The global informal network that now links a very substantial fraction of the world’s computer networks. The Internet is an extraordinary development that stems from the original ARPANET, which was initiated in North America in 1969. In broad terms the Internet does not offer services to end-users, but serves primarily to interconnect other networks on which end-user services are located. It provides basic services for file transfer, email, and remote login, and high-level services including the World Wide Web and the MBONE.
The Internet is global, with connections to nearly every country in the world. It is deliberately nonpolitical and tends to deal with nongovernmental levels within a country. The structure is informal, with a minimal level of governing bodies and with an emphasis in these bodies on technical rather than on administration or revenue generation. Up to the mid-1990s the major users of the Internet were the academic and research communities, but thereafter, with a growth in home computing, there has been a massive increase in the number of individuals and companies using the World Wide Web and email. There has also been a large increase in interest in the commercial exploitation of the Internet. See e-commerce.