History of Internet in Timeline

The Internet is a global network connecting countless computer networks via the TCP/IP protocol suite. This 'network of networks' encompasses private, public, academic, business, and governmental entities, employing electronic, wireless, and optical technologies for communication. It facilitates a wide array of services, including the World Wide Web, email, discussion groups, internet telephony, streaming media, and file sharing, effectively serving as a crucial infrastructure for information dissemination and communication worldwide.

1945: First Use of the Word "Internet"

In 1945, the United States War Department used the word "Internet" in a radio operator's manual.

1965: Packet Switching Research

In 1965, Donald Davies at the United Kingdom's National Physical Laboratory independently started research into packet switching.

1967: Symposium on Operating Systems Principles

After the Symposium on Operating Systems Principles in 1967, packet switching from the proposed NPL network was incorporated into the design of the ARPANET.

October 1969: ARPANET Development Begins

On October 29, 1969, ARPANET development began with the interconnection of two network nodes between the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Stanford Research Institute.

1971: 15 Sites Connected to ARPANET

By the end of 1971, 15 sites were connected to the ARPANET, which gradually developed into a decentralized communications network.

1973: First International ARPANET Connections

In 1973, the ARPANET made its first international connections to Norway (NORSAR and NDRE) and to Peter Kirstein's research group at University College London, providing a gateway to British academic networks.

1974: Proposal for Packet Network Intercommunication

In 1974, Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn published a proposal for "A Protocol for Packet Network Intercommunication", using the term 'internet' as a shorthand for 'internetwork'.

1974: Internet as Shorthand for Internetwork

In 1974, the term 'Internet' was used as a shorthand form of 'Internetwork'.

1981: IPv4 Designed

In 1981, Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) was designed to address up to approximately 4.3 billion hosts, defining an IP address as a 32-bit number.

1981: Expansion of Access to ARPANET

In 1981, access to the ARPANET was expanded when the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded the Computer Science Network (CSNET).

1982: Standardization of TCP/IP

In 1982, the Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) was standardized, facilitating worldwide proliferation of interconnected networks.

1986: NSFNet Provides Access to Supercomputer Sites

In 1986, the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNet) provided access to supercomputer sites in the United States for researchers, initially at 56 kbit/s.

1988: NSFNet Expansion

In 1988, the NSFNet expanded into academic and research organizations in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

1989: Emergence of Commercial Internet Service Providers

In 1989, commercial Internet service providers emerged in the United States and Australia.

1989: MCI Mail and Compuserve Connect to the Internet

In mid-1989, MCI Mail and Compuserve established connections to the Internet, delivering email and public access products to the half million users of the Internet.

January 1990: PSInet Launches Commercial Internet Backbone

On January 1, 1990, PSInet launched an alternate Internet backbone for commercial use.

March 1990: First High-Speed Link Between NSFNET and Europe

In March 1990, the first high-speed T1 (1.5 Mbit/s) link between the NSFNET and Europe was installed between Cornell University and CERN.

1990: ARPANET Decommissioned

In 1990, the ARPANET was decommissioned.

1990: Berners-Lee begins writing WorldWideWeb

Later in 1990, Tim Berners-Lee began writing WorldWideWeb, the first web browser. By Christmas 1990, Berners-Lee had built all the tools necessary for a working Web.

1991: Commercial Internet eXchange (CIX) Founded

In 1991, the Commercial Internet eXchange (CIX) was founded, allowing PSInet to communicate with the other commercial networks CERFnet and Alternet.

1992: Internet Society (ISOC) Founded

In 1992, the Internet Society (ISOC) was founded with the mission to "assure the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world".

1993: Internet Carries 1% of Telecommunication Information

It is estimated that in 1993 the Internet carried only 1% of the information flowing through two-way telecommunication.

October 1994: First Online Internet Banking Services

In October 1994, Stanford Federal Credit Union became the first financial institution to offer online Internet banking services to all of its members.

