What is so special about the Internet? The underlying technology, pricing, traffic flows and value flows. While it took the telephone close to seventy-five years to reach 50 million users, it has taken the World Wide Web (WWW) only four years to reach the same number, says a new report published by ITU in February 1999. On the supply side of the equation, the number of international carriers grew to more than 1000 in 1998 — but this is still a long way behind the estimated 17 000 Internet service providers that have mushroomed around the world.
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