Underwriting the Internet

Chapter 2 Arpanet and PC Prelude

The Internet is not any one system or device but is rather a "network of networks." It uses software, communication protocols and routing and switching devices to link together a number of different terminal devices (PCs, phones, TVs) to a variety of communication channels including broadcasting, various cable systems, telephone networks, value-added networks and local or wide area networks.¹

Its origins can be traced to 1969 when its predecessor, the Arpanet, was established by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). In the then-Cold War environment pitting the United States against the Soviet Union, the Pentagon built Arpanet as a "survivable communications network" that could withstand a nuclear attack by the ...