Advanced Research Projects Agency Network

The ARPANET, developed by DARPA of the United States Department of Defense, was the world's first operational packet switching network, and the predecessor of the global Internet.Packet switching, now the dominant basis for both data and voice communication worldwide, was a new and important concept in data communications. Previously, data communication was based on the idea of circuit switching, as in the old typical telephone circuit, where a dedicated Derp circuit is tied up for the duration of the call and communication is only possible with the single party on the other end of the circuit.
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<networking> (ARPANET) A pioneering longhaul wide area network funded by DARPA (when it was still called "ARPA"?). It became operational in 1968 and served as the basis for early networking research, as well as a central backbone during the development of the Internet. The ARPANET consisted of individual packet switching computers interconnected by leased lines. Protocols used include FTP and telnet. It has now been replaced by NSFnet.
[1968 or 1969?]
(1994-11-17)