What Is the Precursor of the Internet

A Brief History of What Is the Precursor of the Internet

Prior to the vast usage of the Internet, people relied more on phones and letters to communicate. Banking and shopping were done a local branch or store. Encyclopedias were used for research.

How did the Internet get to where it is today? The development of circuits found in radios, telephones and TVs all played roles as precursors of the Internet. The knowledge and know-how of these systems helped to create what was needed for an instant world wide communication system, or what we call today the World Wide Web.

Licklider

In August 1962 C.R. Licklider, the head of the computer research program at the U.S. Defense Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), shared his Galactic Network idea. He envisioned a globally interconnected set of computers where data and programs could quickly be viewed from any computer site.

Kleinrock

In 1961, Leonard Kleinrock at MIT published the first paper on a theory called packet switching and later wrote a book on the subject in 1964. In it he stated the theoretical possibility of communicating by using packets rather than circuits. This was a big step along the path towards computer networking. The next key component was making computers talk with each other.

Roberts

In 1965 Lawrence Roberts connected the TX-2 computer in Massachusetts to the Q-32 in California with a low speed dial-up telephone line. Although small, this was the first computer network ever built that could function at any distance. After this, the realization came about that computers could interact and share data well together. Kleinrock's conviction that packet switching was necessary was also confirmed.

ARPANET

In 1969 a network called ARPANET was developed to connect four different computers at locations in Los Angeles (UCLA), Palo Alto (Stanford), Santa Barbara and Salt Lake City (University of Utah). This was made possible with funding from DARPA, a few private corporations and a number of universities. Their goal was to produce a system that could:

• Connect multiple systems
• Access data
• Run applications
• Collaborate

MCI

Converse all over the world.

Even with ARPANET, it would still take another twenty years before regular people not connected to any academic or military research would be able to communicate with others like them using their own computer systems.

MCI Mail was the first commercial computer service providing the ability to send and receive email between two computer systems.

International Usage

In 1978 Tyment, the British Post Office, and Western Union International worked together to create the first international packet switched network. This was known as the International Packet Switched Service (IPSS). Within three years, this network grew from Europe and the United States, to span throughout Canada, Hong Kong, and Australia. By the 1990s it was key in the development of a worldwide networking infrastructure.

Additional Reading

To learn more about what is the precursor of the Internet, Spam Wars by Danny Goodman is an excellent source explaining the history of the Internet.

The Future of the Internet

Now when you are asked, "What is the precursor of the Internet?" you have a short history of how our current cyber-communication unfolded. Thanks to years of research and billions of dollars invested in computer systems, you can now email anyone in the world, as long as their Internet Service Provider (ISP) communicates with yours. Thirty years ago, this was not remotely possible.

In a 2006 JupiterResearch report, findings showed that the worldwide online population would increase at a compound annual growth rate of 6.6 percent during the next five years. The report also stated that 1.1 billion people enjoyed access to the Web on a regular basis.

As we look ahead, what is next in the world of Internet communication? With so much technology, vision, and creativity available to us, we hope that the future of the Internet will be bright. It is an exciting time to be alive with the promise of global communication.