The building of the internet: Implications for the future of broadband networks

The Internet, a system of interconnected computer networks primarily in the USA, can be seen as an experiment in the development, deployment and use of high-speed networks, and as such can provide guidance for the shaping of the future national telecommunications infrastructure. Internet's significance lies not only in the technologies it helps develop, but more importantly in the new usage dynamics it helps uncover, the new network management mechanisms it tests and the new policy strategies it explores.