October 15, 1993
Sponsored by the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information and the Benton Foundation.

Universal service is fast moving to the forefront of communication policy issues. Competition threatens to erode the traditional means by which univ ersal telephone service has been supported. At the same time, the definition of services to be included under the 'universal' rubric will expand as health, education, and other civic sector functions are delivered through communications networks in tegrating voice, video and data.

Background: Context and Commitments
Universal Service: Access and Equity in the Networks of Today and Tomorrow
Nolan Bowie, Temple University
Understanding Universal Service Today
Lisa Rosenblum, New York State Public Service Commission

Challenges to Universal Service
Beyond Universal Service: Characteristics of Americans Without Telephone Service
Jorge Reina Schement, Rutgers University
Rural America: The Challenge of Distance and Isolation
Heather Hudson, University of San Francisco
Refining Universal Service for the 21st Century: The Challenge of New Options
Susan Hadden, LBJ School, University of Texas, Austin

• Moderator:
  Daniel Brenner, National Cable Television Association
• Respondents:
• Marc Cooper, Consumer Federation of America
• Emilio Gonzalez, Office of Technology Assessment, US Congress

Rethinking Universal Service: Alternative Perspectives
The History of Universal Service in the U.S.: A Reconstruction
Milton Mueller, Rutgers University
Achieving Universal Service in Japan
Dr. Koichiro Hayashi and Masaharu Okada, NTT America

• Moderator:
  Henry Geller, Markle Foundation

• Moderator:
  Richard Neustadt, Benton Foundation
• Respondents:
• Gail Garfield Schwartz, Teleport Communications Group
• Karen Possner, BellSouth

Organized by:
Andrew Blau, Benton Foundation
Eli Noam, CITI
Richard Neustadt, Benton Foundation