, listing, brokering, advertising, comparison-shopping, and + matchmaking of various kinds. "Video on demand" will not just mean + ordering current movies, as if they were spooling down from the local + videotape store, but opening floodgates to vast new amounts of + independent work, with high quality thanks to plummeting prices of + professional-quality desktop video editors. Customers will grow used + to dialing up two-minute demos of homemade videos before ordering the + full program and storing it on their own blank tape. + + There will be other important uses of the network as a simulation + medium for experiences which are impossible to obtain in the mundane + world. If scientists want to explore the surface of a molecule, + they'll do it in simulated form, using wrap-around three-dimensional + animated graphics that create a convincing illusion of being in a + physical place. This visualization of objects from molecules to + galaxies is already becoming an extraordinarily powerful scientific + tool. Networks will amplify this power to the point that these + simulation tools take their place as fundamental scientific apparatus + alongside microscopes and telescopes. Less exotically, a consumer or + student might walk around the inside of a working internal combustion + engine -- without getting burned. + + Perhaps the most significant change the National Public Network will + afford us is a new mode of building communities -- as the telephone, + radio, and television did. People often think of electronic + "communities" as far-flung communities of interest between followers + of a particular discipline. But we are learning, through examples + like the PEN system in Santa Monica and the Old Colorado City system + in Colorado Springs, that digital media can serve as a local nexus, + an evanescent meeting-ground, that adds levels of texture to + relationships between people in a particular locale. As Jerry Berman + of the ACLU Information Technology Project has said: + + + +Kapor [Page 5] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + + Computer and communications technologies are transforming speech + into electronic formats and shifting the locus of the marketplace + of ideas from traditional public places to the new electronic + public forums established over telephone, cable, and related + electronic communications networks. (11) + + + To both local and long-distance communities, accessible digital + communications will be increasingly important; by the end of this + decade, the "body politic," the "body social," and the "body + commercial" of this country will depend on a nervous system of + fiber-optic lines and computer switches. + + But 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 for the evolution of + the National Public Network. I first encountered many of the + fundamental ideas underlying these proposals in the computer + networking community. Some of these recommendations address + immediate concerns; others are more long-term. There is a focus on + the role of public access and commercial experiments in the NREN, + which complement its research and education mission. The + recommendations are organized here according to the main needs which + they will serve: first ensuring that the design and use of the + network remains open to diversity, second, safeguarding the freedom + of users. The ultimate goal is to develop a habitable, usable and + sustainable system -- a nation of electronic neighborhoods that + people will feel comfortable living within. + +I. Encourage Competition Among Carriers + + In the context of the NREN, 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. + The growing network must be a site where competitive energy produces + innovation for the public benefit, not the refuge of monopolists. + + The post-divestiture phone system offers us a valuable lesson: a + telecommunications network can be managed effectively by separate + companies -- even including bitter opponents like AT&T and MCI -- as + long as they can connect equitably and seamlessly from the user's + standpoint. The deregulated telecommunications system may not work + perfectly and may produce too much litigation, but it does work. We + + + +Kapor [Page 6] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + + should never go back to any monopoly arrangement like the pre- + divestiture AT&T which held back market-driven innovation in + telecommunications for half a century. Given the interconnection + technology now available, we should never again have to accept the + argument that we have to sacrifice interoperability for efficiency, + reliability, or easy-of-use. + + Similarly, the NREN, and later the National Public Network, must be + allowed to grow without being dominated by any single company. + Contracting requirements in the current legislation advance this + goal. + + The Network shall be established in a manner which fosters and + maintains competition within the telecommunications industry and + promotes the development of interconnected high-speed data + networks by the private sector. (12) + + Absent a truly competitive environment, a dominant carrier might use + its privileged access to stifle competitors unfairly: "Use our local + service to connect to our undersea international links, without the + $3 surcharge we tack on for other carriers." The greatest danger is + "balkanization" -- in which the net is broken up into islands, each + developing separately, without enough interconnecting bridges to + satisfy users' desires for universal connectivity. Strong + interoperability requirements and adherence to standards must be + built into the design of the NREN from the outset. (13) + + After 