That meant that people in rural areas were being left behind in this technological revolution, with slow dial-up or — in some places — no internet at all. The arrival of internet via satellite helped close those gaps in service. Satellite internet is not limited by cables or contained only to densely populated areas. Instead, a satellite sends and receives internet signals from space directly to an antenna dish on your home. Many rural families were finally able to connect to the internet using this technology.
In , WildBlue — the precursor to Exede, which later became Viasat Internet — was one of the first to offer this kind of service. But it was still a big leap forward from dial-up. Speed and data plans improved tremendously with the launch of the ViaSat-1 satellite in and the Exede service in By building a satellite with a great deal more capacity, Viasat was able to change the game in terms of what kind of speeds and data plans satellite could offer.
In , Viasat launched ViaSat-2, with even more capacity able to offer even faster speeds and greater data plans. So, after all this rapid growth, what's next? For many, the next chapter of the history of the internet will be defined by global growth. As economies around the world continue to expand, it's expected that internet use will as well.
This should cause the total number of internet users around the world to continue to grow , limited only by the development of infrastructure, as well as government policy. One such government policy that could dramatically impact the role of the internet in our lives is that of net neutrality. Designed to keep the internet a fair place where information is freely exchanged, net neutrality prohibits ISP s from offering preferred access to sites who choose to pay for it.
The argument against net neutrality is that some sites, such as YouTube and Netflix, use considerably more bandwidth than others, and ISP s believe they should have the right to charge for this increased use. However, proponents of net neutrality argue this type of structure would allow large companies and organizations to pay their way to the top, reducing the equality of the internet.
In the United States, net neutrality was established by the FCC in , under the Obama administration, but in , this policy was repealed. At the moment, nothing significant has changed, but only time will tell how this shift in policy will affect the internet. Another issue that could possibly affect the internet moving forward is the issue of censorship.
Internet use around the world is often restricted, most famously in China, as a means of restricting the information available to people. In other parts of the world, specifically in the U. S, and Europe, these policies have not been enacted. However, in the era of fake news and social media, some companies, most notably Facebook , are taking action to slightly limit what people can say on the internet.
In general, this is an attempt to limit the spread of hate speech and other harmful communications, but this is a gray area that has defined free speech debates for most of history and that will continue to be at the center of debates about the internet for years to come. The internet has helped usher in a new age in human history, and we are just now beginning to understand how it will impact the way we live our lives.
The fact that this tremendous cultural revolution has taken place in less than half a century speaks to the rapid nature of change in our modern world, and it serves as a reminder that change will continue to accelerate as we move into the future. Disclaimer: All rights reserved. All trademarks, logos, etc.
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If you have, read on for a detailed summary of the history of the internet. Internet Statistics in [ 1 ], [ 2 ], [ 3 ], [ 4 ] Timeline of the Internet The invention of the internet took nearly 50 years and the hard work of countless individuals.
Here's a snapshot of how we got to where we are today: Part 1: The Early Years of the Internet When most of us think of the early years of the internet, we tend to think of the s.
Wide Area Networking and ARPA s and s For the internet to become popular, we first needed computers, and while the first computers date back to the 17th and even the 16th century, the first digital, programmable computers broke onto the scene in the s. The First Networks and Packet Switching s To build the internet, researchers were working on ways to connect computers and also make them communicate with one another, and in , MIT researcher Lawrence Roberts and Thomas Merrill connected a computer in Massachusetts to one in California using a low-speed dial-up telephone line.
Internet Protocol Suite s Throughout the rest of the s and into the early s, different academic communities and research disciplines, desiring to have better communication amongst their members, developed their own computer networks. Internet Service Providers - ISP s Late s By the late s, several private computer networks had emerged for commercial purposes that mainly provided electronic mail services, which, at the time, were the primary appeal of the internet. The growth continues today at an accelerated rate giving many business organizations increased opportunities throughout this fairly recent virtual world.
It is because of these smaller Internet Service Providers that the network as a whole has become a global tool and resource to many organisations and home users today. At the same time however the market of ISPs in general has felt increased competitive forces from the larger industry players, including international telecommunication organisations and other larger commercial bodies.
It has also become evident that these smaller ISPs can no longer concentrate on access services as their main source of business that once was profitable in the early days of the Internet.
Eventually Internet Access may completely fall into the hands of the larger organisations offering tier 1 access as a backbone to the network. The small to medium sized Internet business must then consider other services and diversify into newer areas to keep them ahead of the competition if they are to survive and prosper well into the new millennium.
As mentioned within the last chapter, Internet Service Providers have been forced and are currently being driven away from the traditional subscription access only service.
Nowadays, many ISPs have started to offer free access to the Internet in order to drive customers to their services. The first of this kind of service within the United Kingdom was Freeserve.
They originally had the backing of the Currys group to market their free Tier 3 ISP to the general public, which proved to be extremely successful. After the launch of Freeserve, many other Internet Service Providers began to offer free access through a dial-up service in order to compete within the market. The movement to free ISPs was the beginning of the end of traditional subscription based access. Services such as web hosting, which once cost vast amounts of money were now a common free option with most larger ISPs along with virtual web addresses and numerous email accounts.
