Note: Many topics at this site are reduced versions of the text in "The Encyclopedia of Networking and Telecommunications." Search results will not be as extensive as a search of the book's CD-ROM.

The GII was proposed by Vice President Al Gore in a 1994 speech to the ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is a vehicle for ensuring that all citizens of the world benefit from information and telecommunications technologies. The GII recognizes that these technologies are engines for development, economic growth, and infrastructure improvements around the world. It believes that a worldwide "network of networks" will create a global information marketplace that will encourage broad-based social discourse within and among all countries.

The GII is based on five principles: encouragement of private investment, competition, flexible regulatory frameworks, open network access, and universal service. A key goal is to open up overseas markets and eliminate barriers caused by incompatible standards. The U.S. contribution to the GII is the NII (National Information Infrastructure), which will link to the GII and provide Americans with access to the global community.

The Global Information Infrastructure Commission (GIIC) is an independent, non-governmental initiative involving communications-related industry leaders from developing as well as industrialized countries. GIIC was established to create dialog that will lead to a more rational set of public policies, trade agreements, and private-sector-coordinated self-regulatory initiatives.

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