National Science Foundation Network

National Science Foundation Network
NSFNET logo
NSFNET logo
TypeData
LocationUSA
ProtocolsTCP/IP and OSI
OperatorMerit Network with IBM, MCI, the State of Michigan, and later ANS
Established1985; 39 years ago (1985)
Current statusDecommissioned April 30, 1995, superseded by the commercial Internet
Commercial?No
FundingNational Science Foundation
WebsiteNSFNET history
Internet history timeline

Early research and development:

Merging the networks and creating the Internet:

Commercialization, privatization, broader access leads to the modern Internet:

Examples of Internet services:

The National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET) was a program of coordinated, evolving projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) from 1985 to 1995 to promote advanced research and education networking in the United States.[1] The program created several nationwide backbone computer networks in support of these initiatives. It was created to link researchers to the NSF-funded supercomputing centers. Later, with additional public funding and also with private industry partnerships, the network developed into a major part of the Internet backbone.

The National Science Foundation permitted only government agencies and universities to use the network until 1989 when the first commercial Internet service provider emerged. By 1991, the NSF removed access restrictions and the commercial ISP business grew rapidly.[2]

  1. ^ NSFNET: The Partnership That Changed The World, Web site for an event held to celebrate the NSFNET, November 2007
  2. ^ Schuster, Jenna (June 10, 2016). "A brief history of internet service providers". Archived from the original on 2019-04-28. Retrieved January 15, 2020.