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Smart Valley:
An Electronic Community
A Vision of Our Future
May 14, 1993
Summary
The Smart Valley concept grew out of Joint Venture: Silicon
Valley, a grass roots effort to generate ideas for creating
balanced economic growth and increasing the quality of life.
People from academia, local governments, businesses and
private citizens volunteered to develop a vision of a new
type of infrastructure to help prepare us for the next
century.
The Smart Valley vision is to create an
electronic community by developing an advanced
information infrastructure and the collective
ability to use it.
We want to facilitate the construction of a pervasive, high
speed communications system and information services that
will benefit all sectors of the community -- education,
healthcare, local government, business and the home. The
infrastructure we implement will help transform the way we
work, live and learn. The technologies and products we
develop to build and take advantage of the infrastructure
will be marketable around the world as more and more
communities move into the information age.
The Bay Area is an ideal location for this project. We have
world class research universities, National Labs and high
tech industries. Our population of over 2 million people is
technically literate, using computers on the job and in
their homes.
We can begin building the Smart Valley today. The
technologies we need to get started are already on the
market. In addition, we have a host of interest groups,
brought together by Joint Venture: Silicon Valley, ready to
work with us on applications such as telecommuting,
geographic information systems, distance learning and
community information services.
Smart Valley, Inc., a non-profit organization, will act as a
focal point for information infrastructure and applications
projects. Its charter is to facilitate the implementation
of the Smart Valley vision by acting as an independent,
honest broker between technology providers, service
providers, application developers and end users.
The board of directors includes leaders from the business,
academic, government and venture capital community. We plan
to hire a full time staff of four to six people to help
build awareness of the information infrastructure,
coordinate the development of a technology plan, and
facilitate the development of applications.
1. Introduction
The Smart Valley initiative emerged from Joint Venture:
Silicon Valley, a coalition of business, government and
community leaders. The mission of Joint Venture is to
develop and launch a collaborative strategy to compete in
the global economy, create balanced economic growth and
increase the quality of life.
Over 100 people from 70 companies, schools and governments
came together to develop the Smart Valley vision.
Volunteers continue to work on projects and spread the word.
The Smart Valley vision stems from the recognition that the
time is right to begin building a new type of infrastructure
that will carry us well into the next century, the
information infrastructure. At least three trends are
creating this opportunity:
* The cost of powerful computers has dropped to within
reach of most households. Computer power is enabling
software and applications that are easier to use.
* Telecommunications and broadcasting are moving to digital
technologies, allowing the merging of data communications,
telecommunications and entertainment.
* Our nation's leadership is extending its investment in
research for high performance computers and communications
to applications that will leverage a privately constructed
national information infrastructure.
This paper describes our vision for the first, regional,
implementation of an information infrastructure, why we need
it and how we will get there.
We plan to build an information utility, as pervasive, easy
to use and essential to everyday life as today's electrical
power grid, gas and water pipelines, and roadways.
2. Shared Vision
The Smart Valley vision is to create an
electronic community by developing an advanced
information infrastructure and the collective
ability to use it.
The Smart Valley is a broad based initiative to build a
pervasive, regional, information infrastructure. It will
require the installation of high speed communications lines
and equipment, the development of new tools, information
services and applications, and the education programs and
regulatory environment that will give all people access at a
reasonable cost.
The infrastructure created by the Smart Valley will make
contributions to both the business environment and quality
of life challenges we confront. The network will support
collaborations between suppliers and vendors, and allow
businesses, healthcare providers and local governments to be
more responsive to customers. It will contribute to the
quality of life by allowing more people to telecommute, or
advance their job skills by taking classes in their homes.
The Smart Valley community will be much larger than Santa
Clara County. It will reach into San Francisco and the
North Bay, east to Berkeley and Livermore, and south to
Santa Cruz. While our applications will be local, our
connectivity will be global. Sending a message to Moscow or
Singapore should be as easy as reaching a neighbor in
Fremont.
The technology to begin building the Smart Valley exists
today. We have the support of our communications systems
providers and the local business and public leadership. By
the end of the decade, the Smart Valley network should be a
part of the everyday lives of most of the population.
An Electronic Community
(diagram showing links between education, healthcare,
manufacturing, home, wireless information applicances)
3. Potential Benefits
The Smart Valley initiative proposes delivering benefits to
the entire community, not just to businesses. With the
backing of community leadership, and strong volunteer
support, Smart Valley can reach into schools, hospitals,
government offices, businesses and homes. The following
paragraphs describe just a few of the potential applications
of the network. Many more are being discussed; we hope even
more will be implemented.
