Ted Stevens Thinks the Internet is a Series of Tubes

You would never guess Ted Stevens was't a techie. Of course, at the time, neither were most of his colleagues in the senate. At least Ted was

aware that the internet is "not a truck."

The Quote:

''The internet is not something you just dump something on. It's not a truck. It's a series of tubes. And if you don't understand, those tubes can be filled and if they are filled, when you put your message in, it gets in line and it's going to be delayed by anyone that puts into that tube enormous amounts of material, enormous amounts of material.''

Context

Sitting chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Seator Ted Stevens was attempting to  argue against internet regulation during a debate on Net Neutraliity in 2006. The Net Nuetrality legislation would have prohibited ISPs from charging some companies higher fees based on the traffic they generated. 

There's a chance Senator Stevens may have "dumbed down" his explanation for the not-so-net-savvy senators in the room. (Keep in mind that widespread use of the internet didn't come about until the mid 90s.)  

If you think about it, "series of tubes" is really not a bad metaphor. But the remark brought a tremendous amount of critisism  that characterized Stevens as just plain dumb — a charicterization that's still presumed true to this day.

What Is The Internet, If Not a Series Of Tubes?

According to Google: 

"The internet is a vast network of interconnected computers and networks that use TCP/IP to communicate. It includes: 

• Data centers: These are physical locations that store and process data.

• Internet exchange points: These are locations where different networks connect and exchange data.

Fiber-optic cables: These cables transmit data across cities, countries, and even oceans. 

While the fiber-optic cables are a crucial part of the internet's infrastructure, they are not simply tubes. They are complex systems containing multiple strands of fiber-optic cable, according to NPR.

Who Said It:

Ted Steven (1923-2010) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. Senator from Alaska from 1968 to 2009. He was the longest-serving Republican Senator in history at the time he left office.

Recommended Reading:

Inventing the Internet (Inside Technology)

By Janet Abate

In Inventing the Internet, Janet Abbate recounts the key players and technologies that allowed the Internet to develop; but her main focus is always on the social and cultural factors that influenced the Internet's design and use.

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