The Telecommunications Act of 1996 precipitated a dramatic change in how communications and information affect our lives.

Old boundaries give way to new frontiers.

In this unexplored territory, what will the sleek infobahns of the digital future offer consumers, including rural and remote area residents and the urban underserved? Will users everywhere be able to express themselves, access information freely, and conduct transactions securely without fear of business and government invading their privacy? What are regulators' different roles and responsibilities? How will they develop policies that reflect the common good? Who will draw the new jurisdictional lines? And how will concerned citizens guarantee our rights and pursue the public interest in this virgin landscape?

This conference brings together public policy experts and activists to explore the exploding computer/communications confluence. Participants will examine how to translate this knowledge into effective methods of protecting the competitive position of concerned telecommunications users. Invited speakers will discuss: 1) the real-life impact of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and the bewildering regulatory patterns cast in its wake; 2) the new round of challenges to free speech, privacy, and other "information rights," including the integrity of electronic voting; 3) new efforts to create global norms, standards, and codes of conduct for the Internet that reatain its open, democratic, and responsive character; and 4) ways to most effectively influence the process. Citizens who have successfully defended their turf will share their winning tactics.

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