{"id":2442,"date":"2017-05-29T12:14:52","date_gmt":"2017-05-29T12:14:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/?page_id=2442"},"modified":"2025-09-23T11:16:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T11:16:20","slug":"about-the-internet","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/internet\/","title":{"rendered":"About the Internet"},"content":{"rendered":"
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About the Internet<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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\"ISOC<\/p>\n

Here’s how it works<\/h2>\n
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The Internet is not like a telephone network. The global Internet consists of tens of thousands of interconnected networks run by service providers, individual companies, universities and \u00a0governments. In most countries, a telephone network is run by a single company for several years at a time. Open standards are what enable this network of Internet networks to communicate. And they\u2019re what make it possible for anyone to create content, offer services, and sell products without requiring permission from a central authority.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Learn more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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Who makes it work<\/h2>\n
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The Internet ecosystem is made of many organizations and communities that help the Internet work and evolve. This broad range of people and groups are what contribute to the rapid and continued development and adoption of Internet technologies. Open, transparent, and collaborative processes (and the use of products and infrastructure with dispersed ownership and control) are what make the global internet what it is.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read more about the Internet Ecosystem<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cThe Internet belongs to everyone and no one.\u201d<\/h3>\n

\u2013 Bruce Sterling, Short History of the Internet<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Facts and figures<\/h2>\n
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Who uses the Internet? How is it used? How does it affect us? The Internet is constantly in flux and understanding and measuring it is a challenge. Check out these resources for Internet statistics, trends, and demographics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

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Nonprofit<\/h3>\n

The Internet Society\u2019s Pulse Platform<\/a>
\nCurates data from trusted sources to help everyone understand the health, availability and evolution of the global Internet.<\/p>\n

The Internet Society\u2019s Global Internet Report<\/a>
\nThe forces of change that will shape the Internet.<\/p>\n

Center\u00a0for Applied\u00a0Internet\u00a0Data\u00a0Analysis (CAIDA)<\/a>
\nInternet data from and across a wide variety of Internet infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Mozilla\u2019s Internet Health Report<\/a>
\nWhat\u2019s happening to the health of the Internet.<\/p>\n

NSRC Connectivity Providers Database<\/a>
\nInternational networking developments and Internet connectivity providers, with major emphasis on countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Oceania.<\/p>\n

RIPE Atlas Analyses and Use Cases<\/a>
\nA global network of probes that measure Internet connectivity and reachability, providing an understanding of the state of the Internet in real time.<\/p>\n

The World Bank<\/a>
\nIndividuals using the Internet (% of population).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

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Commercial<\/h3>\n

Internet Traffic Report<\/a>
\nThe flow of data around the world.<\/p>\n

Akamai Research<\/a>
\nThe state of the Internet.<\/p>\n

Statista<\/a>
\nInternet usage worldwide: statistics and facts.<\/p>\n

Unfamiliar with an Internet term? Learn what it means<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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History of the Internet<\/h2>\n
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From the early days of ARPANET to today\u2019s mobile technologies, the Internet has come a long way. Its history is complex and involves many people and stories. We share some of the different histories of the Internet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read a brief history of the Internet, written by those who made it history<\/a> Find more histories<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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How the Internet is changing<\/h2>\n
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The Internet is still evolving. And not just its infrastructure. How we use it and where we use it are also continuously changing. What might the Internet look like in 10 years? What are some of the biggest challenges we face, and how can we ensure the continued development of an open Internet for everyone, everywhere?<\/p>\n

Explore the possibilities for the future development of the Internet and strategies for helping it evolve in the best possible way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Find out more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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Shape tomorrow<\/h2>\n
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Need help turning your passion for the Internet into action? Giving is one of the simplest ways to contribute.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Donate<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is the Internet? How does it work and who makes it work? Get answers to these questions and more facts about the Internet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-wide.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6147],"tags":[],"region_news_regions":[5931],"content_category":[6090],"ppma_author":[4057],"class_list":["post-2442","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-how-the-internet-works","region_news_regions-global","content_category-resources-type"],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"post-thumbnail":false,"square":false,"gform-image-choice-sm":false,"gform-image-choice-md":false,"gform-image-choice-lg":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Ivana Trbovic","author_link":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/author\/trbovic\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"What is the Internet? How does it work and who makes it work? Get answers to these questions and more facts about the Internet.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2442\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2442"},{"taxonomy":"region_news_regions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region_news_regions?post=2442"},{"taxonomy":"content_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content_category?post=2442"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.internetsociety.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=2442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}