Why the internet works

“We always tried to design each new protocol to be both useful in its own right and a
building block available to others. We did not think of protocols as
finished products, and we deliberately exposed the internal
architecture to make it easy for others to gain a foothold. This was
the antithesis of the attitude of the old telephone networks, which
actively discouraged any additions or uses they had not sanctioned.” – Stephen Crocker, explaining how early net standards were developed and adopted.

Are the arts the telephone companies or the internet pioneers?