In 2006, US Senator Ted Stevens referred to the Internet as a “series of pipes,” sparking ridicule and criticism for his lack of technological understanding. The phrase became an internet meme and catchphrase, used to mock opponents of net neutrality. Despite criticism, Stevens refused to admit he was wrong and the phrase remains in use today. Stevens was later cleared of political corruption allegations but died in a plane crash in 2010.
The phrase “string of pipes” was used in 2006 by US Senator Ted Stevens to describe the Internet. The phrase quickly became a popular catchphrase both on and off the Web. It was seen as an inaccurate metaphor at best, and was often used to characterize the Senator as technologically deficient. Ironically, as chairman of a US Senate communications committee, Stevens was nominally in charge of regulating the Internet. Comedians, satirists, and commentators soon began using “pipe strings” to ridicule Stevens, the American government, and the management of technology in general.
On June 28, 2006, Senator Stevens addressed the United States Senate regarding a communications bill aimed at regulating Internet commerce. At issue was “net neutrality,” a hotly debated issue about government regulation of bandwidth use. Stevens, an Alaskan Republican who had served in the Senate since the 1960s, was chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Voicing his opposition to that government regulation, Stevens delivered an 11-minute oratory in which he said, “The Internet is… not a truck, it’s a series of pipes.” He even called an email from his staff “an Internet.”
Stevens’ remarks were recorded and broadcast as part of regular news coverage of congressional hearings. Technology writers and humorists alike quickly caught on to Stevens’ seemingly incomplete understanding of Internet technology. He joked about the senator’s age, awkward use of technical terms, and his mostly rural origins. Proponents of net neutrality have adopted the phrase “series of pipes” to characterize their opponents as out of touch with current technological issues. The phrase became widely used as a whimsical term for the web and was soon available on T-shirts.
For his part, Stevens refused to admit he was wrong in his characterization of the Internet as a “series of tubes.” Wireless internet transmission was in its infancy and most internet connections depended on fiber optic cables. Bandwidth connections were sometimes metaphorically referred to as “pipes”. The video website YouTube gained worldwide popularity in 2006, inspiring various similar sites with the word “tube” in their titles. Any of these could be what Stevens meant when he used the phrase “series of pipes.”
“Series of Pipes” has become an Internet meme, a phrase that passes into common usage across the Web, sometimes with no connection to its original usage. Senator Stevens himself was ousted in 2008 after allegations of political corruption. The senator was later cleared; he died in a plane crash in Alaska in 2010. Obituaries focused on his long political legacy have not overlooked the phrase that the senator made famous.
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