The Internet was not exempt out of this phase which ended just a few years back. It started with the whole computer anarchy manifested in ad hoc networks, local systems, systems of organizations (mainly universities and organs of the federal government such as DARPA, the right part of the defense establishment, in the USA).
Non commercial entities jumped on the bandwagon and started sewing these systems together (an activity fully subsidized by government funds). The total result was a world-encompassing network of educational institutions. The American Pentagon established the network of all networks, the ARPANET. Other federal government departments became a member of the fray, headed by the National Science Foundation (NSF) which withdrew only lately from the web.
The Internet (with a different name) became semi-public property – with access granted to the chosen few. Radio got this program specifically. Radio transmissions started in the USA in 1920. Those were anarchic broadcasts without discernible regularity. Non commercial organizations and not for income organizations began their own broadcasts and even created radio broadcasting infrastructure (albeit of the cheap and local kind) focused on their audiences. Trade unions, certain educational institutions, and religious organizations commenced “open, public radio” broadcasts. The Commercial Phase When the users (e.g., listeners regarding the radio, or owners of PCs and modems in the case of the Internet) reach a crucial mass – the business sector is alerted.
In the name of capitalist ideology (another religious beliefs, really) it demands “privatization” of the medium. This harps on …