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 »
How long did it take to make the 100 Gigabit Concentrator?
Thanks for the science live
loved the video
I like how Dr Billings creative things that people need. He is so awesome.
that’s soo amazing
Wow I never knew this
Thank you for another science live and creating such a wonderful school!
You guys make me feel like I was glad to see you on science live
Wow that was so cool to learn about!
This is a good one!
Great episode, I love science live!
this is so cool
Science live you guys make me the happiest person in the world so think you so much have a great day
I love practical demonstrations like that, especially the barbed wire.
And it would be super nice if someone could commercially produce the medicine that helps people hear again.
Josua.
This was probably my favorite video!
i cant wait when scienctist find out how to make a cure for deaf people because my friend is part deaf and it is kinda hard for him to hear me
That’s awesome
I love science live.
Great lesson today.
learning technology and using 1 billion bits without them bits it would still be very slow computer.
That was awesome!!!
Very interesting, I’ve been learning so much about computers with these videos!!
Thank you for developing the ethernet. We wouldn’t have the internet if it weren’t for you!
This Science live was great! Can’t wait for the next one
How was the Ethernet thought of?
That’s pretty cool that Rakolain Institute in sweden has developed a new gene therapy is helping people who are deaf the ability to hear.
R51 is funny!
Thanks for fixing the video player!
How they explained how the ethernet works was great
I love science live.
I love this video it was very cool to watch.
Science live each week is always truly amazing. Thank you Dr B!
wow this is so cool.
Thank you Dr. Billings for ethernet
This was amazing like always! you guys make my day. Thanks again Science Live!
Very nice!
Another fun filled Science live!
I loved this live it was so good.
Science is cool
I enjoy learning about science inventions. There is so much I don’t know and take for granted. Thank you!
I loved the video so much to learn and it was great can’t wait too see what comes and it was interesting to learn about the collision problems, and how it was solved. like how researchers have discovered a way to have deaf people be able to hear!
I have a deaf brother so this was super exciting
without your invention we would still be using super slow computers
Yes, yes, yes.
Science is truly amazing it’s awesome to see it being used to solve problems!
I am so glad I watched this week’s science live! It was worth the wait!
The other day I was thinking about how science has made moderned living so much easier. Roger Billing helped make living this easy from his amazing inventions
What was the process to create the injection for deaf peple?
it was cool to learn about the collision problem and how it was solved.
R51 always makes me laugh!
Hiiii…Awesome Science Live!!! It was AMAZING to see the proteges and inventioneers this week!!!! Hi Caleb!!! 🙂 😉 Lady Pajet, I love your boots their so cute!!! It was fun to learn more about ethernet.
at the start it was funny how he said he met his wife at the zoo it’s so cool how Sweden developed a new gene therapy that is giving deaf people the ability to hear it’s funny how those people were doing the six seven and I loved this video it was funny and really interesting and cool Ty
Amazing science live this week!!! So glad R-51 is back!!!
Very interesting, Enjoyed watching and learning on how to solve collision problems.
First video we got to watch, loved it, can’t wait to see what is on next weeks video!
I found it cool that just by timing when the data comes it can get rid of the collision problem.
Dr. John’s 100GBite project was really amazing with so many pins for one chip and that unbelievable speed in nano second.
What an amazing story i’m so happy the circuit board ended up working in the end!
Thank you for another great science live! I can’t wait for next week!
I think it is awesome that Roger Billings was able to do something that was considered “impossible” at the time.
This was really interesting to watch because ethernet is generally much better than wifi
i love these videos!!!!
R51 is the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hello, I really like these! I never knew Dr. Billings had such an influince on the Ethernet and internet
its cool how he made the way people can talk at the same time .
i actually really liked this video alot!
I loved the explanation of the ethernet thankyou for making it easy to understand also i am going to subscribe to you on youtube
Such a great video! I loved learning about how deaf ppl can hear again and how it works
Love all the different things I learn on science live
if the ethernet collisions were left alone could it destroy the cord?
Yay R51 is back!!!
It was interesting to learn about altering the ethernet. I want to be an inventioneer!
Good job r51. I’m also glad it doesn’t collide anymore.
Hey, it’s Kayla from Toronto!
This live was one of my favorites, especially the part with the twisted pair cables.
Yesterday, I picked up a cord off of the floor and asked my older siblings, “Hey, what is this?”
They just looked at me and said, “It’s a cable.” I replied with, “No.”
“If you look through this clear part right hear, you’ll see that this is a twisted pair cable. To be specific, it is an Ethernet cable.” They had no idea what that was. so I told them to watch this episode.
Anyways, I am about to start my senior year of high school, and I am hoping to travel to the states, MO to be specific, to attend the graduation ceremony!
Much love and gratitude, Kayla!
I always learn so much from these videos, Thankss!
Any tips on how to become a phenomenal inventor?
Loved this!
what i learned today was that the ethernet had to many collsion but someone came up with a idea to make the ethernet better then ever
I love this episode.
This is amazing 😘
how do they alter the gens so the def can hear
I will miss Science Live when I finish Acellus!
You are so amazing roger billings every thing you do
I love doing Science Live. It is the best part of my Wednesdays.
Hello from Oregon!
I wonder how many flops were the foundations for greater inventions!
