How the Internet Became Commercial

Shane  Greenstein

Book | 2015

How the Internet Became Commercial: Innovation, Privatization, and the Birth of a New Network

Abstract

In less than a decade, the Internet went from being a series of loosely connected networks used by universities and the military to the powerful commercial engine it is today. This book describes how many of the key innovations that made this possible came from entrepreneurs and iconoclasts who were outside the mainstream—and how the commercialization of the Internet was by no means a foregone conclusion at its outset. Shane Greenstein traces the evolution of the Internet from government ownership to privatization to the commercial Internet we know today. This is a story of innovation from the edges. Greenstein shows how mainstream service providers that had traditionally been leaders in the old-market economy became threatened by innovations from industry outsiders who saw economic opportunities where others didn't—and how these mainstream firms had no choice but to innovate themselves. New models were tried: some succeeded, some failed. Commercial markets turned innovations into valuable products and services as the Internet evolved in those markets. New business processes had to be created from scratch as a network originally intended for research and military defense had to deal with network interconnectivity, the needs of commercial users, and a host of challenges with implementing innovative new services.

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Citation:

Greenstein, Shane. How the Internet Became Commercial: Innovation, Privatization, and the Birth of a New Network. Princeton University Press, 2015.

Using patents as indicators of inventive activity, this article characterizes the concentration of origins of invention from 1976 to 2010 and how these have changed over time. The analysis finds pervasive deconcentration in virtually every area related to ICT, but it can explain only a small part of this trend. Deconcentration happens despite the role of lateral entry by existing firms. New firm entry drives part of the deconcentration, but this alone cannot explain the change. A single supply factor in the market for ideas, such as the breakup of AT&T, cannot explain the trend either. Finally, 11% of patents change hands through mergers and acquisitions activity, but this does not make up for the declines in concentration in the origins of invention.

Using patent data from 1976 to 2010 as indicators of inventive activity, we determine the concentration level of where inventive ideas originate and then examine how and why those concentrations change over time. The analysis finds pervasive deconcentration in every area related to the Information and Communication Technology equipment market. We find that booms and busts play an important role in deconcentration trends. In comparison, new entry explains surprisingly little, and merger and acquisition activity does not revert the trend.

Korea Telecom (KT) has committed $4 billion in investments and R&D to build a GiGAtopia, essentially ushering in the next generation of mobile (5G) and wired infrastructure. CEO Dr. Chang-Gyu Hwang, and his team are considering which areas to prioritize in terms of new products and services in development. The top five sectors identified by KT’s team include the Internet of Things (including connected cars and smart city/homes), media, health, energy, and security and surveillance, which might provide some quick wins both in terms of revenues and market lead. Should KT develop solutions that could be exported to other countries? Should KT go all in across all five sectors, or select one or two to prioritize?

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How the Internet Became Commercial: Innovation, Privatization, and the Birth of a New Network

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