pendent upon information handling technologies. These technologies help provide good government, enhance the quality and availability of essential public services, and insure economic strength and competitiveness.

I think that it is important to recognize at the outset that our ability to handle information most effectively is dependent upon combining the computer and communications technologies. When these two technologies are combined, they can achieve new dimensions well beyond the capability of either one alone.

The computer and telecommunications industries are healthy and growing, and provide the basis for our being the world leader in computer and communications technologies. The United States has more than 100,000 computers, and a computer industry that has excellent prospects for growth for the next two decades. Telecommunications revenues now equal $35 billion and are expected to double by 1980. Moreover, microimagery and display equipment and products are rapidly growing parts of our information industry.

Moreover, at a time when our international trade is still unbalanced, our exports of some of the components of information technology, such as computers, assume greater importance. However, our experience in other technology intensive industries shows how easily a favorable trade balance can be lost. To maintainn our lead in the development and marketing of information technology, positive action on the Nation's part is required, a point to which I shall return.

As an example of the opportunities offered to us by these technologies, and of the increasing international competition we face, as well, I would like to show you a newspaper page. With the permission of the chairman, I would like to offer it for the record.

This paper will not be purchased at newsstands. It will not be delivered to our doorsteps by newsboys. This page is a product of the information age. It came from a relatively small unit which may become as common as the ordinary TV set in the home today.

The unit that produced this page has five selector buttons on it. The user can choose general news, political news, social news, foreign news, and sports news. He will be able to set the unit at night, go to sleep, and wake up to find the morning newspaper waiting for him.

The name of the newspaper? The masthead says: "The Toshiba News." And just below the top: "Telenewspaper Age Dawns-Toshiba Home Facsimile Unit Promises New Era of Instant Communication-Can Be Mass-Produced for Every Home." Incidentally, this page was produced over 2 years ago by a unit on display at an engineers' professional meeting in 1971.

U.S. industry has also been developing facsimile technology. In 1967 and 1968, RCA field tested an experimental facsimile information distribution system which used a standard television broadcast signal without impairment of the picture. More recent improvements by RCA and others include extension of the technology to color printing. In addition, special facsimile units have been developed for use on cable television systems.

I would like to mention here, because of the interest of this subcommittee, that facsimile units, such as the ones I have described, can also print out a patent or a page of business data, or the address of the closest public health center. Combined with a remote access computer, they could provide information concerning veteran's benefits, or the tax laws, or housing codes. This is one of the kinds of tools that has the potential of bringing the Government's information resources to the people.

But this newspaper page is just a token indicator of world interest in information technology. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has two policy study groups, one on computer utilization and one on information policy. A special panel is addressing the implications of combined computer and telecommunication technology. In addition, a major report has been completed in Japan, and the Government of Canada has issued a position statement on information technology. With the permission of the chairman, I would like to submit a copy of each document for the subcommittee's files. Why should the Federal Government be concerned about putting information technology to greater use in the United States? In addition to our stated national goals of increasing productivity and exports, I believe that there is a growing public awareness that technology in general, including information technology, must be applied more intensively to the benefit of the average citizen. Information technology has much to contribute toward improving law enforcement, toward solving some of our transportation problems and relieving traffic congestion, toward reducing air pollution, toward improving our productivity in

the service-rich industries such as education and health care, toward increasing the efficiency of private enterprise, and toward providing new tools for the public administrator. The public administrator must move closer to the people he serves. He must find new ways of communicating with the citizen-not only getting information to him, but more importantly providing the citizen with a better way to make his needs and concerns known to the public administrator. The Department's Office of Telecommunications, through its Telecommunications Analysis Division, is now working on this basic need. The division is working with the Office of Telecommunications Policy, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and other major Federal agencies in stimulating community information systems. These systems could use broadband telecommunications to provide a way for the general public to obtain and use information stored in computers and microimages about public services, business and trade, available patents, and technical know-how. Such systems could provide public health information, tax and regulatory information-all the kinds of information now available only if the citizen is willing to spend days or weeks hunting. These systems should significantly reduce the frustration of being referred from one agency to another, from one office to another-a process that so often leads to disillusionment with government.

Another important reason for Federal interest in information technology is the need to harness the huge mass of information the Federal Government generates at an ever increasing rate. The Department's National Technical Information Service (NTIS) is charged with the responsibility for organizing a large part of this flood of information and providing public access to it. NTIS is a recognized leader in applying information technology. Computers, telecommunications, microimagery, display devices, and information organization and packaging are basic tools to NTIS. Products and processes developed by NTIS are utilized by other information agencies.

Several commercial information companies make the NTIS computer-based files available nationwide through the use of telecommunications technology. Thus, we are gaining experience with the use of information technology to cope with the information explosion.

