Brief history of the internet and the rise of the internet usage over the last 20 years

Over the past 20 years, there have seen significant changes in information technology, from the earliest personal computers and dial-up modems to increasingly powerful and portable systems, outfitted with “always-on” broadband Internet connections (Segaller, 1998). A major revolution in the way the world uses computers and networking technologies occurred when broadband Internet connections became available to the masses and began replacing dial-up connections in homes, universities and offices. It was at this point that the Internet began enabling the average person to access content beyond text and simple images, making computers and the Internet even bigger parts of our lives than they had ever been before (Albert & Bradley, 1997). As we have interacted with computers more and more, primarily due to the fact that we have been able to connect with each other faster than ever, the Internet has come into its own as we know it today.

Alongside the Internet revolution, another significant revolution was taking place: the rise of mobile phones. Mobile phones also find their roots in the early 1980s, when the first handheld cellular radio devices became available (Segaller, 1998). While the technology has changed quite a bit over the past 20 to 30 years, this preliminary revolution in mobility gave us a taste for what our computers could become, even if most people did not instantly realize exactly what was happening. Over the past few years, we have seen wireless proliferation continue with the rise of Local Area Networking (LAN) technologies. At present, the most notable of these technologies is WiFi, which is the commonplace name for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802 a/b/g/n standards, respectively. More recently, other personal area networking technologies have emerged, such as Bluetooth (IEEE 802) and Zigbee (IEEE 802 standard). But despite the increased mobility and ease of use that such networking technologies afford many members of society, by no means is the wireless revolution in computing complete (Albert & Bradley, 1997). In fact, one could argue that it is just now starting and with this in mind, long-range Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) technologies are some of the most important things for societies to consider as we move into the future (Segaller, 1998). Technologies such as WiMAX (IEEE 802.16 standard) and WiBro, the Korean standard of the technology, promise faster network connection speeds than most people have ever used, and as the technology continues to be developed, increased mobility with our networked devices (Segaller, 1998).

Ultimately, this heightened mobility will allow societies to be even more connected on internal as well as global levels (Segaller, 1998). In essence, the move toward BWA technologies represents the fusion of the world’s two major technological revolutions of the last two decades: phones are becoming computers, computers are becoming phones, and the opportunities that our networked devices will present to us in the future are many (Segaller, 1998). Of course, while there are many opportunities this type of technology presents, questions about how BWA technologies (and which technologies, specifically) will develop and eventually be integrated into society remain (Segaller, 1998).