Brief History and Evolution of the Internet
- [Big Ben, London, United Kingdom - Marchin Nowak]
The Natural Evolution of the Internet Ecosystem
- Overview
- The history of the Internet is marked by several important milestones, including the creation of ARPANET, the development of TCP/IP, and the emergence of the World Wide Web:
- 1960s: Government researchers began using computer networks to share information.
- 1965: Lawrence Roberts used a packet-switching network for the first time.
- 1969: ARPANET was created.
- 1974: Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf invented Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
- 1982: The term "Internet" became widely used.
- 1983: ARPANET and the Defense Data Network officially switched to the TCP/IP standard, allowing different networks to communicate with each other.
- 1991: The first web page was created.
- 1993: The first graphical browser, Mosaic, was released.
The internet's development was driven by the work of scientists and engineers who wanted to connect computer networks. The internet was designed as a general infrastructure that could support many different applications, including the World Wide Web.
- Who Invented the Internet?
As you might expect for a technology so expansive and ever-changing, it is impossible to credit the invention of the Internet to a single person. The Internet was the work of dozens of pioneering scientists, programmers and engineers who each developed new features and technologies that eventually merged to become the “information superhighway” we know today.
The precursor to the Internet was jumpstarted in the early days of computing history, in 1969 with the U.S. Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET). ARPA-funded researchers developed many of the protocols used for Internet communication today. In the mid-90s, ARPANet was transformed from a military safety net to the civilian Internet that has become such an integral part of our lives, bringing with it change not only technological, but societal and epic in scope.
The first data ever transmitted over ARPANet, the precursor of the Internet, blipped from a computer at the University of California, Los Angeles to one at the Stanford Research Institute in Palo Alto on Oct. 29, 1969.
Robert Elliot Kahn (born December 23, 1938) is an American electrical engineer, who, along with Vint Cerf, first proposed the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP), the fundamental communication protocols at the heart of the Internet.
Bob Metcalfe invented Ethernet in 1973 while at Xerox PARC, and the company patented it in 1975. Metcalfe and others then finalized an open Ethernet standard in 1980, and by 1985 it had become an IEEE standard.
Actually, AT&T Bell Labs at Murray Hill, NJ invented the Internet originally. AT&T Bell Labs was one of the world’s leading industrial research and scientific development giants, inventing the world’s first transistor in 1947, the first laser in 1957 and the first satellite in 1961.
- [Santiago, Chile - andres_briones_c]
- What the Internet Looks Like
While it may seem like a simple question, defining the Internet isn’t easy. Because unlike any other technology, the Internet can be whatever we make it. We can shape it. We can mold it. But most importantly, we can use it to connect people, communities, and countries around the world.
The information age is powered by thin fiber-optic cables buried in the sea bed, spreading between continents to connect the most remote corners of the planet. These great arteries account for practically all of our international web traffic, and each one has been logged by Washington research firm Telegeography in its interactive Submarine Cable Map 2014.
The internet increasingly pervades our lives, delivering information to us no matter where we are. It takes a complex system of cables, servers, towers, and other infrastructure, developed over decades, to allow us to stay in touch with our friends and family so effortlessly. Here are 40 maps that will help you better understand the internet — where it came from, how it works, and how it's used by people around the world.
- The Evolution of the Internet with Wireless Technology
The evolution of the internet with wireless technology has been marked by the development of Wi-Fi and wireless communication networks:
Wi-Fi:
The IEEE 802.11 standard, commonly known as Wi-Fi, has evolved from 2 Mbps to multi-gigabit speeds. Some key milestones in the evolution of Wi-Fi include:
- 2002: Wi-Fi speeds reached 54 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz frequency band
- 2013: Wi-Fi 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) was introduced, which allowed for speeds of up to 3.5 Gbps
- 2019: Wi-Fi 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) was certified, which supported bandwidths of 9.6 Gbps
Wireless communication networks:
The evolution of wireless communication networks includes the development of 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks:
- 1G: Large brick-like phones that could only make calls, developed in the 1980s
- 2G: Networks that allowed users to send texts, developed in the 1990s
- 3G: Networks that allowed devices to access broadcasting technology, which enabled web browsing, shopping, and entertainment
- 4G: Networks that allowed users to stream videos without buffering, which opened up devices to the "sharing economy"
The evolution of wireless technology has had a significant impact on how people live, work, and interact with the world.
