The Internet Explosion
Without a common language it was difficult for computer networks to communicate. In 1973, new rules for inter-network communications cleared the way. Even so, in the mid-1980s, the Internet was accessible only to researchers at universities and national labs. Then, the National Science Foundation created the first high-speed network backbone, laying the foundation for growth. In the early 1990s, the federal government opened the Internet to commercial use, and the World Wide Web made the Net accessible to millions.