The smell of money has finally awakened the telcos to the Internet as a marketable “product.” In September, MCI suddenly showed TCP/IP and Internet services; AT&T ads pump the word ‘Internet’ at the top; CompuServe rolled out TCP/IP network services alongside its account-oriented offerings. One report placed Sprint up into No. 2 position in Internet connectivity providers, displacing Usenet. The ICXs are in position to aggressively price Internet connectivity. How well they can deliver remains to be seen. Still needed are national/international dial-up access networks for travelers and for users in remote areas without IAP/IPPs in local-calling reach. Also needed are by-the-hour ”net terminals” in airports, hotels, libraries and convention centers. The number and range of free and pay-for-access information, resources and services available via the Internet will literally explode.
Predictor: Dern, Daniel
Prediction, in context:In a 1994 article, Network Computing writer, Daniel Dern reports on how the Internet could transform business. He writes: ”The smell of money has finally awakened the telcos to the Internet as a marketable ‘product.’ In September, MCI suddenly showed TCP/IP and Internet services; AT&T ads pump the word ‘Internet’ at the top; CompuServe rolled out TCP/IP network services alongside its account-oriented offerings. One report placed Sprint up into No. 2 position in Internet connectivity providers, displacing Usenet. The ICXs are in position to aggressively price Internet connectivity. How well they can deliver remains to be seen. Still needed are national/international dial-up access networks for travelers and for users in remote areas without IAP/IPPs in local-calling reach. Also needed are by-the-hour ‘net terminals’ in airports, hotels, libraries and convention centers. The number and range of free and pay-for-access information, resources and services available via the Internet will literally explode. You can already get to your Dialog, Dow Jones and Lexis/Nexis accounts over the Internet, as well as to the Online Airline Guide (oag.com) and stock market info (Quote.Com, among others). Every department in the U.S. Cabinet has info on Web or Gopher servers. Stay tuned for Telnet/Gopher/WWW and delivered-to-you access to patent databases, real-time and archived news feeds, city and state business, travel and tourist info (for example, California offers map-based train schedules) and museum listings.”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1994
Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: Network Computing
Title, headline, chapter name: The Internet, Your Company and You
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 50
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne