[Chapter-delegates] press release: Internet poised for significant changes in 2009, says Vint Cerf

[Gerard Ross]

Hello everyone

For your reference, here is a press release that we will be issuing  
shortly.

Regards
- Gerard



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Press release - for immediate distribution
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INTERNET POISED FOR SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN 2009, SAYS VINT CERF
Internet pioneer optimistic for Internet's future at opening of new  
Internet Society office

Geneva, Switzerland - 27 February 2009 - The Internet in 2009 is  
undergoing the most significant set of changes of its entire history,  
according to one of the men who helped create it, Dr. Vint Cerf. At  
the official opening of the Internet Society's (ISOC) new offices in  
Geneva, Dr Cerf explained that technical developments in the  
Internet's addressing system and the introduction of internationalised  
domain names are significant milestones.

Such statements carry weight, coming from the man who, in 1972, was  
one of the inventors of the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and  
the Internet Protocol (IP), two critical technologies that remain at  
the heart of the Internet today. In addition to his technical  
achievements, Dr. Cerf was also one of the founders of ISOC, an  
international non-profit organisation dedicated to ensuring the open  
development, evolution, and use of the Internet for the benefit of  
people throughout the world.

Jon McNerney, ISOC's Chief Operating Officer, paid tribute to Dr.  
Cerf: "As ISOC reaches out to bring the next billions of users online,  
we can be sure that the Internet they join will be bigger, more  
mobile, and more multilingual than ever before. This is very much  
thanks to the visionary decisions of Vint and his contemporaries to  
aim for open architectures, open standards, and an inclusive model of  
development."

Despite the technical challenges, Dr Cerf spoke of his great optimism  
for the future of the network and Internet applications. "We've now  
had 35 years of Internet development. It's been an exciting ride, but  
it's not over yet."

As the Internet expands, nothing is more important than getting the  
policy right," said Dr. Cerf. While noting that, as in other fields,  
abuses of the technology do happen, Dr. Cerf explained that technical  
measures cannot always stop the bad things, which is why governance is  
so important.

"The Internet Society's role as a policy commentator and influencer is  
central," he said.


About the Internet Society
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The Internet Society is an international, non-profit organisation  
founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet related standards,  
education, and policy. With offices in Washington, DC, and Geneva,  
Switzerland, it is dedicated to ensuring the open development,  
evolution, and use of the Internet for the benefit of people  
throughout the world.


Further details
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Gerard Ross
Senior Communications Manager, Internet Society
E-mail: ross at isoc.org
Telephone: +41-228-071-444 x2261
4, rue des Falaises
CH-1205-Geneva
Switzerland