1992, private companies will manage an ever-greater share of + the NREN cables and switches. The NSF should use both carrot and + stick to encourage as much interconnection as possible. For example, + the NSF could make funding to NREN backbone carriers contingent on + participation in an internetwork exchange agreement that would serve + as a framework for a standards-based environment. As the NREN is + implemented, some formal affirmation of fair access is needed -- + ideally by an "Internet Exchange Association" formed to settle common + rules and standards. (Their efforts, if strong enough, could + forestall a costly, wasteful crazy-quilt of new regulations from the + FCC and 50 State Public Utilities Commissions.) This association + should decide upon a "basket" of standard services -- including + messaging, directories, international connections, access to + information providers, billing, and probably more -- that are + guaranteed for universal interconnection. The Commercial Internet + Exchange (CIX) formed in 1991 by three commercial inter-networking + carriers represents a substantive, initial move in this direction. + + + + + + + +Kapor [Page 7] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + +II. Create an Open Platform for Innovation + + Encourage information entrepreneurship through an open architecture + (non-proprietary) platform, with low barriers to entry for + information providers. + + The most valuable contribution of the computer industry in the past + generation is not a machine, but an idea -- the principle of open + architecture. Typically, a hardware company (an Apple or IBM, for + instance) neither designs its own applications software nor requires + licenses of its application vendors. Both practices were the norm in + the mainframe era of computing. Instead, in the personal computer + market, the hardware company creates a "platform" -- a common set of + specifications, published openly so that other, often smaller, + independent firms can develop their own products (like the + spreadsheet program) to work with it. In this way, the host company + takes advantage of the smaller companies' ingenuity and creativity. + + Even interfaces rigidly controlled by a single manufacturer, like the + Macintosh, embrace the platform concept. Two years ago, when Apple + began planning the System 7 release of its Macintosh operating + system, one of its first steps was to invite comment from software + companies like Macromind, Aldus, Silicon Beach, and T/Maker. In + substantive, sometimes very argumentative sessions, Apple revealed + the capabilities it planned to these independents, who knew their + customers and needs much better than Apple. One multi-media company, + after arguing that Apple should take a different technical turn, + actually found itself doing the work in a joint project. The most + useful job of Apple's famous "evangelists" is not selling the Mac + specs, but listening to outsiders, and helping Apple itself stay + flexible enough to work with independent innovators effectively. + + In the design of the NREN, information entrepreneurship can best be + promoted by building with open standards, and by making the network + attractive to as many service providers and developers as possible. + The standards adopted must meet the needs of a broad range of users, + not just narrow needs of the mission agencies that are responsible + for overseeing the early stages of the NREN. Positive efforts should + be made to encourage the development of experimental commercial + services of all kinds without requiring the negotiation of any + bureaucratic procedures. + + In the early stages of development of an industry, low barriers to + entry stimulate competition. They enable a very large initial set of + products for consumers to choose from. Out of these the market will + learn to ignore almost all in order to standardize on a few, such as + a Lotus 1-2-3. The winners will be widely emulated in the next + generation of products, which will in turn generate a more refined + + + +Kapor [Page 8] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + + form of marketplace feedback. In this fashion, early chaos evolves + quickly a set of high-demand products and product categories. + + This process of market-mediated innovation is best catalyzed by + creating an environment in which it is inexpensive and easy for + entrepreneurs to develop products. The greater the number of + independent enterprises, each of which puts at voluntary risk the + intellectual and economic capital of risk-takers, is the best way to + find out what the market really wants. The businesses which succeed + in this are the ones which will prosper. + + It is worthwhile to note that not a single major PC software company + today dates from the mainframe era. Yesterday's garage shop is + today's billion-dollar enterprise. Policies for the NPN should + therefore not only accommodate existing information industry + interests, but anticipate and promote the next generate of + entrepreneurs. + + The diverse needs of these many users will create demand for + thousands of information proprietors on the net, just as there are + thousands of producers of personal computer software today and + thousands of publishers of books and magazines. It should be as easy + to provide an information service as to order a business telephone. + Large and small information providers will probably coexist as they + do in book publishing, where the players range from multi-billion- + dollar international conglomerates to firms whose head office is a + kitchen table. They can coexist because everyone has access to + production and distribution facilities -- printing