The Internet of Tomorrow, Today

Internet2020 conference organizer says mobile, other technologies key to next billion users

By Bob Keefe | April 29, 2010

It's a question anybody in the technology industry has to ponder at some point - if not constantly.

What will the Internet look like in the future?

Thursday, at a day-long conference at the Capitol Hilton in the District, the Internet Society's Greater Washington Chapter looked forward to what the Web might look like over the next decade at least (which of course in Internet time is the equivalent of a lifetime).

In between sessions at "Internet 2020: The Next Billion Users" conference, we caught up with event organizer Brian Cute of the Internet Society, a nonprofit Internet policy group. Cute also is vice president of Internet infrastructure company Afilias.

Here's some of what he had to say:

Q. So tell me what this conference and the Internet Society is all about.
A. This is about framing all of our questions (about the Internet) from a future perspective. Let's project out to 2020 and ask questions about security, about how to get people thinking forward and thinking about the Internet. The Internet model has (already) disrupted quite a bit of the traditional communications infrastructure. That dynamic is going to continue. So if you ask yourself, "How can I be secure on the Internet today, what technologies should I use?" you're really not asking the right question. You need to think forward.

Q. The theme here is Internet 2020: The Next Billion Users. Getting to the next billion users will depend a lot on access devices. Tell me what you're hearing from people about the future of Internet access devices.
A. In the near-term future, mobile is going to be the big driver. Everyone is looking to the handheld device.

Q. But I heard someone say that mobile will get you the next million, but not the next billion. What's beyond mobile?
A. That's true. That's true. So it's also about WiFi if you're talking infrastructure, and other satellite-based services. And then the other interesting development which I'm personally involved with is sensor-based networks. Where there is sound infrastructure, you now can see sensors being embedded and data collected. You're going to walk into a store and they're going to read the RFID tag in your jacket and they're going to know "Oh he's in the store again. The last time he was here he bought XYZ, so let's send a coupon to his mobile device with a 20 percent off coupon for this jacket." Where there is good Internet infrastructure, you're going to see the next generation of intelligent networks touching the consumer. That's going to be an interest evolution.

Q. And what's the biggest concern about the future of the Internet ten years from now?
A. Privacy is right up there. Security and privacy are absolutely No. 1 and No. 2, and probably No. 3 is governance.

Q. Expand on that a bit. What do you mean?
A. Look at Facebook and think about the youth segment. Look at what they're doing, how they're putting personal identification information out there. The fact of the matter is that you're observing a change in attitudes toward privacy. So 10 years from now, when those kids are voting and having babies and they're parents and thinking about security like we do today, they're attitudes are going to be different.

Q. Ok. So now for something fun. What's the coolest technology headed for the Internet in the next 10 years that you're hearing about now.
A. Hummm. The coolest technology. Ok, I'll give you one. Small applications embedded in large platforms like Facebook. Look at the company that runs Farmville on Facebook.  Millions of people play that. Now, that's a non-monetized service, but think about the possibilities from a commercial perspective.

Q. So bottom line, what's the overarching goal of this conference, and of the Internet Society going forward?
A. To draw more people into thinking collaboratively, openly in a network type of way. It's really expanding the Internet model of open collaboration on equal footing of all parties to drive innovation, to drive Internet adoption to drive thought leadership.



Related Keywords : mobile technology , trends reports

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