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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(communications)

information superhighway - (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.