Creator's vision of open net

Vint Cerf says there isn't enough competition in New Zealand's broadband market. Picture / Reuters

As with many pioneers, Vint Cerf is a humble man with a vision.

Commonly regarded as the creator of the internet for his development of the Transmission Control Protocol and internet Protocol (TCP/IP), which forms the technical backbone of the net, Cerf is modest about his achievements.

"This is not a one-man show by any means," he says with a chuckle.

Cerf created TCP/IP in the late 1970s and early 1980s while working for the US Department of Defence's Advanced Research Projects Agency.

He also helped create the first commercial email program during his stint in the 1980s as vice-president of MCI's Digital Information Services.

His CV is long and stacked, and through it all the 62-year-old computer scientist has never wavered from his vision of a free and open internet for everyone.

Last month, Cerf testified before the US Senate committee on commerce, science and transportation to oppose a move by telecommunications companies to create a two-tiered internet. The telcos say internet companies such as Google, Amazon and eBay have been getting "a free ride" on their networks, and they want to start charging them for access. Internet networks are expensive to run, the telcos say, and it's difficult to make a return on them.

That plan could destroy the internet, Cerf says. Charging content providers would limit innovation to only those companies who could afford the bandwidth. Companies such as Google and Amazon might not exist if they hadn't had free access to the internet to experiment.

"If you suddenly interfere with the ideas to try these things out ... that's a very bad outcome because historically the telephone companies have not shown themselves to be highly creative."

Choice for users would also be limited, as the only companies that would offer services online would be those that had cut deals with the telcos.

"I consider their arguments to be self-serving at best and severely damaging to the internet at worst because of the innovative inhibition," he says.

Cerf also takes umbrage at the telcos' argument that they can't make a return on their networks without charging companies for access.

"I'm sitting here saying, excuse me but we [consumers] pay a substantial amount of money for our ability to get on the internet," he says.

"What they should be doing is dropping the cost of access to broadband and increasing the ability of entrepreneurs to bring new services into being and grow the entire information economy around this stuff. But they don't seem to get that."

Cerf tends to take a pro-regulatory stance on telcos - both in the United States and in New Zealand. Although the US has significantly better broadband uptake than New Zealand, there still isn't proper competition as cable and DSL providers have formed pocket monopolies around the country, he says. The US Government, therefore, needs to step in and force better access.

"What's worse than a regulated monopoly? The answer is an unregulated monopoly," he says.

It's a view that has particular relevance to New Zealand, where Telecom controls virtually the entire retail and wholesale broadband market.

Cerf says he plans to advise the Government to step in and regulate Telecom.

"There isn't enough competition," he says. "If you cannot heal this problem with adequate competition, then you had better start invoking regulatory constraint to ensure open access to broadband facilities."

But taking on the telcos isn't the only thing on Cerf's plate these days. He joined the board of the internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) in 1999 and is currently chairman of the internet governance body.

Last year, he also signed on as Google's "chief internet evangelist", where he is helping to build network infrastructure and standards.

Cerf is in Wellington this week for a conference of Icann. The group has on its agenda a review of internationalised domain name activity, as well as the integration of top level domains. Icann will also be discussing its existing agreement on the .com domain, as well its governmental advisory committee, which is losing its support from the European Commission.

Icann's nature and role have been coming under increased scrutiny. The United Nations has suggested that because Icann administers domain names on behalf of the US Government, the internet is under American control.

Cerf says it sounds far more sinister than it is, as the US Government has historically taken a very hands-off approach with Icann.

"To be fair, they have never demanded any changes be made and they've never rejected any proposals coming from Icann ... It has been an extraordinarily benign stewardship."

One of the items on Icann's Wellington agenda that may be settled is a resolution on a domain name for porn websites. The group is considering a proposal to place porn sites under the .xxx domain name.

Cerf is in favour of the move as it would likely help to block minors from such sites. However, he is cognisant of the opposing argument - free-speech advocates say it's a slippery slope to create the notion that certain websites can be forced into a blockable domain. It's an idea that could be used to censor other types of sites, such as politically-motivated ones.

Still, Cerf says that if the Icann board puts forward a vote on the .xxx domain, he would be for it.

"My view is that I don't believe that it harms anything and, if anything, it might help."