Agenda for Action in the UK:  Continued

APPENDIX 3

Invitation to submit evidence

The Sub-Committee invite written submissions on matters of relevance to this topic, but in particular on the questions listed below.

Note: For the purposes of this enquiry the term "Information Superhighway" has been taken to mean a publicly accessible network capable of transferring large amounts of information at high speed between users.

1. What is the current form of the "Information Superhighway", and how is it developing (i) in the United Kingdom and (ii) worldwide? What specific problems arise from incompatible network standards and why are these incompatibilities arising?

2. What services are being provided, and should be developed/will be required, within for example the following areas:

    (i)
    (ii)
    (iii)
    (iv)
    (v)
    (vi)
    (vii)
    (viii)    		 public information,
    commerce,
    finance,
    education,
    industrial training,
    health,
    social services, and
    entertainment?

3. Who will supply these services to consumers in the United Kingdom? How can the participating companies be categorised and what is the nature of the commercial relationships between them? How are suppliers likely to develop? What service standards exist and how are they likely to evolve?

4. How can universal access to services provided for the common good be secured within a commercially competitive market framework?

5. What is the role of central Government in connection with the "Information Superhighway" service provision, including the following areas:

    (i)
    (ii)
    (iii)
    (iv)
    (v)
    (vi)
    (vii)
    (viii)
    (ix)    		 leadership;
    promoting inward investment;
    promoting and safeguarding the interests of UK firms worldwide;
    promoting network compatibility;
    access to Government information;
    security of payment;
    data protection, confidentiality and censorship;
    verification of information; and
    promoting the development of UK-orientated software?

6. What is the role of local and regional Government in connection with the "Information Superhighway"? How can new services be used to boost (a) the ongoing regeneration of urban areas, (b) other local economies?

7. What will be the impact of the "Information Superhighway" on working practices and employment prospects?

8. Is the dominance of mass-market US software a threat or an opportunity? What hard commercial initiatives can be made (as opposed to "collaborative" ventures such as RACE or ESPRIT) to respond to this dominance?

 

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