How My Training As An Inventioneer Altered Ethernet
Everyone said it was impossible. Engineers laughed and called it ‘The Billings Folly’ — as a joke. Then the entire internet adopted it, and now the whole world uses it.
Dr. Roger Billings tells the inside story of how full duplex gigabit Ethernet was invented, rejected at IEEE standards meetings, and eventually became the global standard behind modern internet, streaming video, and AI.
Discover the inventions that made it possible — the concentrator, the equalizer circuit, and the balanced hybrid circuit — and hear what happened when Ron Crane, the father of Ethernet himself, stepped in to defend it.
About DrB
Dr. Roger Billings is a visionary innovator whose work has touched the lives of millions of students and transformed the landscape of education. Widely known as “DrB” to the countless kids who benefit from his groundbreaking Acellus learning system, Dr. Billings has dedicated his life to advancing education through technology.
As part of DrB’s lifelong commitment to supporting education, Science LIVE was launched as a way to “give back” by mentoring students in conjunction with the Roger Billings Scholarship Program.
Read more about DrB »
About the Roger Billings Scholarship Program »
Yall have helped me learn so much. what encouraged y’all to teach kids virtually?
I enjoyed learning about what buffering is and how it made the ethernet possible.
Hello from North Carolina!
Wow Roger Billings you have worked so hard to get to the point you are now at, thank you for Acellus
hello from Alberta Canada!
Good morning from Wisconsin!
Hello! i think the gene therapy they are doing for deaf people is such a nice and important thing to to. I think it’s so cool that they did that.
I really like learning stuff from these lives!
I really liked learning about Ethernet
The internet is supposed to send anything but, what r51 made was manual and it only had yes and no.
Computers and internet really are amazing
i wonder if in the picture at the start at the vid, if that is the very first or one of the most popular computers.
I learnt that a megabyte is million bytes. Thank you for everything
What if ethernet network was never created?
i really liked this video! im very excited for next weeks video.
Loved todays live!!
This is definitely one of my favorite episodes.
love acellus!!
Great episode I like learning about ethernet, I also liked Dr. Johns part.
i like the video.
Wow, I didn’t know that!
Love from Texas!!!
I can’t believe how fast ethernet upgraded from 1 megabit to 1 gigabit thanks to your invention. (:
Keep up the good work!
Thank you for another week of awesome science live class.
science live was great
loved this weeks, can’t wait to see what comes next
happy to be here
Science live was really fun today can’t wait for the next one!!
This was very interesting
Angelina from Miami,Fl amazing class
It’s interesting learning about the ethernet.
It was so fascinating how Dr Billings fixed Ethernet.
I am really interested with how researchers in Sweden created a way to allow people who are deaf to hear.
Well that is the one that I wanted to hear it is absolutety incredible that the Big R could do many of those things .
I liked learning about the Ethernet and how they stopped the collisions.
I learned about sound waves.
This was so good!
Another great science live!
Angelina from Miami,Fl
I didn’t know you couldn’t stream on science live.
Hello from Mississippi!
Roger Billings, I like how you talked about what a mechanical hybrid does and how it helps computers to transmit and receive.
I loved this episode, so excided to tune in n=for next week.
Hi from Florida!
This scinece live was so interesting tonight. This technology was vert interesting I would love to build my own one day.
WHY DID THE CARDBOARD PAJÉT MONÉT COME TO LIFE AT THE END THAT’S SO FUNNY!!! 🤣 Also, the Protégés gave us a lot about historical Ethernet. Thank you Protégés for giving us all the information we need. And thanks Dr. Roger Billings for giving us all the information we all liked and have a GREAT day! 😊
It was pretty interesting that Dr. Billings invented from 1,000,000 GB x 1,000 GB.
It was cool that there was wires connecting on to the chip. Also, the chip looked
a little messy, but it worked. The wires on the chip would stop concluosions.
If we didn’t have those wires on a chip, there would be to many concluosions!
I enjoyed watching this week. Will be watching next week. Cant wait to see what R51 does next week.
What year did they invent Ethernet?
Hello from La
learned a lot! love science live!
I love this so much
Hello from Maryland!
I love the proteges!!!
This was a great watch.
The Ethernet is so interesting!
Im from West Virginia great show
I love science live!
Nice science live it was very nice and cool facts
about this is very interesting and very good
Got to it a little late but great video!
I am sorry that they called your invention “Billings Folly”; we know now that it is very important and it changed the world.
Your version of the internet was a significant accomplishment DrB, everyone uses it today.
it was cool how people did not bealive dr.b when he was talking of the altered ethernet and no body bealived him it was cool what db.b did.
It was interesting to learn about the Ethernet and the problems that was able to be overcome.
Dr. Billings has invented so many amazing things!
HeLlO from TeNnEsSeE
another wonderful live!!
I liked the live!
this is so cool
Thank you for talking about new thing and teaching us how to make new and interesting things!
Where actually are the places The Protégés use for their fun little stories?
How many mails can the smart computer receive? Is it infinite?
