An Argument For Universal Access To E-mail
RAND(Research
ANd Development) is a nonprofit research institution. Its stated
goal is to help improve public policy through research and analysis.
To this end, RAND produces a number of books and papers in which the institute
presents its research and relates it to current public policy decisions.
One such paper is:
Universal Access
to E-Mail: Feasibility and Societal Implications, Robert H. Anderson,
Tora K. Bikson, Sally Ann Law, and Bridger M. Mitchell, MR-650-MF, 1995
(HTML, PDF).
Overview
In this paper, the authors argue
for universal access to e-mail. This argument begins with an examination
of current trends. The authors contend, and most would agree, that
e-mail will soon be as ubiquitous a form of communication as talking on
the telephone. In addition, they explore how e-mail differs
technically from other forms of communications, and how these differences
are often advantageous. They then point out that, while the upper
and middle class are rapidly gaining access to e-mail, the lower class
is left out of this information revolution. This, in turn, is disadvantageous
to society. Finally, the authors claim that that universal e-mail
access is economically viable, and, therefore, should be a goal of public
policy.
Economics
In this paper, the authors argue
that universal e-mail access is economically viable. They do this
by comparing e-mail to a current universally accessible form of communication,
the telephone service. They show how telephone service has been regulated
by the government in such a way as to promote maximum market penetration.
This has lead to the current pricing strategies where business service
is more expensive than residential service. In this way, the costs
of telephone service are covered, but the service is also accessible and
affordable to most citizens. The authors then go on to show how e-mail
access can be structured in similar ways.
Advantages
The authors argue that universal
e-mail access is desirable both domestically and internationally.
Domestically, e-mail access is empowering to individuals as it gives them
new means to participate in their communities and even in national discourse.
To this end, the authors explore a number of extant community networks,
including the Blacksburg Electronic Village, and examine how e-mail, and
more generally, access to community networks can facilitate civic involvement.
Internationally, the authors argue that e-mail, like all forms of communication,
is favorable to the advancement of democracy and free speech.