e$: Multi-Industry Coalition Framework - NII (fwd)

[rah@shipwright.com (Robert Hettinga)]

Thought you folks would want to see this...

>PRESS RELEASE
>
>FOR IMMEDIATE REALEASE  CONTACT: Charles N. Brownstein
>September 12, 1994       703-620-8990
>
>MULTI-INDUSTRY COALITION SETS TECHNICAL FRAMEWORK
>FOR THE NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE
>
>
>
>Washington, D.C. -- Today, more than forty leading communications,
>computing, and services companies proposed a consensus vision of the
>architecture required for tomorrow's information superhighway. In addition,
>the Cross-Industry Working Team (XIWT) members detailed an example of a key
>component of the National Information Infrastructure (NII) - digital cash.
>
>The two white papers, 1) An Architectural Framework for the NII  and 2)
>Digital Cash, Tokens and Payments in the NII, will be presented to the
>President's NII Advisory Committee tomorrow at its meeting in New York.
>
>"These papers provide a technical vision and goals for the NII that cut
>across a range of industries," said Robert Kahn, President of CNRI and
>chair of the XIWT Executive Committee. "They provide a common foundation
>for thinking about the objectives and technical requirements of the NII."
>
>In its Architecture paper, XIWT calls for an NII that promotes
>interoperability and provides universal access, privacy, protection,
>intellectual property, security, job creation and commerce in a competitive
>business environment. Based on these objectives, XIWT defines the NII in
>terms of a Functional Services Framework -- a model used to characterize
>the NII by function and certain key characteristics.
>
>According to this model, the NII has three basic components: applications,
>enabling services, and physical infrastructure. Together, these components
>include all the NII's information and transporting machinery, the networked
>software tools that facilitate manipulation and movement of digital
>information, and the information processing activities of NII users.
>
>To meet the goals outlined for the NII, XIWT recommends that each of these
>components be addressed in terms of functionality (what it does), trust
>(the conditions under which it operates), and control (how it is managed).
>
>XIWT also provides a Reference Architecture Model for the NII -- a
>description of the system in terms of the interconnection of the functional
>elements of the system and the interfaces between them. XIWT identifies
>four functional elements: 1) appliances: 2) networks; 3) resources; and 4)
>control points. In addition, it identifies seven categories of interfaces
>and protocols needed to integrate these elements and make them
>interoperable.
>
>The Digital Cash report defines ways in which the NII will facilitate
>existing and new forms of commerce. "It describes the functional
>requirements and technical options for conducting everyday financial
>transactions in networked electronic settings with the ease and certainty
>of today's cash economy -- and with more security and control," said Dan
>Schutzer of Citibank who chairs the XIWT Applications Services Working
>Team.
>
>"The flexibility and choice implicit in the architecture we have described
>will be a boon to the users of the NII and provide a challenging but
>fertile business environment for savvy companies in many different
>industries," said Niel Ransom of BellSouth, who chairs the XIWT
>Architecture Working Team. "The members of XIWT are committed to making it
>happen."
>
>The XIWT papers quickly received praise from the White House. "By bringing
>together the views and technical recommendations of such a diverse group of
>U.S. companies, the XIWT has made significant progress in moving the work
>on the NII another important step forward." said Vice President Al Gore.
>"We commend the work they have done so far and urge them to continue
>working to define the technical aspects of the NII."
>
>The Cross-Industry Working Team (XIWT) was formed in 1993 to develop a
>technical vision for the NII, XIWT members include over forty companies
>from a range of U.S. industries. Membership list attached.
>
>###
>PLEASE NOTE: Copies of XIWT's white papers are available in hard copy or
>on-line. Please call Charles N. Brownstein at 703-620-8990, or access via
>Internet from the XIWT Home Page at
><http://www.cnri.reston.va.us:3000/XIWT/public.html>
>
>Charles N. Brownstein
>Executive Director
>Cross-Industry Working Team
>Corporation for National Research Initiatives
>1895 Preston White Drive
>Suite 100
>Reston, VA 22091
>
>Tel: (703) 620-8990
>Fax: (703) 620-0913
>
>Internet: cbrownst@cnri.reston.va.us
>
>
>
>
>
>

-----------------
Robert Hettinga  (rah@shipwright.com) "There is no difference between someone
Shipwright Development Corporation     who eats too little and sees Heaven and
44 Farquhar Street                       someone who drinks too much and sees
Boston, MA 02331 USA                       snakes." -- Bertrand Russell
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