I learned so much from this video, outstanding job Roger Billings!!
I like how they made the ethernet not have collisions
Roger Billings is such an awesome person
I love science live 🥰🔬
What year did they invent the program
I loved science live today and i find it cool how you can watch videos and stuff with barb wire.
Hey from Alabama
Hello from MO!! 🙂
I learned a lot while watching this weeks video. I thought it was funny when the two teachers were joking around as the network teacher. I thought it was interesting how Dr. John taught his leasson.
This was a fantastic episode! I loved learning about the ethernet and the man who made it possible. Now, when I watch movies online, I will think about Dr. Billings!!!
cool live!! hello from nyc!
This was really interesting. I feel like I’ve learned a lot from this.
Cool video! Cant wait for next week!
Wow, I can’t believe some people used to call it the Billings folly!
Thank you so much for weekly Science Live and for being our mentors.
Great video and I agree with Pajet that the other company was just trying to get a headstart with you project.
hello from NC
This was a great science live.
Hi from NC
Learning about Either-net is so interesting!
I like where R 51 said (it’s not suppose to answer that question).
Loved this lesson thank you!
good video today and I hope for more videos like this one amen.
Loved this episode! I enjoy the segments about computers and their history
Thank you Dr. Billings! I see that you are responsible for my family in the Philippines and I (in Michigan) are able to video chat. Last time when you mentioned barbed wired my dad had no idea what you were talking about, so he was interested enough to watch some of this episode. In his words “what a genius to use something so barbaric to demonstrate the function of something so advanced.”
In today’s science live Tobias talked about the fifo computer chip that fifo stands for the first in the first out . My favorite part of science live is R.51 and Dr.Roger Billings .
Such a interesting live today! loved it
The injection that was talked about in the beginning of the live was so cool, like an injection that can heal the deaf within a small vile!!!
r51 needs a magic 8 ball!
I thought the information about Dr. Billings invention with the full duplex was interesting. It’s sad that people accused him of faking the whole thing.
Such a great live!!
The Ethernet is cool how did you make it?
Wow! That’s so interesting! I never know about the internet let alone full duplexes and half. I am learning so much from science live. I love it!
Roger billing invented so many cool things!
Hi from New Orleans
you put the lime in the coconut you shake it all up
Thank you for this week’s video!
I enjoy watching each week.
I never knew Roger Billings was the great man behind my high speed ethernet!
this video was so amazing I learned so much I cant wait till next time
how long would it take to make internet from scratch alone
Goodnight everybody!
Dr. Billings has done so much in his career
Hello from california
Love learning new things I really enjoyed today’s live
Hello, this is so exciting.
Science live is the best!!!! Favorite part of the week!
I like learning more about the Ethernet.
Hi from Mississippi
i love the proteges part always !!
<3
Great Video!!
See you next time
Hello from Montana.I love science love, Dr roger Billings inventions are very awesome. I hope everyones day was good!
Thank you! See you all next Wednesday!
Hello from Texas.
Area 51 is so funny. This video was so intresting . I can’t wait for next weeks video.
I love science live!
The Ethernet is so cool I’m curious how much is the Ethernet worth today?
Tonight’s live was so fun to watch and I learned some amazing things tonight. Thank you so much.
bye see y’all next week
bye everyone and bye science live
Goodbye and goodnight!
Bye see you next week
I really enjoyed tonight’s science live… i learned so much…. looking forward to next week.
Thank you so much!
Hope everyone has a good weekend.
R 51 needs to work on his network.
hellllo from Nevada!
We love 51!!!
Thank you, see you next week!
wowwww I loveee
Bye thanks for the info
Thats some silly network.
Loved this weeks science live
It is incredible how one of the greatest inventions on Earth came from a creation of Mr. Billings.
Hey from Jersey!! This is so cool! I never knew dr b invented something that we ALL use today! But what made you think of doing the 4 together instead of just the 2? And what made you more determined to prove them wrong so to speak?
I’m so excited for today’s live!
Hello from GA!
Hi from New Mexico
Hi from Yellowstone!
How did Roger Billings build it?
Hi I loved tonight’s Science Live. Thank you!
Hello from Alabama!
Great show tonight!
Hi from Nj!!!!
This was so interesting and the end was so funny!!!
Roger Billings has given us so much over the years yet we are only just really finding out who made them all, thank you for all of your contributions.
Behind every great scientist is a great significant other.
This live was really fun and informative today.
Appreciated this week live.
I love the white boots story awesome
I love that you guys prove to us the unknown every week!
hello from ky
Great Science Live, it’s always fun to watch.
I like the Ethernet.
I learned that someone made a trip to where you can send things at the same time and there will be no collisions
Hi from Texas!
This was a really intresting and fun science live
This was super interesting!
This is so cool! I love science!
This is so informative I love it so much from CT !!!
Hey, I’m here. I love learning about the rejection at IEEE standards meetings, and eventually became the global standard behind modern internet, streaming video, and AI.
Hello from NC! Loved the stream!
I love watching these 😀