E-Commerce Commission Press Kit

CHAPTER TWO:BUILDING OUT THE INTERNETWhere advances in telecommunications and computing largely occurred side-by-side in the past,today, they converge in the Internet. Soon, virtually all information technology investment will bepart of interlinked communications systems, whether internal to a business, between businesses,between individuals and businesses, or individual to individual.However measured, the Internet is expanding at a very rapid pace.For instance, the number of Americansusing the Internet has grown from fewerthan 5 million in 1993 to as many as 62million by 1997. 26UUNET, one of the largest Internetbackbone providers, estimates that Internettraffic doubles every 100 days. 27Table 1. Growth of Internet Hostsand Domain Names*(000s)# Hosts # DomainsJuly 93 1,776 26July 94 3,212 46The number of names registered in thedomain name system grew from 26,000 inJuly 1993 to 1.3 million in four years. Overthe same period, the number of hostsconnected to the Internet expanded fromunder 1.8 million to over 19.5 million(Table 1).July 95 6,642 120July 96 12,881 488July 97 19,540 1,301* Internet host refers to a computer that is connected to the Internetthat has a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address. A domain namerepresents a record within the Domain Name System.Source: Network Wizards http://www.nw.comIn January 1995, just over 27,000 top-levelcommercial (.com) domain names wereassigned. Most businesses used them for little more than posting product and companydescriptions, store locations, annual reports and information about how to contact corporateheadquarters. Two and a half years later, commercial domain names number 764,000. 28 Staticbrochures and bulletin boards are giving way to full-fledged businesses offering financial services,news and information, manufactured goods, and travel and entertainment to individuals andbusinesses.To meet this increased demand, consumer electronics companies, media giants, phone companies,computer companies, software firms, satellite builders, cell phone businesses, Internet serviceproviders, television cable companies and, in a few cases, electric utilities, are aggressivelyinvesting to build out the Internet.8