information superhighway

(communications)

(Or "Infobahn", "Info Strada") The name coined by US Vice-president Al Gore in the early 1990s for the emerging high-speed global communications network capable of carrying voice, data, video, and other services around the world. These services use satellite, copper cable, optical fibre, cellular telecommunications, and are accessible via set-top boxes or suitably equipped computers.

See also National Information Infrastructure.

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information superhighway

(1) A generic name for the Internet.

(2) A proposed high-speed communications system that was touted by the Clinton/Gore administration to enhance education in America in the 21st century. Its purpose was to help all citizens regardless of their income level. The Internet was originally cited as a model for this superhighway; however, with the explosion of the Web, the Internet became the information superhighway whether it was ready for it or not.

A Superhighway Below the Highway

Blacktop above, glass below. The backbone of the Internet is build on optical fibers, which have painstakingly been laid across the country and around the world starting in the 1970s and widely deployed in the 1990s. (Image courtesy of Metromedia Fiber Network.)

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References in periodicals archive

Ambitious cyberyuppies could even build entire virtual malls, which are already popping up all over the Information Superhighway, according to Canter and Siegel.

Here come the cyberyuppies

For nearly a decade, The Freedom Forum Media Studies Center has studied and tracked the coming information superhighway through publications, our technology laboratory and a continuing series of seminars, with the belief that technology directly reflects change in the media industries and society.

Tracking the coming of the information superhighway

There are many ways that one could invest in this futuristic view of the information superhighway. One could invest in traditional electric utilities, believing that this development will lead to innovative marketing for the best of the utilities.

Investing in the info highway

Joe Carter, managing partner at Andersen Consulting's Center for Strategic Technology, Palo Alto, Calif., also told retailers they can "get started on the journey now, before the infrastructure of the information superhighway is in place."

Retailers urged to get online

Chairman Hundt opened the town meeting by providing an overview of the evolving information superhighway. He said the FCC is working to increase choice in all five lanes of the information superhighway--broadcast, cable, satellite, wire, and wireless services.

Town meeting on telecom issues yields advice for cities

If you look at the literature of some of the organizations concerned with preserving the land, such as the Wilderness Society or the Sierra Club, you don't see the information superhighway listed as a threat.

The information superhighway as environmental menace

Canarie recently announced awards totaling $6.2 million (Canadian) for 14 projects that propose to develop hardware, software, services or products to make riding on the information superhighway easier.

Canada moves ahead with own info highway

Their ability to collect and organize data will be critical on the information superhighway.

A role for papers in a high-tech age