Once upon a time, Michael Stanton could not have imagined using a cell phone to access the Internet.

A 2019 inductee into the Internet Hall of Fame, Stanton played a key role in the development and launch of what is now known as the National Education and Research Network. He continues to help with the design and deployment of scalable optical networks in Brazil and around the world. 

In a 2019 interview, Stanton reminisced about access during the Internet’s early days, which required a wired connection or a fixed radio link, in comparison to today's proliferation of WiFi networks. 

“It was not imaginable at that time that it would be so easy,” he said, noting that he now regularly accesses the Internet via a smartphone.