Source
Automatically imported from: http://commons.somewhere.com:80/rre/1997/Universal.Service.New.Co.html
Content
This web service brought to you by Somewhere.Com, LLC.
Universal Service: New Conceptions for a New Age
``` ---
This message was forwarded through the Red Rock Eater News Service (RRE). Send any replies to the original author, listed in the From: field below. You are welcome to send the message along to others but please do not use the "redirect" command. For information on RRE, including instructions for (un)subscribing, send an empty message to rre-help@weber.ucsd.edu
---
Date: Thu, 2 Oct 1997 09:58:39 -0600 From: hsawhney@indiana.edu (Harmeet Sawhney) Subject: Call for Papers
[...]
---
CALL FOR PAPERS Universal Service: New Conceptions for a New Age A Special Issue of The Information Society (An International Journal) Edited by Harmeet Sawhney Indiana University, Bloomington
There is a new wave of innovation in telecommunications services, including information services on computer networks and wireless telephony. Discussions of who will be served by these services -- especially computer networks (and the Internet) have raised new questions and analyses of universal service.
The meanings of universal telephone service have changed over time. As Mueller points out, when Theodore Vail, the architect of the Bell System, first talked about universal service he did not harbor any egalitarian notions of extending telephone service to everyone. He was merely advocating the creation of a "universal" integrated system which would allow any subscriber to talk to any other and thereby eliminate one of the biggest problems of the day -- lack of interconnection between fragmented networks owned by competing companies. The universal service idea has evolved in an interesting way since then.
In the 1970s, the Bell System started justifying its monopoly against the competitive inroads of MCI and others in the U.S. by arguing that the preservation of an integrated system was essential for that of universal service -- provision of telephone service to everyone. Even so, young low-income families constitute a major portion of the 3.5 million households without telephones in the U.S.
Now as more advanced services, such as Internet access and cellular phones become commonplace among the U.S. middle class, what should universal service mean?
Before the divestiture of AT&T in 1984, universal service, for the most part, was a quasi-technical issue handled by a small group of technocrats far removed from the public eye. Today, it is a central issue in a highly charged public policy debate. Not only are there many more voices yearning to be heard, but also the choices offered by technological developments have greatly increased. Therefore, it is widely accepted that the concept of universal service developed during the POTS era is no longer relevant, and it needs to be reformulated for a radically different environment characterized by telephone-computer convergence. However, divergent voices and technological uncertainties have stymied any sustained movement in a new direction.
What we need are new frameworks which cut through the clutter and provide conceptual clarity for an issue that beckons sagacious choices. This special issue of TIS aims to advance discussion by calling for papers which help us conceptualize universal service in new ways. Since the very purpose of this issue is to foster innovative ideas which break the traditional mold, we do not specify the topics in advance. The questions mentioned below are provided to give you a flavor of what we have in mind rather than to curtail your own imagination.
Is our thinking too dominated by the wireline telephony model? What would universal service mean when wireless phones (cellular, PCS, and satellite) are as common as transistor radios? Would broadcasting or even post office provide a more appropriate framework for thinking about universal service? Are universal service policies too narrowly focused on subsidies which inevitably dampen innovations by artificially lowering the cost of an entrenched technology? Should their scope be expanded to include initiatives for the development of cost reducing technological alternatives? How about a hypothetical Universal Service Foundation that awards grants for such efforts?
Should the concept of universal service which has been rooted in telephony be broadened to include other media? Do we need to develop a vocabulary which goes beyond local loops, cross subsidies, and other telephony-based concepts? Would it be possible to develop a framework that looks at the question of universal service independent of any particular media? Should the concept of universal service also include access to information? If yes, how can we "ration" information when it is so context dependent? Should we in general move away from a prescriptive mode of thinking where experts decide what should be provided to one where the intended beneficiaries of universal service policies make their own selections according to their needs?
Should we abandon the notion of an overarching framework for everyone? Would it be better to develop context sensitive micro-solutions for specific population groups such as rural population, the urban poor, the elderly, and people with disabilities? Does universal service have to be uniform service to everybody? Do we need one framework or multiple frameworks?
We are open to ideas that provide new insights in a conceptually powerful way. Papers from diverse research traditions -- social science, cultural studies, or legal research -- which employ either quantitative or qualitative methodologies are welcome.
Authors are invited to nominate up to four reviewers who are knowledgeable about the topic (authors, however, should avoid any nominations that involve a conflict of interest). Nominations should include: name, complete address, telephone, fax, and electronic mail address.
FIVE COPIES OF THE PAPER PREPARED ACCORDING TO THE TIS GUIDELINES SHOULD BE SUBMITTED BY MARCH 15, 1998.
We encourage prospective authors to become familiar with TIS and to discuss possible articles with the Special Issue editor. Manuscript guidelines and a list of the titles and abstracts of articles published in TIS can be found on the journal's web site: http://www.slis.indiana.edu/TIS
Please send your manuscript to:
Harmeet Sawhney Dept. of Telecommunications Indiana University Bloomington, IN 47405
ph: (812) 855 - 0954 fax: (812) 855 - 7955 e-mail: hsawhney@indiana.edu
Feel free to correspond with the special issue editor if you have any questions or are planning to submit an article.
---
The Information Society is a quarterly, refereed journal devoted to studies of information technology and social change, information policy, and related topics and is edited by Rob Kling of Indiana University. Please see the journal's WWW site at http://www.slis.indiana.edu/TIS to learn more about the journal's scope and recent issues. ```
This web service brought to you by Somewhere.Com, LLC.