Summit Keynote is Out of This World

By SALVATORE SALAMONE

Geneva -- Kicking off the Internet Summit here today, Vint Cerf, senior vice president, Internet Architecture and Engineering at MCI, talked about the challenges that will be faced as the Internet grows. And he even touched on the issue of extending the Internet to outer space.

Cerf, resonating what will be a common theme at the show, used his keynote address to talk about the shift that is taking place when it comes to the Internet. "It is not just the technology that is the challenge," said Cerf. He noted that policy issues are increasingly important as the Internet is used for E-commerce and to support such app lications as IP telephony and video.

Some of the key policy issues that must be dealt with include taxation, copyright protection, privacy and confidentiality, spam, governance of the Internet, and the legal significance of digital certificates, he said.

"Many of these issues will require global cooperation to make compatible laws," said Cerf. "All of us have some significant work ahead of us." Cerf sees Internet Society (ISOC) chapters playing a role in dealing with policy issues by educating legislators.

Another challenge faced today is the blurring of traditional lines between different media. "The Internet is starting to support older services like telephone, television and radio," said Cerf. "These have all been regulated separately. But the Internet makes that harder to do." In the past, "regulators could tell the difference between a TV station and radio station," he said. That distinction is not as clear today.

Cerf also used his keynote address to talk about the future of the Interne t. "The time is now to think beyond the earth," said Cerf. He noted that "we still have a lot of work to do to cover the planet." That said, Cerf mentioned the effort underway dubbed the Interplanetary Internet. "It's space and the Internet converging," said Cerf.

The Interplanetary Internet effort is in its early stages with talks among space and Internet researchers on protocols and methods to extend the Internet to outer space. He noted that there is talk of Interplanetary Gateways, which terminate traffic to deal with the long delays of sending communications over long distances in space, and of an Interplanetary Channel Protocol, which would allow communications between gateways.

While the Interplanetary Internet may seem academic, Cerf noted that the next Mars mission is in the planning stages and there is talk of making the Interplanetary Internet part of this mission.

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Internet Summit Looks to the Future   (July 21, 1998)