The internet is a global network connecting millions of computers. It is not the same as the web. The internet is the infrastructure: cables, routers, servers, and protocols. The web is a service that runs on top of it. Email, video calls, online games, and file sharing are other services.

The internet grew out of ARPANET, a U.S. Defense Department project in the 1960s. It was designed to survive partial failures. If one node went down, traffic could route around it. The TCP/IP protocol, adopted in 1983, let different networks interconnect. The web arrived in 1991 with Tim Berners-Lee's HTML and HTTP.

Core protocols

• TCP/IP: fundamental communication rules
• HTTP/HTTPS: web page transfer
• DNS: translates domain names to IP addresses
• SMTP: email transmission
• FTP: file transfer

The internet is decentralized. No single entity owns it. But access is uneven. Billions still lack reliable connectivity. Undersea cables carry most international traffic. Satellites are filling gaps. The network keeps growing.