[MarkL]

Of course scientists had envisioned a future of global communications. However, what we think of today as the original DARAPANET was a specific DoD project FOR communications, specifically to allow dissimilar systems to communicate, as well as automatic "healing" of network communications, allowing the systems to "route around" outages. Back in the day, systems from different manufacturers, or even different lines within the same manufacturer could not communicate with each other. In addition to that, the design of the communications networks (what we know today as "layer 2 networks) did not allow for redundancy (until Radia Perlman's invention of "Spanning Tree") without all sorts of problems.

Of course there was no one "inventor" of the Internet, nor a single development that created it, however the original project by DARPA, and the protocols developed by BBN were what morphed into the Internet we all know and Freep by.

Mark

[DManA]

“healing” of network communications

Unfortunately the Internet we have to day is nowhere near the robust and self healing network they envisioned.

Take out a few key nodes and it’s worthless.

[Ron C.]

Gotta say - you've got a good grasp of the 'real deal' concerning the 'Internet.' MANY people contributed, and many companies did too.

I was lucky to work for AT&T beginning in 1965 - and the first 'legs' of the internet as we know it today was in fact built 'gratis' by AT&T between colleges an military installations - and AT&T facilities, on AT&T networks. I got to see some of the very first 'email' transmissions - between AT&T facilities.

The 'backbone' of the internet still rides on (85 percent of) AT&T cable and fiber - and is maintained by AT&T.