We can store data in large-volume, low-price local disks and transmit the data to local users using an appropriate bandwidth at convenient hours. This way, even low-speed networks will appear the same to users as broadband systems," Kishigami argued.

On the subject of reaching a compromise between copyright holders and consumers over the use of Net content, Isao Matsumoto, representative director of Hituzi Syobo Publishing Co., raised the question of information democracy, saying the supply of content has been a one-way street from creators to consumers because only the technologies for consumption have been developed.

"There is no point in criticizing unauthorized copying of content by users when there is a shortage of technology that enables them to take part in content production," Matsumoto said.

"Software and other tools are likely to get better through the participation of more people in the creative process, but it does not necessarily mean the quality of content will improve," said Kiyoshi Nakano, a visiting professor at Waseda University, after agreeing with Akio Sugii, an information coordinator, that great content is created because there are users who can appreciateits quality.

Nakano also raised the question of who will become the modern-day editors able to sort through the myriad of mediocre content to discover the great creations and help talented amateurs blossom into successful professionals, once the Internet makes it possible for creators to deliver their work directly to consumers.

Nobuo Ikeda, a professor at International University of Japan, said that Japan may face the same situation regarding radio frequencies as in the U.S., where the frequency bands for both analog and digital broadcasts have all been assigned, because of the slow shift to digital broadcasting.

The best way to prevent that situation, Ikeda said, is to auction off radio frequencies and leave it up to the market to decide what is the most effective way to use them.

However, Akira Terazaki of Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications, said serious discussions are needed before going down that path, including talks on how the government should use the proceeds from such auctions.

The reliability of government statistics also came under attack during the discussion. Toru Maegawa, a visiting professor at Waseda University, criticized the excessive optimism of government statistics on the B to C market.

Maegawa said the government's definition of the B to C market is too broad compared with how it is generally viewed globally because it even includes online product inquiries as e-commerce activities. Maegawa's criticism was echoed by many of the other participants.

[25] Summary of Japanese Discussions
By nomadic network, Esaki means a network that allows a user to connect from different locations but requires the user to remain stationary while connected.

"We shouldn't require networks to have excessive capacity. We can store data in large-volume, low-price local disks and transmit the data to local users using an appropriate bandwidth at convenient hours.

The best way to prevent that situation, Ikeda said, is to auction off radio frequencies and leave it up to the market to decide what is the most effective way to use them.

However, last four or five years, we have realized we need a global contents directrory service. yahoo just opened the warmof cann.

Nowadays, there are millions of start-up's working on CDN (Contents Delivery Network) using thier own protocol or own directry service. It can be said "portal" or "zero-level domain".
We had very successfully developed and deployed the DNS system, that is well coordinated and distributed system. Now, for me, the next challenge seems to be the deployment of global contents directory service.

It must be globally coordinated and distributed.

But, yes, this is very related with the bisiness model. I may think this is not only via technology, but is via global collaboration.
Yes, this will includes the copyright management, which is always complicated issue.....

e-government matters, and currently Executive Secrtetary of DOT Force (Digital Opportunity Task Force), the initiative launched by the G-8 at its Okinawa Summit (July 2000) to bridge the Digital Divide. I have recently joined the Bank after some twenty years in the UN (United Nations), most recently as Head of E-commerce in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

It is probably of these twenty 'UN years' that I find the U.N. acronym for Ubiquitous Network a little confusing .. (;-)). This being said, the points made by Ernest Wilson are very important ones. In general, the cost of not taking action is neglected. In the case of network development, such cost takes particular importance because of the speed at which developments take place. Opportunity costs then to be applied both to the 'missed' economies of scale

(getting more people on Metcalfe's wagon) and to the 'missed' economies of scope

(fertilizing the ground for more information-intensive activities: for example, distance learning and school connectivity in rural areas can be combined with e-commerce for small and micro-enterprises, etc..).

laptops and desktop computers. The benefits of universal use of TCP/IP protocols and of the network externalities that they allow may well fade away.

b) The restructuring of the IT industry, with new combinations of content and network services in one large firm suggest a trend toward "stovepipe" industrial structure, in which each such firm seeks to control its content and its own large list of customers, minimizing the service to content competitors by limiting the interoperability of its networks. This has not happened much yet, but if the business case suggests it is a profitable strategy it will happen, thus again removing the universality of connection we associate with today's internet.

c) Most important, the usefulness of the global network will depend critically on the availability of multilingual search capability and auto-translation, and on quality assessment and editing by data service intermediaries in whom users can gain trust. Today's search engines are far from adequate, and the do not serve the role of an intermediary that can assess the pertinence and quality of information a single user might seek. How this service is paid for is uncertain, again an obstacle to its appearance in the market.

