Internet access in Cayuga County up in the air

Are the tolls going to be too steep for the average person to travel on the electronic lanes of the coming information highway?

That concerns members of a new county telecommunications consortium, who fear people too poor to buy computers or pay the access fees will be effectively shut out of the 21st century, when interactive media are expected to be the entry portal for businesses, shoppers, students and scholars.

By the turn of the century, computers will also be the major means of access to government meetings, services and records. Being locked out might mean an average citizen would be barred from participating in government.

That issue is sure to open a robust debate about how much of the information highway should be open to everyone. Where will universal access end and free enterprise begin?

As local business and government leaders begin serious discussions about building an on-ramp to the information highway, NYNEX, the telephone company that serves much of Cayuga County, is in the midst of extending branches of the highway in New York and New England.

As NYNEX proceeds with its plans to connect information centers, lawmakers and judges are still wrestling with policies and precedents that will serve as the rules of the road. One NYNEX spokesman said that decisions made in Washington, D.C., Albany or even in other states will have a direct impact on when — or if — the telephone company will begin providing Cayuga County with access to the high-tech highway.