MIT Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science

E E C S

Putting Information Infrastructure on The Technology Curve

David L. Tennenhouse
Sloan School and LCS, MIT

Monday, October 30, 1995
4:00 PM (3:30 refreshments)
Edgerton Hall, Room 34-101
EECS Colloquium

Abstract

The present debate concerning the National Information Infrastructure (NII) has focused primarily on competition. However, few seem to wonder why competition has only recently re-emerged within the telecommunications sector. The fundamental enabler is the digitization, and more recently, the software-based virtualization of the underlying infrastructure.

This talk will offer a broader vision of what it would mean for the NII to take full advantage of the digital paradigm. I will present a taxonomy of alternative infrastructure organizations and show how the currently popular convergence approach could lead right back to a regulated monopoly. Fortunately, the technology curve and the basic properties of digitized information favor a different arrangement - one that is competitive, generic and decoupled (CGD). I will explore several technical and policy issues associated with such an arrangement, especially those related to the decoupling of content and carriage. Some of these issues, especially those rooted in the declining cost of software-based functionality, suggest major changes in our attitudes to system design, heterogeneity, and standards.

URL of this page: http://www-eecs.mit.edu/AY95-96/events/11.html
Created: Oct 11, 1995 | Modified: Jun 25, 1997
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