Thus I predict we are emerging from a relatively clean and easy world of Berners Lee's WWW and are moving into a world of chaos in which commercial interests will dominate the trends in future architectures and information services.

[31] Lewis M. Branscomb
Thus I predict we are emerging from a relatively clean and easy world of Berners Lee's WWW and are moving into a world of chaos in which commercial interests will dominate the trends in future architectures and information services.

[29] Hiroshi Esaki
But, yes, this is very related with the business model. I may think this is not only via technology, but is via global collaboration.

But if there is a "moving into a world of chaos in which commercial interests will dominate the trends, governments and regulatory agencies may wish to step in. Would this be positive or negative for development of the ubiquitous networks?

The "instant messaging" issue comes to mind as a possible U.S. example of this and the involvement of the Federal Commmunications Commission.

[34] David A. Olive
Coming from the IT industry and interested in how public policy matters affect the industry, do youhave any specific suggestions on how to facilitate the "global collaboration" you see as needed ?

On the DNS side, we do see the emergence of ICANN.

On the content delivery side, the deployment of global contents directory service may be hampered by national rules on broadcasting. Do you see a potential problem here?

[35] David A. Olive
But if there is a "moving into a world of chaos in which commercial interests will dominate the trends, governments and regulatory agencies may wish to step in. Would this be positive or negative for development of the ubiquitous networks?

Conversely, nearly all substantial government intervention has resulted in monumental debacles.

http://www.gip.org/publications/papers/gipwp40500.asp

(www.mcconnellinternational.com). Prior to starting this company last year, I ran the international Y2K cooperation center, a World Bank/United Nations-supported operation that assisted 170 national governments with their Y2K efforts. And before that I served at the White House budget office, advising on Internet, communications, and encryption policy. I am enjoying reading the postings on this list. Thus far we have covered three issues that I am interested in, and have not yet touched on one other.

Thanks to Dr. Wilson, Dr. Branscomb, and M. Lanvin, we have begun a discussion of the relationship between ubiquitous networks (UbNs) and global economic growth. In an August 2000 report on the E-Readiness of 42 emerging economies, we asserted that, "Around the world, information and communications technology-led growth is raising productivity, creating jobs, and increasing incomes. However, this ICT-led expansion is at risk.

Action or inaction by national governments and industry leaders will produce a very mixed set of outcomes. Some countries will make technology a driver for a new national economy, leaping from an agrarian or industrial base into the knowledge economy. Others will fail to take the necessary steps and will be left behind in the race for cyber markets."
(http://www.mcconnellinternational.com/ereadiness/report.cfm). Just as it took over a decade of investment in ICT for the U.S. economy to make demonstrable increases in productivity, so it will take time for documented ICT-led economic growth to occur in emerging economies. Those who wait for the documentation will be left behind, and private industry, in concert with NGOs, must take the lead in convincing national governments to make the changes in business climate that will encourage the necessary private sector investment to occur.

Thanks to Mr. Olive, Mr. Disini, and others, we have touched on the issue of security. The security of networked information requires technical measures (e.g., public key infrastructure, encryption) and legal/policy measures (e.g., privacy and intellectual property protection, cyber crime laws). Security will become the Achilles Heel of the network if it is not addressed in a manner that promotes trust among users that their information will go where they want it to go, and nowhere else.

We have also begun to consider the question of UbNs�Eeffect on national sovereignty, thanks to Dr. Esaki and Dr. Rutkowski. As John Hamre, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense has observed, "In many ways, we are witnessing governments grounded in 19th century policies and practices seeking to navigate in a 21st century globalized economy. But even as it falls behind, government cannot and will not abandon governance." (Quoted at http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2000/0918/mgt-mcconnell-09-18-00.asp.)
In my view, ICANN is the most ambitious experiment in cyber governance. As such, it demonstrates many of the difficult global issues that occur at the cyber-terrestrial intersection of technology, business, and government.

