Federal and state governments are funding research and pilot projects to spur innovative applications. The High Performance Computing and Communications Program is supporting university research. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) provides funds for telecommunications applications in distance education and health care delivery. The Rural Utilities Service (formerly the Rural Electrification Administration) funds educational and health care projects providing advanced telecommunications technology and services for rural Americans. Many states are offering inducements to the carriers to accelerate the upgrading of their facilities and to provide access to schools and other community locations. State governments are also providing seed money to communities and economic development agencies to help them to plan and initiate projects using telecommunications as a development tool.
New technologies and services are forcing policymakers to rethink their goals of universality. In both industrialized and developing regions, universal service has become a moving target, as policymakers must adjust their goals to make new services more accessible. For example, the U.S. Telecommunications Act of 1996 redefines universal service to include access to schools, libraries and health care facilities, and to include not only "basic" telephone service but also "advanced services," a term whose definition will evolve over time.
In Japan, the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) has announced its intent to wire every school, home and office with fiber optic cable by the year 2010. Japan's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) estimates the cost of building this network to be between $150 billion and $230 billion. The Japanese are also investing in projects and trials to ensure that users will be able to access a wide variety of services. For example, in 1994, the MPT launched a $50 million three-year pilot project to assess the feasibility of integrating telecommunications and broadcast services, such as video on demand, high definition television, videoconferencing, teleshopping and telemedicine through fiber-to-the-home networks.
