Building the Global Net. Interview with John Quarterman

How did your interest in Internet start?

In 1974, when I studied at Harvard, I found out that one of our computers was connected to the net ARPAnet, and I started to experiment with the system.

What type of growth have you observed in Latin America?

In recent years I have observed an explosive growth, This, of course, varies from one country to the other.

Do you think that the establishment of governmental regulations would benefit the development of Internet in Latin America?

The history of Internet proved that there are three positive actions that governments can take concerning Internet. The first is to liberate telecommunications in such a way that it puts an end to national monopolies. The second one is, possibly, to finance the selective investigation in the area of computer nets. And the third one is, simply, get out of the way. This last is, by far, the most important measure that any government can take. The fundamental reason is that Internet grows and changes to fast for a government to be able to guide it effectively.

How important would a NIC (Network Information Center) be for the development of Internet ?

It is my opinion that Latin America has the financial and logistic resources needed to put together and manage a NIC, without foreign financial assistance. Therefore, a NIC would be a good project. This would establish a precedent that it is possible to develop international net projects, without foreign assistance.