Editing Internet access (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of the Internet}}

The [[Internet]] developed from the [[ARPANET]], which was funded by the [[Federal government of the United States|US government]] to support projects within the government, at universities and research laboratories in the US, but grew over time to include most of the world's large universities and the research arms of many technology companies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Segal |first=Ben |author-link=Ben Segal (computer scientist) |title=A short history of Internet protocols at CERN |publisher=CERN |year=1995 |location=Geneva |publication-date=April 1995 |language=English |doi=10.17181/CERN_TCP_IP_history}}</ref><ref>[[RIPE|Réseaux IP Européens]] (RIPE)</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Internet History in Asia | work=16th APAN Meetings/Advanced Network Conference in Busan | url=http://www.apan.net/meetings/busan03/cs-history.htm | access-date=25 December 2005 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060201035514/http://apan.net/meetings/busan03/cs-history.htm | archive-date=1 February 2006 }}</ref> Use by a wider audience only came in 1995 when restrictions on the use of the Internet to carry commercial traffic were lifted.<ref name=ConneXions-April1996>[http://www.merit.edu/networkresearch/projecthistory/nsfnet/nsfnet_article.php "Retiring the NSFNET Backbone Service: Chronicling the End of an Era"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719235238/http://www.merit.edu/networkresearch/projecthistory/nsfnet/nsfnet_article.php |date=2011-07-19 }}, Susan R. Harris and Elise Gerich, ''ConneXions'', Vol. 10, No. 4, April 1996</ref>

In the early to mid-1980s, most Internet access was from [[personal computers]] and [[workstation]]s directly connected to [[local area network]]s (LANs) or from [[dial-up Internet access|dial-up connections]] using [[modem]]s and analog [[telephone line]]s. LANs typically operated at 10&nbsp;Mbit/s<!-- 100&nbsp;Mbit/s only came in 1995 --> while modem data-rates grew from 1200 bit/s in the early 1980s to 56&nbsp;kbit/s by the late 1990s. Initially, dial-up connections were made from [[Computer terminal|terminals]] or computers running [[Terminal emulator|terminal-emulation software]] to [[terminal server]]s on LANs. These dial-up connections did not support end-to-end use of the Internet protocols and only provided terminal-to-host connections. The introduction of [[network access server]]s supporting the [[Serial Line Internet Protocol]] (SLIP) and later the [[Point-to-Point Protocol|point-to-point protocol]] (PPP) extended the Internet protocols and made the full range of Internet services available to dial-up users; although slower, due to the lower data rates available using dial-up.

