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It wasn't a military project any more than the radio or telephone were. Or railroads and highways.
by Retra 10y ago
It wasn't a military project any more than the radio or telephone were. Or railroads and highways.
- timthorn 10y agoRadio, telephone and trains were all private inventions, developed for money. The Internet was explicitly not commercial for many years.
- Retra 10y agoSo? The outcome of wars are almost entirely decided on the basis of logistic and communications systems. It's hardly a relevant matter to point out that research into communications and logistics has military value and would originate from military funding. This is not something one needs to 'keep in mind' to conclude that commercial entities would end up controlling and administering it.
- westbywest 10y agoFWIW, Samuel Morse obtained a $30,000 grant from Congress in 1843 to build an experimental telegraph line between Baltimore and Washington.
- Inconel 10y agoSlightly off topic but wasn't the original purpose of the interstate system to be able to move war materiel around the country by land efficiently?
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- pc86 10y agoAnd to land bombers, if memory serves.
- WorldMaker 10y agoThis was not a goal of the American Interstate system: http://www.snopes.com/autos/law/airstrip.asp http://www.snopes.com/autos/law/airstrip.asp