The NSFNET is the Internet
An important intermediary in the transition of the military’s ARPANET into the commercial Internet was the National Science Foundation’s NSFNET. The NSFNET adopted TCP/IP and required all connecting nodes to use them as well compliant network technology, mainly built by a small California startup company called Cisco. With government funding for advanced scientific and military […]
The Telecom Crash of 2002
One of the economic history’s most fascinating questions will deal with the stock market advances during the eight Clinton-Gore years, especially those in the Internet and telecommunications sectors. During their tenure in the 1990s the stock markets boomed, and the investments created the lowest unemployment in years as well as contributed significantly to the budget […]
The Transformation of Telecom to Global IP, GATT to GATS
In a previous post I wrote about how the U.S. Clinton-Gore administration used the notion of the Global Information Infrastructure (GII) to push for the adoption of Internet protocols through multilateral trade negotiations and telecom privatization. Below I address how the inclusion of services in trade talks helped facilitate the international spread of the Internet […]
The Transformation of Telecom to Global IP – GII to WTO
In the mid-1990s, the international telecommunications world experienced a fundamental transformation. With the introduction of the “Global Information Infrastructure” (GII) in 1994, Vice-President Gore fired a warning shot that was followed up with a series of reforms designed with the globalization of communications services and e-commerce in mind. By 1995, a powerful redefinition was settling […]
Google Fiber in Austin
Austin, Texas is getting Google Fiber, the one-gigabit digital broadband service from the advertising giant. With connections to individual homes and businesses transmitting up to 1,000 Megabits per second, it is from 60 to 100 times faster than current services. What makes this Google Fiber unique is that it uses digital signals moving through glass […]
The Breakup of AT&T and the Move to Wireless Duopoly, Part II: The Grand Alliance
The mobile technology industry has been going through a rapid transition, highlighted recently by AT&T’s announcement that it would buyT-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom for US$39 billion to create the largest cellular company in the US. I dug into my notes to explore the formation of this industry which was largely ignored by the AT&T despite […]
The Breakup of AT&T and the Move to Wireless Duopoly, Part I: Transformation
The potential AT&T merger with T-Mobile announced over the weekend raises questions about the legacy of the former telecom monopoly and the unending role of government regulation in the industry. The deal which requires AT&T to pay $39 billion in stocks and cash to create the largest mobile provider in the US, has the backing […]
The FCC’s First Computer Inquiry
Any use of a communications carrier to connect remote terminals to computers brought the system into the realm of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). By virtue of the Communications Act of 1934, all telecommunications traffic needed to be regulated by the FCC. As early computers were being developed, his task of regulating computer communications was […]
« go back — keep looking »Referencing this Material
About Me
Professor and Associate Chair at State University of New York (SUNY) Korea. Recently taught at Hannam University in Daejeon, South Korea. Moved to Austin, Texas in August 2012 to join the Digital Media Management program at St. Edwards University. Spent the previous decade on the faculty at New York University teaching and researching information systems, media economics, and strategic communications.
You can reach me at:
anthony.pennings@gmail.com
anthony.pennings@sunykorea.ac.kr
