[ga] The internet business is 33 years old today
As per the 47 USC 230 (f)(1) - the only legal definition of Internet I know
- "The term ''Internet'' means the international computer network of both
Federal and non-Federal interoperable packet switched data networks." That
internet is 33 years old today.
The first commercial bill charging a customer for its users packet switch
computer network access, became due on March 1st, 1971, for the Februrary
1971 traffic. The payment of this bill validated the internet business
concept as viable. It was sent by Tymnet to the National Library of
Medecine. The rate was $ 10 per hour.
jfc
PS. More on Tymnet.
Tymnet was first the network of Tymshare Inc. (a leading distributed ASP).
It was (with its smaller competitor Telenet) the first value added carrier
to operate under an FCC license. It pionneered the international public
network (nicknamed "Intlnet"). It created the international name space, and
the root names, concepts in 1977. It administered the name space as part of
its agreements with the International US Record Carriers and international
foreign operators. It registered "ARPA" and its "bouquet" of names (called
today the "leagcy") in 1984 (cf. RFC 920) into the global name space. An
international services market monopoly until 1986/87 - every international
packet switch service in the world started with Tymnet until 1986 - Tymnet
was a member of the ITU (CCITT), together with the other leading national
value added national networks (Transpac in France, PSS in UK, Datex-P in
Germany, etc.)
It announced its support of TCP/IP in Dec. 1983: it supported most of the
existing networking systems of the time (from scores of X.25/75 brands to
Air Lines Reservation, IBM protocols, SITA, VISA, etc.) and interfaced
their traffics together when it made sense. It explored the extended
services (using network internal or external intelligence) and the
brainware concepts. Its leadership over the international network faded
away after its purchase by McDonnell Douglas, which focused on other
targets. It was further on purchased by BT. Vint Cerf was the one who
decided to terminate it, two years ago. The last Tymnet commercial (safe,
secure, no spam) multiplexed packet was sent less than one year ago.
Names of pionneers to remember (I beg the pardon of the many more I did not
find back or I cannot quote in here) from these "tymes" are names such as
Norm Hardy, Joe Rinde, Art Caisse, Robert Tréhin, Jack McDonnell, Neil
Sullivan, Vida Stafford, Mike Rude, Raja Rajarama and many others like Tom
O'Rourke (+) the founder and, the first of them all, LaRoy Times, the
designer and thinker of the technology. Bob Harcharick, founder of MCI
Mail, has been President of Tymnet. It is Jerry Edgerton's Tymnet Federal
team which connected Internet to Tymnet, and to the global system.
Tymnet lead the global "internet" ecosystem from zero to millions of public
users, OSI to tens of millions and TCP/IP to hundreds of millions. The 1.3
billion of mobiles tells that a new-generation technology is on the way of
billions of users technology. The rule of thumb says "one technology per
decade".