FreeNet activists call for aggressive approach in net development By Charles King Realtime Online Ottawa, 1430 hr, Aug 15, '94. Four Canadians active in community networking in this country and overseas called today for aggressive action to preserve public control of the evolving Information Superhighway. Addressing the Canadian Community Networks Conference at Carleton University, they warned that the so-called highway must remain non-commercial in its makeup, and that costs should be kept low to encourage widespread public use. Lynda Williams, a professional librarian and library trustee in Prince George, B.C., described the "really magical" co-operative effort between educators, technical people and public relations professionals that brought that city's FreeNet into being. They began without funding but found that the problems were overcome by the enthusiasm of these disparate groups working to find solutions. Sam Sternberg of Toronto, a self-described community nets activist, warned that the telephone companies in Canada are lobbying for regulatory authority to charge heavy tolls on FreeNet and Internet traffic. Although the electronic networks run on telephone lines, there is no justification for the rates the phone companies would charge, he said. Marita Moll of Ottawa, a co-founder of the Public Advisory Council on Information Highway Policy, described the fledgling group's role in trying to influence federal government policy. It seeks to provide a forum where members of the community can participate directly in public policy decisions about technical, economic and social questions arising from new electronic communication and information delivery systems. "Community networks can play an important role in public policy formulation," she declared. A visitor to the conference from Britain, where he heads the South Bristol Learning Network, was John O'Hara, a Canadian teacher with 20 years' experience of living in the U.K. The Learning Network, which is funded in part by the British government and by such industrial giants as British Telecom and the ICL computer firm, has carried out four major research projects aimed at fostering community development and increasing employment levels. O'Hara described the Learning Network as a "test-bed project" that is already showing positive results. "We're not sustainable yet but we're working hard to get there," he added. -- Realtime Online - Professional Conference Reporting Team Rosaleen Dickson, Ottawa ac174@freenet.carleton.ca. Pierre Bourque, Michel Careau, Shady Kanfi, Charles King, Andrea Kujala, Jules Lafrance, Bruce MacDonald, Robert Rattey, Natalie Roth, and Michael Silvestrini, Stephen Toy