Learning Objectives

  • Outline the history of the internet at exam level.
  • Distinguish the internet from the World Wide Web.
  • Explain who manages names, numbers, and access (ISPs, ICANN-related functions).

Next: connections, IP and DNS, HTTP, email, FTP.

History (short)

The internet grew from 1960s packet-switching research (ARPANET), through TCP/IP in the 1980s, NSFNET, and commercial ISPs in the 1990s. The Web (Tim Berners-Lee, 1989–91) is an application that runs on the internet using HTTP and HTML. Email and FTP are other internet applications, not “the Web.”

Managing the internet

No single company owns the internet. ISPs sell access. Regional and global bodies coordinate unique IP addresses and domain names (the DNS hierarchy). IXPs (internet exchange points) let networks interconnect efficiently. Governments regulate locally (licensing ISPs, lawful intercept rules) but packets still cross borders.

Connecting

Users connect via broadband, fiber, mobile data, or campus LAN (Unit 7.2). Every device needs an IP address; people use names that DNS translates.

Nepal / society example

.np domains, NTA-licensed ISPs, and campus Wi-Fi are how students “join” a global network. E-governance and e-commerce in later chapters assume this managed infrastructure exists.

Key Takeaways

  • Internet = global packet network; Web = one popular service on it.
  • Management is distributed: ISPs, address/name coordination, local regulation.
  • History questions usually want ARPANET → TCP/IP → commercial internet → Web.

Discussion Questions

  1. Why is “the internet went down” usually an ISP or campus-router problem, not “the whole internet”?
  2. Who would you call if tu.edu.np did not resolve?
  3. Is WhatsApp the internet, the Web, or an application?