A "Do-Over" for the Internet?

Researchers are studying whether or not to completely "scrap" the internet as we know it, and re-build it better, faster, stronger.

Although the internet has steadily advanced in the 37 years since UCLA professor Leonard Kleinrock oversaw the transfer of test data between two remote computers, some experts are concerned that the Internet's outdated platform raises enhanced security and mobility issues which will only worsen if growth on the old platform continues.

A new, more secure and technologically advanced network could be created parallel with the current internet, and eventually totally replace it. Any replacement internet is not expected to be developed for 10 to 15 years.

A number of "clean-slate" projects are currently underway. The National Science Foundation is working to create an experimental research network known as the Global Environment for Network Innovations (GENI), and is funding university research. Major universities such as Princeton, Rutgers and Stanford are researching internet replacement individually, and the United States Department of Defense is exploring the concept.