On the Internet anyone can be an information provider or an information
consumer. On the Information SuperHighway most people will be relegated
to the role of information consumer.
Because services like "movies-on-demand" will drive the technological
development of the Information SuperHighway, movies' need for high
bandwidth into the home and only narrow bandwidth coming back out will
likely dominate. (see Besser, Howard. "Movies on Demand May Significantly
Change the Internet", Bulletin of the American Association for Information
Science, October 1994) Metaphorically, this will be like a ten-lane
highway coming into the home and only a tiny path leading back out
(just wide enough to take a credit card number or to answer multiple-choice
questions).
This kind of asymmetrical design implies that only a limited number of
sites will have the capability of outputting large volumes of bandwidth
onto the Information SuperHighway. If such a configuration becomes
prevalent, this is likely to have several far-reaching results. It will
inevitably lead to some form of gatekeeping. Managers of those sites will
control all high-volume material that can be accessed. And for reasons of
scarcity, politics, taste, or personal/corporate preference, they will
make decisions on a regular basis as to what material will be made
accessible and what will not. This kind of model resembles broadcast or
cable television much more so than it does today's Internet.<
The scarcity of outbound bandwidth will discourage individuals and small
groups from becoming information producers, and will further solidify
their role as information consumers. "Interactivity" will be defined as
responding to multiple-choice questions and entering credit card numbers
onto a keypad. It should come as no surprise that some of the major players
trying to build the Information SuperHighway are those who introduced
televised "home shopping".
consumer. On the Information SuperHighway most people will be relegated
to the role of information consumer.
Because services like "movies-on-demand" will drive the technological
development of the Information SuperHighway, movies' need for high
bandwidth into the home and only narrow bandwidth coming back out will
likely dominate. (see Besser, Howard. "Movies on Demand May Significantly
Change the Internet", Bulletin of the American Association for Information
Science, October 1994) Metaphorically, this will be like a ten-lane
highway coming into the home and only a tiny path leading back out
(just wide enough to take a credit card number or to answer multiple-choice
questions).
This kind of asymmetrical design implies that only a limited number of
sites will have the capability of outputting large volumes of bandwidth
onto the Information SuperHighway. If such a configuration becomes
prevalent, this is likely to have several far-reaching results. It will
inevitably lead to some form of gatekeeping. Managers of those sites will
control all high-volume material that can be accessed. And for reasons of
scarcity, politics, taste, or personal/corporate preference, they will
make decisions on a regular basis as to what material will be made
accessible and what will not. This kind of model resembles broadcast or
cable television much more so than it does today's Internet.<
The scarcity of outbound bandwidth will discourage individuals and small
groups from becoming information producers, and will further solidify
their role as information consumers. "Interactivity" will be defined as
responding to multiple-choice questions and entering credit card numbers
onto a keypad. It should come as no surprise that some of the major players
trying to build the Information SuperHighway are those who introduced
televised "home shopping".