The Electronic Identity
                                  by
                            Robert Parson

                         Unexpected Benefits


	The walls came tumbling down in southern California in January.  
I'm sure you've heard about the earthquake measuring 6.6 on the 
Richter scale.  Millions, possibly even billions of dollars in damage.  
Dozens of people killed.

	For at least two days, phone access to the region was severely 
limited.  As a matter of policy, Pacific Bell blocks long distance 
calls coming into disaster areas so that the lines can be freed up for 
local emergency services.  So how do we find out how our friends and 
relatives are doing?

	Through computer networks, of course.  Many of the packet 
switching networks remained intact throughout the crises.  That means 
if you subscribe to Compuserve, Prodigy, America Online or any other 
the other national services or if you have an Internet account, 
chances are you had some sort of access to the quake area in those 
first critical hours following the shaker.

     The packet switching networks provide users with access to 
national computer services through a local call.  For example, I can 
call my local GEnie access number here in bustling metropolitan Fort 
Smith, AR and visit in real time with someone in Los Angeles who has 
also called his or her local GEnie number.  This would bypass the long 
distance providers, who have been blocked by Pacific Bell.  

     This is also how the Pacific Stock Exchange was able to be open 
on the day the earthquake hit.  The exchange has its own network 
linking it with other exchanges world wide.

     Much is made about Ham Radio operators helping people contact 
loved ones in disaster stricken areas, and I'm not about to slight 
their efforts.  At the same time, though, people with computers and 
modems can also provide that same service.

                                 ---

     In the December 1993 column I encouraged philanthropic 
organizations to help hook up schools and libraries to the coming 
Information Spillway.  A few weeks after I wrote that, Vice President 
Al Gore announced that the government would offer to reduce the 
regulatory burden on phone, cable and power companies (yes, power 
companies.  If you can string a power line, you can string a 
communications line.  And they are.)  if they provide universal access 
to services.

     I find that somewhat acceptable.  It provides an incentive for 
them to offer universal service.  But wouldn't they be able to take a 
tax write-off on it anyway as a part of their business expenses?  I'm 
unsure of the reasoning behind this.

     Many people are calling for providing low or no cost access to 
the Information Spillway for people with low incomes.  I'm not among 
them.  I feel that people who want information should be able to get 
it easily, but we shouldn't have to subsidize a connection in 
everyone's home.  Gore's proposal is at least a middle ground.  

     Meanwhile, the much talked about merger between cable giant TCI 
and Regional Bell Operating Company Atlantic Bell is producing some 
results, even before the merger is completed.  They plan on providing 
free hookups computer and cable networks to schools.  Some 26 thousand 
children will be the beneficiaries of the plan which is being called 
the largest corporate program of its sort.  

                                 ---

     MCI has announced a plan that may allow them to break away from 
the local companies and get to customers directly.  They might even 
provide local service.  As you can imagine, the local service 
providers are bent out of shape about this.  They feel they should be 
allowed into the long distance arena if the long distance vendors are 
allowed to provide local service.  This is going to be wandering 
around in regulatory agencies for quite some time.  On this issue, I 
have to agree with the local companies.

     Slowly and inexorably we head toward the much touted 500 channel 
cable system.  Several companies are patching together what they call 
video servers that will allow them to give customers programming on 
demand, specifically movies.  These servers will have more processing 
power than the average mainframe.  IBM, Oracle, DEC, Silicon Graphics 
and AT&T are all building these sorts of machines.  It'll probably be 
another ten years before some standard is set.

     Setting that standard is going to be the biggest problem.  Once 
all this is straightened out, I should be able to plug my info-profile 
into any machine anywhere and be able to do the same thing in Medford, 
Oregon as I would in Sarasota, Florida with a minimum of fuss.

     This is going to be a fun time.


                                                (c) 1994 Robert Parson