Kraynak & Hebraken³ define the Internet as “a world-wide network of interconnected computer systems and a series of several types of computer services”.

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Physically, the Internet is a collection of packet-switched computer networks, glued together by a set of software protocols called TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). These protocols allow networks and the computers connected to them to communicate and share information. TCP/IP create what is called a packet-switched network, a kind of network intended to minimise the chance of losing any data sent over networks. First, TCP breaks down every piece of data into small chunks called packets, each wrapped in an electronic envelope with Web addresses for both the sender and the recipient. The IP protocol then figures out how the packets are supposed to get from the sender to the recipient passing through a series of routers, like regular mail passes through several post offices on its way to a remote location. Each router examines the destination address of the packets it receives and then passes them on to a router as they make their way to the final destination. If an e-mail message was broken up into ten packets by TCP, then each of those may have travelled a completely different route, but the recipient will never know it because as the packets arrive, TCP takes over again, identifying each packet and checking to see if it is intact. Once all the packets have arrived, TCP reassembles them into the original data.

The core of the Internet is a set of high-capacity backbone networks. These
networks carry the bulk of Internet traffic and are collectively known as the Internet backbone, owned by major Internet access providers in the US.

Before a user can consider using the Internet, his/her computer needs an operating system with a graphical user interface such as Windows. To take full advantage of the World Wide Web a user will also need a browser. Browsers are software programs that enable users to view documents on the Web as they translate HTML-encoded files into text, audio and video. The most popular browsers are Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Netscape Communicator.

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To connect to the Internet a user needs an agreement with an access provider, typically a commercial organisation. They range from large organisations with their own geographically dispersed Points of Presence (POPs) to small providers which provide one or two local telephone numbers and a single connection into another network. Access providers provide a variety of services, ranging from a cheap dial-up account suitable for a home user to a permanent leased-line connection aimed at commercial use. The typical dial-up account holder will pay a fixed monthly access fee and will pay the local telephone charges on top. The leased-line account holder has no usage-based charges at all, as the leased line provides capacity at a fixed rental. Leased lines have a higher bandwidth and are more expensive and more suitable for businesses. Bandwidth is the amount of information or data that can be sent over a network connection in a given period of time. Bandwidth is usually stated in bits per second (bps), kilobits per second (kbs) or megabits per second (mps).

A user furthermore needs a means of communication with the access provider. A dial-up account holder will use a telephone line and a modem. A modem converts a computer’s digital signals into analogue (sound waves) to be transmitted over standard telephone lines. Businesses usually use a permanent leased-line connection. Another telecommunications technology that will have a big impact on the Internet is Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN). ISDN is literally digital telephones. Rather than convert a computer’s digital signals into analogue, like a modem does, ISDN transmits a digital signal over digital telephone lines. The advantage is a much faster connection because there is no conversion from digital signals to analogue and back again to digital signals.

The access providers in South Africa make extensive use of infrastructure rented from Telkom. The reason is that Telkom has a monopoly on the provision of telecommunication facilities to be used for, among others, Internet access.⁶ These lines, being primarily Diginet lines, are used to connect the access provider to corporate customers, other access providers, peering points and international companies for a connection to the world-wide Internet. Diginet lines are high-speed dedicated connections provided by Telkom. Some smaller access providers obtain the international connection through bigger access providers. Telkom lines are also used to connect the access provider to Points of Presence (POPs) in locations geographically remote from the networking centre of the access provider.

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Users can also use cell phones and a satellite connection to connect to the Internet. The satellite connection is a one-way link (simplex) and used in conjunction with a regular dial-up or leased-line connection. The regular connection is used for outgoing data and the satellite link for incoming data. A user needs a satellite dish (aimed at the PAS-4 satellite)⁷ and an interface card plugged into the user’s computer. Because most Internet traffic is incoming, the speed⁸ is much higher and bypasses international bottlenecks and poor line quality.

The Internet is made up of several different components or services – the World Wide Web, Internet e-mail, newsgroups, FTP sites and even Internet real-time chat. This section outlines some of the more popular components and services available on the Internet.

In order to move around the many sites on the Web, a user needs a Web browser such as Microsoft’s Internet Explorer or Netscape Communicator. These browsers provide powerful, yet easy-to-use, features that allow the user to take full advantage of all the content on the Web. Besides the Web’s text and graphics, a user can also access special multimedia content such as audio, video and interactive web sites with a browser.

