Imagine a day without Google, Whatsapp, Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia, app games, or “browsing”! That is what the world was like before the Internet. Today, everything from entertainment, education to banking happens online, making the Internet an indispensable part of our lives.
To commemorate the significance of the Internet and the impact it has had on the world, October 29 is celebrated as International Internet Day. This date was chosen because it was on this day (in 1969) when the first electronic message was sent across using the Internet, which was then a small network of computers connected to each other. There are several theories, technologies and experiments that ultimately led to the evolution of the Internet as we know it today, but this was the most significant step of the lot.
History
In 1962, a scientist named J.C.R. Licklider came up with the idea of a network of computers that could communicate with each other. This was named ARPAnet after Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency where Licklider worked.
In 1969, the technology was developed and the first message was sent across the ARPAnet from a computer located in a research lab at UCLA to another that was at Stanford University. Leonard Kleinrock, Charley Kline and Bill Duvall were the main people behind this experiment. They attempted to send the word “LOGIN”. After the letters L and O were transferred, the connection between the terminals crashed. But this was an important breakthrough.
Soon, the technology was perfected and smaller networks of computer that could communicate within itself developed across the world. In the 1970s, a scientist named Vinton Cerf developed a way for all of the individual networks to communicate with one another, thus building a worldwide network.
Eventually, experts discovered that the Internet could be used not just to exchange data but to store and retrieve data, giving rise to the world wide web. This led to the creation of our favourite Internet ventures like Google, Amazon, Netflix and Facebook.
Internetin India
Internet was launched for communication between educational and research communities in 1986. It was called the Educational Research Network (ERNET), and was a joint undertaking of the Department of Electronics (DoE) of the Government of India, and the United Nations Development Programme. Eight academic institutions were connected through this network — NCST Bombay, Indian Institute of Science, IIT - Delhi, Mumbai, Kanpur, Kharagpur and Chennai, and the DoE.
In 1988, the NICNet was launched as a means of communication between different government institutions. It was operated by the National Informatics Centre.
Finally, on August 15, 1995, the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited formally launched the Internet for the general public in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata. The service was called Gateway Internet Access Service.
As of September 2016, India had around 36.74 crore Internet subscribers.
Internet safety
We use the Internet almost everyday. Like most things, while it has its advantages, there are some dangers that we need to be aware of. So, here are some tips to help you stay safe online:
Don’t share your password with anyone.
When you use a public computer like at school or an internet café, make sure to log out of all websites and accounts.
Do not communicate with strangers online.
Do not share personal information on any website or with anyone online.
Get your parents’ permission before posting photos and videos online.
Do not send mean messages to anyone. Anything said or done online cannot be erased easily.
If you are subjected to mean messages and insults online (cyber bullying), inform your parents or any trusted adult immediately.
Not all the information you find online is accurate. So, be wary of what information you choose to trust or rely on.
Undersea cables
Internet communication is made possible by cables that connect communication centres in different parts of the cities, countries and the world. Some cables are suspended across telephone poles, and some are buried underground. But a majority of communication happens through cables that are laid deep down the oceans! These cables are thousands of miles long and some can be found in depths that can fit even the Everest.
The first cables, called submarine communications cables, were laid across the ocean floors as early as the 1850s across vast stretches of water to make telegraphic communications between two countries separated by sea possible. Later, the cables evolved along with the modes of communication — telephonic and then, digital. Today, the cables are laid by special boats called cable-layers.
Interestingly, though satellites are also used for Internet communication, a majority of communication still happens through these undersea cables as data transfer happens faster and cheaper than via satellites.
