Eight Scenarios of National Information Superhighway Development

Abstract

Leading industrialized nations are now involved in the full implementation of national information superhighways. Their efforts will depend largely on the roles and levels of involvement of public institutions and how this is perceived and reacted to by the private sector. Through the evolution of eight scenarios of public institution involvement, this paper extrapolates the consequences that each brings about in the development of a national information superhighway. In particular, this paper examines the consequences of the development of an information superhighway for the UK within the context of each scenario and draws comparisons with developments in other countries. Contrary to popular belief, we show that there is no full solution for the shortcomings experienced in the development of the UK's information superhighway; rather, each scenario offers solutions for a subset of the shortcomings.