When we jump to gigabit speeds, it will be a revolutionary shift.
Predictor: Farber, David J.
Prediction, in context:In a 1993 article for Network World, Michael Cooney quotes David Farber. Cooney writes: ”According to Farber, existing communications software was built to run on very noisy communications-switching systems at relatively low speeds. ‘When we jump to gigabit speeds, it will be a revolutionary shift,’ he says. This revolutionary shift will also require changes in the way data is transmitted across the country, Farber notes. Mechanisms will need to be placed in the public network-switching fabric in order to help users locate other users and resources. Having located a resource once, the switch will need to remember where it is for future reference. That will require telephone companies to build directories into switches in order to keep track of resources.”
Biography:David Farber was the recipient of the 1995 ACM Sigcomm Award for lifelong contributions to the computer communications field. He has worked at the University of Pennsylvania, managing research in high-speed networking. In 2000, he served as chief technologist at the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. He also directed the Center for Communications and Information Sciences and Policy. In 1997, Upside magazine named him one of its Elite 100 visionaries of high-tech. (Research Scientist/Illuminator.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1993
Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: Network World
Title, headline, chapter name: A Distributed View of the World; U. Penn Visionary Sees an Intrinsic Link Between Ultra-High-Speed Networks and the Emergence of True Distributed Computing
Quote Type: Partial quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=9d2d6da29473e39b5b83a4bd91935809&_docnum=12&wchp=dGLbVlz-lSlAl&_md5=4350ed360ec2153ee209b0bd3069ce73
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Goodrich, Barbara J.