Information society : agenda for action in the UK : evidence received after 31 March 1996 / Select Committee on Science and Technology.
- Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords. Science and Technology Committee.
- Date:
- 1996
Licence: Open Government Licence
Credit: Information society : agenda for action in the UK : evidence received after 31 March 1996 / Select Committee on Science and Technology. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![30 April 1996] [Continued direction—for example, to the bank, although the Online Media trial has the capability to transfer large data amounts in both directions through the use of Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technology. Both trials offer the following services: — public information — electronic commerce in the shape of home shopping — a finance service offering information on personal bank accounts, bill payments, value transfers, statement history as well as information on (and, in come cases, purchase of) other bank products such as loans, pensions, mortgages, insurance, travel facilities — educational material — entertainment (true video on demand, computer games). We see all of the listed services being developed/required over the next few years. However, they can only evolve after the trial stage as the physical communications infrastructure is put in place and if there is a firm base of standards for the basic levels of the ISH eg, message formats and network infrastructure. In addition, one crucial area not mentioned is that of payments, billing and settlement services. These are essential to complete any form of commerce over a network (Internet or ISH or proprietary). Other additional services could include: — information/service brokerage — information search — news — government services (eg, Job Centre information) — local/regional groups — special interest groups. Regardless of what services are provided, they must be easy to use by the customer. Services which may be useful but are hard for consumers to operate or navigate around will wither and die. There is a need for brokerage and service integrators to deliver usable services. 3. Who will supply these services to consumers in the United Kingdom? How can the participating companies be categorised and what is the nature of the commercial relationships between them? How are suppliers likely to develop? What service standards exist and how are they likely to evolve? In the UK, a mix of public bodies, for example, local councils, and private sector business (of all sizes) will provide the services. This should be on the basis of market forces for commercial offerings and public subsidy for others eg public information. Many suppliers of information will provide some services free as a lure (cf. the Internet now). Service providers can be categorised in a number of ways. One possible way might be: — information providers (public and private sector) — entertainment providers (eg films, music, games) — intangible services (eg financial services, “tickets’’) — tangible goods (home shopping) Another categorisation could be: — content — transport (ie the commercial networks) — customer equipment — navigation/browser — broker That said, there does not really seem to be any gain from categorising companies. Organisations will migrate, at speed, into sectors in which they have not previously operated because they perceive an opportunity. The main organisational attributes could well be to be small and fast moving as well as innovative. Commercial relationships will develop as and when overlap/interaction become apparent and it is commercially worthwhile, for example, to achieve critical mass. An existing relationship might well prove to be the catalyst. For example; the BarclaySquare initiative on the Internet where Barclays Bank used an existing relationship with some of its BarclayCard merchants as a basis for building an electronic shopping centre. In the electronic shopping centre, the merchants display their goods in their own, branded areas and Barclays facilitates the payment by the customer through the customer’s BarclayCard.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b32218631_0072.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