Revitalize education. High School students would be able to
tap libraries at Stanford and San Jose State. University
students could explore libraries and specialized information
services across the country and access researchers around
the world. The network would allow the sharing of scarce
resources such as video materials and master teachers via
two-way video links. Science students could be able to run
simulations on supercomputers at Lawrence Livermore National
Lab.
Address healthcare cost and quality. As the hospitals put
their records onto computer disks, healthcare providers
could use the Smart Valley networks to access patient
records from anywhere, at anytime. A Kaiser hospital could
send a patient's data by radio to the scene of a medical
emergency on highway 17 or in downtown Mountain View to
assure prompt, accurate treatment. The electronic
transmission of insurance claims forms can dramatically
reduce costs and errors while speeding processing.
Make local government more responsive. To access government
services today you have to go to their offices. The Smart
Valley would allow services to be delivered to the citizen,
at work or at home, 24 hours a day. Permit forms could be
on-line, environmental regulations and construction codes
could be stored in electronic databases, simplifying the
search and update processes. Keeping records on-line can
reduce the costs of operation while increasing accuracy and
responsiveness. In the future, we may be able to renew
drivers licenses at home, and even vote.
Connect people. Community information services could list
local movies, special events, and the agenda of the next
town council meeting. People would be able to make
reservations for dinner, theater and travel from the home.
They could watch movies, sports events, news and job skills
development materials at their convenience. Wireless
services can provide immediate access to emergency services.
A stranded motorist could summon help just by pushing a few
buttons on a small communicator. Wireless telemetry for
medical monitors can allow patients to return home sooner.
Keep business here. As businesses depend increasingly on
partnerships to control costs they need a high quality
communications infrastructure to support distributed teams.
High speed networks could allow two-way video conferencing
on the desktop, rapid delivery of parts designs to
fabrication shops, and simulation of circuit designs on
remote supercomputers. Electronic commerce services can
reduce the cost of placing and processing orders, publishing
product catalogs and delivering software to customers. The
network would make it easier for people to work at home or
at local "telecommuting" centers. This would get cars off
the road and increase employee job satisfaction, thereby
reducing the turnover of valuable workers.
Create jobs. Initially, we would need people to install the
new wires and communications equipment. As demand grows,
electronics companies would hire people to increase
production of computers, networking equipment. Software
engineers would be needed to develop new communications
services and tools to manage the network. Entrepreneurs
could develop and market new information services;
information brokers, editors and librarians might emerge to
help people navigate the wealth of information services.
Job openings and resumes could be listed on-line. New
products would be developed to take advantage of the new
communications and information rich environment.
4. Can Do It Here
The ideas being promoted by the Smart Valley are already
being put into practice in other parts of the world.
Singapore, an island nation comparable in size and
population to the Valley, has installed a high speed digital
network which is already contributing to the competitiveness
of its industries and their Gross National Product. France,
England, Germany and Japan also have information
infrastructure projects under way. We can do it here.
The right business infrastructure. It would be difficult to
find a more ideal mix of businesses for the Smart Valley
than we have here.
* Silicon Valley is home to approximately 25% of the
nation's high tech and communications companies.
* We have over 25% of the nation's computer manufacturers,
40% of the semiconductor companies, 30% of the
communications equipment providers and 30% of the software
companies.
* Five of the nation's 13 largest computer systems
companies are headquartered here and another four have
significant operations.
A technically sophisticated population. Our high tech
companies hire and develop a technically sophisticated
workforce. Our workers use computers at work and buy them
for their children to use at home.
* We have two of the top research universities in the world
and a network of top universities, colleges and community
colleges.
* We have a major national laboratory and a wealth of
smaller public and private research institutions.
* Local technology companies have donated computers to our
schools and contributed employee time to teach and consult
in the classroom.
* We have the entrepreneurs and venture capital firms that
know how to form companies and bring new products to market.
5. We Can Do It Now
The technology is advancing rapidly. Already some 10
million people around the world communicate electronically
on the Internet, a network of some 5,000 networks. Much of
the communications technology we need is on the market and
being installed by our telephone and cable companies.
* New compression algorithms allow the fast, accurate
transmission of data and video on existing wires.
* Optical fiber is now as cheap to install as telephone
wire and cable for backbone networks.
* The cost of computers and networking hardware has dropped
to within reach of the typical household.
