[Random-bits] Al Gore's support of the Internet, by V.Cerf and B.Kahn
James Love
love@cptech.org
Thu, 28 Sep 2000 19:04:54 -0400 (EDT)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Thu, 28 Sep 2000 17:43:58 -0400
From: vinton g. cerf <vcerf@MCI.NET>
To: Declan McCullaugh <declan@well.com>, farber@cis.upenn.edu
Cc: rkahn@cnri.reston.va.us
Subject: Al Gore and the Internet
Dave and Declan,
I am taking the liberty of sending to you both a brief
summary of Al Gore's Internet involvement, prepared by=20
Bob Kahn and me. As you know, there have been a seemingly
unending series of jokes chiding the vice president for
his assertion that he "took the initiative in creating
the Internet."
Bob and I believe that the vice president deserves significant
credit for his early recognition of the importance of what has
become the Internet.=20
I thought you might find this short summary of sufficient
interest to share it with Politech and the IP lists, respectively.
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Al Gore and the Internet
By Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf
Al Gore was the first political leader to recognize the importance of the I=
nternet and to promote and support its development.=20
No one person or even small group of persons exclusively =93invented=94 the=
Internet. It is the result of many years of ongoing collaboration among pe=
ople in government and the university community. But as the two people who=
designed the basic architecture and the core protocols that make the Inter=
net work, we would like to acknowledge VP Gore=92s contributions as a Congr=
essman, Senator and as Vice President. No other elected official, to our k=
nowledge, has made a greater contribution over a longer period of time. =
=20
Last year the Vice President made a straightforward statement on his role. =
He said: =93During my service in the United States Congress I took the ini=
tiative in creating the Internet.=94 We don=92t think, as some people have=
argued, that Gore intended to claim he =93invented=94 the Internet. Moreov=
er, there is no question in our minds that while serving as Senator, Gore=
=92s initiatives had a significant and beneficial effect on the still-evolv=
ing Internet. The fact of the matter is that Gore was talking about and pro=
moting the Internet long before most people were listening. We feel it is =
timely to offer our perspective.
As far back as the 1970s Congressman Gore promoted the idea of high speed t=
elecommunications as an engine for both economic growth and the improvement=
of our educational system. He was the first elected official to grasp th=
e potential of computer communications to have a broader impact than just i=
mproving the conduct of science and scholarship. Though easily forgotten, n=
ow, at the time this was an unproven and controversial concept. Our work o=
n the Internet started in 1973 and was based on even earlier work that took=
place in the mid-late 1960s. But the Internet, as we know it today, was no=
t deployed until 1983. When the Internet was still in the early stages of i=
ts deployment, Congressman Gore provided intellectual leadership by helping=
create the vision of the potential benefits of high speed computing and co=
mmunication. As an example, he sponsored hearings on how advanced technolo=
gies might be put to use in areas like coordinating the response of governm=
ent agencies to !
!
!
natu
ral disasters and other crises.
As a Senator in the 1980s Gore urged government agencies to consolidate wha=
t at the time were several dozen different and unconnected networks into an=
=93Interagency Network.=94 Working in a bi-partisan manner with officials=
in Ronald Reagan and George Bush=92s administrations, Gore secured the pas=
sage of the High Performance Computing and Communications Act in 1991. Thi=
s =93Gore Act=94 supported the National Research and Education Network (NRE=
N) initiative that became one of the major vehicles for the spread of the I=
nternet beyond the field of computer science.
As Vice President Gore promoted building the Internet both up and out, as w=
ell as releasing the Internet from the control of the government agencies t=
hat spawned it. He served as the major administration proponent for contin=
ued investment in advanced computing and networking and private sector init=
iatives such as Net Day. He was and is a strong proponent of extending acce=
ss to the network to schools and libraries. Today, approximately 95% of ou=
r nation=92s schools are on the Internet. Gore provided much-needed politic=
al support for the speedy privatization of the Internet when the time arriv=
ed for it to become a commercially-driven operation.
There are many factors that have contributed to the Internet=92s rapid grow=
th since the later 1980s, not the least of which has been political support=
for its privatization and continued support for research in advanced netwo=
rking technology. No one in public life has been more intellectually engag=
ed in helping to create the climate for a thriving Internet than the Vice P=
resident. Gore has been a clear champion of this effort, both in the counc=
ils of government and with the public at large. =20
The Vice President deserves credit for his early recognition of the value o=
f high speed computing and communication and for his long-term and consiste=
nt articulation of the potential value of the Internet to American citizens=
and industry and, indeed, to the rest of the world.=20
Version 1.2
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WorldCom
22001 Loudoun County Parkway
Building F2, Room 4115, ATTN: Vint Cerf
Ashburn, VA 20147
Telephone (703) 886-1690
FAX (703) 886-0047
"INTERNET IS FOR EVERYONE!"=20
INET 2001: Internet Global Summit=20
5-8 June 2001=20
Sweden International Fairs=20
Stockholm, Sweden=20
http://www.isoc.org/inet2001
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