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[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".