미국 클린턴 행정부의 국가정보기반(NII) 정책

Abstract

U.S. government has demonstrated its willingness to secure for the U.S. the position of the world leader in promoting the information society. The U.S. intention was clearly manifest in the Clinton administrations National Information Infrastructure(NII) policy, adopted in 1992. The underlying goal of the NII policy is the reestablishment of the U.S. global hegemony on the basis of competitive edge in the information and communications industry.

This study aims to provide an explanation of the main issues surrounding the NII. It is yet very difficult to capture the full picture of the NII since it is still in its formative stage. This paper, thus, aims to lay the groundworks for perceiving the full implication of the NII by examining the major issues related to it. The findings of this study can be summarized as in the following.

Main Agents of the NII : In the initial stages of the NII program, the government was the leading agent, providing the vision and direction of the program. As the program proceeded, it has become clear that the private corporations, through their investment activities, has taken on the leading role in building and realizing the NII. The government has gradually scaled down its role to providing financial and policy support to the common R&D or test bed projects of NII.

NII and the Existing Telecommunication Networks: The private corporations have adopted the existing commercial telecommunication networks - such as telephone and cable TV networks - as the basis for building up the NII. The government maintains its policy emphasis on building up the Internet as the vehicle for NII through its NREN program. However, while NREN program has had very little progress or momentum due to the concern over the budget deficit, private corporations stepped up their involvement in the Internet intent on commercializing it. It is the telephone companies, among the private corporations involved in the NII program, who are dominating the establishment and capitalization of the NII. The telephone companies have utilized their natural advantage stemming from the existing telecommunication networks whose spokes reach every home and the accumulated experience, in consolidating their position in the NII business.

Business Reorganization and Deregulation : In an effort to effectively meet the needs and demands of the multimedia service related to NII, the private corporations are undergoing a new wave of business reorganization, such as merger and acquisition, strategic alliance, and formation of consortia. The government, on its part, is responding by preparing amendment and revision of the existing laws which prohibit cross-sectoral engagement in the information and communications industry. In doing so, the government seeks to provide a favorable environment for (and thus facilitate) competition among the private corporations. However, it remains to be seen whether the deregulation brings about a facilitation of a competition or a consolidation of monopoly.