March 9, 1994
Will it be too expensive for ordinary people to travel through the electronic lanes of the upcoming information highway?
That’s the concern of members of the county’s new telecommunications consortium, who believe that in the 21st century, when interactive media is expected to be the gateway for businesses, shoppers, students and working professionals, too many poor They fear that people who cannot afford to buy computers or pay access fees will be effectively locked out. Scholar.
By the turn of the century, computers would also become the primary means of accessing government meetings, services, and records. Being locked out may mean that the average citizen is prohibited from participating in government.
This issue is sure to spark a heated debate about how much of the information highway should be open to everyone. Where does universal access end and free enterprise begin?
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As local business and government leaders begin serious discussions about building on-ramps to the Information Highway, Nynex, the telephone company that serves much of Cayuga County, plans to build highway branches in New York and New England. We are currently in the process of expanding.
As NYNEX moves forward with plans to connect clearinghouses, lawmakers and judges are still grappling with the policies and precedents that will become the rules of the road. A NYNEX spokesperson said decisions made in Washington, D.C., Albany or other states will directly impact when or whether the phone company begins providing Cayuga County with access to high-tech highways. He said he would give it.
