Communications Policy and Information Technology

New technologies, although developed with optimism, often fall short of
their predicted potential and create new problems. Communications technologies are
no different. Their utopian proponents claim that universal access to advanced
communications technologies can help to feed the hungry, cure the sick, educate the
illiterate, improve the global standard of living, and ultimately bring about world
peace. The sobering reality is that while communications technologies have a role to
play in making the world a better place, the impact of any specific technological
advance is likely to be modest.The limitations of new technologies are often not
inherent in the technologies themselves but the result of regulatory or economic
constraints. While the capability may exist to deliver any information anywhere in
the world, many people lack the money to pay for it, the equipment to access it, the
skills to use it, or even the knowledge that it might be useful to them. This book
examines the complex ways in which communication technologies and policies affect
the people whose lives they are intended to improve. The areas of discussion include
Internet regulation, electronic voting and petitioning, monopoly and competition in
communications markets, the future of wireless communications, and the concept of
universal service.