These days, everyone uses the Internet. We surf it to learn, contact government agencies, and buy stuff.
But let me take you back to the late 1980s. At the time, the Internet was only for academics and the government. Not for ordinary people like you and me. And using the internet as we do today was a distant and very radical idea.
And it would have stayed this way, had it not been for the vision of a woman who played a crucial role in shaping the internet as we know it today: Susan Estrada.
About Susan Estrada
Susan Estrada was born with a curiosity that drove her to explore the world around her. Her father was a professor in Chemistry and her mother was a librarian.
Few people know that her initial career path wasn’t in technology at all. Before making her mark on the internet, Estrada began her professional life in marine biology. Her early work involved studying the behavior of marine mammals, particularly seals.
It wasn’t until later that she obtained a Master’s degree in Information and Computer Science from the University of California, San Diego. This pivot would ultimately lead her to play a crucial role in the development of the commercial internet.
Her contribution to the Internet
Susan Estrada was an Internet pioneer who built Internet infrastructure way before it was “cool”.
In 1987, she founded the California Education and Research Federation Network, also known as CERFnet. This was in effect the first Internet Service Provider.
With CERFnet, she helped educational institutions, businesses, and government agencies connect access the Internet.
Through her leadership and collaboration with PSInet and UUnet, Susan helped form the interconnection enabling the first commercial Internet traffic via the Commercial Internet Exchange (CIX).
This was a pivotal moment in the commercialization of the Internet, and it set the stage for the explosive growth that would follow in the 1990s.
The power of collaboration
Susan Estrada did not shy way from collaborating with other innovative players. One of her earliest commercial customers was a small startup named Qualcomm, now an industry leader in telecom. She also made some bold choices like purchasing equipment from another startup named Cisco, which provided them with a big boost: 10% of their gross revenue for 1988.
Two Fun Facts
CERFnet was called CERF and not SURF because, as Estrada highlighted in her induction speech for the Internet Hall Of Fame, “those darn people in the Netherlands took the real “surf” from us in California.”
Susan and her colleagues also wanted to humanize the Internet. In fact, they created a female cartoon character called Captain Internet to help them do so.
“I like to think of myself as an innovator and collaborator – building the commercial scale Internet that our academic and businesses customers wanted.” – Susan Estrada
Advocating for women in tech
Susan Estrada’s impact goes beyond the technical aspects of networking. Throughout her career, she has been a strong advocate for women in technology, breaking barriers and serving as a role model for future generations.
Her leadership in a male-dominated field during the early days of the internet serves as an inspiring example of breaking barriers and paving the way for future generations of women in tech.
She actively works to ensure that women’s achievements are recognized and celebrated, helping to counteract history’s tendency to overlook women’s role in technological advancements. By doing so, she not only honors past achievements but also creates a more inclusive narrative for the future.
Her legacy
CERFnet didn’t just provide internet access; it helped democratize it. Susan Estrada’s work ensured that the internet would not remain confined to a small group of users but would grow into a global phenomenon. Her contributions were instrumental in creating the backbone of what we now take for granted: universal access to the Internet.
She was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame in 2014.
So, the next time you surf the Internet, thank Susan Estrada for making that happen.
Women Disrupting Tech | The Podcast 