Greetings from the Program Committee

Welcome to INET 2001! The Internet is no longer a gray fluffy cloud on network topology diagrams. Parts of it are imploding as dotcoms disappear while other areas expand with new technological developments. At the same time, current technology mixes more in the daily lives of people, and more governments, businesses, and NGOs try to shape the path these developments are taking. The conference we have planned represents critical developments in all these areas.

INET 2001 is a unique event that brings together users, policy makers, and technologists. The program will comprise more than forty sessions, and will feature three plenary meetings covering some of the issues that concern all of us.

No other conference in the world attracts all components and forces that makes today's Internet: those who use it, those who steer it
and those who build it! To reflect this, INET 2001 is structured into three Summits:

• The Technology Summit
• The Uses of the Internet Summit
• The Governance and Regulation Summit

Welcome to INET 2001

It is my pleasure to welcome you to Stockholm and to INET 2001 -the Internet Society's 11th Annual INET Conference. Sweden and indeed Scandinavia are truly home to many of the most advanced developments in the wireless and mobile arenas.

The Internet continues to evolve at an astounding pace. In the eleven years since the first INET conference, the Internet has grown from an experimental technology originally used by a few in the research community to a tool that has penetrated even the furthest corners of the globe. For many of us it has become, in these few short years, an essential part of daily life. The theme of this year’s conference, the mobile Internet, reflects this growth.

ISOC has played an important role in this remarkable evolution. Still, real chal-lenges remain. More than half of the world’s population has never made a phone call, let alone connect to the Internet.

Throughout the world, the new medium has brought to the fore a host of important issues accompanied often by vigorous debate. Yet, it is through commu-nication and the spread of knowledge that we can eliminate the real and perceived differences that threaten to separate us, and the Internet empowers us in a way few would have dreamed possible just a few years ago.

The Internet Society strives to be at the forefront of the Internet sector, helping to guide a multi-faceted ‘network’ without imposing rules or regulation. INET 2001 will once again provide a setting where world-renowned leaders in the rapidly evolving world of the Internet will share their thoughts, as well as ambitions and expectations for the future.

I would like to thank all the dedicated volunteers and members who make INET possible: members of the Program Committee, Conference Committee, speakers, sponsors, participants and staff who contribute to making INET a success, many of them year after year.

I hope that you will join us in Stockholm for a stimulating conference, innovative social events and the legendary beauty of Scandinavia.

Lynn M. St. Amour
President/ CEO