http://www.ipdemocracy.com/archives/2007/10/03/#002688
(excerpt)
The two long-time colleagues and rarefied geniuses at one
point almost broke out into an argument in front of the packed
room. When asked by Wheeler what mistakes were made in
designing this sophisticated system, Kahn answered that it was
a mistake to allow for only 32-bit IP addresses, a limitation
that will soon be corrected -- or else the world will quickly
run out of IP addresses.
Cerf, who clearly was in charge of this aspect of the
Internet's design, took umbrage at the notion that the 32-bit
system was a "mistake." At the time, IP addresses were an
experiment, and the 32-bit system was designed to yield 4.6
billion IP addresses, he said. "I thought for an experiment
that that was enough." To which Kahn replied that some
computer scientist published a paper in the journal of the
IEEE at the time which warned about the 32-bit system.
The theme of the evening was supposed to be about "who
controls the Internet," and ultimately the discussion got
around to this issue. Typically "Internet governance" is a
shorthand phrase for U.S.-based ICANN's control over Internet
domains, something that other nations believe gives the U.S.
too much power.
Kahn said that, really, the Internet cannot be governed and
the ICANN domain issue is a red herring. "A lot of people
looked at that and said 'that's got to be the control center'
because there is nothing else." Some of the most important
things in the world can't be controlled, and the Internet is
one of them.
"Who's in charge of the global economy? Who's in charge of the
weather? You just deal with it," he said.
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