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Domain names are the next level of Internet addresses as they create a single identity for a series of computers used by a company or an organisation. While there may be 38 hosts in a given company, or 38 documents on a single host, each with a different IP address, they all share a common domain name such as mweb.co.za

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The language of the Web is the Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML). Every document on the Web, the hyperlinks and even the graphics and scrolling banners are created in the HTML language. While HTML is the language that describes the basic elements of every Web document, it is technologies like Java, JavaScript and ActiveX that programmers use to create animated and interactive Web documents – the kind that move, flash and play games.⁹

Newsgroups began in 1979 as a service connecting computers at Duke University and the University of North Carolina. Today it is immensely popular, with topics ranging from law, politics and astrology to tattoos and health.¹⁰

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The core infrastructure of the Internet consists of routers, hosts and pipes. Routers are special-purpose computers or software packages that handle the connection between two or more networks by looking at the destination addresses of the packets of data passing through them and deciding which route to send them on. Hosts are computers that store information and make it available across the Internet. The information on a host could vary from web sites to newsgroups, databases or software programs. Pipes are the telecommunication connections that link the hosts and routers together and could vary from landlines to satellite signals. Hosts and routers are owned by various government organisations, private organisations or individuals, while pipes are usually owned by telecommunications companies. The capacity or bandwidth of pipes affects the amount of data that can be carried and the speed at which it is delivered to the user. While the backbones of the Internet are typically high bandwidth, the last link to the home user is typically a low bandwidth ordinary telephone line.

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An access provider gives users access to the Internet. The first access providers were academic institutions, which enabled their staff, faculties and students to access the Internet. In South Africa, Uninet is a good example of such an access provider. Today the typical access provider is a commercial organisation selling Internet access to home and commercial users. These access providers have their own geographically dispersed Points of Presence (POPs) and local dial-up numbers across the country. A variety of access options is available, ranging from cheap dial-up accounts, faster ISDN connections or permanent leased-line connections for businesses
and commercial users.

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Telkom SAIX is a typical access provider; a list of its POPs and dial-up numbers is available at http://saix.net/business/access-table.html

Get a topological map of Southern African Internet access providers at http://ispmap.org.za

Access providers have both physical links to and contractual relations with other access providers and the networks they serve. The physical connection enables the Internet traffic to flow between the two access providers through peering points. At present there are peering points in Rosebank, Johannesburg (JINX) and Newlands, Cape Town (CINX) operated by ISPA, and an independent peering point operated by Uninet. The contractual arrangements are called peering agreements and govern the exchange of information between the participating access providers’ networks. The model is to allow mutual exchange, and generally no consideration is payable by any of the parties. However in South Africa amounts are payable in terms of local peering agreements. The agreement typically states that none of the participants may restrict use of the information on their networks or filter such information before transmission or on receipt. This includes that no wire-tapping or monitoring of information is allowed. No statistical information about information traffic flow may be supplied to third parties and liability for the submitting or acceptance of information is excluded. As the parties may be from different jurisdictions, there is generally a paragraph stating the governing law.

If there is no direct physical connection or peering agreement in place between two networks, the traffic has to find another route. The Internet protocols, described above, are used to route around such blockages. A user in Cape Town, accessing a web site on a host down the road, could therefore find that the message is routed through the US. The political tension between Telkom SA Limited and the ISPA caused users who were linked to Telkom’s SAIX infrastructure slow response times on local sites, because SAIX was not allowed to peer with the peering points ISPA established in South Africa. At the London peering point in the United Kingdom (LINX), all peering partners are physically connected to the peering point, but Internet traffic is only allowed to pass between networks of peering partners who have negotiated specific peering agreements with each other. To establish a physical connection to LINX, an ISP must have peering agreements in place with at least 20% of the other members.

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Between these extremes could lie numerous variations. A host may store its own data or data hosted on behalf of other parties, for free or for reward, as a commercial service. The data may be permanent or ephemeral. The owner of the host computer may be actively involved in the process of placing data on the host, for instance if it provides Web design and HTML coding services – or it may do nothing more than provide storage space, bandwidth and a domain name and IP address, taking no part in the selection or design of the information. Furthermore, the host owner may promote itself as a desirable network to visit, e.g. an online shopping mall, or promotion may be left entirely to the content providers, so that each collection of information on the host appears to the outside world as entirely separate and unconnected.²⁰

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As regards storage, the contract needs to set out the storage space available to the content provider, how it might be increased and the basis for calculating any difference in the charges should the storage space be increased. Furthermore, a web site is not static and the content provider will want to retain immediacy with regular updates and changes. The contract should set out how updates and changes are to be made, the frequency with which they can be made, who will be responsible for the updates, the time it will take the host to implement the changes and the costs involved.

