The Role of the Government in the Internet and Its Implications for Technology Policy

Abstract

As the steam engine marked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, or Second Wave, the computer signified the beginning of an Information Revolution, or “Third Wave.” The development of the computer and the technologies that followed signaled a fundamental change in our society: Unlike conventional media, modern technology allows for the conversion of messages into electronic “bytes” of information – the language of computers. This breakthrough has been compared to another technological revolution of more than 500 years ago: the invention of moveable type. Soon thereafter, computers began to be linked together, and an inter-network developed where information could be shared between different computers in different locations. This network evolved into what we call today the Internet. The Internet has created a world today that is fundamentally different than the society of 20 years ago. Online reading rooms have supplemented libraries and bookstores. The suburban shopping mall is now augmented by the online shopping mall. Communication, once by mail or phone, has now taken on electronic forms – email, voice, and video communications – all online. Listening to distant radio stations or watching television are also new capabilities of the Internet.However, the creation and development of the Internet was no accident of history. In large part, the Internet was created and developed by the sponsorship of the United States government. In response to the Soviet Sputnik launch in 1957, the Department of Defense created the Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which in turn set out to create a secure voice communications network that would survive nuclear attack. Through research sponsored DARPA, computer engineers developed not a voice, but a computer network – a decentralized communications network that could operate without a hub (ARPANET).The government has also been responsible for the development and evolution of the Internet. Because ARPANET was restricted to defense-related networking, the government also worked to establish other related networks through the National Science Foundation (NSFNET), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NSINET), and the Department of Energy (ESNET). By the 1990s though, the government began to reduce subsidies to these nets and eventually turned their control over to commercial operators. The result is that, today, we have arrived an intersection that will seek to define the future of the Internet. The larger picture concerns the role of the government in the development of technology and how it helps to foster innovation and invention. Focusing on the Internet, the central questions are these: (1) What was the government’s role in the creation and development of the Internet? (2) What was the effect of this policy? (3) What should the role of the government be for the future of the Internet and its evolution?The government's role in the future will likely be based on three general themes: providing leadership and vision, balancing interests and airing competing perspectives, and influencing the shape of the information infrastructure. By using five approaches or political-economic strategy camps by which each theme can be properly evaluated, this paper will seek to evaluate a series of policy options.It is the thesis of this paper that the ability of the government to adapt its technology policies to changing circumstances has been the most important factor in the creation, development and evolution of the Internet; furthermore, this remains the key factor in influencing the future of the Internet and the National Information Infrastructure (in essence, the government's role has been as an enabler). Policymakers must recognize the circumstances that precipitate changes and the results that accompany them. In turn, the government must recognize that market forces and the private sector have become the driving forces behind the Internet and the National Information Infrastructure. Nevertheless, policymakers ought to work to create public-private partnerships to help deal with issues such as standards, coordination, and regulations. Moreover, government investment in basic research and development still remains the cornerstone behind new technology and innovation. Finally, the example of the government as an enabler of the Internet provides important implications for federal technology policy. I believe there are three areas the federal government ought to pursue in a general technology policy: investment in basic research, infrastructure investment, and human resources development.