The Benton Foundation commissioned a study that reviewed the literature, convened four focus groups, and surveyed 1,000 male and female voters by telephone to determine public opinion about the role of government in providing new communications technologies. Results indicated that Americans want government to have an active role in the debate over new communications technologies, and what they want most are educational and informational services. People are not very interested in having 500 cable channels or in-home shopping, but they are interested in interactive college courses and computer libraries. A majority of Americans favor government taking an active role in addressing access, knowledge, and cost. Most people who were surveyed favored government grants to make new technologies available, and they thought that the government should require those who profit from new technologies to dedicate some of their profits to community uses and community access to government information. Government should take the leading role in ensuring access, providing needed education, and keeping costs down. Contains a list of seven Communications Policy Working Papers available from the Benton Foundation. (SLD)