The Internet
? Originally called ARPANET after the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense.
? This electronic network was designed to connect hosts from one web page to another efficiently.
? The electronic connection began as a government experiment in 1969 with four computers connected together over phone lines. By 1972, universities also had access to what was by then called the Internet.
? In the beginning, only government "think tanks" and a few universities were linked.
? Beginning as an emergency military communications system, the Internet gradually evolved into a communications tool for scientists.
? As more scholars came online, the administration of the system transferred from ARPA to the National Science Foundation.
? Years later, businesses began using the Internet and the administrative responsibilities were once again transferred. At this time no one party "operates" the Internet, there are several entities that "oversee" the system and the protocols that are involved.