An important factor in the rapid rise of Internet access speed has been advances in [[MOSFET]] (MOS transistor) technology.<ref name="Jindal">{{cite book |last1=Jindal |first1=R. P. |title=2009 2nd International Workshop on Electron Devices and Semiconductor Technology |chapter=From millibits to terabits per second and beyond - over 60 years of innovation |date=2009 |pages=1–6 |doi=10.1109/EDST.2009.5166093 |chapter-url=https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/195547 |isbn=978-1-4244-3831-0 |s2cid=25112828 |access-date=2019-08-24 |archive-date=2019-08-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823230141/https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/195547 |url-status=live }}</ref> The MOSFET invented at Bell Labs between 1955 and 1960 following [[Carl Frosch|Frosch]] and Derick discoveries,<ref>{{Cite patent|number=US2802760A|title=Oxidation of semiconductive surfaces for controlled diffusion|gdate=1957-08-13|invent1=Lincoln|invent2=Frosch|inventor1-first=Derick|inventor2-first=Carl J.|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US2802760A}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Frosch |first1=C. J. |last2=Derick |first2=L |date=1957 |title=Surface Protection and Selective Masking during Diffusion in Silicon |url=https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/1.2428650 |journal=Journal of the Electrochemical Society |language=en |volume=104 |issue=9 |pages=547 |doi=10.1149/1.2428650|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=KAHNG |first=D. |date=1961 |title=Silicon-Silicon Dioxide Surface Device |url=https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814503464_0076 |journal=Technical Memorandum of Bell Laboratories |pages=583–596 |doi=10.1142/9789814503464_0076 |isbn=978-981-02-0209-5|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Lojek |first=Bo |title=History of Semiconductor Engineering |date=2007 |publisher=Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg |isbn=978-3-540-34258-8 |location=Berlin, Heidelberg |page=321}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ligenza |first1=J.R. |last2=Spitzer |first2=W.G. |date=1960 |title=The mechanisms for silicon oxidation in steam and oxygen |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/0022369760902195 |journal=Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids |language=en |volume=14 |pages=131–136 |bibcode=1960JPCS...14..131L |doi=10.1016/0022-3697(60)90219-5|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Lojek1202">{{cite book |last1=Lojek |first1=Bo |title=History of Semiconductor Engineering |date=2007 |publisher=[[Springer Science & Business Media]] |isbn=9783540342588 |page=120}}</ref> is the building block of the Internet [[telecommunications network]]s.<ref name="triumph">{{cite web |title=Triumph of the MOS Transistor |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6fBEjf9WPw | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/q6fBEjf9WPw| archive-date=2021-10-30|website=[[YouTube]] |publisher=[[Computer History Museum]] |access-date=21 July 2019 |date=6 August 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Raymer">{{cite book |last1=Raymer |first1=Michael G. |title=The Silicon Web: Physics for the Internet Age |date=2009 |publisher=[[CRC Press]] |isbn=9781439803127 |page=365 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PLYChGDqa6EC&pg=PA365 |access-date=2019-08-24 |archive-date=2023-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117054429/https://books.google.com/books?id=PLYChGDqa6EC&pg=PA365 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[laser]], originally demonstrated by [[Charles H. Townes]] and [[Arthur Leonard Schawlow]] in 1960, was adopted for MOS [[Light|light-wave]] systems around 1980, which led to exponential growth of [[Bandwidth (computing)|Internet bandwidth]]. Continuous [[MOSFET#Scaling|MOSFET scaling]] has since led to online bandwidth doubling every 18 months ([[Edholm's law]], which is related to [[Moore's law]]), with the bandwidths of telecommunications networks rising from [[bits per second]] to [[terabits per second]].<ref name="Jindal"/>

Broadband Internet access, often shortened to just broadband, is simply defined as "Internet access that is always on, and faster than the traditional dial-up access"<ref>{{cite web |title= What is Broadband? |work= The National Broadband Plan |publisher= US Federal Communications Commission |url=https://www.fcc.gov/general/national-broadband-plan |access-date= July 15, 2011 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110713053907/http://www.broadband.gov/about_broadband.html |archive-date= July 13, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Inquiry Concerning the Deployment of Advanced Telecommunications Capability to All Americans in a Reasonable and Timely Fashion, and Possible Steps to Accelerate Such Deployment Pursuant to Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as Amended by the Broadband Data Improvement Act |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |work=GN Docket No. 10-159, FCC-10-148A1 |date=August 6, 2010 |url=http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2010/db0806/FCC-10-148A1.pdf |access-date=July 12, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721135629/http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2010/db0806/FCC-10-148A1.pdf |archive-date=July 21, 2011 }}</ref> and so covers a wide range of technologies. The core of these broadband Internet technologies are [[CMOS|complementary MOS]] (CMOS) [[digital circuits]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Geerts |first1=Yves |last2=Steyaert |first2=Michiel |last3=Sansen |first3=Willy |chapter=Chapter 8: Single-Loop Multi-Bit Sigma-Delta Modulators |editor-last1=Rodríguez-Vázquez |editor-first1=Angel |editor-last2=Medeiro |editor-first2=Fernando |editor-last3=Janssens |editor-first3=Edmond |title=CMOS Telecom Data Converters |year=2013 |orig-year=1st pub. 2004 |publisher=[[Springer Science & Business Media]] |isbn=978-1-4757-3724-0 |page=277 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SF3hBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA277 |access-date=2019-11-29 |archive-date=2023-01-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117054347/https://books.google.com/books?id=SF3hBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA277 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Green">{{cite journal |last1=Green |first1=M. M. |title=An overview on wireline communication systems for high-speed broadband communication |journal=Proceedings of Papers 5th European Conference on Circuits and Systems for Communications (ECCSC'10) |date=November 2010 |pages=1–8 |url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/5733843 |access-date=2019-11-29 |archive-date=2020-07-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727052046/https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/5733843 |url-status=live }}</ref> the speed capabilities of which were extended with innovative design techniques.<ref name="Green"/> Broadband connections are typically made using a computer's built in [[Ethernet]] networking capabilities, or by using a [[Network interface controller|NIC]] [[expansion card]].

