Internet Development

The Internet has become an indispensable tool worldwide that reaches into homes and businesses in every area of the globe, and into outer space. This system of interconnected computer networks is the result of the joining of media and computers with telecommunications. It is sometimes depicted as a heavenly, tightly woven net of intersecting points surrounding the earth. The term “internet” is used both as a noun, the Internet, and as a common word, internet.

In 1969, the U.S. government founded ARPAnet. This was operated by the Department of Defense, and named the Advanced Research Project Agency. This project began as a reaction Browsergames Rollenspiel to the launching of Russian spacecraft, and was a defense mechanism spurred by the Cold War. The threat of nuclear war required a bomb proof communication system that would function even if parts of the system were cut off. This originated as an emergency military communication system that first linked only the government and a few universities. Since then, it has been commercialized.

There were some distant supercomputer sites that were connected by high speed links. This early internet was build around the National Science Foundation’s NSFNet, and was referred to as the “Net”, and later as the “Internet” until the 1990’s when the system grew to a point where the commercial application became clear.
Originally linked physically, the system grew to linkage by fiber-optic cables, and wireless connections. Early use was primarily for electronic mail conveyance, and sharing of information. The first commercial use was seen in 1995. Internet service providers, like MCI and Sprint, took over and continued development and distribution of the service. Small, local ISPs connect to regional ISPs, and then they connect to major “backbones” that cross the country and beyond. Today over 1.5 billion users enjoy the Internet.