It has become necessary to offer a wider variety of services if ISPs are to remain within the ever-increasing competitive market. Modern ISPs offer services that can be broken down into five main areas:.
Many technologies inherited from the pre-commercial days were classified as complimentary to basic access, not as a completely new service.
This is becoming the common option for high-speed access necessary to the business user. This has allowed a newer section of the market to open up through Virtual ISPs that will be discussed more in detail later.
Commonly Frontier Access would only be found within larger corporate ISPs that have the financial backing to maintain a large network. All ISPs currently do a minimal amount of this as part of their basic service in establishing connectivity. However, an extensive array of these services, such as the regular maintenance needs, assessment of the facilities, emergency repair, and so on, often are vital in keeping and retaining business customers.
The main example of such a service would be the installation and maintenance of a permanent fixed Lease Line to the Internet. ISPs offering such services have already made a move towards the necessary differentiation needed in order to survive within the market. HOSTING — Traditionally, Hosting has commonly been geared towards the business customer, especially when concerned with those groups of people establishing virtual retailing sites.
Until recently, most ISPs only offered a minimal amount of hosting as part of their basic service. However, more and more ISPs are beginning to realise the benefits from offering an extensive array of hosting services, including credit-card processing, site analysis tools, and so on in order to differentiate them from the rest of the basic service providers, giving them a competitive edge. Some ISPs are beginning to realise that extensive consulting services and custom design for users, along with services associated with design tools and web development programs may be their key to diversification.
Many businesses have began to offer web design as their main service. This section of the industry has become of huge interest within Northern Ireland recently with the needs and requirements of local business to present a professional image on the web. The table below shows that provide high-speed access, networking, web hosting, and web site design. However in recent years many services such as web hosting and high-speed access have reduced dramatically in cost allowing more resources to be allocated to web design and other customer services.
Also, thanks to the advent of Virtual Internet Service Provider options, the costs of maintenance and technical support have completely been eliminated in certain cases, raising operating revenue.
A lot of smaller as well as larger commercial companies are beginning to realise the new cost effective paths they can take in regards to running their ISP, especially as the new virtual opportunities are continuously growing enabling them to stay competitive and even obtain an advantage within the market. We have established that there are three types of Internet Service Provider, Tier 1, 2 and 3. In recent years more and more groups of people have wanted to open an ISP associated directly with their business, examples of these groups have included supermarkets such as Tesco with its recent TescoNet ISP and others through sports companies and even football teams.
Due to the enormous competition in the ISP market place, both smaller and medium sized Internet Service Providers have been struggling with financial survival. Many of these companies have already given up the traditional means of maintaining equipment continuously connected to a Tier 1 provider in order to feed the service to their customers.
Virtual Internet Solutions can be customised and catered for almost any group or company that has a customer base to fulfil its needs. Smaller ISPs can therefore provide an equally professional package tailored with its own brand completely out-sourced to the larger Tier 1 company. With the movement away from the traditional subscription-based Internet Service Provider, free service providers have had an enormous success within the UK as mentioned earlier.
Freeserve alone claims more than 1. This simply meant that when someone called its lines, Freeserve got a tiny cut of the local phone charge. An increased number of free Internet Service Providers have appeared over the last year alone and continue to increase. The online company 4thenet.
With virtual options becoming more popular and highly used across the market, ISPs in general have benefitted through the ability to put more money into other services mentioned earlier. Services such as web hosting which now has become both cost effective and highly successful within the web industry and of course design. Web site design is not a cheap option for many businesses, in fact it can be quite expensive to recruit skilled workers who can produce professional solutions.
It has however proven to be a very lucrative business service especially within Northern Ireland in the last year alone. Companies like Dnet and Webforia have managed to secure large amounts of business from the local market.
Northern Ireland has been behind the rest of the world in the Internet field for a long time, but is quickly catching up, leading to more local businesses wanting to get online as quickly and cost effectively as possible. As more businesses are becoming aware of the Internet and hence want to promote their business online, the whole area of e-commerce is starting to become a common buzzword.
While certain smaller organisations want only a small presence on the web, others want full transaction based systems that will enable them to sell their products online through a full e-commerce solution. When considering e-commerce solutions for companies in Northern Ireland, it is important to define exactly what the term e-commerce actually means:. The buying and selling of products and services by businesses and consumers over the Internet. Such a practice has exploded in the past year alone, as security issues have improved, and more and more consumers are buying and goods and services online also called e-commerce.
Typically there are three types of e-commerce transactions: business to business Cisco , business to consumer i. It is has become clear that the ISP will not and can not survive in the near future through traditional means alone. As discussed, web design has become one of the new types of services that ISPs have had to offer in order to diversify into newer opportunities. Much of the target market within this area of web design who are not already established on the web or who may have a small presence, are interested solely in selling products of their organisation online.
