• The Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, October 2, 2007 11 AM

The long-running debate over whether the over-extended Internet will one day slow to a crawl continues. Some experts say a crisis is looming and that the worldwide Web is even in need of replacing, while others, like networking giant Cisco Systems, believe their networking technology will help Internet Service Providers and others cope.

Among those who believe in doom is ABI Research's Stan Schatt, who says that increasing bandwidth demands will inevitably lead to a traffic crash. "The Internet wasn't designed for people to watch television," says Web pioneer Larry Roberts. "I know because I designed it." But Cisco says the way to avoid this problem is to buy software that either accelerates Internet traffic or increases its capacity. The buyers, of course, are ISPs and companies that want to create separate networks that better manage Web traffic.

However, Web traffic technology, like other technology, goes down in price over time as more competitors enter the market. This is already happening to companies building proprietary networks, and many firms have since gone bust. But Cisco co-founder Len Bosman sees the stability of the networking industry as being key to the future of information exchange.

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