The Internet is growing so quickly that the latest, least-expensive technology is being incorporated into it as rapidly as possible … In short, the Internet is the only public network of which the economics reflect the latest advances in communications technology and the full benefits of competition.
Predictor: Gates, Bill
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 article for Red Herring magazine, Alex S. Vieux interviews Microsoft CEO Bill Gates in Madrid, Spain, at the European Technology Roundtable Exposition. Gates says: ”I think the unspoken, underlying assumption we have all been operating by is that communication is costly and that it should be billed on the basis of time and distance. But really government-sanctioned monopolies and other governmental involvement around the world have driven this cost basis. The beauty of the Internet is that it challenges these assumptions. The price paid by a corporation to connect to the Internet is determined by the size of its “on-ramp,” not by how much the connection is actually used. Usage isn’t even metered, and it doesn’t matter if you connect to information that is stored nearby or halfway around the globe. The Internet is growing so quickly that the latest, least-expensive technology is being incorporated into it as rapidly as possible. Telecommunications switches installed a few months ago to keep the Internet running didn’t even exist a year ago. Internet providers lease communications lines on a commodity bid basis, which continues to drive prices down. In short, the Internet is the only public network of which the economics reflect the latest advances in communications technology and the full benefits of competition. It isn’t happenstance that the Internet’s World Wide Web became popular now instead of a few years ago. If millions of people had tried retrieving graphics across the Internet at the beginning of the decade, the overtaxed system would have smoked out of existence. It’s right on the edge, as it is.”
Biography:Bill Gates, the most influential technology entrepreneur of the late 20th century, was the primary author of the prediction-packed 1995 book “The Road Ahead” and is the founder and CEO of Microsoft Corporation. (Entrepreneur/Business Leader.)
Date of prediction: October 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Economic structures
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: Red Herring
Title, headline, chapter name: The Once and Future Kings
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.redherring.com/mag/issue2.5/once.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney