European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 29, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Doily Magazine fundamental in the Way out americans communicate Are forcing us Federal government to Matte polity def Slaw Thiu could the fortunes of the nations largest communication organizations end the lives of most the pending decisions the cartel1 congrats and the Federal communications commission valve Complex balancing of Nieh questions As the competing i rights of Large the possible demise of the list postal delicate diplomatic negotiations Over the use of the air by individual nations and the importance of privacy to individual the comm unction an expected to transform toe Way that Many americans conduct Belr Bow they tend written pay their talk to Isdr pm Belr obtain medical care and receive news and other Inlo Matlon i their according to interviews with scores of communication experts and reports by dozens of different commissions and some of the most difficult questions awaiting Resolution arc How is the Carter administration going to shape the executive Branch agencies under its control to Deal with communications issues at according to several Carter is to abolish the House office and Batter its functions among a few presidential assistants and the Commerce department a Congress follow the Lead of the House communications subcommittee and attempt a total revision of the com Nonic Alonsi act of us Basic framework for regulation of Alt communications in the United slates and a document that Many experts contend has been largely outmoded and is now Stow ing the application of the most advanced technologies should the Federal communications commission continue its policy of gradually subjecting the american Tele phone and Telegraph to increasing Competition in the Sale of specific kinds of Telephone equipment and communication services t should Congress Grant the postal service a Legal monopoly on electronic mail Simitar to the one it enjoys with conventional mail in the Hope that such an Extension could subsidize the Sag Ging fortunes of the postal service and guarantee the continuation of first class mail Deuce in or should electronic the be operated by private Industry should there be a single Clearing House within the Federal government to serve As a highly efficient Central switching Point for the steadily increasing volume of financial transactions completed by and or would such a Clearing House pose a threat to individual Liberty now has the potential to change the Way americans live More than any other sector of the american said one while House staff offi according to Marc Voland til the a Ujj Tate tar Vyr  economist now working with the Aspen More than halt of the wages paid in the United states and nearly half of the nations trillion Gross National product originate with the processing and distribution of information goods a Ltd in recent Porat argued that while information occupations counted for Only 10 per cent of the work Force at the turn of the they now represent per cent of All jobs in the United beyond the new technologies raise difficult social the development of electronic systems for the Transfer of in which Cash and checks Are replaced by blips on a compute has been made possible by the Avail ability of increasingly cheap and reliable computers in insurance companies and retail the growth of relatively Small electronic funds systems has suggested the need for a National Clearinghouse where All such transactions could be sorted out Anil the Federal Reserve for exam recently experimental project in which its customary role As a Clearing House for Banks was broadened to include the handling of Lapes carrying transactions of individual electronic fund last then acting director of us while House office of Tele the Federal Reserve plan on the ground Hal u might one Day be used to bulk centralized government files on the buying habits and movements of individual the Federal Reserve Eger cooed five lede Raj government a highly effective tool for keeping track of people Aaden fordngcorrect1 Lionel Van the chairman of the House communications sub commit discussed some of the stakes involved in us  what we have now in communications the terms of Occas to  determine who hot influence and who benefits is government by court the califor Nia Democrat the ism communications in Large part a rewrite of the 1887 interstate Commerce is hopelessly out of there is no Overall policy stale ment from and the fecs regu lations therefore Are frequently arbitrary Vandeerlin said thai a major result of the outdated Law and faltering Rogula Liun was that Competition was being discouraged throughout the  in and that the american people were therefore being deprived of faster and cheaper re Timothy a Colorado Democrat who is a member of he communications talked ataul other aspects of the situation in a speech last fall to the Institute for telecommunication there is very Little recognition of the social Sigida Isaace of Ine computer and  be the unspoken fact in today that Ini Ormaul is and the terms of Access to information determine who has influence and who reaps benefits in our think of that far a we Are talking about economic about social and intellectual standing and about political All we mentally affected by the availability of which depends upon in formation which ii rooted la tee nolo y a White House staff member discussed the tame Issue in somewhat different noting thai the increasingly placated Cornmon Scallons environment was going to require very High skills to the official speculated that this May make it even harder than it is today for important segments of our society to take part in the the House communications subcommittee two months ago published a i Page staff report that tried to define some at the key communications issues and the Possi ble Steps that Congress might Lake to re solve various chapters in the report dealt with the use of radio spectrum Domestic Telephone in emotional Cable television and the which has been hold ing bearings on these Hopes to com plete by december a draft proposal for rewriting the 19h communications research it was that since the Early physical Ste of computers has diminished by a Factor of about the casts have dropped a Bun Ore fold and the capacity has grown by a a recent article in science Magazine de scribed results of these in the Federal government ordered a first two big the article there Are computers in the United per cent of them medium or Large manned by is million com Puter the second key technical development is the Hig Altitude communication which can transmit directly to rooftop an the potential of direct broadcast ing from satellite hats prompted Japan to consider developing a single transmitting station in space for All its in a world where Large numbers of nations in South America and Asia Are unable to afford conventional television broadcast the social and educational pos i Billies Are in another a company established by ism and Aetna insurance hum won permission from the acc to launch a Salel Lile Hal would permit Corpora Lions to transmit Dala Between offices and Facto Ries All Over the United Stales without Ever picking up a Telephone or going near a Post the third and possible mom significant new Lech Nolgy is fiber optics Eom Munica which is now being pursued by Iho International top Offlie and Telegraph Sie Manji of Ger Nippon electric and Corning according to virtually All fiber optics is expected to Cost less Han coaxial be far smaller and lighter and be Ca Pable of transmitting far More inform fiber optics deals with the trans Mission of Light and As around and through a flexible bundle of plastic optical assuming the Resolution of the remain ing technical As How to achieve Many experts be Lieve Hal within afew can begin a program to replace the Copper Tele phone wire running into almost every building with fiber which would be Able to carry two Way a variety of two Way teletype dozens of conventional channels and Tele phone message the combined Impact of these new technologies on the Way americans live will be most agree if you link fiber optics with a teletype you could do much of your Bank ing some of your shopping from buy airline tickets from Home and maybe even work Al said Rich Ard several while staff members now spending much of Ihler Lime on communication issues some Riperti believe that the communication revolution May ultimately strongly influence Basic of in an essay published several years John director of the Center for in Legrave state University of new speculated that the rapid growth at communications might affect the value of real with More and More wealth being Gener ated by information and communication technologies unlike Coal and Oil and cannot be used material property will no longer be the sole basis of economic Mchale july 1977 the stars and stripes Page 13