I think it is evident that we face many technical problems in exploiting computer and communications technology to effectively handle the information that fuels our society. I suggest to you, however, that the most urgent problem demanding solution is that of how to protect information resources against misuse, I refer, of course, to the issues of privacy and computer security. Briefly stated, we must design our informaton systems with the goal of resolving one of the most vexing problems of our post-industrial society; namely, the information paradox resulting from the demand for : Freedom of information, privacy of information, integrity of information, and copyright protection. These four goals could be mutually incompatible. There can be no privacy if complete freedom of information exchange exists; nor can all personal data be inviolate or the service industries would never know what people want. The proper balance in this triad of goals must be decided by the people themselves through the courts and their representatives in government.

Moreover, it is also necessary that this balance be decided now while the systems are being designed, so we can find ways to prevent invasion of privacy and curtailment of freedom before the systems are built. I'm confident that we can protect these values while applying information technology to the many needs of our society. In this respect, I note that there are at least 15 bills before Congress concerning the issues of privacy and security of information. Furthermore, the Department's National Bureau of Standards is working on one important aspect of the overall problem. It is heavily involved in formulating countermeasures-ways to safeguard the information residing in computers and being transmitted between them.

In looking at the state of the art in information technology, it is important to recognize the following characteristics:

First, as I have already noted, a synergistic combination of the computer and telecommunications technologies can provide much more to our society than the sum of its individual parts. For example, neither computers nor telecommunications, operating alone, could begin to approach the convenience, flexibility, and comprehensiveness of the air travel reservations systems that most airlines have today. It takes both technologies to do that job-one that we take for granted today.

Second, the range of applications of information technology is very broadbroader than that of most other technologies. Indeed, many other important technologies rely upon information technology and its component technologies to enhance their own effectiveness. For example, jet engine technology has helped us move more people faster, but its effectiveness also depends upon telecommunications and computers to keep tabs on reservations, to get the planes in and out of airports, to keep them on course, and to keep them out of the path of other planes.

The third characteristic which I wish to emphasize is that the computer and telecommunications technologies have advanced more rapidly than our ability to put them to full use. These are on-the-shelf technologies in the sense that there have been many developments in recent years which are just waiting to be used in combination with other such developments to give us highly useful information systems.

For example, computer and telecommunication technologies have recently been combined to offer improved services to the public in Seattle, Wash. The Seattle First National Bank is offering its customers personal computer services by telephone, using touch-tone digital input and a computer with a voice generator. Services include bill paying, calculating, family budgeting, and income tax data storage.

Moreover, a variety of demonstration projects combining television systems with computers for improved services to the home are either now in progress or being planned. One of the best known is in Reston, Va., where a time shared, interactive cable and computer system will be installed in 3,600 homes this summer. The services to be provided include community information, calculation, educational services, medical emergency help, news, sports and weather information, telephone directory, a dictionary service, and similar information services.

These examples show important private initiatives in the field of information technology. It is not primarily a lack of technology that slows our progress; rather, it is a number of related factors that result from the nature of the technologies themselves.

Both the computer and telecommunication technologies are characterized by high capital risks in the establishment and marketing of new hardware and software to provide better information services. Contributing to this high risk is the demand for high reliability and compatibility. The large capital investments for the development of hardware and software often require that, as an incentive, a large aggregate market be apparent to the investor. Further, the availability of alternative techniques is much greater in information technology than most other technologies because of the rapid strides in recent years. Hence, there is greater risk that a particular technique and its development costs will need to be abandoned before full implementation.

While many of the components needed for sophisticated information technology are currently available, it is necessary to interconnect them to establish an effective system. Because the components have frequently been developed for other narrower purposes, they are often not compatible with one another, or can only be utilized togther with significantly reduced efficiency. Thus, there is a need for standardization. Achieving standardization, however, is difficult for the many interested industries partly because of the complexity of the technology and the many alternatives available.

You know that the Department, through its National Bureau of Standards and pursuant to the Brooks bill, recommends data processing standards for the Federal Government as a user of data processing equipment. In addition to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of Federal use of computers, the standards have also had a constructive influence upon the computer industry, in general. We are now considering whether a program should be established to both facilitate effective use of information technology by the Federal Government, and assist the orderly development and application of information technology by private industry, to everyone's benefit.

We believe that the commercial potential for the synergistic interaction of computer and communications technologies is immense. Because of the Department's responsibilities to foster and promote commerce, and to advise Government ageneies on scientific and technical problems, we are considering the development of a program for aiding in Federal use of information technology in a way that will constructively contribute to the evolution of a viable U.S. information industry. Our consciousness of the Department's responsibilities is evidenced by

the initiatives being taken by our Assistant Secretary for Science and Technology to coordinate the various resources within the Department that relate to information technology. At present, the coordination is in the planning of an appropriate role for the Department. This planning began a month ago, and, in view of the complexity of the field of information technology, will require additional time to complete.

The resources available to the Department in the field of information technology are many and varied. If the chairman will permit me to do so, I would like to briefly summarize some of the pertinent resources of the Department, and submit a separate more detailed statement, for insertion in the record at the conclusion of my formal remarks.

The Department's three principal resources in information technology are the Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology in the National Bureau of Standards, the Department's agency for telecommunication sciences, the Office of Telecommunications, and the Department's agency for developing information products and services, the National Technical Information Service.

The Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology has the responsibility for strengthening and advancing the Nation's computer science and technology, for facilitating the effective application of computers for the public benefit, and for overcoming_technical obstacles to broadened and less expensive computer use. Under the Brooks bill, Public Law 89-306, the Department and the Institute have three major responsibilities: to develop and recommend uniform Federal information processing standards; to provide advisory services on computer science and technology to Federal departments and agencies; and to perform research in computer science and technology.

As the statement I have offered will explain in more detail, the Institute has programs aimed at solving urgent problems in the use of computers. Highlights include:

The Institute is working on the control of access to information, and on preservation of computer security, to help preserve privacy and avoid destruction of valuable records.

About 20 Federal standards for information processing have been issued, and another 9 are scheduled for this year.

Programing aids and quality control procedures are being developed. Standards for computer programs, often called computer "software," will facilitate the exchange and sharing of software, as will technologies being developed to evaluate and certify performance and correctness of computer programs.

Networking technology, which permits the pooling of computers through interconnection, is being developed. The Institute works on performance measurement, developing ways of evaluating alternate network configurations and using networking to achieve greater economy in the use of computer resources.

The Office of Telecommunications is the Department's primary operating unit for carrying out its responsibilities in telecommunicatons technology. Those responsbilities include research and analysis in and advancement of telecommunications science and technology, advisory services to other Federal agencies in telecommunications, and supporting services for the Office of Telecommunications Policy in its management of Federal use of the frequency spectrum and its development of national telecommunications policy.

The role of the Department of Commerce in the development of telecommunications reaches back several decades to the work of the National Bureau of Standards in the early beginnings of radio in 1911. During World War II, the Bureau consolidated its radio activities into what is now the Institute for Telecommunication Sciencies (ITS), the largest division of OT. ITS played a leading role in the development of radar, air navigation, radio standards, and transoceanic transmission systems needed for both military and civilian use. The Institute was and still is an internationally recognized center for the understanding of radio waves and their application. In recent years, OT has been systematically redirecting ITS expertise to include cable communications, laser communications and fiber optics.

The Department established the Office of Telecommunications on September 20, 1970. OT was established as a primary operating unit partly to carry out the Department's new responsibilities to support the Office of Telecommunications Policy and partly to enable the Department to give greater emphasis to its

statutory responsibilities with respect to telecommunications. The Office has two divisions that support OTP. In addition, the Telecommunications Analysis Division and the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences carry out the Department's statutory mission, including assistance to other agencies. The Institute's work includes research on the basic science of telecommunications, development of various telecommunications systems, and preparation of telecommunications standards.

The Institute for Telecommunication Sciences has prepared a draft report describing the present status of cable communication technology, including twoway communication between subscriber and computer. The report, soon to be published, identifies the gaps and problems which remain and should spur the work needed to eliminate them.

The Telecommunications Analysis Division acts as a bridge between the technologist and the policymakers. It examines the available information technology, taking into account economic feasibility and sketches the road maps, so to speak, for the policymakers to use in putting information technology to work.

The statement which I am summarizing also describes use of information technology by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Technical Information Service, and prospective use of such technology by the Patent Office, the National Bureau of Standards, and the Social and Economic Statistics Administration.

The National Bureau of Standards proposal for its TV time system is now before the Federal Communications Commission. If approved, it would use the standard television broadcast channels to distribute information signals throughout the Nation without impairing picture quality. NBS developed the technology to distribute standard frequency and time information to the public, but it can be used by broadcasters to transmit other kinds of information as well, such as captioning for the deaf that would appear only on the screens of those who wanted to see the captioning.

The National Technical Information Service focuses on the utilization of information technologies to produce a variety of information products and services. These are supplied to other Federal agencies, to State and local governments, and to the public with full cost recovery by NTIS. NTIS products and services which appear to be commercially feasible have been spun off to the private information industry. In a major way, NTIS thus acts as an innovator of information products and services based on federally generated information, and utilizing new information technologies.

Recent examples include: a computer game to train city managers (developed at NBS); a selective Federal reports distribution service utilizing microfiche and computer processing; an instant computer telecommunication search of 300,000 Federal reports processed by NTIS; and a low-cost demand-print service based on xerography and microfiche.

To summarize the statement I have given before you this morning, I have explained the following:

The combination of computer and telecommunications technologies offers an enormous potential for meeting the day-to-day informational needs of our society.

The United States must consciously work to maintain its lead in information technology.

The basic information technology exists today.

Because of its mission to foster and promote commerce, the Department has a role in encouraging the evolution of a viable information industry to meet the information needs of the public.

To assist in carrying out this role, the Department of Commerce has existing resources in the fundamentals of information technology and experience in working effectively with industry.

The Department is now considering the development of a coordinated set of goals and programs that will permit it to most effectively use its resources to advance the application of information technology for the benefit of the many agencies in the Federal Government that have information to disseminate, and for the benefit of industry and the public at large.

I thank you for this opportunity to appear before you, and will do my best to answer any questions you may have for me.