This was a great video it blew my mind and it was crazy that in Switzerland there was a therapy that made people hear.
awesome video, can’t wait for the next one
The amount Dr Roger Billings has accomplished is amazing! It’s so fascinating and motivating!
Why don’t smartphones use Ethernet?
Amazing Science Live like always! Watching from Mississippi.
we need a r51 D.I.Y channel
in my opinion it is crazy how we have the ability to make blind people see better and deaf people hear better!
Love learning about the Ethernet.
I want to become an inventioneer. I think it would be fun!
I thought the message of never thinking your idea might be too small or unimportant. To keep on trying. Thanks
I find these science lives to be so interesting. Thank you for allowing me to learn new concepts every week while making it fun.
I play a lot of video games and I’m very interested in high performance computer things this is very cool. wowww
if Edison had not gone on that trip would someone else have figured out the perfect filament?
Such a cool science live! I love getting to know more about Dr billings inventions!
Watching from AR!
(P.S. I R51 is the best!!!)
It’s amazing what Doctor Billings and all the teachers have done.
The improvement of Ethernet is cool! It’s crazy to think how slow the internet was and how fast it’s going to get.
I love the Ethernet!
I love science live. I’ll be sad when I graduate to not watch it anymore 🙁
Hello Corinne! I have awesome news! Even after you graduate, you can still watch Science Live at sciencelive.com! 💙
That is nice to hear that just means that I will always watch ScienceLive.😊
i like when they use and explain what the cat 3 is!
Hi from Montana! Love science Lives so much. Can’t wait to see next weeks!
That was really interesting watch! it’s incredible how a seemingly impossible idea can change the world. Thanks for sharing this story of ingenuity.
What kind of training is associated with inventioneering?
r-51 its hilarious, It was so interesting to learn more about Dr. Roger Billings.
This is amazing! How inspirational!
Hi from Missouri. It was interesting to learn about how the ethernet became revolutionized!
This is the power of technology it is just great that with technology deaf people can hear again.
Another question, how can I help myself challenge my mind when trying to invent things? I have been looking into becoming an electrician as a job and I know that doesn’t really have anything to do with inventing, but I feel like that would still be helpful!
How was the Hub created to solve the Collision problem ?
Science live was interesting this week…I learned many new things about researchers and their discoveries.
i love how r51 is silly again
this was a great video, really learn a lot thanks a lot.
Loved this live, can’t wait for the next one!
Wow, this is so interesting!
Todays science live was very interesting! But I have a question: where was R-51 this whole time because I think I saw him at the park playing with a boat and I herd him say that he invented it.
I liked this video! I’m excited to see the next!
Hello from MS! Great Science Live! Can’t wait to see more!
i really enjoyed the video today
Interesting to learn how the ethernet came about.
I love science live.
Science lives are so interesting! Can’t wait for the next one!
Awesome episode this week!
Was there any other internet related problems you managed to tackle successfully?
This weeks science live was really cool!
i love this video
Loved this episode always look forward to it every week!
hi r51
this is very interesting, thank you for the information.
I love science live I cant wait for the next one
Can you run ethernet cables outdoors?
Very interesting.
Its awesome what Mr. Billings can make!
Thank you from CA
I love science life
The Category 5 Cable looks neat!
really cool to learn about the ethernet and Ron Crane can’t wait for next weeks live
I’m so glad i get to watch these video with you guys.
great video exited for what’s next
Wow! Dr. Billings is really smart when comes to technology.
I love learning new things in these!!
It’s interesting how something once rejected can end up shaping the entire digital world. Innovation really does find its way eventually.
I wonder what will come after Ethernet. Will we really need faster networks?
Should they apologize to Roger billings
Dr Billings has provided so much to the world of inventing.
Interesting to hear about the evolution of the Ethernet. Thank you.
Really good week live!
i love you
This was very cool to learn about
I didn’t know that Dr. Billings helped invent the modern internet! What do you think the next big advancement will be for the internet as we know it? (I would hope it would be time machines or teleporting, but those are probably impossible or very far in the future.)
i love science live
I like how in todays video Tobias actually talks about Dr. Roger Billings which is amazing because one he’s the reason we have acellus and the second new reason is because he basically upgraded the ethernet.
It’s so cool learning new things !!
acellus breaks ALOT down.it makes learning waaay more interesting!
this video was such a great learning experience cant wait for the next one
That’s so cool!
I loved this video
I loved this video was great
I enjoyed learning about the ear surgeries for the deaf.
I like how this science live adds and expands on the creation of the Ethernet and modern day internet.
I learned very interesting things about the internet while watching this video. It was funny at the end when the video was sped up and he was talking like a minion.
It’s good to know that the full duplex system was accepted over the half duplex system
Do all inventors/inventioneers meet some kind of opposition?
Thank you for bringing r51 back.
Love science live!
I was wondering – what are the best things to study if you want to be an inventor?
Awesome lesson. Thank you.
Nice science live.
the whole time i was thinking about one send and receive so there would be no collision.
I learned about Ron crane
Amazing video!!!
Wow! This video was super interesting!
Networking sounds like it was hard to make.
Very nice episode!
Engineering is something i want tolearn.
hello from Alaska hey R-51 what happens if i lived across the world how will you hear my question? and where did you find R-51?😊
it was so cool
Can’t wait for next week!