From: IN%"rre@weber.ucsd.edu" 6-MAY-1996 01:36:44.84 From: Phil Agre <pagre@weber.ucsd.edu>

"THE FIRST 100 FEET" OPTIONS FOR INTERNET AND BROADBAND ACCESS

This conference looks at options for Internet and broadband access from the perspective of home owners, apartment complexes, and small businesses. It will evaluate opportunities and obstacles for "bottom-up" infrastructure development and the implications for traditional and alternative providers at the neighborhood, regional, and national levels. We are seeking original analysis, position papers, and background material for use in the conference program, on the project website, and in a book to be published in early 1997.

The conference challenges business and policymakers to rethink fundamental issues in telecommunications policy by recasting the "problem of the last 100 feet" as "opportunities for the first 100 feet." This paradigm shift suggests consumer/property owner investment as an answer to the dilemma of whether there should be one or two wires into the home.

I'm glad to see that somebody's addressing this issue. It seems to me that if all the people on a given suburban block want some sort of low-cost, alternative method to access networks, they should be able to install some sort of centralized switchbox and run the cabling themselves down their back fence. Where is industry on this sort of thing? Why can't we buy such a thing? Jim Bell jimbell@pacifier.com