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At present some of the most important navigation providers are search engines and Internet directories. They catalogue resources across the Internet, so that the user can either perform a keyword or phrase search for relevant sites, or consult a structures directory for sites of interest. Many sites also collect content on a specific topic and either host that information or provide links to the information. Most search engines invite content providers to place a summary of their content on the search engine for search purposes by other users. These first-generation search engines index key words provided by the content providers themselves, which are often misleading because they have been included in order to get better rankings on search engine results. Second-generation search engines have more control over the indexing process and attempt to distinguish the quality of content. M-Web launched MAX, a second-generation search engine which allows users to search by asking questions in day to day natural language.²²

Example of a second-generation South African search engine at http://www.max.co.za

As navigation providers compete and gain a reputation for effective sifting of the wheat from the chaff, they become some of the strongest brands on the Internet and attract the most hits per day – therefore they are able to command high prices for third party advertisers or sponsorships. Navigation providers also tend to be at the centre of some of the most complex sets of contractual relationships to be found on the Internet.²³

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The increase of electronic commerce on the Internet has stimulated investment to overcome shortcomings. In addressing these concerns, e.g. security, transaction facilitators license and patent various security and digital signature products. Trusted intermediaries verify identities and credit standing.

These transaction facilitators are likely to play a more important role as electronic commerce increases and users develop trust in the Internet as the transaction risks are reduced to an acceptable level.

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A portal is a web site that is used as the first stop when a browser is activated. These sites generally have a news section, search facility and the day’s weather, and may be customised by the user.

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Example of a South African portal at http://www.24.com

The W3C is an international organisation focused on the Web. Its work is divided between four working groups – the User Interface group, the Technology and Society group, the Architecture group and the Web Accessibility initiative.

The User Interface group sees to it that the Web is improved in functionality but kept as simple as possible. This group sets standards for the language of the Web, HTML, and currently works on HTML 4.0 which has new features such as multimedia, objects, scripting, internationalisation and support for style sheets. This new version of HTML allows text to be written from right to left, as in Arabic and Hebrew, and also caters for those who use speech synthesisers and Braille to communicate.

The Technology and Society group concentrates on the issues that arise from the application and use of the Web. They address issues like digital signatures, privacy, electronic commerce, security and intellectual property rights.

The Architecture group of W3C looks at the future and leads the evolution of the Web by concentrating, among others, on convergence issues and the integration of Web and television technologies.

Finally, the Web Accessibility Initiative leads the Web to its full potential by
promoting a high degree of usability for people with disabilities.

ISOC was formed in 1992 and has its headquarters in Reston, Virginia. It serves as the international organisation for global co-ordination and co-operation on the Internet. It promotes a broad range of activities focused on the Internet’s development and availability and associated technologies. ISOC is a professional membership society with more than 150 organisational and over 6 000 individual members in over 100 countries. The society is governed by a Board of Trustees elected by its members around the world. It provides leadership in addressing issues that confront the future of the Internet – such as access, censorship, copyright, e-commerce, encryption, privacy, spamming, viruses and domain names systems. A common stake in maintaining the viability and global scale of the Internet binds the members.

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ISOC is also the organisational home for groups responsible for Internet standards, e.g. the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) and the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is concerned with the architecture and smooth operation of the Internet. The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) is a technical advisory group whose responsibilities include the overall architecture of the Internet, such as the backbones and all the networks connected to them. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) leads the organisations responsible for assigning IP addresses and the Internet Information Centre (INTERNIC) leads organisations responsible for assigning domain names.

Telkom SA Limited historically enjoys an exclusive right to the establishment of basic telecommunications infrastructure in terms of the Post Office Act.²⁵ The advent of the Telecommunications Act²⁶ did not change this position.

Get the Post Office Act of 1958 and all the amendments at http://www.polity.org.za/govdocs/legislation/doclaw.html   Get the Telecommunications Act of 1996 at http://www.polity.org.za/govdocs/legislation/doclaw.html

Telkom’s monopoly is founded in section 78 and section 7(2) of the Post Office Act.²⁷ Section 78 is incorporated by reference into section 36(1)(a) of the Telecommunications Act.²⁸ Telkom’s monopoly is excluded or limited in respect of broadcasting,²⁹ the operation of private telecommunication networks³⁰ and the provision of cellular communication.³¹ In 1997 SATRA ruled that Telkom’s exclusive rights do not extend to Value Added Network Services³² which include Internet access services.³³ Among the licences issued to Telkom in 1997 is a licence to provide Value-added Network Service (VANS)³⁴ in terms of section 40 of the Telecommunications Act.³⁵ This licence gives Telkom the right to provide VANS, which is defined to include electronic data interchange, e-mail, protocol conversion, access to a database or managed data network service, voice mail, store-and-forward fax, videoconferencing, telecommunication-related publishing and advertising services and electronic information services. Telkom’s Public Switched Telecommunications Service (PSTS) licence³⁶ gives it an exclusive right to provide certain elements of the Public Switched Telecommunications Service. This includes the International Telecommunications Service³⁷ and all telecommunication facilities to be used by any person for the provision of Value Added Network Services such as Internet access. Therefore, access providers are forced to use telecommunication facilities provided by Telkom.

