Dubbed one of ‘the fathers of the internet’, Google Vice-President Vint Cerf has noted that South Africa got a glimpse of what was to come 40 years ahead when he and his colleague Bob Kahn presented a paper on what a design of the internet would be.
Speaking after Africa’s first Google ‘Big Tent’ event in Johannesburg, Cerf said that he and Kahn came to South Africa in September of 1973 to demonstrate the predecessor to the internet – ARPANet – an initiative sponsored by the US Defence Department. ARPANet was essentially a computer-to-computer mode of communication: the backbone of what was to power the World Wide Web which Tim Berners-Lee would later co-found and have the first website launched in 1991.
Morning Live spoke to Cerf, click below for part one of the interview:
The Joburg edition of the Google Big Tent ran with the theme ‘The Digital Economy: Fuelling Jobs, Growth and Innovation in South Africa: How can we harness the digital economy to fuel jobs, growth and innovation in South Africa?’ Communications Minister Yunus Carrim was also present at proceedings.
The Internet – which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2013, having been turned on in 1983 – is said to be the ‘quiet engine’ driving the South African economy, contributing up to 2% ($7.1 bn) of the country’s GDP, comparable to sectors such as Agriculture (2.1%) and Utilities (2.6%). The Internet economy is expected to grow significantly faster than the offline economy in the next 5 years.
Part two of Cerf’s interview below:
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