This is where the market need for e-commerce has grown vastly in a very short period of time. Companies across Northern Ireland and the UK have come to realise the benefits of moving into the e-commerce sector. It is clear that a competitive advantage can be gained through promoting a business on the Internet, but it is equally apparent that unless certain companies do integrate their services on the web, they will be at a great disadvantage.
The most effective way for business-to-business marketers to differentiate themselves from competitors on the Web will be by building a strong brand image for their company and products. With the ever increasing awareness of the implications of the Internet and e-commerce globally, this can only spell good news for the now, non-traditional ISP who are looking for newer services and offerings for their customers. Many small to medium sized Internet companies have been offering web design services for some time now to compliment their traditional services.
In fact many Internet based companies who are not an ISP have managed to build a business solely around the design and implementation of web solutions for businesses. Examples of some of the fastest growing web design companies within Northern Ireland include Creative Online Media and the Manley Group. It is clear to see that the advent of e-commerce has been of great benefit to Internet Service Providers for the business generated as well as the individual companies themselves.
The process of an e-commerce transaction is fully automated through the system that has been set up for the customer. If they decide they wish to purchase from this site, they move onto the online transaction server where any information transmitted at this stage is fully encrypted. Therefore the customer can remain at ease with the knowledge that any credit card details or sensitive information will only be received by the company they send to as well as the financial institution involved.
This process normally would occur over a second delay. In order to create a web presence in the form of an e-commerce solution there are several steps involved which the ISP or Internet Company must implement before the final product can be sold on to its end customer. Web Site Design The initial design of web sites in the past have been able to tell potential consumers a lot about the company wishing to sell a product or service.
Many people on the Internet do not wish to spend vast amounts of time for web sites to load graphically intense pages and would normally look elsewhere because of the huge choice offering on the web. Web Hosting As one of the other services that Internet Service Providers have come to adopt, all hosting would take place either on their physical or virtual server depending on whether or not they are a VISP. However customers have come to expect a good uptime of their site on the ISP server along with good technical support, a fast connection to the Internet and staff that is knowledgeable about e-commerce.
Obtaining an Internet Merchant Account In order to be able to accept credit cards over the Internet, companies wishing to accept online payments must apply to their bank for an Internet Merchant Bank Account. This usually should be relatively easy, but needs to be carried out by the individual company, as the ISP cannot provide this service. Obtaining a Digital Certificate Digital Certificates are also known as SSL Server Certificates that enable Secure Socket Layer encryption that protects any communications taking place over the transaction of a product.
Therefore credit card information can be transmitted safely using this security protocol. ISPs can share their certificate with their customers who wish to open merchant accounts for trading on their e-commerce sites. If necessary for a larger company, they can obtain their own digital certificate through companies Thawte or Verisign. Implement with a Provider of Online Transactions In most cases, small sized ISPs would not provide the facility of actually sending and receiving online transactions.
This would normally be contracted through a company who would specialize in this type of information transmission. It all comes down to the actual needs of the company at the end of the day, i. There are many online transaction providers and it is up to the ISP to research and advise the best provider.
They should have several different options open according to the actual requirements of the customer, with the ability to provide the most adequate and cost effective solution. Implementation of Shopping-Cart Software Shopping cart software is basically the operating system that is used to allow customers to buy products and services online, while keeping track of the merchants accounts and bringing the complete e-commerce solution together.
There are many different software packages available on the market for shopping cart facilities. It is the ISPs responsibility to obtain a partnership with a shopping cart seller so they may resell the software onto their customers.
Most recent shopping cart software can be fully customized to the business needs but it is vital to ensure the system used will be able to move with any changes required in the future. More recently, with the huge interest shown in e-commerce, a multitude of services and products have become available. E-commerce has become recognized internationally as a way forward for most businesses onto the Internet. It is equally apparent that this has become one of the main services that small to medium sized ISPs and Internet companies in general have been able to offer to their existing and growing customer base.
E-commerce in Northern Ireland has been taken very seriously over the last 6 months alone. This country has been behind the Internet revolution for a while but is very quickly beginning to catch up with the rest of the world.
The opportunities of e-commerce have become realised and already millions of pounds are being invested within this new area of online business. Needs such as E-Commerce solutions and full web hosting services have become an integral part of the ISP of the new millennium. It is also important for these companies to constantly monitor for new services and offerings they will be able to provide their customers in order to retain their clients in the future.
Concentrating on the areas covered within this chapter, it is important to note that potential business customers have a higher priority above costs involved in the implementation of their organisation into the virtual world. This priority is the security of their assets as many organisations within Northern Ireland are completely new to this on-line world, and many groups still do not trust the Internet as a secure tool for credit card transactions.
Unless the ISP can deliver on the services and also maintain a highly secure site, the customer will go to another provider who can.
Therefore the next important step for any ISP is to fully secure their services. These services used specialized software or browser to give their users access to these services. On a computer, yes you need an ISP to connect to the Internet. To connect to the Internet, you need either an ISP, cable company, or other company that provides the necessary hardware to connect to the Internet.
On a smartphone , your MNO mobile network operator provides you access to the Internet. The first ISP for the Internet we know and use today is considered to be "The World" who started serving customers in
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