The internet is a connected network comprising of billions of computers and connected devices located around the world. The internet started life in the 1960s in the USA as the ARPAnet, as a communications network which could help communications in the event of a nuclear war. The internet’s popularity increased massively from the 1980s onward, especially with the increase in the use of personal computers and the invention of the World Wide Web in 1989.

The namespaces of the internet are managed by ICANN.

The internet is different from the World Wide Web, although the terms are often used interchangeably.

 

Last updated: 3 September 2017