ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

JOHN STRAUSS

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—The Midwest states should cooperate in building a regional ‘‘information highway’‘ to help lure business and prepare for a coming information revolution, organizers of a technology summit this week say.

‘‘What we’re really talking about is a method of transmitting information,’‘ said Richard Gordon, director of policy and planning for Gov. Evan Bayh of Indiana. Bayh is host to the Midwest Summit on Information and Technology.

‘‘Just as your phone system is a wire that connects houses to houses, the information highway will transfer millions of pieces of information to residents, businesses, to schools. And it’ll be transmitted in an interactive way.’‘

Others scheduled to join Bayh on Monday at the Indiana Convention Center were Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar, Michigan Gov. John Engler and Ohio Gov. George Voinovich. Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, who was invited, was in Moscow leading a state trade delegation.

Besides communications and economic development, the governors are expected to discuss education reform and health-care cost containment.

Business leaders scheduled to attend include Eugene Eidenberg, executive vice president of MCI Communications Corp.; Randall Tobias, CEO of Eli Lilly & Co.; Richard Notebaert, Vice Chairman of Ameritech; and John S. Hendricks, chairman of Discovery Communications Inc., owner of cable TV’s Discovery Channel and Learning Channel.

The term information highway refers to the emerging technology of fiber-optic cable and other wide-band communications pathways capable of transmitting massive amounts of data at a very high speed.

The channels can be used for two-way, interactive television for training and education, such new services as video encyclopedias, movies-on-demand and access to a wealth of new computerized data.

The Clinton Administration said last week it was forming a task force to help speed creation of a high-tech communications system available to everyone in the United States.

The work is expected to include the overhaul of the Communications Act of 1934, which has its roots in the pre-computer era when broadcasting was in its infancy and only one telephone company existed.

In a jointly written newspaper editorial Friday, Bayh and Voinovich compared the communications challenge to that of building the cross-country rail system in the past century, or the construction of the interstate highway system a generation ago.

‘‘This new information highway can help create well-paying jobs, assist in the retraining of workers, help keep down health-care costs and let our schools utilize new computer technology for learning,’‘ the governors wrote.

The two said it still must be determined who will pay for the system and what government can do to help private companies develop the network.

Gordon said the Midwest states would benefit by joining to compete against other regions in the race to build high-tech communications.

‘‘We all compete against each other for business (in the Midwest). And we’re not saying that’s going to end,’‘ he said. ‘‘But the point is, we can make our five states more attractive to business.’‘