China Will be a Web Hub

As a trendsetter in a cutting-edge industry one might expect Donald M. Heath, president and CEO of the Internet Society (ISOC) to be brash, young and frenetic like other leaders in the Internet field.

But, he's not.

Heath, a mild-mannered white-haired classical music lover, visited Beijing last week with a group of industry leaders to attend the four-day China Internet Conference and Exhibition 2000 (ChinaInet).

Showing deep concern for and confidence in China's Internet industry, Heath said China will become an e-commerce hub within the next two years. He said an IDC (International Data Corp) forecast that China will generate US$3.8 billion via e-commerce was an underestimate by at least a factor of 10.

He told Business Weekly that the rapid development of the Internet in China during the past two years has deeply impressed him.

"Much is unknown about China in the outside world, but its influence on the Internet revolution is beyond imagination," he said.

In the US-based ISOC, Heath leads a broad spectrum of activities focused on the Internet's development and associated technologies, its international growth, availability, education, policies and evolution.

Heath is a member of the US State Department's Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy, a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization and a member of the Advisory Committee on Telecommunications to the government of Ireland. He is active in fostering efforts and initiatives for Internet self-governance.

Having lived in the Internet world for the last two decades, he keeps a cool head in a boiling industry.

"More than 90 per cent of the existing dotcom companies will change in the coming two years; they will either go bankrupt, or be merged," he said.

For the burgeoning Chinese dotcom companies, Heath warned they should be objective and realistic to avoid bursting their Internet dream bubbles.

"The real driving force on the Internet is e-commerce," he said, "Dotcom companies should strive to make a profit as soon as possible."

He said Amazon.com, the biggest on-line book store, still has not reported a profit after five years of operation.

"The Internet is not only a place to communicate and play. Its major purpose is make a profit and achieve savings, but without wasting money," said Heath.

He cited eight primary issues for discussion that confront the Internet and e-commerce concepts worldwide: intellectual property, privacy, taxation, e-payments, security, infrastructure, authentication and harmful content.

"The Internet is proving to be a precise mechanism required for commerce, but there are serious legal, ethical, political, social and economic obstacles along the way. How will we overcome there obstacles and allow the Internet to reach its fullest potential?" he asked, while continuing his search for answers.