There are going to be a lot of big fiber projects in the next decade. They’re already coming right now. I’m sort of worried that they’re going to think too small … The fibersphere is a big project, and it will take scores of thousands of small companies to do it.
Predictor: Gilder, George
Prediction, in context:In a 1993 article for Wired magazine, executive editor Kevin Kelly interviews George Gilder, author of “Wealth and Poverty” and “Telecosm.” Kelly quotes Gilder: ”There are going to be a lot of big fiber projects in the next decade. They’re already coming right now. I’m sort of worried that they’re going to think too small. I hope that the government, with its National Research and Education Network (NREN) doesn’t end up buying a lot of obsolescent telephone company fiber systems that make networks with a total power of a gigabit rather than a gigabit per terminal. The fibersphere is a big project, and it will take scores of thousands of small companies to do it.”
Biography:George Gilder was a pioneer the formulation of the theory of supply-side economics. In his major book “Microcosm” (1989), he explored the quantum roots of the new electronic technologies. His book “Life After Television,” published by W.W. Norton (1992), is a prophecy of computers and telecommunications displacing the broadcast-TV empire. He followed it with another classic, “Telecosm.” (Futurist/Consultant.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1993
Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: Wired
Title, headline, chapter name: George Gilder: When Bandwidth is Free: The Dark Fiber Interview
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/1.04/gilder_pr.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney