Editing History of the Internet (section)

==1990–2003: Rise of the global Internet, Web 1.0==
{{Main|History of the World Wide Web|Information Age}}
===Development===
Initially, as with its predecessor networks, the system that would evolve into the Internet was primarily for government and government body use. Although commercial use was forbidden, the exact definition of commercial use was unclear and subjective. [[UUCP]]Net and the X.25 [[International Packet Switched Service|IPSS]] had no such restrictions, which would eventually see the official barring of UUCPNet use of [[ARPANET]] and [[NSFNET]] connections.

[[File:Internet Hosts Count log.svg|thumb |360px |<div style="text-align: center;">'''Number of Internet hosts worldwide: 1969–2019'''</div>Source: [[Internet Systems Consortium]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.isc.org/solutions/survey/history |title=Internet host count history |publisher=Internet Systems Consortium |access-date=May 16, 2012  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120518101749/http://www.isc.org/solutions/survey/history |archive-date=May 18, 2012 }}</ref>]]
As a result, during the late 1980s, the first [[Internet service provider]] (ISP) companies were formed. Companies like [[PSINet]], [[UUNET]], [[Netcom (USA)|Netcom]], and [[Portal Software]] were formed to provide service to the regional research networks and provide alternate network access, UUCP-based email and [[Usenet|Usenet News]] to the public. In 1989, [[MCI Mail]] became the first commercial email provider to get an experimental gateway to the Internet.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meet Mr. Internet: Vint Cerf - IEEE Spectrum |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/vint-cerf |access-date=2023-05-03 |website=[[IEEE]] |language=en}}</ref> The first commercial dialup ISP in the United States was [[The World (internet service provider)|The World]], which opened in 1989.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.std.com/|title=The World internet provider|access-date=May 28, 2009}}</ref>

In 1992, the U.S. Congress passed the Scientific and Advanced-Technology Act, {{usc|42|1862(g)}}, which allowed NSF to support access by the research and education communities to computer networks which were not used exclusively for research and education purposes, thus permitting NSFNET to interconnect with commercial networks.<ref name="ogc-00-33r_p6">{{Cite book |title=OGC-00-33R Department of Commerce: Relationship with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers |publisher=[[Government Accountability Office]] |date=July 7, 2000 |page=6 |url=http://www.gao.gov/new.items/og00033r.pdf |access-date=June 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090615020451/http://www.gao.gov/new.items/og00033r.pdf |archive-date=June 15, 2009  }}</ref><ref name="NSFAUPNote1">Even after the appropriations act was amended in 1992 to give NSF more flexibility with regard to commercial traffic, NSF never felt that it could entirely do away with its [[National Science Foundation Network#Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)|Acceptable Use Policy]] and its restrictions on commercial traffic, see the response to Recommendation 5 in NSF's response to the Inspector General's review (an April 19, 1993 memo from Frederick Bernthal, Acting Director, to Linda Sundro, Inspector General, that is included at the end of [https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/stis1993/oig9301/oig9301.txt Review of NSFNET], Office of the Inspector General, National Science Foundation, March 23, 1993)</ref> This caused controversy within the research and education community, who were concerned commercial use of the network might lead to an Internet that was less responsive to their needs, and within the community of commercial network providers, who felt that government subsidies were giving an unfair advantage to some organizations.<ref name="NSFNETHearing1992">[http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/recordDetails.jsp?ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED350986&searchtype=keyword&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&accno=ED350986&_nfls=false Management of NSFNET], a transcript of the March 12, 1992 hearing before the Subcommittee on Science of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, U.S. House of Representatives, One Hundred Second Congress, Second Session, Hon. [[Rick Boucher]], subcommittee chairman, presiding</ref>

By 1990, ARPANET's goals had been fulfilled and new networking technologies exceeded the original scope and the project came to a close. New network service providers including [[PSINet]], [[UUNET#Early existence|Alternet]], CERFNet, ANS CO+RE, and many others were offering network access to commercial customers. [[NSFNET]] was no longer the de facto backbone and exchange point of the Internet. The [[Commercial Internet eXchange]] (CIX), [[MAE-East|Metropolitan Area Exchanges]] (MAEs), and later [[Network Access Point]]s (NAPs) were becoming the primary interconnections between many networks. The final restrictions on carrying commercial traffic ended on April 30, 1995, when the National Science Foundation ended its sponsorship of the NSFNET Backbone Service.<ref>[http://merit.edu/research/nsfnet_article.php "Retiring the NSFNET Backbone Service: Chronicling the End of an Era"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101025735/http://merit.edu/research/nsfnet_article.php |date=January 1, 2016 }}, Susan R. Harris, PhD, and Elise Gerich, ''ConneXions'', Vol. 10, No. 4, April 1996</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://walthowe.com/history/|title=Walt's Internet History &#124; Walt's World|website=walthowe.com}}</ref> NSF provided initial support for the NAPs and interim support to help the regional research and education networks transition to commercial ISPs. NSF also sponsored the [[VBNS|very high speed Backbone Network Service]] (vBNS) which continued to provide support for the supercomputing centers and research and education in the United States.<ref>[http://w2.eff.org/Infrastructure/Govt_docs/nsf_nren.rfp NSF Solicitation 93-52] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305030153/http://w2.eff.org/Infrastructure/Govt_docs/nsf_nren.rfp |date=March 5, 2016 }} – Network Access Point Manager, Routing Arbiter, Regional Network Providers, and Very High Speed Backbone Network Services Provider for NSFNET and the NREN(SM) Program, May 6, 1993</ref>

An event held on 11 January 1994, ''[[The Superhighway Summit]]'' at [[UCLA]]'s Royce Hall, was the "first public conference bringing together all of the major industry, government and academic leaders in the field [and] also began the national dialogue about the ''[[Information Superhighway]]'' and its implications".<ref>{{cite web |title=UCLA Center for Communication Policy |url=http://www.digitalcenter.org/webreport94/apph.htm  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090526024957/http://www.digitalcenter.org/webreport94/apph.htm |archive-date=26 May 2009 |access-date=28 May 2009 |publisher=Digitalcenter.org }}</ref>

===Internet use in wider society===
The invention of the [[World Wide Web]] by [[Tim Berners-Lee]] at [[CERN]], as an application on the Internet,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tobin |first=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XXalQ6BTkyQC&pg=PT389 |title=Great Projects: The Epic Story of the Building of America, from the Taming of the Mississippi to the Invention of the Internet |date=2012-06-12 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-0-7432-1476-6 |language=en}}</ref> brought many social and commercial uses to what was, at the time, a network of networks for academic and research institutions.<ref>{{Cite book |last=In |first=Lee |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wKyeBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 |title=Electronic Commerce Management for Business Activities and Global Enterprises: Competitive Advantages: Competitive Advantages |date=2012-06-30 |publisher=IGI Global |isbn=978-1-4666-1801-5 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Misiroglu |first=Gina |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j4KsBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA398 |title=American Countercultures: An Encyclopedia of Nonconformists, Alternative Lifestyles, and Radical Ideas in US History: An Encyclopedia of Nonconformists, Alternative Lifestyles, and Radical Ideas in US History |date=2015-03-26 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-47729-7 |language=en}}</ref> The Web opened to the public in 1991 and began to enter general use in 1993–4, when [[List of websites founded before 1995|websites for everyday use]] started to become available.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Couldry |first1=Nick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AcHvP9trbkAC&pg=PA2 |title=Media, Society, World: Social Theory and Digital Media Practice |date=2012 |publisher=Polity Press |isbn=978-0-7456-3920-8 |location=London |page=2}}</ref>[[File:Russia-Denmark 1993-envelope.jpg|thumb|[[Stamped envelope]] of [[Russian Post]] issued in 1993 with stamp and graphics dedicated to first Russian [[Submarine communications cable#Optical telecommunications cables|underwater digital optic cable]] laid in 1993 by [[Rostelecom]] from [[Kingisepp]] to [[Copenhagen]]]]
During the first decade or so of the public Internet, the immense changes it would eventually enable in the 2000s were still nascent. In terms of providing context for this period, [[cellphone|mobile cellular devices]] ("smartphones" and other cellular devices) which today provide near-universal access, were used for business and not a routine household item owned by parents and children worldwide. [[Social media]] in the modern sense had yet to come into existence, laptops were bulky and most households did not have computers. Data rates were slow and most people lacked means to video or digitize video; media storage was transitioning slowly from [[analog tape]] to [[digital data|digital]] [[optical disc]]s ([[DVD]] and to an extent still, [[floppy disc]] to [[CD]]). Enabling technologies used from the early 2000s such as [[PHP]], modern [[JavaScript]] and [[Java (programming language)|Java]], technologies such as [[AJAX]], [[HTML 4]] (and its emphasis on [[CSS]]), and various [[software framework]]s, which enabled and simplified speed of web development, largely awaited invention and their eventual widespread adoption.

The Internet was widely used for [[mailing list]]s, [[email]]s, [[Internet GIS|creating and distributing maps]] with tools like [[MapQuest]], [[e-commerce]] and early popular [[online shopping]] ([[Amazon.com|Amazon]] and [[eBay]] for example), [[online forum]]s and [[bulletin board]]s, and personal websites and [[blog]]s, and use was growing rapidly, but by more modern standards, the systems used were static and lacked widespread social engagement. It awaited a number of events in the early 2000s to change from a communications technology to gradually develop into a key part of global society's infrastructure.

Typical design elements of these "Web 1.0" era websites included:<ref>{{cite conference |last1=Viswanathan |first1=Ganesh |last2=Dutt Mathur |first2=Punit |last3=Yammiyavar |first3=Pradeep |title=From Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 and beyond: Reviewing usability heuristic criteria taking music sites as case studies |url=https://www.academia.edu/8381037 |date=March 2010 |place=Mumbai |access-date=20 February 2015 |series=IndiaHCI Conference}}</ref> Static pages instead of [[dynamic HTML]];<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://computer.howstuffworks.com/web-10.htm|title=Is There a Web 1.0?|date=January 28, 2008|website=HowStuffWorks}}</ref> content served from [[filesystem]]s instead of [[relational database]]s; pages built using [[Server Side Includes]] or [[Common Gateway Interface|CGI]] instead of a [[web application]] written in a [[dynamic programming language]]; [[HTML 3.2]]-era structures such as [[Framing (World Wide Web)|frames]] and tables to create page layouts; online [[guestbook]]s; overuse of [[GIF]] buttons and similar small graphics promoting particular items;<ref>[http://www.complexify.com/buttons/ "Web 1.0 Revisited – Too many stupid buttons"]. Complexify.com. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060216081719/http://www.complexify.com/buttons/ |date=February 16, 2006 }}</ref> and HTML forms sent via [[email]]. (Support for [[server side scripting]] was rare on [[shared server]]s so the usual feedback mechanism was via email, using [[mailto|mailto forms]] and their [[email client|email program]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.catb.org/esr/writings/taoup/html/ch13s04.html|title=The Right Size of Software|website=www.catb.org}}</ref>

During the period 1997 to 2001, the first [[speculative investment]] [[investment bubble|bubble]] related to the Internet took place, in which [[dot-com company|"dot-com" companies]] (referring to the "[[.com]]" [[top level domain]] used by businesses) were propelled to exceedingly high valuations as investors rapidly stoked [[stock value]]s, followed by a [[market crash]]; the first [[dot-com bubble]]. However this only temporarily slowed enthusiasm and growth, which quickly recovered and continued to grow.

The [[history of the World Wide Web]] up to around 2004 was retrospectively named and described by some as "Web 1.0".<ref>{{Citation|last1=Jurgenson|first1=Nathan|title=The Internet, Web 2.0, and Beyond|date=2012-02-02|work=The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Sociology|pages=626–648|editor-last=Ritzer|editor-first=George|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Ltd|doi=10.1002/9781444347388.ch33|isbn=978-1-4443-4738-8|last2=Ritzer|first2=George}}</ref>

===IPv6===
In the final stage of [[IPv4 address exhaustion]], the last IPv4 address block was assigned in January 2011 at the level of the regional Internet registries.<ref name="ins">{{Cite web|title=State of IPv6 Deployment 2017|url=https://www.internetsociety.org/resources/doc/2017/state-of-ipv6-deployment-2017/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406005544/https://www.internetsociety.org/resources/doc/2017/state-of-ipv6-deployment-2017/|archive-date=April 6, 2018}}</ref> IPv4 uses 32-[[bit]] addresses which limits the [[address space]] to 2<sup>32</sup> addresses, i.e. {{gaps|4|294|967|296}} addresses.<ref name=":0" /> IPv4 is in the process of replacement by [[IPv6]], its successor, which uses 128-bit addresses, providing 2<sup>128</sup> addresses, i.e. {{gaps|340|282|366|920|938|463|463|374|607|431|768|211|456}},<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 27, 2010|title=What is the Difference Between IPv6 and IPv4?|url=https://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/ipv6_ipv4_difference.html}}</ref> a vastly increased address space. The shift to IPv6 is expected to take a long time to complete.<ref name="ins" />