* Pacific Bell and TCI have made commitments to install new
capacity at an accelerated rate in the Bay Area.
There is still work to be done to make the networks easier
to navigate, more secure and more flexible, but, for many
applications, there is no need to wait for the new
technologies.
We have State and Federal support. The value of information
infrastructure has been recognized at both the State and
national levels. In his 1993 State of the State address,
Governor Pete Wilson called for an aggressive program to
upgrade California's communications infrastructure.
Vice President Al Gore has been campaigning for a national
digital superhighway since the 1970's. Smart Valley is the
only information infrastructure project in the country that
has the appropriate scale and talent to address the
challenges of the National Information Infrastructure. The
FY '93 - '98 federal budget proposal includes $400 million
in support of research and pilot projects to overcome
technical barriers. The Advanced Research Projects Agency
plans to award another $450 million for technology
development projects in 1993. Future years will see a
substantial increase in funding.
6. Smart Valley Organization
The Smart Valley is a large undertaking. While much of the
vision could be accomplished without any overt help, the
assistance of a focused organization will help it happen
faster and with higher quality than would a disjoint, random
set of efforts.
To provide that focus, a non-profit, 501(c)(6) organization
has been formed. The mission of the organization is,
* to facilitate the implementation of the Smart Valley
vision, and,
* to act as an independent, honest broker between
technology providers, service providers, applications
developers and end users.
The major activities of the organization will be to,
* Build awareness of the potential of new information
technologies and services in the community.
* Work with providers to develop a communications
technology and information services roadmap and strategy.
* Facilitate grassroots efforts to identify and implement a
diverse set of applications.
* Drive a few, selected, focused projects to demonstrate
the value of the network.
* Develop governance structure that reflects strong ties to
Joint Venture: Silicon Valley and the community.
* Develop expertise on public policies as they affect the
implementation and management of the information
infrastructure.
The Smart Valley organization will hire a staff of 4 to 6
people. The great majority of the work will be done by
volunteers and by people assigned to specific projects by
their employers.
Costs of operation will be covered by donations from
businesses and other organizations.
7. A Call to Action
The success of the Smart Valley initiative depends not on
the Smart Valley organization, but on many individual
efforts.
Businesses ...
Organize interest groups - vendors, suppliers, customers -
to identify ways the Smart Valley can help solve mutual
problems. Contribute your best people to the technology
strategy development team and to the applications teams.
Local Governments ...
Review your services to see which might be provided at less
cost with better service over a network. Provide public
access points at libraries and community centers. Partner
with neighboring governments to share the costs of
applications development and provide consistency.
Educators ...
Work with administrators and parents to identify
opportunities to use the network to improve communications
and deliver multi-media instructional material. Partner
with industry to tap into practitioners for on-line
assistance with classes and with developing applications
software.
Researchers ...
Apply for State and Federal funds to develop technical
solutions to barriers to the information infrastructure.
License solutions to technology providers for
productization.
All ...
Join the Internet and exchange Internet addresses with all
your contacts.
Appendix
A. Charter, Smart Valley, Inc.
The Smart Valley organization will facilitate the implemen
tation of the Smart Valley vision. It will act as an
independent, honest broker between technology providers,
service providers, applications developers and end users.
B. Major Activities
* Build awareness of the potential of new information
technologies and services in the community.
* Work with providers to develop a communications
technology and information services roadmap and strategy.
* Facilitate grassroots efforts to identify and implement a
diverse set of applications.
* Drive a few, selected, focused projects to demonstrate
the value of the network.
* Develop governance structure that reflects strong ties to
Joint Venture: Silicon Valley and the community.
* Develop expertise on public policies as they affect the
implementation and management of the information
infrastructure.
* Work with state and local agencies to resolve public
policy issues that affect the implementation and management
of the information infrastructure.
C. Board of Directors
John Young, Chairman CEO, Hewlett-Packard, retired
William Miller, Vice Chairman CEO, SRI International, retired
Professor, Stanford University
Eric Benhamou CEO, 3Com
William Davidow Principal, Mohr, Davidow
Ventures
Marty Kaplan EVP, Pacific Bell
Ed McCracken CEO, Silicon Graphics, Inc.
Regis McKenna CEO, Regis McKenna Inc.
Norman Mineta (invited) Representative, U.S. Congress
Seth Fearey, Technical Advisor Hewlett-Packard
D. Participating Organizations
CalREN, a non-profit sponsored by Pacific Bell
Korn/Ferry International
Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network
Price Waterhouse
The Skornia Law Firm