1995: Internet Fully Commercialized in the U.S.

By 1995, the Internet was fully commercialized in the U.S. when the NSFNet was decommissioned, removing the last restrictions on use of the Internet to carry commercial traffic.

1995: The Internet Impacts Culture and Commerce

Since 1995, the Internet has tremendously impacted culture and commerce, including the rise of near-instant communication and the World Wide Web.

1996: OP Financial Group Becomes Second Online Bank

In 1996, OP Financial Group became the second online bank in the world and the first in Europe.

1998: IPv6 Standardized

In 1998, IPv6 was standardized. IPv6 uses 128 bits for the IP address and provides vastly larger addressing capabilities and more efficient routing of Internet traffic.

2000: Internet User Growth

Between 2000 and 2009, the number of Internet users globally rose from 390 million to 1.9 billion.

2000: Internet Carries 51% of Telecommunication Information

By 2000, the Internet carried 51% of the information flowing through two-way telecommunication.

2001: Explanation of CIDR Notation

In 2001, the explanation of Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) notation became relevant, it is written as the first address of a network, followed by a slash character (/), and ending with the bit-length of the prefix.

2004: Howard Dean's Campaign Uses Internet Donations

The 2004 presidential campaign of Howard Dean in the United States was notable for its success in soliciting donation via the Internet, showcasing the Internet's new relevance as a political tool.

February 2005: YouTube Founded

In February 2005, YouTube was founded and has become the leading website for free streaming video with over two billion users. It employs a web player for streaming videos and has a massive amount of daily uploads and views.

November 2005: Internet Governance Forum Established

On November 16, 2005, the United Nations-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis established the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) to discuss Internet-related issues.

2005: Kiva Pioneered Web-Based Charitable Lending

In 2005, Kiva pioneered web-based charitable lending, offering the first web-based service to publish individual loan profiles for funding, revolutionizing peer-to-peer charity.

November 2006: The Internet Included on USA Today's List of New Seven Wonders

In November 2006, the Internet was included on USA Today's list of the New Seven Wonders.

2007: Internet Carries 97% of Telecommunication Information

By 2007, more than 97% of all telecommunicated information was carried over the Internet.

2008: Submarine Cable Disruption Causes Blackouts

In 2008, disruptions of submarine communications cables caused blackouts or slowdowns to large areas, demonstrating the vulnerability of the Internet infrastructure.

2009: Internet User Growth

Between 2000 and 2009, the number of Internet users globally rose from 390 million to 1.9 billion.

2010: Internet Usage Statistics

By 2010, 22% of the world's population had access to computers, and there were 1 billion Google searches every day.

March 2011: Internet Users Reach 2 Billion

As of March 31, 2011, the estimated total number of Internet users was 2.095 billion, representing 30% of the world population.

2011: Internet Advertising Revenues Surpass Cable Television in the United States

In 2011, Internet advertising revenues in the United States surpassed those of cable television and nearly exceeded those of broadcast television.

2011: Energy Used by the Internet Estimated

In 2011, academic researchers estimated the overall energy used by the Internet to be between 170 and 307 GW, less than two percent of the energy used by humanity.

2011: Global IPv4 Address Pool Exhausted

In 2011, the global IPv4 address allocation pool was exhausted, marking the final stage of IPv4 address exhaustion due to the explosive growth of the Internet.

2011: Internet Blackout in Egypt

In 2011, the government of Egypt caused an Internet blackout affecting approximately 93% of networks in an attempt to stop mobilization for anti-government protests, highlighting the use of Internet censorship.

2012: 34% of Individuals Connect Regularly to the Internet

In 2012, ITU estimates that 34% of individual users connect regularly to the Internet and the number of unique mobile cellular subscriptions grew to 3.9 billion.

2013: Institute for Local Self-Reliance Report on Retail Employment

A 2013 Institute for Local Self-Reliance report stated that brick-and-mortar retailers employ 47 people for every $10 million in sales, while Amazon employs only 14.

