The Internet has transformed itself in a few short years from an obscure online outpost frequented mainly by scientists to a mass medium used daily by over 50 million people worldwide. The explosion of information technology has created opportunities undreamed of by previous generations. Companies ranging from garage startups to multinational corporations are bringing their goods and services into the electronic realm at an ever-escalating rate.
Students are able to gain access to educational materials despite their geographical location.
The reason for this looming deficit is the onslaught of data traffic on the network. Local telephone companies calculate that by the year 2000, they will be carrying as much Internet data as voice traffic. In some areas of the country, this is already the case. The first step in alleviating this congestion is to understand the fundamental different between data traffic and voice traffic. Data also changes the nature of usage.