Maine: Public access to telecommunications and information—local links to global horizons

The promise of the National Information Infra‐structure (NII) depends on how each state develops telecommunications policy and practice. In Maine that promise is being realized by all citizens as state and local decisions now being made or considered define the future of our communications. This policy supports the free flow of information to all and is opening up new opportunities for people to participate actively in governance, education, and economic development. Similarly, these decisions can contribute to ensuring retention of the status quo, which, until recently, consisted predominantly of an academic and government‐controlled network of computer and information systems that could be accessed by individuals with the means to do so.