Finally, we have not yet begun a discussion of the impact of UbNs on freedom. Like many, I believe that ICTs are an inherently liberating technology. There are those who disagree, however, and warn that they are likely to become a tool of perfect control in the hands of business and govenrment. Perhaps the most important proponent of this view is Larry Lessig, in "Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace," (http://code-is-law.org/).

An able rebuttal can be found in David G. Post "What Larry Doesn't Get:
Code, Law, and Liberty in Cyberspace,"(http://www.temple.edu/lawschool/dpost/Code.pdf).

[41] Bruce W. McConnell
Finally, we have not yet begun a discussion of the impact of UbNs on freedom. Like many, I believe that ICTs are an inherently liberating technology. There are those who disagree, however, and warn that they are likely to become a tool of perfect control in the hands of business and govenrment. Perhaps the most important proponent of this view is Larry Lessig, in "Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace," (http://code-is-law.org/).
An able rebuttal can be found in David G. Post "What Larry Doesn't Get:
Code, Law, and Liberty in Cyberspace,"(http://www.temple.edu/lawschool/dpost/Code.pdf).

I believe competition on the market for mobile phone services would become fairer," Maegawa said. His opinion sparked a lively debate.

Konomi Tomizawa, senior economist of the Institute for Socioeconomic Infrastructure & Services, Inc., was among the people not quite convinced by Maegawa's argument.

"A closed business structure may be necessary if we expect attractive content to be produced for hardware with limited capabilities, which would include mobile phones and video game machines," he said.

Some experts took a stance in between those of Maegawa and Tomizawa. "A closed business structure might be needed at first, but things should then be opened up gradually," one participant said.

The fact that European mobile phone users can switch to a new handset but keep their phone number and other data unchanged simply by inserting their SIM card in the new phone was held up as an example of benefits realized from an open market structure.

Another popular topic was network technology and how it will shape the society of the future. "I want to see a revival of local communities in the 21st century," said Isao Matsumoto, representative director of Hituzi Syobo Publishing Co., after expressing concern that the increasing popularity of digital devices is isolating people.

Sadahiko Kano, visiting professor at the University of Edinburgh, supported Matsumoto's opinion.

Kano argued that people in each field should have a unique vision and work actively toward realizing it. He drew an analogy with the re-establishment of Scotland's parliament in 1999, some 191 years after it was shut down, to discuss issues of importance to the local population, such as education, welfare and development.

Also agreeing with Matsumoto was Ichiya Nakamura, visiting professor at the MIT Media Laboratory.

"Advances in digital technologies and their increasingly widespread use will probably lead to change that cannot be explained along our modern lines of thought, which call for pursuit of better functionality and economic efficiency," Nakamura reasoned.

"I think we will revisit issues such as the importance of communities and aesthetic sensibility. Development of ubiquitous networks will provide us with an important opportunity to stop and think about the relationship between man and technology."

Among other opinions was one from Hiroyuki Morikawa, associate professor at Tokyo University, who said, "The networked society of the modern day exists as an extension of the World Wide Web.

But advances in and development of technologies, including the networking of sensors, are likely to yield truly great applications that open up a whole new era for our networked world."

[45] Moderator - Masanobu Katoh
1) What we can do as leaders in the private sector?

2) What should we recommend that governments do to help address the challenges to the UbNs?

[45] Moderator - Masanobu Katoh
1) What we can do as leaders in the private sector?

2) What should we recommend that governments do to help address the challenges to the UbNs?

[48] Ken Lyon
its shape and nature during the process. Governments should therefore resist the temptation to regulate infrastructure and services too closely, but seek to encourage beneficial uses and developments in this new medium as they occur... And I know that this will be difficult to do!

[51] Makoto Yokozawa
A project team in Nomura Research Institute, including myself, published a Japanese book titled "The Ubiquitous Network" in late Dec. last year.

And one of my concerns here is how we can describe "ubiquity".