Contents: Preface. Part I: Introduction.B.A. Cherry, S.S. Wildman, Conceptualizing Universal Service: Definitions, Context, Social Process, and Politics. Part II: Frameworks for Analyzing Universal Service.H. Sawhney, K. Jayakar, Universal Service: Migration of Metaphors. B.A. Cherry, S.S. Wildman, Unilateral and Bilateral Rules: A Framework for Increasing Competition While Meeting Universal Service Goals in Telecommunications. M. Blizinski, Questions for Outlining a Universal Service Policy. Part III: Societal Role and Implications of Universal Service.M. Blizinski, J.R. Schement, Rethinking Universal Service: What's on the Menu? A.W. Batteau, The Social Architecture of Community Computing. A.S. Hammond, IV, Universal Access to Infrastructure and Information. Part IV: Paying for Universal Service.C. Weinhaus, R.K. Lock, H. Albright, M. Jamison, F. Hedemark, D. Harns, S. Makeeff, Overview of Universal Service. D. Gabel, Recovering Access Costs: The Debate. J.C. Smith, Universal Service: A Stakeholder Response. Part V: Embarking on a New Universal Service Policy: The Role of the Federal Government.B.A. Cherry, S.S. Wildman, Review of Federal Universal Service Policy in the United States. W.G. Lavey, Some Legal Puzzles in the 1996 Statutory Provisions for Universal Telecommunications Services. J. McConnaughey, Universal Service and the National Information Infrastructure (NII): Making the Grade on the Information Superhighway? Part VI: The Role of the States.T.W. Bonnett, The New State Role in Ensuring Universal Telecommunications Services. R.K. Lock, Jr., Breaking the Bottleneck and Sharing the Wealth: A Perspective on Universal Service Policy in an Era of Local Competition.