presses, + typography, and the U.S. mails and delivery services -- on a non- + discriminatory basis. In fact, the sub-commercial print publications + are an ecological breeding ground, through which mainstream authors + and editors rise. No one can guarantee when an application as useful + as the spreadsheet will emerge for the NPN (as it did for personal + computers), but open architecture is the best way for it to happen + and let it spread when it does. + + The PC revolution was brought about without direct public support. + Entrepreneurs risked their investors' capital for the sake of + opportunity. Some succeeded, but many others lost their entire + investment. This is the way of the marketplace. We should take a + much more cautious attitude about the commitment of public monies. + In the absence of proven demand for new applications, government + should not be spending billions of dollars on the creation of + broadband networks. Neither should telephone companies be allowed to + pass on the costs of the NPN in a way which would raise the rates for + ordinary voice telephone service. + + Instead, we should position the NREN to show there is a market for + + + +Kapor [Page 9] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + + network applications. The commercial experiments just beginning on + the Internet provides one source of innovation. Deployment of a + national ISDN platform in the next few years represents another + relatively inexpensive seed bed. As such experiments demonstrate + more of a proven demand for public network services, it should be + possible for the private sector to make the investments to build the + broadband NPN using experience from the NREN. + + At the same time as the NREN is being debated and developed, + telephone companies continue to push at the limits imposed on them by + the "Modification of Final Judgment" (MFJ) of divestiture, the 1982 + anti-trust agreement which split up the Bell system. (14) Under + pressure from the D.C. Court of Appeals, Judge Greene recently lifted + the information services restrictions on the BOCs -- despite the + competitive tension between the telephone companies, cable TV + carriers, and newspapers. Thus, in the next year or so, Congress may + well be forced to define a new set of rules for regulated + telecommunications. (15) Like the AT&T divestiture decision, this + would represent a fundamental shift in national policy with enormous + and unpredictable consequences. + + Many consumer and industry groups are concerned that as the MFJ + restrictions are lifted, the RBOCs will come to dominate the design + of the emerging National Public Network, shaping it more to + accommodate their business goals than the public interest. The + Communications Policy Forum, a coalition of public interest and + industry groups, has recently begun to consider what kinds of + safeguards will be needed to maintain a competitive information + services market that allows RBOC participation. The role that the + RBOCs come to play in the nation's telecommunications infrastructure + is, of course, an issue that must be carefully considered on its own. + But in this context, the NREN represents a critical opportunity to + create a model for what a public network has to offer, free from + commercial pressures. + + With all of the uncertainty that surrounds the RBOCs entry into the + information services market, we should use the NREN to learn how to + develop a network environment where competitive entry is easy enough + that the RBOCs opportunity to engage in anti-competitive behavior + would be minimized. There is evidence that the RBOCs are resisting + attempts to transform the public telephone system into a truly open + public network (16) notwithstanding the FCCs stated intention do + implement Open Network Architecture. (17) But since the NREN + standards and procedures can be designed away from the dominance of + the RBOCs, a fully open network design is within reach. In this + sense the NREN can be a test-bed for "safeguards" against market + abuse just as it is a test ground for new technical standards and + innovative network applications. + + + +Kapor [Page 10] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + + An open platform network model carrier from the NREN to the National + Public Network would actually make some MFJ restrictions less + necessary. Phone companies were originally prohibited from being + information providers because their bottleneck control over the local + exchange hubs gives them an unfair advantage. But on a network in + which the local switch is open to information providers -- because + the platform itself is so rich and well-designed -- creativity and + quality triumph over monopoly power. Instead of restricting + information providers, the National Public Network developers should + encourage the entry of as many new parties as possible. Just as + personal computer companies started in garages and attics, so will + tomorrow's information entrepreneurs, if we give them a chance. + Their prototypes today, small computer networks, electronic + newsletters, and chat lines, are among the most vibrant and + imaginative "publishers" in the world. + +III. Encourage Pricing for Universal Access + + Everyone agrees in the abstract with universal service -- the idea + that any individual who wishes should be able to connect to a + National Public Network. But that's only a platitude unless + accompanied by an inclusive pricing plan. + + The importance of extending universal access to information and + communication resources has been widely recognized: + + In light of the possibilities for new service offerings by the + 21st century, as well as the growing