2013: Worldwide e-commerce reaches $16 trillion

According to the International Data Corporation in 2013, worldwide e-commerce, including global business-to-business and business-to-consumer transactions, equated to $16 trillion. A report by Oxford Economics added those two together to estimate the total size of the digital economy at $20.4 trillion, equivalent to roughly 13.8% of global sales.

2014: Study on Internet's Electricity Usage

According to a 2014 peer-reviewed research paper that found claims differing by a factor of 20,000 published in the literature during the preceding decade, estimates of the Internet's electricity usage have been the subject of controversy.

2014: Airbnb Valued at $10 Billion

In 2014, the 700-employee room rental start-up Airbnb was valued at $10 billion, about half as much as Hilton Worldwide, which employs 152,000 people.

2014: Internet Users Surpass 3 Billion

In 2014, the world's Internet users surpassed 3 billion, or 44 percent of world population.

October 2016: Mobile and Tablet Internet Usage Exceeds Desktop Worldwide

In October 2016, Internet usage by mobile and tablet devices exceeded desktop worldwide for the first time.

October 2016: IANA Stewardship Transition

On October 1, 2016, the IANA stewardship transition occurred, transferring final approval over changes to the DNS root zone from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to another entity.

2016: Malware Variants Increased

According to Symantec's 2018 Internet Security Threat Report (ISTR), malware variants number has increased to 669,947,865 in 2017, which is twice as many malware variants as in 2016.

2016: AP Stylebook recommends lowercase "internet"

In 2016, the AP Stylebook recommended the lowercase form "internet" in every case. Also in 2016, the Oxford English Dictionary found that "Internet" was capitalized in 54% of cases.

2016: Unique Mobile Cellular Subscriptions Reach 4.8 Billion

In 2016, the number of unique mobile cellular subscriptions increased to 4.8 billion, covering two-thirds of the world's population.

2017: Malware Variants Increased

According to Symantec's 2018 Internet Security Threat Report (ISTR), malware variants number has increased to 669,947,865 in 2017, which is twice as many malware variants as in 2016.

2017: ITU Estimates 48% of Individuals Connect Regularly to the Internet

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) estimated that, by the end of 2017, 48% of individual users regularly connect to the Internet.

2018: The Shift Project Report on CO2 Emissions from Data Transfer

According to a non-peer-reviewed study published in 2018 by The Shift Project, nearly 4% of global CO2 emissions could be attributed to global data transfer and the necessary infrastructure.

2018: 4G Network Coverage Reaches 80% of World's Population

As of 2018, 80% of the world's population were covered by a 4G network.

2018: Asia Accounts for 51% of All Internet Users

By 2018, Asia alone accounted for 51% of all Internet users, with 2.2 billion out of the 4.3 billion Internet users in the world.

2018: Symantec's 2018 Internet Security Threat Report Published

Symantec's 2018 Internet Security Threat Report (ISTR) revealed an increase in malware variants, highlighting growing cybersecurity threats on the Internet.

2019: Highest Internet Penetration Rates

In 2019, Kuwait, Qatar, the Falkland Islands, Bermuda and Iceland had the highest Internet penetration by the number of users, with 93% or more of the population with access.

2021: Cybercrime Cost Predicted to Reach $6 Trillion

In 2021, cybercrime, including malware attacks, was predicted to cost the world economy US$6 trillion and is increasing at a rate of 15% per year.

2022: Internet Penetration Rates and User Distribution in 2022

In 2022, China had a 70% internet penetration rate, India 60%, and the United States 90%. Also in 2022, it was estimated that 5.4 billion people use the Internet, more than two-thirds of the world's population.

2023: Pornographic Video Sites Traffic Rivaled Mainstream Streaming

As of 2023, Internet traffic to pornographic video sites such as PornHub, xHamster, and Xvideos rivaled that of mainstream video streaming and sharing services.