To enable a secure, global communications network, countries must use common standards (e.g., interoperable computer languages).

Infrastructure in Traditional Terms

In a society, the government is often expected to provide necessary infrastructure for citizens to conduct their daily affairs smoothly. Examples of infrastructure include the transportation system, the energy system, and the communications system.

Challenges for Infrastructure in Cyberspace

With the advent of the Net, citizens have looked to government to pave the way for this mode of communication. However, because the Net is a global network, countries must use common technical standards for it to function well.

In this area especially, there is the added need for quick and expert decision-making to accommodate technology's rapid changes. Governments for the most part recognize this need and are partnering with industry to manage the Net's infrastructure.

International Cooperation to Address These Challenges

International bodies dealing with Net infrastructure include the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). These organizations combine governmental oversight with high-tech expertise.

This arrangement enables fast, flexible policymaking for the Net's infrastructure. Still, the players involved in building and maintaining the infrastructure for cyberspace - that is, governments and private enterprises working together - naturally have divergent interests. One government's preferred order is anathema to another, and a business must strive to benefit its own shareholders rather than the public at large. It thus remains to be seen how these tensions will be addressed.