Information Technology · Ch 1 — Networking and Open Standards
The Internet and How We Access It
The Internet and How We Access It
The Internet is the worldwide network of networks — the largest computer network in the world, joining hundreds of millions of computers and devices across every country so that they can share information and communicate. No single person or company owns the Internet; it is a public network that follows common rules (protocols) so that any connected computer can talk to any other.
A short background. The Internet grew from a research network created decades ago and expanded worldwide as common standards were adopted. Two ideas are often confused:
- The Internet is the physical global network of connected computers.
- The World Wide Web (WWW) is one service that runs on the Internet — the huge collection of linked web pages and websites that we view in a web browser. The web is a part of the Internet, not the whole of it. E-mail, file transfer, and video calls are other Internet services that are not part of the web.
How we connect — the Internet Service Provider (ISP). To use the Internet, a home or office must connect through an Internet Service Provider (ISP) — a company that provides Internet access, usually for a fee. The ISP links the user's computer or network to the rest of the Internet. In India there are several well-known ISPs run by telecom and cable companies.
Ways of accessing the Internet. Common methods include:
- Broadband over telephone or cable lines — a fast, always-on wired connection through a modem, widely used in homes and offices.
- Optical-fibre broadband — very high-speed Internet delivered over fibre, now common in cities.
- Wireless / Wi-Fi — a wired connection is shared wirelessly within a home, office, or public hotspot.
- Mobile data — Internet access over the mobile phone network (3G/4G and newer), which allows connection almost anywhere.
- Satellite Internet — used in remote areas where cables do not reach. …