importance of + telecommunications and information services to US economic and + social development, limiting our concept of universal service to + the narrow provision of basic voice telephone service no longer + services the public interest. Added to universal basic telephone + service should be the broader concept of universal opportunity to + access these new technologies and applications. (18) + + The problem of disparate access to information resources has been + recognized in other telecommunications arenas as well. Congressman + Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Chairman of the Subcommittee of + Telecommunications and Finance of the House Energy and Commerce + Committee warns that: + + [i]nformation services are beginning to proliferate. The + challenge before us is how to make them available swiftly to the + largest number of Americans at costs which don't divide the + society into information haves and havenots and in a manner which + does not compromise our adherence to the long-cherished principles + of diversity, competition and common carriage. (19) + + + + +Kapor [Page 11] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + + To address this problem in the long-term, there is legislation now + pending which would broaden the guarantee of universal phone service + to universal access to advanced telecommunications services. Senator + Burns has proposed that the universal service guarantee statement in + the Communications Act of 1934 should be amended to include access to + + a nation-wide, advanced, interactive, interoperable, broadband + communications system available to all people, businesses, + services, organizations, and households..." (20) + + In the near term, the NREN can serve as a laboratory for testing a + variety of pricing and access schemes in order to determine how best + to bring basic network services to large numbers of users. The NREN + platform should facilitate the offering of fee-based services for + individuals. + + Cable TV is one good model: joining a service requires an investment + of $100 for a TV set, which 99% of households already own, about $50 + for a cable hookup, and perhaps $15 per month in basic service. + Anything beyond that, like premium movie channels or pay-per-events + is available at extra cost. Similarly, a carrier providing connection + to the mature National Public Network might charge a one-time startup + fee and then a low fixed monthly rate for access to basic services, + which would include a voice telephone capability. + + Because regulators are concerned about any telephone service that + might cause the price of basic voice service to rise, they are + unwilling to approve new services which don't immediately recover + their own costs. They are concerned that any deficit will be passed + on to consumers in the form of higher charges for standard services. + As a result, telephone companies tend to be very conservative in + estimating the demand for new services. Prices for new services turn + out to be much higher than what would be required for universal + digital service. This is a kind of catch-22, in which lower prices + won't be set until demand goes up, but demand will never go up if + prices aren't low enough. + + Open architecture could help phone companies offer lower rates for + digital services. If opportunities and incentives exist for + information entrepreneurs, they will create the services which will + stimulate demand, increase volume, and create more revenue-generating + traffic for the carriers. In a competitive market, with higher + volumes, lower prices follow. + + + + + + + + +Kapor [Page 12] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + +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. + + "Transparency" is the Holy Grail of software designers. When a + program is perfectly transparent, people forget about the fact that + they are using a computer. The mechanics of the program no longer + intrude on their thoughts. The most successful computer programs are + nearly always transparent: a spreadsheet, for instance, is as self- + evident as a ledger page. Once users grasp a few concepts (like rows, + cells, and formula relationships), they can say to themselves, + "What's in cell A-6?" without feeling that they are using an alien + language. + + Personal computer communications, by contrast, are practically + opaque. Users must be aware of baud rates, parity, duplex, and file + transfer protocols -- all of which a reasonably well-designed network + could handle for them. It's as if, every time you wanted to drive to + the store, you had to open up the hood and adjust the sparkplugs. On + most Internet systems, it's even worse; newcomers find themselves + confronting what John Perry Barlow calls a "savage user interface." + Messages bounce, conferencing commands are confusing, headers look + like gibberish, none of it is documented, and nobody seems to care. + The excitement about being part of an extended community quickly + vanishes. On a National Public Network, this invites failure. People + without the time to invest in learning arcane commands would simply + not participate. The network would become needlessly exclusionary. + + Part of the NREN goal of "expand[ing] the number of researchers, + educators, and students with ... access to high performance computing + resources" (21) is to make all network applications easy-to-use. As + the experience of the personal computer industry has shown, the only + way to bring information resources to large numbers of people is with + simple, easy-to-learn tools. The NREN can be a place where various + approaches to user-friendly networks are tested and evaluated. + + Technically