High Performance Computing and Communication Act of 1991
Encyclopedia
The High Performance Computing and Communication Act of 1991 (HPCA) is an Act of Congress
promulgated
in the 102nd United States Congress
as on 1991-12-09. Often referred to as the Gore Bill, it was created and introduced by then Senator
Albert Gore, Jr.
, and led to the development of the National Information Infrastructure
and the funding of the National Research and Education Network
(NREN).
The act built on prior U.S. efforts of developing a national networking infrastructure, starting with the ARPANET
in the 1960s, and the funding of the National Science Foundation Network
(NSFnet) in the 1980s. The renewed effort became known in popular language as building the Information Superhighway
. It also included the High-Performance Computing and Communications Initiative and spurred many significant technological developments, such as the Mosaic
web browser
, and the creation of a high-speed
fiber optic
computer network
.
, one of the creators of the ARPANET, which is regarded as the eve network of the Internet.
The bill was enacted on 1991-12-09 and led to the National Information Infrastructure
(NII) which Gore referred to as the "information superhighway
". President George H. W. Bush
predicted that the Act would help "unlock the secrets of DNA," open up foreign markets to free trade, and a promise of cooperation between government, academia, and industry.
Among the many technological achievements that resulted from the funding of the Gore Bill, was the development of Mosaic
in 1993, the World Wide Web
browser software which is credited by most scholars as beginning the Internet boom of the 1990s:
and Bob Kahn
, who stated, "No one in public life has been more intellectually engaged in helping to create the climate for a thriving Internet than the Vice President."
Act of Congress
An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by government with a legislature named "Congress," such as the United States Congress or the Congress of the Philippines....
promulgated
Promulgation
Promulgation is the act of formally proclaiming or declaring a new statutory or administrative law after its enactment. In some jurisdictions this additional step is necessary before the law can take effect....
in the 102nd United States Congress
102nd United States Congress
-House of Representatives:- Senate :* President:Dan Quayle * President pro tempore: Robert Byrd - Majority leadership :* Majority Leader: George Mitchell* Majority Whip: Wendell Ford- Minority leadership :...
as on 1991-12-09. Often referred to as the Gore Bill, it was created and introduced by then Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Albert Gore, Jr.
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
, and led to the development of the National Information Infrastructure
National Information Infrastructure
The National Information Infrastructure was the product of the High Performance Computing and Communication Act of 1991. It was a telecommunications policy buzzword, which was popularized during the Clinton Administration under the leadership of Vice-President Al Gore...
and the funding of the National Research and Education Network
National Research and Education Network
A National Research and Education Network is a specialised internet service provider dedicated to supporting the needs of the research and education communities within a country....
(NREN).
The act built on prior U.S. efforts of developing a national networking infrastructure, starting with the ARPANET
ARPANET
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network , was the world's first operational packet switching network and the core network of a set that came to compose the global Internet...
in the 1960s, and the funding of the National Science Foundation Network
National Science Foundation Network
The National Science Foundation Network was a program of coordinated, evolving projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation beginning in 1985 to promote advanced research and education networking in the United States...
(NSFnet) in the 1980s. The renewed effort became known in popular language as building the Information Superhighway
Information superhighway
The information superhighway or infobahnwas a popular term used through the 1990s to refer to digital communication systems and the Internet telecommunications network. It is associated with United States Senator and later Vice-President Al Gore....
. It also included the High-Performance Computing and Communications Initiative and spurred many significant technological developments, such as the Mosaic
Mosaic (web browser)
Mosaic is the web browser credited with popularizing the World Wide Web. It was also a client for earlier protocols such as FTP, NNTP, and gopher. Its clean, easily understood user interface, reliability, Windows port and simple installation all contributed to making it the application that opened...
web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
, and the creation of a high-speed
Broadband Internet access
Broadband Internet access, often shortened to just "broadband", is a high data rate, low-latency connection to the Internet— typically contrasted with dial-up access using a 56 kbit/s modem or satellite Internet with inherently high latency....
fiber optic
Optical fiber
An optical fiber is a flexible, transparent fiber made of a pure glass not much wider than a human hair. It functions as a waveguide, or "light pipe", to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber. The field of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of...
computer network
Computer network
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
.
