1976-1977
Internetworking

SRI’s networking van, circa 1977
The word “Internet” refers to different kinds of networks joined together. While the Internet’s origins can be traced to the ARPANET of the late 1960s, that was a single, closed network. Internetworking made its formal debut in 1976, when SRI established the first connection between two dissimilar networks. SRI connected the wired ARPANET with SRI’s wireless packet radio network, the world’s first mobile digital radio network.
Then in 1977, the first connection was made across three dissimilar networks. This connection is considered to be the first true Internet connection. SRI played a major role in this critical milestone in the development of the modern Internet and wireless networking, both of which have had an immeasurable impact on how the world learns, works, shares and plays.