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Since 1996 Telkom has offered Internet access through the South African Internet Exchange (SAIX), a wholly owned subsidiary of Telkom. As SAIX is only an access provider and not a service provider like other ISPs, its costs are very low, as the cost associated with a value-added service is not incurred. SAIX has the greatest number of POPs with the largest geographic spread, from Messina in the north to Bredasdorp in the south, linked to a 40Mb international backbone.

At the end of 1996 Telkom launched Intekom, an ISP that sells Internet services on the open market.

ISPA was formed in June 1996 in response to the perceived threat to independent Internet access posed by the entry of Telkom into the Internet access market in the form of SAIX and Intekom. ISPA took the matter to the Competition Board and later made submissions to SATRA. In October SATRA announced that Internet access is a Value Added Network Service in terms of section 40 of the Telecommunications Act.³⁸  

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ISPA controls the South African peering points located in Johannesburg (JINX) and Cape Town (CINX). This allows member ISPs to carry their inter-SA traffic effectively without having to rely on agreements in the United States or Europe. In 1996 and 1997 ISPA decided by majority vote to exclude Telkom, SAIX and Intekom from connecting to these peering points because of the political stand-off between these organisations. This was changed in 1998 when all access providers were allowed and Intekom immediately joined.

Get the ISPA homepage at http://www.ispa.org.za

SATRA is a statutory body established by section 5 of the Telecommunications Act³⁹ and is a regulatory watchdog for the telecommunications industry. One of the motivating factors for the creation of SATRA was to bring about a telecommunications environment with a clear separation between the functions and powers of the government, telecommunications operators and a regulator (SATRA) to encourage transparency and accountability. SATRA is responsible for the administration of government policy, issuing licences, managing the radio frequency spectrum and implementing a range of tasks mandated by the Telecommunications Act.⁴⁰

In terms of its functions, SATRA is very similar to the Office for Telecommunications (OFTEL) established in connection with the liberalisation of the telecommunications industry in the United Kingdom, a process which culminated in the privatisation of British Telecom in 1994.

SATRA made a landmark ruling in 1997, namely that Internet access services⁴¹ fall under the ambit of Value Added Network Services (VANS)⁴² and not Public Switched Telecommunications Services⁴³ for which Telkom has the exclusive right. Telkom therefore has no claim to exclusivity when it comes to Internet access.

The Department of Communications is the public service arm of the Ministry for Posts, Telecommunications and Broadcasting. With the establishment of the new political dispensation in South Africa in 1994 it was decided to place posts, telecommunications and broadcasting in one cabinet portfolio. The reasons for this move were that one ministry should head all forms of communication and because of the growing technological convergence between telecommunications and broadcasting.

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The enactment of the Telecommunications Act⁴⁴ changed the role and functions of the department comprehensively and also changed its name from the Department of Posts and Telecommunications to the Department of Communications. The name of the head of the department changed from Postmaster General to Director-General.

Get the homepage of the Department of Communications at http://docweb.pwv.gov.za/

The NRF, a statutory body established in terms of the National Research Foundation Act,⁴⁷ consolidates the activities of the former Foundation for Research and Development (FRD) and the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC).

The NRF manages the Uninet network between academic institutions and research councils. The Uninet project started in 1987 as a network between
universities in South Africa and played an important role in the establishment of the Internet in South Africa. The main object is to provide computer networks complying with the standards of the Internet for the use of every academic, researcher and student in South Africa. Uninet is linked to the USA by a 3 Mb/s link and to all the commercial ISPs in South Africa. Full Internet facilities are available on Uninet.

Get the web site of the NRF at http://www.frd.ac.za

The South African Chapter of the international Internet Society was formed in October 1998 and is officially recognised by the Internet Society. In early 1999 ISOC ZA elected members of a namespace drafting committee to draft policy for the top-level .za domain name.

Get the web site of ISOC SA at http://www.isoc.org.za

The Chapter of the Internet Society in South Africa (ISOC ZA) is in the process of developing a new policy for the .za namespace. The idea is to create a suitable organisation to administer and manage both the top-level .za domain and the secondary domains.

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ISOC SA Namespace in South Africa (1999) at http://www.isoc.org.za/namespace.html

The nature of the Internet changed abruptly in 1992, when the US government began pulling out of managing the network, and commercial entities offered Internet access to the general public. This was also the year in which the World Wide Web was proposed by the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland, as a means to better communicate research ideas between the members of the far-flung organisation.

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Developments in Uninet and the end of apartheid helped propel South Africa into the top 20 connected countries in the world. It was estimated in 1999 that South Africa had more than 1 million Internet users.⁵⁰ In 1999 there were more than 80 ISPs in South Africa.⁵¹

Lawrie The History of the Internet in South Africa: How it began at http://apies.frd.ac.za/uninet/history/