Most broadband services provide a continuous "always on" connection; there is no dial-in process required, and it does not interfere with voice use of phone lines.<ref name="howstuffworks" /> Broadband provides improved access to Internet services such as:
* Faster [[World Wide Web]] browsing
* Faster downloading of documents, photographs, videos, and other large files
* [[Internet telephony|Telephony]], [[Internet radio|radio]], [[Internet television|television]], and [[videoconferencing]]
* [[Virtual private network]]s and remote system administration
* [[Online game|Online gaming]], especially [[massively multiplayer online role-playing game]]s which are interaction-intensive

In the 1990s, the [[National Information Infrastructure Protection Act|National Information Infrastructure]] initiative in the U.S. made broadband Internet access a public policy issue.<ref>{{cite journal |author1= Jeffrey A. Hart |author2= Robert R. Reed |author3=François Bar |title= The building of the Internet: Implications for the future of broadband networks |journal= Telecommunications Policy |volume= 16 |issue= 8 |pages= 666–689 |date= November 1992 |doi= 10.1016/0308-5961(92)90061-S|s2cid= 155062650 }}</ref> In 2000, most Internet access to homes was provided using dial-up, while many businesses and schools were using broadband connections. In 2000 there were just under 150 million dial-up subscriptions in the 34 OECD countries<ref name=OECD-countries>The 34 OECD countries are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan,
Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak
Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. [http://www.oecd.org/pages/0,3417,en_36734052_36761800_1_1_1_1_1,00.html OECD members] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408175139/http://www.oecd.org/pages/0,3417,en_36734052_36761800_1_1_1_1_1,00.html |date=2011-04-08 }}, accessed 1 May 2012</ref> and fewer than 20 million broadband subscriptions. By 2004, broadband had grown and dial-up had declined so that the number of subscriptions were roughly equal at 130 million each. In 2010, in the OECD countries, over 90% of the Internet access subscriptions used broadband, broadband had grown to more than 300 million subscriptions, and dial-up subscriptions had declined to fewer than 30 million.<ref name=OECD-June2011>[http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/24/5/48255770.pdf ''The Future of the Internet Economy: A Statistical Profile''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616224428/http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/24/5/48255770.pdf |date=2012-06-16 }}, Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), June 2011</ref>

The broadband technologies in widest use are of [[digital subscriber line]] (DSL), [[ADSL]], and [[cable Internet access]]. Newer technologies include [[VDSL]] and [[optical fiber]] extended closer to the subscriber in both telephone and cable plants. [[Fiber-optic communication]], while only recently being used in [[fiber to the x|premises and to the curb]] schemes, has played a crucial role in enabling broadband Internet access by making transmission of information at very high data rates over longer distances much more cost-effective than copper wire technology.

In areas not served by ADSL or cable, some community organizations and local governments are installing [[Wi-Fi]] networks. Wireless, satellite, and microwave Internet are often used in rural, undeveloped, or other hard to serve areas where wired Internet is not readily available.

Newer technologies being deployed for fixed (stationary) and [[mobile broadband]] access include [[WiMAX]], [[LTE (telecommunication)|LTE]], and [[fixed wireless]].

Starting in roughly 2006, mobile broadband access is increasingly available at the consumer level using "[[3G]]" and "[[LTE (telecommunication)|4G]]" technologies such as [[High Speed Packet Access|HSPA]], [[Evolution-Data Optimized|EV-DO]], [[Evolved High Speed Packet Access|HSPA+]], and [[LTE (telecommunication)|LTE]].