[Air-l] Re: Oxford Internet Institute's Public Broadband Inquiry

[Bram Dov Abramson]

andrew.ross at new.oxford.ac.uk:

>***Open Invitation to Submit Evidence (New Deadline-- 30 July 2002)
(...)
>As its first major initiative, the OII is to establish a committee of 
>inquiry into the public policy issues concerning broadband Internet access 
>in the UK.  The costs and benefits of broadband is a complex and pressing 
>issue, complicated by the considerable debate regarding its development 
>and application.
>
>The aim of the inquiry is to comprehensively survey the political, social, 
>legal and economic environment in which broadband operates, both in the UK 
>and abroad, and to develop practical policy recommendations for government.

"Committee of inquiry" usually connotes a government or similarly 
institutionally-tied official process -- particularly with "invitation to 
submit evidence", which usually connotes the workings of an administrative 
tribunal such as, say, a regulatory body.

Just to understand, is this a government-tied inquiry -- or does the 
titling reflect a nomenclature choice aimed at infusing a university-run 
research project with an explicit political-process vocabulary?

thanks
Bram