The result was a globe
encompassing network of academic institutions. The American
Pentagon established the network of all networks, the ARPANET.
Other government departments joined the fray, headed by the
National Science Foundation (NSF) which withdrew only lately
from the Internet.
The Internet (with a different name) became semi-public
property - with access granted to the chosen few.
Radio took precisely this course. Radio transmissions started
in the USA in 1920. Those were anarchic broadcasts with no
discernible regularity. Non commercial organizations and not
for profit organizations began their own broadcasts and even
created radio broadcasting infrastructure (albeit of the cheap
and local kind) dedicated to their audiences. Trade unions,
certain educational institutions and religious groups
commenced "public radio" broadcasts.
The Commercial Phase
When the users (e.g., listeners in the case of the radio, or
owners of PCs and modems in the example of the Internet) reach
a critical mass - the business sector is alerted. In the name
of capitalist ideology (another religion, really) it demands
"privatization" of the medium.
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