How did the Internet develop?

In the late 1960s the US Defense Department commissioned the development of an experimental network called 'ARPANET'. This initially linked computers at 4 Universities (Stamford Research Institute, Utah University, UCLA and UC Santa Barbara) together.

By 1973 this had grown to 23 locations and included both Universities and government departments. Scientists wanting to share data and to access and use remote computers used the network. At this time email, the so-called 'killer app' of the Internet, was developed. It was an immediate success as it allowed people to easily communicate with each other.

During the 1970s more computers became linked to the network and International links were created for the first time.

In 1982 the term 'Internet' was used to describe this growing network. The original ARPANET network was superceded in the early 1980s by a new network, NSFNET. It was developed by the National Science Foundation. However, the growth in user traffic on this network led to congestion and it had to be upgraded in 1987. It is this improved network that became the foundation of the Internet as it is known today.

In 1991 the 'World Wide Web' was released by CERN, in Geneva, Switzerland and Tim-Bernard Lee created the HyperText Markup Language – the language used to build web pages. With the introduction of graphical web browsers in 1993, the appeal of the Internet as a communication, education and entertainment medium, together with its ease of use, led to its massive expansion across the globe.

From its early beginnings of just 4 hosts, the Internet has grown massively, influenced society at all levels and has ushered in the 'Information Age'.