Bob Metcalfe

About the author: Bob Metcalfe invented Ethernet, a network operating system, in 1973 and founded 3Com Corporation, a San Francisco computer hardware manufacturer, in 1979. He writes the "From the Ether" column for InfoWorld, a weekly magazine covering computers and the Internet.

The Internet is headed for a catastrophic collapse. Internet congestion and prolonged service outages are signs of this impending failure. Other weak spots include software bugs, human error, and sabotage. Many corporations and universities recognize the potential for collapse and have created their own "intranets"—private networks for selected users. Internet service providers and Internet management organizations should seek solutions to improve Internet performance.

The Internet might possibly escape a "gigalapse" in 1996. If so, I'll be eating columns at the World Wide Web Conference in April 1997. Even so, Scott Bradner [a director of network management for the...