CSC 300 Professional Responsibilities
Assignment 5: Computer Access for All
Consider the following scenario for this assignment:
Your expertise and skills in computers, and your reputation
as a creative thinker, have come to the attention of
your home state's government. They are looking for
somebody to develop a plan for a Universal Internet Access (UIA) program.
The goal of this program is to make it possible for everybody
in the state to easily access the Internet.
They have the following specific requirements:
Apart from a small start-up grant of $100 per resident,
the program must be cost-neutral to the state.
Every resident of the state must either be able to obtain
Internet access directly from their home, or a public access point
must be within a radius of 50 kilometers of their residence.
The access fees must be affordable to the large majority
of the residents, and fees must be reduced or waived
for low-income residents.
The technology must be vendor-neutral, e.g. through
the use of standards.
Your task is to outline a plan for this program, and submit
it to the commission established by the government. This
commission will select the most suitable proposal for implementation.
The evaluation will be based on the following criteria by
assigning up to four points to each criterion, for a total of
twenty maximum.
Background:
What do you consider as the major challenges for this program.
If appropriate, you may clarify your assumptions for the specific
situation in your home state.
Technology:
What do you suggest as the most appropriate technology for the
infrastructure? The three most frequently considered technologies
rely on the telephone network, cable TV network, or satellites,
but you can also consider alternatives.
Guaranteed Access:
How does your proposal guarantee that every resident
has easy access to the Internet?
Financial Soundness:
In the long run, how will your plan guarantee that the program
is economically feasible without government intervention?
Technical Soundness:
Does your proposal suggest technology that is reliable, easily
available, upgradable, and compatible with existing devices?
Structure
The government commission suggests the following structure for the proposal:
Title, author, affiliation
Introduction and background
Candidate Technologies
Guaranteed Access
Financial Considerations
Technical Considerations
Evaluation and Recommendation
Conclusions
Bibliography
The guidlines for the use of other material, submission, etc.
are the same as for previous assignments. In case of doubt, check
Assignment 2 for the details.