The History of the Internet: From ARPANET to Mobile

Tap an era to see the key milestones in the development of the internet.

1969 — The Birth of ARPANET

Funded by the US Department of Defense, ARPANET was the first packet-switching network and the direct ancestor of today's internet.

1971 — The First Email Is Sent

Ray Tomlinson sent a message between computers, using the "@" symbol for the first time to separate a username from a computer name.

1983 — TCP/IP Is Adopted as the Standard

A common communication protocol for connecting different networks was adopted as the standard, giving rise to the "internet" in the true sense of the word.

1989-1991 — The World Wide Web Is Invented

Tim Berners-Lee devised the hypertext-based World Wide Web and published the first website, laying the foundation for the internet's mass adoption.

Mid-1990s — The Browser Wars

Netscape and Internet Explorer competed for market dominance, accelerating the development of web standards and technology.

1990s — The Dial-Up Modem Era

Dial-up internet, connecting over phone lines with its distinctive screeching sound, was slow but was the technology that first brought the internet into homes.

Early 2000s — Broadband Internet Spreads

Faster, always-on internet connections became widespread, making streaming and real-time online services possible.

2007 Onward — The Mobile Internet Era

With the advent of the smartphone, the internet moved beyond the desktop computer to become a part of everyday life, accessible anywhere, anytime.

An Invention That Changed the World in 50 Years

Starting as a military research project, the internet has become essential infrastructure that most of the world's population uses every day. Small technological leaps at each stage combined to create the internet we know today.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are the internet and the World Wide Web the same thing?

No — the internet refers to the physical communications network connecting computers worldwide, while the World Wide Web is a hypertext-based information service that runs on top of that internet.

Can I still see the first website today?

Yes — the first website, created by Tim Berners-Lee, was restored to its original form by CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) and can still be viewed online today.