trained people are not troglodytes; they approve of + human-oriented design, even as they manage to use the network today + without it. For years, leaders within the Internet community have + been taking steps to improve ease of use on the network. But the + training of the technical community as a whole has given them little + practice making their digital artifacts appropriate for non-technical + consumption. Nor are they often rewarded for doing so. To a phone + company engineer designing a new high-speed telephone switch, or to a + computer scientist pushing the limits of a data compression + algorithm, the notion of making electronic mail as simple as fax + + + +Kapor [Page 13] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + + machine may make sense, but it also feels like someone else's job. + Being technically minded themselves, they feel comfortable with the + specialized software they use and seldom empathize with the neophyte. + The result is a proliferation of arcane, clumsy tools in both + hardware and software, defended by the cognoscenti: "I use the "vi" + editor all the time -- why would anyone have trouble with it?" + + If we have the vision and commitment to try this, the transformation + of the network frontier from wilderness to civilization need not + display the brutality of 19th century imperialism. As commercial + opportunities to offer applications and services develop, + entrepreneurs will discover that ease of use sells. The normal, + sometimes slow, play of competitive markets should cause industry to + commit the resources to serve the market by making access more + transparent. But at the start transparency will need deliberate + encouragement -- if only to overcome the inertia of old habits. + +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. Use + the NREN as a test-bed for a variety of information presentation and + exchange standards on the road towards an internationally-accepted + set of standards for the National Public Network. + + Standards -- the internal language of networks -- are arranged in a + series of layers. The lower levels detail how the networks' + subterranean "wiring" and "plumbing" is managed. Well-developed sets + of lower-level standards such as TCP/IP are in wide use and continue + to be refined and extended, but these alone are not sufficient. The + uppermost layers contain specifications such as how text appears on + the screen and the components of which documents are composed. These + are the kinds of concerns which are directly relevant to users who + wish to communicate. Recently independent efforts to develop high- + level standards for document formats have begun, but these projects + are not yet being integrated into computer networks. + + Today, for example, the only common standard for computer text is the + American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII). But + ASCII is inadequate; it ignores fonts, type styles (like boldface and + italics), footnotes, headers, and other formats which people + regularly use. Each word processing program codes these formats + differently, and there is still no intermediary language that can + accommodate all of them. The National Public Network will need such a + language to transcend the visual poverty and monotony of today's + telecommunicated information. It will also need additional standards + beyond what have been developed for message addresses and headers, a + + + +Kapor [Page 14] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + + common set of directories (the equivalent of the familiar white pages + and yellow pages directories), common specifications for coding and + decoding images, and standards for other major services. + + Congress has provided that the National Institute of Standards and + Technology + + shall adopt standards and guidelines ... for the interoperability + of high-performance computers in networks and for common user + interfaces to systems. (22) + + As the implementation of the NREN moves forward, we must ensure that + standards development remains both a public and private priority. + Failure to make a commitment to an environment with robust standards + would be "the beginning of a Tower of Babel that we can ill afford." + (23) Since current standards are so inadequate to the demands of + users: + + We ... need to endow the NII [National Information Infrastructure] + with a set of widely understood common communication conventions. + Moreover, these conventions should be based on concepts that make + life easier for us humans, rather than for our computer servants. + (24) The development of standards is vital, not just because it + helps ensure an open platform for information providers; it also + makes the network easier to use. + +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. + + Common carriers are companies which provide conduit services for the + general public. They include railroads, trucking companies, and + airlines as well as telecommunications firms. A communications + common carrier, such as a telephone company is required to provide + its services on a non-discriminatory basis. It has no liability for + the content of any transmission. A telephone company does not concern + itself with the content of a phone call. Neither can it arbitrarily + deny service to anyone. (25) The common carrier's duties have + evolved over hundreds of years in the common law and later statutory + provisions. The rules governing their conduct can be roughly + distilled in a few basic principles. (26) Common carriers have a + duty to: + + o provide services in a non-discriminatory manner at a fair + + + +Kapor [Page 15] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + + price + o interconnect with other carriers + o provide adequate services + + The carriers of the NREN and the National Public Network, whether + telephone companies, cable television companies, or other firms + should be treated in a similar fashion. (27) + + Unlike many other countries, our communications infrastructure is + owned by private corporations instead of by the government. Given + Congress' plan to build the NREN with services from privately-owned + carriers, a legislatively-imposed duty of common carriage is + necessary to protect free expression effectively. As Professor Eli + Noam, a former New York State Public Utility Commissioner, explains: + + [C]ommon carriage is the practical analog to [the] First Amendment + for electronic speech over privately-owned networks, where the + First Amendment does not necessarily govern directly. (28) + + To foster free expression and move the national communications + infrastructure toward a full common carrier regime, all NREN carriers + should be subject to common carriage obligations. Given that the + NREN is designed to promote the development of science, ensuring free + expression is especially important. As on academic said: + + I share with many researchers strong belief that much of the power + of science (whether practiced by scientists, engineers, or + clinical researchers) derives from the steadfast commitment to + free and unfettered communication of information and knowledge. + (29) + + A telecommunications providers under a common carrier obligation + would have to carry any legal message regardless of its content + whether it is voice, data, images, or sound. For example, if full + common carrier protections were in place for all of the conduit + services offered by the phone company, the terminations of + "controversial" 900 services such as political fundraising would not + be allowed, just as the phone company is now prohibited by the + Communications Act from discriminating in the provision of basic + telephone services. (30) Neither BOCs not IXCs would be allowed to + terminate service because of anticipated harm to their "corporate + image." Though providers of 900 information services did have their + freedom of expression abridged by the BOC/IXC action, First Amendment + protection was not available to them because there was no state + action underlying the termination. + + As important as common carriage is to the NPN, it is equally + important that it be implemented in such a way as to avoid sinking + + + +Kapor [Page 16] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + + the carriers of these new networks into the same regulatory gridlock + that characterizes much of telecommunications regulation. (31) This + would have a crippling effect of the pace of innovation and is to be + avoided. The controlled environment of the NREN should be taken + advantage of to experiment with various open access, common carriage + rules and enforcement mechanisms to seek regulatory alternatives + other than what has evolved in the public telephone system + + Along with promoting free expression, common carriage rules are + important for ensuring a competitive market in information services + on the National Public Network. Our society supports the publication + of many thousands of periodicals and fifty thousand of new books a + year as well as countless brochures, mailings, and other printed + communications. Historically, the expense of producing + professional-quality video programming has been a barrier to the + creation of similar diversity in video. Now the same advances in + computing which created desktop publishing are delivering "desktop + video" which will make it affordable for the smallest business, + agency, or group to create video consumables. The NPN must + incorporate a distribution system of individual choice for the video + explosion. + + If the cable company wants to offer a package of program channels, it + should be free to do so. But so should anyone else. There will + continue to be major demand for mass market video entertainment, but + the vision of the NPN should not be limited to this form of content. + Anyone who wishes to offer services to the public should be + guaranteed access over the same fiber optic cable under the principle + of common carriage. From this access will come the entrepreneurial + innovation, and this innovation will create the new forms of media + that exploit the interactive, multimedia capabilities of the NPN. + +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 and study + their effectiveness for a variety of communications needs. + + Technologies have been developed over the past 20 years which allow + people to safeguard their own privacy. One tool is public-key + encryption, in which an "encoding" key is published freely, while the + "decoder" is kept secret. People who wish to receive encrypted + information give out their public key, which senders use to encrypt + messages. Only the possessor of the private key has the ability to + decipher the meaning. + + The privacy of telephone conversations and electronic mail is already + + + +Kapor [Page 17] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + + protected by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. (32) Without + a valid court order, for example, wiretaps of phone conversations are + illegal and private messages are inadmissible in court. Legal + guarantees are not enough, however. Although it is technically + illegal to listen in on cellular telephone conversations, as a + practical matter the law is unenforceable. Imported scanners capable + of receiving all 850 cellular channels are widely available through + the gray