Feedback
Is the Internet dying?
I read the same
NY Times article you did and passed
it along to a number of my contacts. I also
quoted Bob Metcalfe’s comments when we did a
panel together many years ago at COMNET,
saying the Internet was not the “information
superhighway” but more like the Wild West,
with railroads, robber barons, outlaws,
Indians, etc., vying for a piece of the
action.
But I’ve been watching something else
that I think will be the evolution of
communications. Remember that, until
recently, all the communications links were
privately owned. Railroads ran telegraphs,
telephone systems were owned by private
companies or even municipalities and one of
the biggest fights in deregulation was (and
still is) leasing lines to competitors.
I personally believe we’re going to
return to that model, led by Google. I’m
sure you have heard the stories of them
buying dark fiber, even in transoceanic
cables. Along with their work in cutting
power consumption at their servers, building
their own equipment, etc., I’ll bet this
means Google will - in the not too distant
future - create an Internet-like network
modeled on the original AT&T.
Privately held, controlled use, highly
secure and independently managed. I, for
one, would sign up the first day. Last week
alone I received hundreds of bounce messages
from a spammer using my e-mail for his
targets in Russia. If other phone companies
are smart, they will do the same thing.
There’s a market for it.
Jim Hayes