Media release

iiNet nets WWW inventor Tim Berners-Lee

23 January 2013:  iiNet will host World Wide Web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee for a series of free public events in Australia and New Zealand during his 10-day TBL Down Under tour from January 30.

British-born Sir Tim invented the World Wide Web, running the first successful communication between a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) client and server via the Internet in December 1990. 

iiNet’s TBL Down Under events are scheduled for Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, the Gold Coast and Wellington. While the first round of event registrations are sold out, internet-lovers can still get their hands on tickets through iiNet’s Facebook page.

iiNet has also arranged for Simon Hackett, Internode founder and an instrumental figure in introducing the Internet to Australia, to participate in an interview with Sir Tim during his Canberra visit, with a video of the exclusive sit-down to be aired on iiNet’s Freezone.

iiNet is inviting people to submit any burning questions they would like to ask the Web's inventor during this discussion, which will also look at subjects such as Internet censorship; copyright protection; the Semantic Web and predictions for how the Internet will evolve in future.

Simon said Sir Tim Berners-Lee is a towering figure on the global Internet landscape. “It’s not just that he invented the World Wide Web, which makes the Internet so easy to use, but that he made this idea freely available, a decision which has led to its ubiquity,” he said.

“It’s really exciting to explore Sir Tim’s views about how the Web has developed since those early days, the challenges that we currently face - including the vexed topic of copyright protection and freedom of information - and how he sees the Internet evolving in coming years.”

To suggest questions for Sir Tim, visit blog.iinet.net.au/world-wide-web-inventor-sir-tim-bernerslee/.  Details of the date that Sir Tim’s Freezone interview will be available on-line will be released shortly.

The event line-up:
Wellington: Wednesday, 30th January: 5:30pm - 7:30pm

  • Public lecture at Te Papa

Canberra: Friday, 1st February, 9.00-10am

  • Linux.conf.au keynote lecture at Llewellyn Hall, Australian National University

Gold Coast: Saturday, 2nd February, 5.00 - 7.00pm

  • Public lecture at the Griffith University

Melbourne: Monday, 4th February, 5.00 - 7.30pm

  • Public lecture at the University of Melbourne

Sydney: Tuesday, 5th February, 6.00 - 8.00pm

  • Public lecture at the Sydney Town Hall

Further details are available at tbldownunder.org/

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About iiNet 

iiNet is Australia’s second largest DSL Internet Service Provider (ISP) and the leading challenger in the telecommunications market. We employ more than 2000 inquisitive staff across four countries and support over 1.3 million broadband, telephony and Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) services nationwide.

We're a publicly listed company and we maintain our own super-fast broadband network. Our vision is to lead the market with products that harness the potential of the Internet and then differentiate with award-winning customer service.

To achieve this, we employ creative thinkers and true advocates of technology. Our people are a huge part of the iiNet success story, so we’ve developed a unique and stimulating work culture to ensure they remain engaged and inspired.

A lot has changed since our CEO founded iiNet in a suburban garage back in 1993 and the broadband landscape continues to evolve. What hasn’t changed is our passion for the transformative benefits of the Internet and our commitment to helping Australians connect better.