market. + + Cellular telephone transmissions are carried on radio waves which + travel through the open air. The ECPA provision which makes it + illegal to eavesdrop on a cellular call is the wrong means to the + right end. It sets a dangerous precedent in which, for the first + time, citizens are denied the right to listen to open air + transmissions. In this case, technology provides a better solution. + Privacy protection would be greatly enhanced if public-key encryption + technology were built into the entire range of digital devices, from + telephones to computers. (33) The best way to secure the privacy and + confidentiality Americans say they want is through a combination of + legal and technical methods. + + As a system over which not only information but also money will be + transferred, the National Public Network will have enormous potential + for privacy abuse. Some of the dangers could be forestalled now by + building in provisions for security from the beginning. + +Conclusion + + The chance to influence the shape of a new medium usually arrives + when it is too late: when the medium is frozen in place. Today, + because of the gradual evolution of the National Public Network, and + the unusual awareness people have of its possibilities, there is a + rare opportunity to shape this new medium in the public interest, + without sacrificing diversity or financial return. As with personal + computers, the public interest is also the route to maximum + profitability for nearly all participants in the long run. + + The major obstacle is obscurity: technical telecommunications issues + are so complex that people don't realize their importance to human + and political relationships. But be this as it may, these issues are + of paramount importance to the future of this society. Decisions and + plans for the NPN are too crucial to be left to special interests. + If we act now to be inclusive rather than exclusive in the design of + the NPN we can create an open and free electronic community in + America. To fail to do so, and to lose this opportunity, would be + tragic. + + + + + +Kapor [Page 18] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + +End Notes + + 1. High Performance Computing and Communications Act of 1991, H.R + 656, S.272 section 2(6). + + 2. High-Performance Computing And Communications Act of 1991: + Hearing before the Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space of + the Senate Comm. on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 102nd + Cong., 1st Sess. 1 (1991)(Opening Statement by Senator + Gore)(hereinafter 1991 Senate NREN Hearing). + + 3. 1991 Senate NREN Hearing 101, 103 (Statement of the Association + of Research Libraries). + + 4. 1991 Senate NREN Hearing 99 (Statement of Dr. Kenneth M. King, + President, EDUCOM). + + 5. S.272 (Commerce-Energy compromise) section 102(e) + + 6. Michael M. Roberts, Positioning the National Research and + Education Network. EDUCOM Magazine 13 (Summer 1991). + + 7. 1991 Senate NREN Hearing 1 (Opening statement of Sen. Gore). + + 8. Details of the visions vary in their content and expression. + Senator Gore's bill mandates that federal agencies will serve as + information providers, side by side with commercial services, making + (for instance) government-created information available to the public + over the network. Individuals will gain "access to supercomputers, + computer data bases, other research facilities, and libraries." (Gore + imagines junior high school students dialing in to the Library of + Congress to look up facts for a term paper.) Apple CEO John Sculley + has predicted that "knowledge navigators" will use personal computers + to travel through realms of virtual information via public digital + networks. + + Such visions are powerful, but they sometimes seem too much like + sales tools; too vague and overconfident to set direction for + research. People often infer from the Apple's "knowledge navigator" + videotape, for instance, that human-equivalent computer speech + recognition is just around the corner; but in truth, it still + requires fundamental research breakthroughs. Network users will still + need keyboards or pointing devices for many years. Nor will the + network be able (as some have suggested) to translate automatically + between languages. (It will allow translators to work more + effectively, posting their work online.) + + 9. M. Dertouzos, Building the Information Marketplace, Technology + + + +Kapor [Page 19] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + + Review 29, 30 (January 1991). + + 10. See FCC Hearing on "Networks of the Future" (Testimony of M. + Kapor)(May 1, 1991). + + 11. J. Berman, Democratizing the Electronic Frontier, Keynote + Address, Third Annual Hawaii Information Network and Technology + Symposium, June 5, 1991. + + 12. S.272, section 5(d). This section continues: "(1) to the maximum + extent possible, operating facilities need for the Network should be + procured on a competitive basis from private industry; (2) Federal + agencies shall promote research and development leading to deployment + of commercial data communications and telecommunications standards; + and (3) the Network shall be phased into commercial operation as + commercial networks can meet the needs of American researchers and + educators." + + 13. The distinction between strong support for interoperability and + something less is illustrated in the NREN compromise debate occurring + as this paper is being written. The bill from the Senate Commerce + Committee (S.272) calls for "interoperability among computer + networks," section 701(a)(6)(A), while the compromise currently being + discussed with the Energy Committee adopts a more watered down goal + of "software availability, productivity, capability, portability." + section 701(a)(3)(B). + + 14. 