Overview
Senator Al Gore developed the Act after hearing the 1988 report Toward a National Research Network submitted to Congress by a group chaired by UCLA professor of computer science Leonard KleinrockLeonard Kleinrock
Leonard Kleinrock is an American engineer and computer scientist. A computer science professor at UCLA's Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, he made several important contributions to the field of computer networking, in particular to the theoretical side of computer networking...
, one of the creators of the ARPANET, which is regarded as the eve network of the Internet.
The bill was enacted on 1991-12-09 and led to the National Information Infrastructure
National Information Infrastructure
The National Information Infrastructure was the product of the High Performance Computing and Communication Act of 1991. It was a telecommunications policy buzzword, which was popularized during the Clinton Administration under the leadership of Vice-President Al Gore...
(NII) which Gore referred to as the "information superhighway
Information superhighway
The information superhighway or infobahnwas a popular term used through the 1990s to refer to digital communication systems and the Internet telecommunications network. It is associated with United States Senator and later Vice-President Al Gore....
". President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
predicted that the Act would help "unlock the secrets of DNA," open up foreign markets to free trade, and a promise of cooperation between government, academia, and industry.
Among the many technological achievements that resulted from the funding of the Gore Bill, was the development of Mosaic
Mosaic (web browser)
Mosaic is the web browser credited with popularizing the World Wide Web. It was also a client for earlier protocols such as FTP, NNTP, and gopher. Its clean, easily understood user interface, reliability, Windows port and simple installation all contributed to making it the application that opened...
in 1993, the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
browser software which is credited by most scholars as beginning the Internet boom of the 1990s:
- Gore's legislation also helped fund the National Center for Supercomputing ApplicationsNational Center for Supercomputing ApplicationsThe National Center for Supercomputing Applications is an American state-federal partnership to develop and deploy national-scale cyberinfrastructure that advances science and engineering. NCSA operates as a unit of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign but it provides high-performance...
at the University of IllinoisUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignThe University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
, where a team of programmers, including NetscapeNetscapeNetscape Communications is a US computer services company, best known for Netscape Navigator, its web browser. When it was an independent company, its headquarters were in Mountain View, California...
founder Marc AndreessenMarc AndreessenMarc Andreessen is an American entrepreneur, investor, software engineer, and multi-millionaire best known as co-author of Mosaic, the first widely-used web browser, and co-founder of Netscape Communications Corporation. He founded and later sold the software company Opsware to Hewlett-Packard...
, created the Mosaic Web browserMosaic (web browser)Mosaic is the web browser credited with popularizing the World Wide Web. It was also a client for earlier protocols such as FTP, NNTP, and gopher. Its clean, easily understood user interface, reliability, Windows port and simple installation all contributed to making it the application that opened...
, the commercial Internet's technological springboard. 'If it had been left to private industry, it wouldn't have happened,' Andreessen says of Gore's bill, 'at least, not until years later.'
Controversy
Following a 1999 CNN interview Gore became the subject of some controversy and ridicule when his expression I took the initiative in creating the Internet was widely quoted out of context, indeed often misquoted, by comedians and the popular media who took his expression to be a claim that he personally had invented the Internet. But Gore's actual words were widely reaffirmed by notable Internet pioneers, such as Vint CerfVint Cerf
Vinton Gray "Vint" Cerf is an American computer scientist, who is recognized as one of "the fathers of the Internet", sharing this title with American computer scientist Bob Kahn...
and Bob Kahn
Bob Kahn
Robert Elliot Kahn is an American Internet pioneer, engineer and computer scientist, who, along with Vinton G. Cerf, invented the Transmission Control Protocol and the Internet Protocol , the fundamental communication protocols at the heart of the Internet.-Career:After receiving a B.E.E...
, who stated, "No one in public life has been more intellectually engaged in helping to create the climate for a thriving Internet than the Vice President."
External links
- Creating a Giant Computer Highway, via NYTimes.com
- Early draft of Gore Bill, via EFF.org
- Introduction of Gore Bill, via EFF.org
- Summary of Gore Bill, via NITRD.gov: High Performance Computing Act of 1991, via THOMASTHOMASTHOMAS is the database of United States Congress legislative information. It is operated by the Library of Congress and was launched in January 1995 at the inception of the 104th Congress...