catalyst to help Canadians share information, and to gain an edge in productivity and information industries in global markets. It has identified three key objectives for the Canadian information highway: To create jobs through innovation and investment; To reinforce Canadian sovereignty and identity; To ensure universal access at reasonable cost.These objectives emphasize cultural as well as economic priorities. Canada's Information Highway Advisory Council, composed of representatives of communications industries, business users, academics, performers and consumers, takes a distinctively cultural perspective: The Information Highway, in our view, is not so much about information as it is about communication in both its narrowest and broadest senses. It is not a cold and barren highway with exits and entrances that carry traffic, but a series of culturally rich and dynamic intersecting communities. Rather than a highway, it is a personalized village square where people eliminate the barriers of time and distance and interact in a kaleidoscope of different ways. In Japan, the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) has announced its intent to wire every school, home and office with fiber optic cable by the year 2010. Japan's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) estimates the cost of building this network to be between $150 billion and $230 billion. The Japanese are also investing in projects and trials to ensure that users will be able to access a wide variety of services. For example, in 1994, the MPT launched a $50 million three-year pilot project to assess the feasibility of integrating telecommunications and broadcast services, such as video on demand, high definition television, videoconferencing, teleshopping and telemedicine through fiber-to-the-home networks. In 1995, the G-7 nations together embraced the goal of global information infrastructure, and initiated a series of demonstrations and pilot projects usi...
