Author(s)
Source
in Accelerating Energy Innovation: Insights from Multiple Sectors, Rebecca Henderson and Richard Newell, eds., University of Chicago Press, 2011, pp. 189-224
Summary
This chapter summarizes positive and negative contributions to the development of the Internet.
Policy Relevance
Public support for the development of the Internet can serve as a model for future government involvement in research and technology.
Main Points
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The Internet grew out of an avant-garde research project funded by the Department of Defense with no immediate or concrete goals.
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DARPA, the funding agency, pooled the work of researchers from universities in an isolated organization designed to nurture the rapid development of practical ideas.This was a great success.
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Advancement in the project was achieved by producing projects peers found useful.
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Inventors of processes and programs were also the direct users.
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After several decades of development, the infrastructure developed through DARPA was turned over to the National Science Foundation, opened to universities and eventually commercial interests.
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Commercialization of the Internet was also a success, creating value in three ways:
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Firms explored and created e-commerce markets;
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Firms experimented with novel products complementing the internet backbone developed earlier;
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Firms competed with different standards, to the benefit of consumers.
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Government support was key:
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DARPA and NSF provided funding and fostered the creation of open, common standards for basic internet function.
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Project leaders insulated the project from political interference.
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The telephone industry was compelled by regulators to facilitate internet service providers.
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Antitrust action against telecoms in the commercial period prevented large firms from controlling access to the Internet.