552 F.Supp 151 (D.D.C. 1982)(Greene, J.). The MFJ restrictions + barred the BOCs from providing long distance services, from + manufacturing telephone equipment, and from providing information + services. + + 15. The Senate, under the leadership of Sen. Hollings, has just + recently voted to lift the manufacturing restrictions against the + BOCs contained in the MFJ. + + 16. In The Matter of Advanced Intelligent Network, Petition for + Investigation, filed by Coalition of Open Network Architecture + Parties (November 16, 1990). + + 17. Amendment of Sections 64.702 of the Commission's Rules and + Regulations, 104 FCC 2d 958 (COMPUTER III), vacated sub nom, + California v. FCC (9th Cir. 1990). + + 18. NTIA Telecomm 2000 at 79. + + 19. Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on + Telecommunications and Finance, Hearings on Modified Final Judgment, + + + +Kapor [Page 20] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + + 101st Cong., 1st Sess., 1-2 (May 4, 1989). + + 20. Communications Competitiveness and Infrastructure Modernization + Act of 1991, S. 1200, Title I, Amending Communications Act section 1, + 47 USC 151. + + 21. S.272, section 2(b)(1)(B). + + 22. S.272 Commerce-Energy Compromise section 203(a). + + 23. 1991 Senate NREN Hearing at 32 (Statement of Hon. D. Allan + Bromley, Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy). + + 24. M. Dertouzos at 31. + + 25. See 47 USC section 201. + + 26. See ACLU Information Technology Project, Report to the American + Civil Liberties Board from the Communications Media Committee to + Accompany Proposed Policy Relating To Civil Liberties Goals and + Requirements of the United States Communications Media + Infrastructure. (Draft, July 15, 1991) [hereinafter, ACLU Report]. + "Non-discriminatory access to new communications systems must be + guaranteed not simply because it is the economically efficient thing + to do, but more importantly because it is the only way to ensure that + freedom of expression is preserved in the Information Age." + + 27. Though common carriage principles have historically been applied + to telephone and telegraph systems, the preservation of First + Amendment values of free expression and free press was not the + motivating factor. Professor de Sola Pool notes that telephone and + telegraph systems inherited their common carrier obligations not so + much out of First Amendment concerns, but in order to promote + commerce. The more appropriate model to look to in extending First + Amendment values to new communications technologies is the mails. As + reflected in the post clause, empowering Congress to "establish post + offices and post roads," the Constitutional drafters felt that + creation of a robust postal system was vital in order to ensure free + expression and healthy political debate. As Sen. John Calhoun said + in 1817: + + Let us conquer space. It is thus that . . . a citizen of the West + will read the news of Boston still moist from the press. The mail + and the press are the nerves of the body politic. + + Non-discriminatory access to the mails has been secured by the + Supreme Court as a vital extension of First Amendment expression. In + a dissent which is now reflective of current law, Justice Holmes + + + +Kapor [Page 21] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + + argued that + + [t]he United States may give up the Post Office when it sees fit, + but while it carries it on the use of the mails is almost as much + a part of free speech as the right to use our tongues. (Milwaukee + Social Democratic Publishing Co. v. Burleson, 255 US 407 (1921) + (Holmes, J., dissenting)(emphasis added). This principle was + finally affirmed in Hannegan v. Esquire, 327 US 146 (1945) (cited + in de Sola Pool). + + See de Sola Pool, Technologies of Freedom 77-107. + + 28. E. Noam, FCC Hearing "Networks of the Future" (May 1, 1991). + + 29. 1991 Senate NREN Hearing at 52 (Statement of Donald Langenberg, + Chancellor of the University of Maryland System). + + 30. 47 USC section 201. Following much controversy about obscene or + indecent dial-a-message services, a number of BOCs and interexchange + carriers (IXCs, ie. MCI, Sprint, etc.) have adopted policies which + limit the kinds of information services for which they will provide + billing and collection services. Recently, some carriers have gone + so far as to refuse to carry the services at all, even if the service + handles its own billing. See ACLU Report. + + 31. See J. Berman & W. Miller, Communications Policy Overview 14-24, + Communications Policy Forum (April 1991). + + 32. Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, 18 USC 2510 et + seq. See also J. Berman & J. Goldman, A Federal Right of Information + Privacy: The Need for Reform, Benton Foundation Project on + Communications & Information Policy Options (1989). + + 33. See Statement In Support Of Communications Privacy, following + 1991 Cryptography and Privacy Conference, sponsored by Electronic + Frontier Foundation, Computer Professionals for Social + Responsibility, and RSA Software. (June 10, 1990). + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Kapor [Page 22] + +RFC 1259 Building The Open Road September 1991 + + +Security Considerations + + Security issues are not discussed in this memo. + +Author's Address + + Mitchell Kapor + Electronic Frontier Foundation + 155 Second Street + Cambridge, MA 02142 + + Phone: (617) 864-1550 + + EMail: mkapor@eff.org + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +Kapor [Page 23] +
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