Building state information highways: lessons for public and private sector leaders

Abstract

In America’s state houses small yet powerful collections of policy leaders, in the public and private sector, are guiding the initial conception and early implementation of advanced communication networks. This article investigates how the beliefs of leading actors collide to produce two distinctive state networks. Rather than focus exclusively on the simple dichotomous “yes” or “no” decision regarding the adoption or nonadoption of an advanced telecommunications system, like a statewide information highway, this article focuses on the critical role of debate imbedded within that decision. Analysis and presentation of interviews and extensive literature reviews of the development of information highways, in North Carolina and Iowa, provide the setting for the generation of hypotheses suggesting the future trajectory of technology policymaking. While praised for their bold, visionary leadership and innovative system designs, the accounts of network development in these two American states also provide a cautionary tale for other subnational governments and for private sector telecommunications firms interested in the business of building public sector information highways.