ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the historical and recent developments in data processing and telecommunications, the impact these advances are having on society and the associated policy issues that need to be addressed. The uses of information technology in all aspects of our lives have accelerated to the point where the 1980s can be called the Information Age. Critical choices will emerge at the points where three distinct portions of the market meet: the unregulated data processing and information industries, the newly deregulated enhanced communications services, and the less (but still considerably) regulated transmission services. It is hoped that the technology can also provide the techniques to organize and display information more effectively, so that informed decision making will be enhanced rather than diminished. The growing complexity of the issues for policymakers, combined with the long-range ramifications of decisions being made, requires continued analysis and concern on the part of policymakers.
